Recipe: Easy, Healthy Two-Ingredient Pancakes

Published in

Thrive Global

6 min readNov 30, 2016

Mmmm, pancakes. Delicious in your mouth, terrible in your body.

What kind of marketing trickery has led millions of households to eating cake for breakfast all these years?! Cake for breakfast is a really bad idea if you’re trying to stay healthy, and that’s exactly what pancakes are, cake made on a stovetop pan instead of the oven.

The good news is that you can still have pancakes without eating dessert for breakfast.

Enter: 2-ingredient egg and banana pancakes.

Yep, you can make healthy and delicious pancakes with just banana, egg and a little healthy oil for the pan (I use coconut oil). I also like to boost up the flavor with a pinch of sea salt, high-quality vanilla extract and warming cinnamon, but all of those are optional.

You may have seen these healthy pancakes on Instagram or Pinterest and tried them yourself, only to find a scrambled mess in your pan. Today I’m going to walk you through a tutorial with some tips to get it right.

This recipe is:

Healthy
Clean
Simple
Gluten-Free
Dairy-Free
Grain-Free
Soy-Free
Nut-Free*
Paleo-Style
100% Real Food
Delicious

In the photo above the only thing on that plate is a banana, two eggs, a touch each of coconut oil, sea salt, vanilla and cinnamon, 1/2 cup blueberries and a drizzle of pure (aka real) maple syrup. All real food and all health coach approved.

Tips for getting the best 2-ingredient egg and banana pancakes:

Use a cast iron pan. I’ve tried a ceramic non-stick pan (not great), stainless steel (huge mess) and a seasoned cast iron pan (perfect). Cast iron is affordable, non-toxic, and all around great to keep around.
Use medium heat, and let the pan properly preheat. The pan needs to be the right temperature to get the best pancakes. See the detailed tutorial below.
Size matters. If they’re a lot bigger than your spatula you’ll have a hard time flipping them. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to create the perfect size that’s easy to flip.

Healthy 2-Ingredient Egg & Banana Pancake Recipe

Per serving, you’ll need:

1 medium to large ripe banana
2 large eggs
Optional and recommended: dash of sea salt (1/8 teaspoon), dash of pure vanilla extract (1/4 teaspoon), and/or dash of cinnamon (1/4 teaspoon)

Proportions can vary, but in general a medium to large banana and 2 large (not extra large or jumbo) eggs work. If you have a small banana and a jumbo egg, just use one of each. One banana and two eggs will give you about five or maybe 6 pancakes when you use a 1/4 cup measuring cup.

Step-By-Step Tutorial

Step 1:

Preheat your cast iron pan over medium heat for 10 minutes. A nice medium heat is important; if the pan is too hot they’ll burn but if it’s not hot enough they won’t set. If you have a newer/professional-style gas stovetop start with medium-low heat because those puppies have more power than a standard stovetop.

Step 2:

While the pan preheats, mix your ingredients into a smooth batter. I use a hand mixer because I find it easy, but you can use a blender, mixer or do it by hand by mashing the banana really well then mixing in your ingredients. Regardless of the method, mix until well combined, about 30–60 seconds, but don’t whip too much air into it (eggs will eventually whip up into foam if you let it go too long).

Step 3:

Add about 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil to the pan and spread it around with your spatula right before you add the batter. Don’t preheat the oil with the pan because it will get too hot. Grape seed oil or macadamia nut oil can work too, but olive oil doesn’t have a high enough flash point and will smoke too much. Coconut oil is healthy, can withstand high heat, and adds a very light yummy flavor to the pancakes so it’s my oil of choice here. *Per The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: “Coconut is not a botanical nut; it is classified as a fruit, even though the Food and Drug Administration recognizes coconut as a tree nut. While allergic reactions to coconut have been documented, most people who are allergic to tree nuts can safely eat coconut.” If you’re concerned with a nut allergy use grape seed oil.

Step 4:

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, add your batter to the pan right after the coconut oil is melted (that only takes about 10 seconds.) Important! Set your kitchen timer for 2 minutes. I cook them on the first side for two minutes to allow them to properly set. Check them at 1:45 minutes, but don’t try to flip them too early. Once you get the hang of it you’ll know when to flip.

A few of you have asked about my pan. I saved my pennies for a Le Creuset Cast-Iron Reversible Griddle/Grill Pan–it’s absolutely phenomenal and a lifetime piece. Some people want fancy shoes; I want fancy kitchen gear. I use the flat side with coconut oil recipes, and grooved side for other cooking. It’s a special gem and if you’re looking to invest I highly recommend it. I believe it’s offered for a good price in the Williams-Sonoma website and if you sign up for their mailing list you can get a 15% off code. All that said, a Lodge cast iron skillet pan is around 20 bucks and will also last a lifetime when properly cared for. You can find one at just about any home or hardware store.

Step 5:

Once they’re set (again, about 2 minutes give or take 10–15 seconds) use a spatula big enough to get under the entire pancake and flip them over. Cook another minute and a half (give or take 10–15 seconds) for the perfect 2-ingredient pancake.

Step 6:

Stack ’em up! If you want, drizzle the top with 1 tablespoon of raw honey or pure maple syrup and 1/2 cup berries.

Easy on the sugar to keep them healthy, and read the ingredients. Only 100% real maple syrup–most pancake syrup is corn syrup with maple favor added to it (gross!). Honey is also delicious on these pancakes, look for raw honey as it will be less processed and have a lower glycemic index than processed honey. The label will indicate raw.

If fresh berries aren’t in season I use frozen berries that I set out before I start cooking to let them defrost.

Next, eat up! Enjoy your delicious and healthy creation. If you fancy, they’ll keep in the refrigerator for a day, so make two batches to save time the next morning.

And finally,

Let your pan cool. Scrape it with a rubber spatula and wipe it out. NEVER use soap on cast iron. The more you cook in it the better it gets. That’s called “seasoning” the pan. If you ever need to wash it, use hot water and course salt, but never soap, and make sure you get it fully dry so it doesn’t rust. When I occasionally scrub mine with salt, after I dry it put it back on the stove (dry and empty) and heat it to high for 5 minutes just to make sure it’s extra dry. Leave it on the stove (heat off) for a few hours to cool back down before you store it. Cooking in cast iron is a little bit of a dance, but once you get it and the pan is seasoned it’s super quick and easy because it doesn’t need to be washed; just remove any visible food bits and store the pan in a cabinet.