Spiced Banana Almond Meal Pancakes

Prior to our SCD diet, breakfast was quite a boring event in our home. I would laziliy get stuck in a rut usually consisting of the same bowl of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest every morning, occasionnaly mixing things up with some kefir and fruit. But come Saturday morning I would whip up a high stack of pancakes to tie us over as we casually did our honey do's, read books, or just plain veg'ed. 

Well, cutting grains, sugar, starch, and dairy from our diet meant no more Saturday morning pancakes. My one big "hoorah" breakfast was on the no-no list, and I struggled with finding hearty alternatives. Sure, I made a myriad of fritattas and eggy dishes, but when my eyes fluttered open on those idle Saturday mornings I had an insatiable hankering for fluffy pancakes. I scoured the internet searching for alternatives and found several recipes for almond flour pancakes. So with much trial and error I have found a combination to satisfy our cravings.

The filling, topping and spice combinations are endless so feel free to get creative with this dish. I know many of you out there are gluten and/or grain free so I encourage you to put aside the eggs, forget that boring greek yogurt, and move on from that banana with peanut butter......reclaim your Saturday morning breakfast and whip up some pancakes the whole family can enjoy!

Spiced Banana Almond Meal Pancakes

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 TBSP cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 overripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• ghee for greasing the pan (or coconut oil or butter)
• honey and berries for topping

In a bowl mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients (including bananas).Pour wet and dry ingredients into a blender and blend for about 30 seconds. Heat a non-stick griddle pan or skillet and grease with ghee, coconut oil, or butter. Pour batter (if a little thick use a spoon to help flatten out the batter in the pan) into 4-inch rounds. Cook and flip until each side is done. 

Remove from pan and spread with ghee, butter or coconut oil. Drizzle with honey. Top with berries and enjoy your Saturday!

Makes about 12 4-inch pancakes

Comments

[Erica]

Hi Coco,

What a beautiful blog you have! Your design work is also stunning. I'm so glad to have found you! I have been considering (and implementing some) diet changes for a different reason: rebuilding teeth. Interestingly enough this also calls for cutting out or at least significantly reducing grains. It also requires that milk be raw (hard to get in some places). Isn't it funny how so many of us are reviewing our diets and realizing how much it affects our health? My brother (who is autistic) is on a diet much like yours - gluten-free and cassein-free - and it has made incredible changes and improvements to his life. I love finding blogs like yours that I can pass along to him so he can have some marvelously good meals.

I too dream of a sustainable farm. And I too love the Lord! So thanks for being a place to come to online to share in so many of the same delightful things.

[raspberry essence]

i love pancakes and raspberries, it would be the perfect breakfast

[lesley@homemadegrits]

these look amazing! i have yet to try cooking with almond flour, but it's on my list of things to try. we use the pamela's baking mix for pancakes. they are divine when you're pinched for time...

[Victoria]

yes!! I love breakfast recipes. Have you tried the pancake recipe from Babycakes? It's all gluten free and I'm sure you could omit the agave if you avoid that too.

[Alissa (Just Eat Love)]

Yum I love pancakes, especially ones with almond flour! So glad I came across your blog on tastespotting :)I look forward to following your blog and catching up on previous posts!

@Victoria - I haven't tried the pancakes from Babycakes latest book but I gave the donuts a go, you can check them out - http://justeatlove.com/2011/07/03/buckwheat-donuts-and-babycakes-review/

[Sarah]

I happen to have a few overripe bananas at the moment, so I will definitely be making these asap! I love when cravings are squashed on your terms, with a recipe that makes you feel wonderful inside and out. This happens to me often, especially with cupcakes. I go on an endless baking spree until I get them right, in both health and taste :-)

[Heidi]

These look delicious! I'm going to share this with my mom because she will love these!

[Marla]

Love the look of these pancakes. I am a huge fan of almond flour in my baking. I do better with fat & protein then starch/carb stuff. Love the spice & banana in these too :)

[Lindsey Johnson//Cafe Johnsonia]

I wish I'd seen this before I made my lame breakfast this morning. But there's always tomorrow!

[Sue]

I am gf, and now sf. I have almond flour, and have been debating what to do with it. Thanks for such a great solution!

[Valeria]

I have so many bananas in my freezer to use for muffins, bread and pancakes. This recipe sounds really ideal, I love almond meal in sweet preparations, so healthy and flavorful! Thanks for sharing this nice recipe!

[Maria @ Scandi Foodie]

They look absolutely gorgeous Caitlin, I'd love a big stack of these at any time of the day :-)

[Angel7]

Those pancakes look amazing, and raspberries and blueberries our mine and my family's favorite fruit!

[pickyin @ LifeIsGreat]

Love the dark color on these pancakes, so inviting. Bookmarked!

[renee@sweetsugarbean]

I'm so happy I stumbled across your site via Saveur. Simply gorgeous. And these pancakes look so delicious! I'm not GF, but always open to fresh alternatives to good ol' flour. (I love my cast iron skillet too!)

[Madeline]

YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! I've been cutting out wheat & processed sugar lately, and dairy, and finding it oh-so-hard when I crave a hearty breakfast. Thank you for this post!

[dallas]

I love your blog- linking you to daily reads on mine right now
dallas
http://dillydallas.blogspot.com

[jennifer]

ooo, yum! can't wait to try this.

[jessica]

After thoroughly enjoying the pictures and cleaning up my saliva from the keyboard, I started looking for the 'like' button. Realizing that this is NOT facebook...I would like to comment and say 'LIKE'!!!!

[Jen]

The almond, spice, and berry combination seem deeply satisfying -- I'm definitely going to try this recipe! Now I just need to find a honey for the honey do's. :)

[Becca]

Um, these are absolutely delicious! End of story. :)

[Ragnhild]

These looks amazing! And your photos are beautiful as always! I love to use almond flour, and Ill try these out if I can figure out a way to make them stick without the eggs!
Wish you a wonderful weekend :)

[Sini]

These pancakes look delicious! You wouldn't guess they are gluten, dairy AND egg free. Have to try it although as a dessert and not as breakfast - I don't really like to start the day with some sweet (ok, the marmelade is sweet too...and nutella also, dammit).

[Kamille@RedeemingtheTable]

Coco--these were delightful. They tasted similar to banana bread and I loved the wonderful spices (such a fan of nutmeg). My oldest (4 1/2 yrs) looked at me this morning and said, "Mama, maybe you could make some pancakes again for breakfast?!" She also suggested that tomorrow we could enjoy some, since I was all out of bananas. I tried another pancake recipe using almond flour from another blog & they were pretty horrible. I was skeptical of yours, but I thought, "Coco wouldn't post dry, dense pancakes--I trust her culinary skills." Good thing!

[Snippets of Thyme]

I recently made an almond flour cake and topped it with fresh fruit. The recipe came from a gluten free blog. I am not gluten intolerant but I did like the look of the cake so I made it. I am in love with almond flour now. I just have to look at your recipe to know that these pancakes taste delicious. Especially, with the added moistness of those bananas! Beautiful photos and a great recipe. Thanks.

[Kristin]

Stunning pictures, amazing looking recipe! I am making these this week for sure. I am so thankful I found your blog, as I am on a grain-free diet now myself! xo

[Mónica Pinto]

Feels so cozy in here! and those pancakes...it´s Sunday morning you see, pancake day and i just got to have some of these. They look really tasty and beautiful.Love your blog!xo

[ilene]

found you via Ashley of City Lights! what a beautiful blog you have here - and you did an amazing job on her header design. loving your photos, too!!

[Coco]

Thanks ladies!

Becca and Kamille, so glad you enjoyed them!!

[betty]

hello and WOW i love your blog, fantastic photography and delicious recipes, this one especially looks like something i can make one weekend thank you for sharing :O)

[Lisa Grey]

These look delicious. I've been wanting to try almond meal pancakes. I'll bet these would be yummy with hazelnut flour as well.

[Jamie]

Tried theses delicious pancakes this morning, and they were a huge hit with our family! Thank you for posting the recipe!

[Paulissa]

So this recipe would be a Stage 1 and beyond recipe?

[Coco]

Paulissa, this recipe is actually stage 3. Bananas are allowed in stage 1 but nut flours arent allowed until stage 3.

[Erin]

These look so amazing. Almost too pretty to eat!!

[reim]

i just made these, and they were more amazing than i imagined! satisfying, flavorful, and perfectly sweet! it was my first time making almond flour, which has been on my to-try list for a long time, and i think will be on my to-do list for a long time more...i didn't have fresh berries for the topping, so i heated banana slices in a bit of coconut oil with cinnamon, which tasted wonderful with the raw honey i drizzled on the pancakes...mine weren't as pretty as yours, but they tasted so good. thank you for such a beautiful blog and a new favorite recipe...i'm about your age, married almost one year, and my husband and i recently switched to a gluten-, sugar-, starch- and cow's milk-free way of eating, and we've never felt better or had more fun with food. i definitely identify with your story, and the transition, except that my husband discovered an ulcer, which is much less serious than a decade of crohn's disease. it's also somewhat unrelated to our diet change, though also a motivation...all my blessings to you from sudan...

[Bumble Bee @ Gluten Free Bumble Bee]

Thank you for posting this - my family loves these pancakes and I am so happy to be able to cook them something that is both delicious and healthful.

I love how elegant and beautiful your website is. Great job! It is so inspiring.

I've just written a blog post about these pancakes - if you're interested check it out here: http://glutenfreebumblebee.blogspot.com/2012/01/spiced-banana-almond-meal-pancakes.html

[Lindsay]

I absolutely LOVE these pancakes! I just started the Paleo lifestyle (I think pretty close to the SCD) a month ago and I feel amazing. I used to be the person who would have simple carbs for every single meal and never thought about what I put into my body because I take care of my body physically and work out all the time. Crohns disease runs in my family and I luckily haven't been diagnosed with it, but 1/2 of my family has. I think taking action now and taking care of what I feed my body will help in the long term. Thank you for all of these yummy recipes!

[Brooke]

Hi, Coco-
I just discovered your blog today. I've had IBD (Ulcerative colitis) for almost 10 yrs now and it's so good to find additional recipes based on the SCD Diet! Thanks so much! Question for you, do you think this pancake batter could be made the night before?

[siew wei]

hey may i know is it possible for me substitute almond flour with organic wholemeal wheat flour?