Want something a little extra sweet to start your day? These Bananas Foster Pancakes are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth, bringing your boozy brunch to a whole new level.
With a rum and brown-sugar-based sauce, the bananas foster topping caramelizes the bananas beautifully in a buttery, sweet, rum-based sauce to make those banana pancakes better than ever!
Adding fruit to your pancakes is a great way to add both moisture and fun flavor, just like in these Strawberry Banana Pancakes.
Plus, as a busy mom with a gourmet palate, I love this simple pancake recipe that is instantly elevated by a 5-ingredient topping. And what’s more, this dish is an incredible way to use up those overripe bananas!
About Bananas Foster
Bananas Foster was first created in 1951 at Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans, named after and created in honor of special guest Richard Foster.
It has since become a blanket term for pan-fried banana chunks coated in butter, brown sugar, and rum. This version adds cinnamon for extra flavor.
The bananas are sliced into small chunks and served over ice cream, pudding, other sweet treats, or in this case, banana pancakes!
Bananas Foster Pancakes Ingredients
Banana Pancakes
Here’s everything you’ll need for the pancake portion of your Bananas Foster Pancakes:
- Ripe banana. The riper the better for inside the pancake batter!
- Egg.
- All-purpose flour.
- Baking powder.
- Brown sugar.
- Milk. Because the size of the banana varies slightly, you may need to adjust the amount of milk you use. You shouldn’t need more than 3/4 cup but start by adding just 1/2 cup. Add more, stirring in between, until desired consistency is reached.
- Vanilla extract.
- Butter.
Bananas Foster Sauce
Here’s everything you’ll need for the topping portion of your Bananas Foster Pancakes:
- Butter.
- Brown sugar.
- Cinnamon.
- Rum. Dark rum is preferred.
- Banana. Ripe, but not too mushy is best.
Tested Substitutions
Make this dish dairy-free with plant-based milk and butter. Both dairy and non-dairy milk and butter work beautifully in this recipe.
You can use whole wheat flour in place of all-purpose flour in the banana pancakes, and add an extra 2 tablespoons of milk. You will get a thicker and denser pancake.
If you are running low on sugar, you can use half brown sugar and half granulated or sugar in the raw.
For a vegan version, use these Whole Wheat Pancakes for your base, and make the bananas foster topping with plant-based butter.
If you don’t have dark rum, you can absolutely use light rum or even banana liqueur. For non-alcoholic bananas foster, substitute apple juice.
Bananas Foster Pancakes Tips and Tricks
Don’t Chuck Your Overripe Bananas
The good news is, the riper the banana, the more flavorful! So no wasting overripe bananas here! As a banana ripens it gets sweeter and sweeter, which means it becomes even better to fry into pancakes or make a sweet topping with.
So grab that overripe banana and a couple of other essentials and you’re on your way to a delicious breakfast! Here’s what you’ll need:
If you have bananas that are not too ripe, that’s okay! Just cook your bananas foster topping for a little longer. Your not-so-ripe bananas will be a little firmer and can handle the heat a tad longer.
How to Make Banana Pancakes
For the banana pancakes, the first step is to mash your banana. With a ripe banana, you should easily be able to mash it up with a fork.
Just press the fork down on the banana into the bottom of your mixing bowl until it is completely mashed.
Use your fork or a whisk to whip the egg with the mashed banana to aerate it. This will give you fluffier pancakes. Continue to whisk until the batter is smooth and airy.
Next, add your flour and baking powder and stir again. Once you have a super thick, smooth batter, add your vanilla extract.
Since not all bananas are equal in size, the amount of milk you need may vary slightly. You will not need more than 3/4 cups.
Start by adding 1/2 cup and stir until your batter is smooth. Then, assess the consistency of your batter. You want a smooth, thin batter, but not a batter that is runny—It should slowly run off of a spoon.
If you find your batter is too thick, slowly add more milk, stirring as you go until the desired consistency is achieved.
How to Fry Perfect Pancakes
I like to transfer my banana pancake batter into my measuring cup for an easy pour. Really any cup with a spout will do!
Get your butter hot in a pan, and then slowly pour your pancake batter onto the pan. As the batter spreads, it will form a circle. Continue to pour until your pancake is about 3 inches in diameter.
Leave a little space in between each pancake so you have room to easily get your spatula underneath each one to flip it. Depending on the size of your pan, you can probably make anywhere from 2-4 pancakes at a time.
You’ll know your pancake is ready to flip because you’ll see little air bubbles form in the pancake. Flip and cook until the pancakes are golden brown on each side.
Keep Your Pancakes Warm
If you are not able to multi-task flipping your pancakes and whipping up your bananas foster topping, I totally feel you.
Just preheat your oven to 200 °F and add your banana pancakes to a large baking sheet. Keep them in your oven while you whip up your topping!
How to Make Bananas Foster Topping
To make your bananas foster pancake topping, start by melting the butter in the pan. Keep your heat source on medium heat and use a small pot or deep saucepan.
Once your butter is melted, add the sugar, cinnamon. Continue to heat and stir until the sugar dissolves in the liquid and the mixture starts to bubble and thicken.
While you’re waiting for your bananas foster sauce to bubble up, prep your bananas.
The easiest way is to first, slice them in half longways. Then, you can easily chop them up into smaller pieces, about 1-inch long.
Once your sauce starts to thicken and form a thick, dark syrup, add your bananas and toss them in the delicious ooey-gooey sauce. Then, lower the heat and add the rum.
To be safe, do not pour the rum directly from the bottle into the hot pan. This may be a fire hazard! Cook for a couple more minutes until you have a delicious syrup coating your banana chunks.
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Bananas Foster Pancakes
These epic pancakes will last for 4-5 days covered in the refrigerator. You can also opt to freeze them for a couple of months. Just ensure they are completely cool before sticking them in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag.
To reheat, thaw first if frozen. Then, reheat in the oven at 350°F for about 15-20 minutes until heated thoroughly. Just make sure to spread them out on a large baking sheet, so they are not stacked on top of each other.
Reheating them in a frying pan is also an option. You don’t need any butter, just plop them directly onto your hot pan over medium heat. Flip after about 3 minutes. Continue to flip every few minutes until heated through.
You can also opt to reheat them in the microwave, they’ll just be a little less airy. Spread them out on a large plate (don’t stack them on top of each other) and start with 45 seconds on high. If they aren’t hot all the way through, keep heating in twenty-second intervals until heated thoroughly.
Why You Should Make These Bananas Foster Pancakes
- It’s sweet! That sugary, rum-based banana-flavored sauce cannot be beaten.
- It’s indulgent! Step up your pancake game with this next-level sauce.
- It’s resourceful. Avoid chucking out overripe bananas with this recipe.
Delicious Bananas Foster Pancakes
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEIngredients
Banana Pancakes
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ cup milk (dairy or unsweetened plant-based*)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter for frying pancakes (dairy or plant-based)
Bananas Foster Topping
- 2 ripe bananas
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (dairy or plant-based)
- 3 tablespoons dark rum
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Banana Pancakes
- Peel your banana and at it to a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to mash the banana.1 ripe banana
- Add egg to the mashed banana and use the fork to whip together until combined.1 large egg
- Add your brown sugar, flour, and baking powder to the banana/egg mixture and stir until combined.¾ cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Add vanilla extract and ½ cup milk stir again until combined. Depending on the size and ripeness of your banana, the amount of milk you need will vary.Assess the consistency and continue to add milk, about 1 tablespoon at a time until the batter is smooth, but not too thin. It should slowly run off a spoon.½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¾ cup milk
- Transfer batter to a measuring cup or another cup with a handle that makes your pancake batter easy to pour.
- Add butter to a griddle or pan over medium heat and allow it to melt and sizzle. Pour pancake batter onto the hot pan and allow it to cook until you see bubbles forming in your pancake.Flip and cook for another couple of minutes until golden brown on both sides. Repeat until your batter is used up.2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter for frying pancakes
Bananas Foster Topping
- Slice your bananas lengthwise so you have two thinner pieces. Then, cut those thinner pieces into slices about 1-inch wide.2 ripe bananas
- Add butter to a medium-sized pot or saucepan over medium heat and allow it to melt.3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Once the butter has melted, add your brown sugar, cinnamon, and rum. Simmer for a couple of minutes until your mixture starts to bubble.¼ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 3 tablespoons dark rum
- Once the mixture is bubbling, add sliced bananas and toss to coat. Simmer for about two minutes until the syrup thickens.
- Serve hot over warm banana pancakes. Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- You may not need all ¾ cup of milk depending on the size and ripeness of your banana. Start with just ½ cup of milk and slowly add until you reach the desired consistency for the batter.
- Keep your banana pancakes warm in the oven while you are whipping up your topping by placing on a baking sheet and sticking them in the oven preheated to 200°F.
- Don’t overcook your bananas in the bananas foster topping! You want to remove them from heat before they get mushy.
2 thoughts on “Delicious Bananas Foster Pancakes”
I am IN love with this banana foster recipe. It is so absolutely delicious, and the flavors are perfectly harmonized. The bananas do not get too mushy, but just mushy enough. The sauce itself is liquid gold that I want to add onto ice cream, cocktails, etc. Adding this into my monthly “breakfast for dinner” night.
I am so glad you enjoyed, Chelsea. I want to pour this sauce all over everything, too!!