Banana Coconut Milk Pancakes (Dairy Free)

Serve a stack of these dairy free Banana Coconut Milk Pancakes For Two to start your morning off a little sweeter. Small batch recipe makes 6 pancakes.

Who loves brunch?

If you said yes, you’re in luck! Today I’m posting Banana Coconut Milk Pancakes For Two, a stack of sweet banana pancakes with coconut milk, making them dairy free.

To be honest, the line between breakfast and brunch is blurred for me.

I know brunch is more savory and later in the morning, but the truth is what I eat for breakfast is also what I eat for brunch. That usually involves being a little sweet.

These dairy free banana pancakes are more on the sweeter side with the bananas and syrup.

I got the idea to substitute coconut milk for dairy milk when a Twitter follower said something to me about it.

I absolutely love coconut milk, so I gave it a go. Sometimes I find myself eating vegan ice cream because it’s made with coconut milk.

These pancakes are not vegan due to the egg, but they’re still delicious. Nobody will notice there isn’t any dairy.

How To Measure Canned Coconut Milk

If you’ve never worked with canned coconut milk before, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

First you want to buy canned coconut milk, usually in the Asian ingredient aisle. I am not referring to thin coconut milk you find near the dairy aisle. You want canned because it’ll have more delicious cream in it.

Once you find the canned coconut milk, make sure the label actually says coconut milk. Not coconut water or cream of coconut.

When you open a can, it will appear solid. That’s because the solid and liquid separated. If you shake the can, you can hear the liquid in there.

To measure canned coconut milk: Shake the can well then open and add to a bowl. Stir the solid and liquid together until smooth and pourable.

Next measure 1/2 cup then save the rest for future use. Check out my recipes using coconut milk for ideas.

The coconut flavor is subtle, so it’s not in-your-face coconut pancakes; I don’t want to mislead anyone if you’re expecting a huge burst of coconut. The banana flavor will be more dominant.

How To Make Coconut Banana Pancakes From Scratch

Like everything else on this blog, these small batch pancakes for two are made from scratch. No baking mixes or Bisquick needed.

Just your basic flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and melted butter.

To make the pancake batter, first you whisk together the dry ingredients. Then you whisk in the wet ingredients. Finally you stir in the mashed banana.

Before cooking, you want to let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes. This allows the gluten to relax so the pancakes don’t toughen up while cooking.

The batter will also thicken a little more because the flour absorbs the liquid. If you let it rest longer and the batter is too thick, whisk in a little more milk to loosen it.

Next, heat your skillet. Ideally you want a non-stick pan. I let mine heat up while dry (aka no butter or oil). To make sure it’s hot enough, I throw in a few drops of water. If they sizzle and evaporate quickly, the pan is ready.

However, if your pan isn’t non-stick or you want a little more butter flavor, you can melt about 1/4 tablespoon of butter first. You can then use the remaining tablespoon for serving.

Once your skillet is hot, pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Your pancake is ready to flip when the edges are set and bubbles form in the middle. The second side won’t need as much cooking time since it’s already halfway cooked.

The heat will fluctuate while cooking. If your pancakes are getting too brown, turn the heat down. If your pancakes are taking too long to cook, turn the heat up.

Once ready, serve them with lots of butter and syrup.

How To Freeze Pancakes

If you’re making small batch pancakes for one, pancakes do freeze well! Let the extras cool completely then store in a single layer in a freezer locked bag.

How To Rewarm Pancakes

Even though you’re only making 6 pancakes, they get cold quickly if you don’t serve them straight from the skillet.

If you’re making all six and waiting until the end to eat, preheat your oven to 200F. Once you’re done cooking, stick the pancakes in the oven for about 5 minutes or until warm.

Don’t feel like turning your oven on (or you forgot)? You can reheat them in the microwave in 15 second increments.

Pancake Tips And Tricks

Not happy with your pancakes? Here are some troubleshooting tips to keep in mind:

If your pancakes are thin and didn’t rise: make sure your skillet is hot before adding the batter; you need heat to react to the baking powder. If the pan is too cold, there is no heat. If there is no heat, the baking powder won’t rise properly.

If your pancakes are too doughy and/or raw in the middle: they are too thick. Make sure they aren’t more than 1/4 inch thick in the skillet.

If your pancakes aren’t fluffy: you overmixed your batter. The more you stir your flour, the more the gluten develops. And overdeveloped gluten will result in chewy pancakes rather than fluffy. It’s ok if your batter is a little lumpy, as long as there are no dry spots of flour left.

More Pancake Recipes

• Chocolate Chip Pancakes For Two – A classic pancake recipe using dairy milk and chocolate chips
• Apple Pancakes – A more savory way to eat pancakes for breakfast.
• Poffertjes from Feast and West – these are mini Dutch pancakes. Cut the recipe in half for two people to share.

Source: Adapted from The Kitchn