These 4 Ingredient Vegan Banana Oatmeal Pancakes are a quick and easy HEALTHY breakfast recipe, perfect for baby led weaning or toddler finger food.
They’re eggless, dairy free, full of fibre from the oatmeal and pack a nutritional punch with chia seeds. Perfect for families who want to practice clean eating and start their mornings with a balanced meal.
Breakfast with multiple little kids in the house can be hard, right?
Especially if you have the sort of kids who get up way before your alarm clock ever stood a chance and are incredibly moody when they’re hungry.
Low blood sugar in both parents and kids, ASAP needed diaper changes and general morning blah-ness – we all know it. More often than not it leads to loud tantrums (I don’t want to wear this shiiiiirt!!), hangry fights and eventually a breakfast we didn’t really want to start the day with.
Sadly, most mainstream quick and easy breakfast options for kids are high in sugar, low in fibre and protein and just generally lack well-balanced nutrients:
- cereal, often served with low-fat cow’s milk
- toaster waffles
- toast with jelly
- …
The issues with these is that they’ll send your kids’ (and yours, as you’re presumably eating the same) blood sugar soaring up high, then crashing down soon after.
It leads to terrible mood swings. In already toddler-y toddlers, this can make their toddler-iness even worse.
And seriously, who needs that?!
In addition to this, they’ll be hungry again an hour after breakfast, because their little bodies didn’t get many nutrients along with the calories they ate.
In my experience (this is anecdotal, I don’t have any actual studies to proof this, just myself and my family), bodies don’t count calories. They count nutrients.
Lucky for us parents, there are better options out there, so we can support our babies and their growing bodies.
Plus we can avoid the dreadful 10am sugar cravings ourselves!
I will say that a healthy balanced breakfast will ALWAYS take more time to prepare and cause more dishes to wash vs throwing cereal in a bowl. But if you’re serious about balancing your kids’ mood and energy levels, your own mood and energy levels and just generally become a happy, thriving family – don’t look at it as an annoying chore.
Look at it as part of your job description, and a part that will make your life so much better.
If you agree to spend just 10 minutes of your morning in the kitchen, you can whip up these 4 Ingredient Vegan Banana Oatmeal Pancakes.
They are a great breakfast option, because they are full of fibre from the oats. They have additional fibre, nutrients and vitamins from the banana and the chia adds another nutritional power punch with fat and protein.
To turn them into a well-rounded breakfast, I serve them with blueberries and a generous helping of all-natural almond butter (which is a GREAT source of calcium and magnesium, in case you’re missing the dairy here). P.S: I always, always mash fresh berries before I give them to the baby, since they are a choking hazard.
Speaking of dairy, if you’re wondering what my kids drink for breakfast, it’s actually just water. When it’s cold I might make tea for them and a turmeric latte for myself, but during summer they drink just water.
I know you could just make oatmeal with the same ingredients, but my kids love pancakes AND one of them is an 8 month old baby who is determined to feed herself.
Seriously. Try feeding her and she will spit out every last bit.
So if you’re looking for some great baby led weaning or toddler finger food breakfast ideas – give these Vegan Banana Oatmeal Pancakes a go. All it takes is a blender, a skillet and four ingredients – and you’ll be rewarded with happy kiddos and a happy belly.
Watch the recipe video
Printable recipe
4 Ingredient Vegan Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 2 bananas
- 1 cup oats
- ⅔ cup coconut milk or any milk you like
- 1 heaping tablespoon chia seeds
- coconut oil for cooking
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. If you don’t have a strong blender, you might want to break up the banana first.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and melt a little coconut oil inside. Add about 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake and slightly spread it with a spatula. Flip when the sides are starting to look cooked.
- Serve with fresh fruit and nut butter.
Preeti Jesudoss says
Great recipe. I added almonds and coconut shavings in the blender and it came out well. I was wondering if these can be made in the oven instead of a stovetop.
Nicole Madsen says
I make these all the time! My toddler loves them and so do I! Plus, it’s so easy. I add a bit of cinnamon into the batter.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Nicole!
Kristen says
This recipe provides a good base to build upon. I add a pinch of salt and plenty of spices (kids of any age can have spices! And don’t be afraid of a little salt, too! I’ll put my MD behind that statement).
I find it helpful to add a pinch of baking soda or powder to get some rise.
Also, I boost the protein/fat content by adding sunbutter, as this is a rather carb-heavy meal otherwise.
Daisy Gonzalez says
Love it ?!
Kailey Pullan says
I love banana pancakes but often they’re too runny or flat. But this was so easy to make and absolutely DELICIOUS! Will be keeping this recipe! Thank you! ?
Phoebe says
I made these as directed except I ground up the oats and the chia seeds before adding the banana and milk to the mix. They were delicious! A big hit with my 16 month old and my husband! I’ve been making an almond flour pancake for a while and found these have an even better texture!
Recipe saved! Thank you
Nora says
I’m glad the pancakes were a hit, Phoebe!
Maria S says
My little guy loves these pancakes!! Due to several food allergies and sensitivities he’s an extremely picky eater(and under weight because of it). I’ve been trying to give him pediasure with no luck. Today I substituted milk with pediasure and the pancakes still turned out great! Bonus he ate them all up! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe ❤️
Nora says
This comment makes me so happy, Maria! I’m glad your little guy enjoys the pancakes so much. Good luck with getting some weight on him! And thank you so much for sharing this story – made my day!
Stephanie says
Looking forward to making this recipe! When you say coconut milk are you referring to canned coconut milk?
Nora says
Hi Stephanie, yes, that’s what I used! I had people report making this with other milks like almond milk though, so I think you can just use your favorite nut milk!
Dominique says
Thanks! everybody loved the recipes. I added berries to the batter, it was really good!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Dominique! The berries sound like such a delicious addition.
Sara says
I couldn’t make this work for me. I ended up with an oily stodgy mess 🙁 I used soya milk instead of coconut but that shouldn’t have made a difference. What could I be doing wrong?
Nora says
Hi Sara, I’m so sorry for your experience with the recipe! They definitely shouldn’t turn into an oily, stodgy mess. Having said that, it’s not a magical fluffy vegan and gluten free kind of recipe. In my experience, using a different kind of plant based milk can unfortunately make a big difference in both taste and texture depending on the recipe :-/ I haven’t tried making these any other way than I have written down, so I can’t say if soy milk is the culprit. Sorry!
Romi says
Hi! Me and my friend tried making them (not this exact recepie tho im looking foward to it, looks amazing) and we were having the same problem, you just have to add a bit more oats/flour!
Nora says
Thanks for adding that tip, Romi! I appreciate your time 🙂
Abbi Thirion says
Th a knyiu for this tip! Saved the day. Went from slushy mess to yummy pancakes in a couple of seconds! Xx
Jenn says
For what it’s worth, I used one of those rectangular nonstick skillets that plugs in and sits on your countertop, so I didn’t need to use any oil. They came out great!
Kristine M. says
How would these do being made and then frozen? I’m always looking for a quick, easy, on the go breakfast.
Nora says
Hi Kristine, honestly? I don’t know. I personally haven’t tried freezing them. BUT I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to freeze them, so you could definitely try! Sorry for not being a better help, let us know how well it works if you do go ahead and try freezing them!
Alex says
Are these freezable?
Nora says
Hi Alex, honestly? I don’t know. I personally haven’t tried freezing them. BUT I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to freeze them, so you could definitely try! Sorry for not being a better help, let us know how well it works if you do go ahead and try freezing them!
Amy says
Does the type of oats matter?
Nora says
Hi Amy, I wouldn’t use steel cut oats since they’re a little different, but other than that, no. Since they’re being blended up, it doesn’t matter if you’re using regular rolled oats or quick cooking or porridge oats (are there any others? :D). Hope that helps!
Amanda says
I used steel cut oats, making sure to ground them into a powder first ( hand held immersion blender works best). Came out fantastic!
Nora Rusev says
Thank you so much for sharing this information, Amanda! And I?m happy to hear it worked out great.