Banana Pumpkin Oat Pancakes

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Banana Pumpkin Oat Pancakes

It's October and that means we can put pumpkin into everything and eat it with reckless abandon, right?!  I think so.  There's no doubt it's delicious, but the kicker is that it's super healthy too!

Pumpkin packs a trove of nutritional benefits, such as high levels of vitamins A & C, a hefty dose of fiber and potassium, as well as antioxidants like beta carotene.  Want to know more about the benefits of eating pumpkin? I encourage you to do your own search and read all about it.

We've been enjoying these Banana Oat Pumpkin Pancakes pretty often the last couple of weeks as I've been tweaking the recipe to get it just right.  They're naturally sweetened only with ripe banana and pumpkin puree.  They can easily be made gluten free by using gluten free oats and oat flour.

I've found that this recipe will yield between 12 to 16 three inch pancakes (I use a 1/8 cup measuring spoon to pour the batter). You may want to double the recipe, especially if you have a larger family.  Plus, these pancakes freeze well and can also be stored for a few days in the fridge.  I pop them into the toaster and they thaw beautifully.  As an added bonus, toasting them makes the edges a little crispy! We eat them for breakfast and as easy, on-the-go snacks.

Banana Pumpkin Oat Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 ripe, spotty banana

  • 1 c. pumpkin puree

  • 2 eggs

  • 3/4 c. oat flour

  • 1/4 c. rolled oats

  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt

  • 1 tsp. baking powder

  • 1/2 to 1 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

  • butter, ghee, or coconut oil - for frying

TOPPINGS IDEAS: plain yogurt or coconut whipped cream, pepitas, hemp seeds, raisins, ground flax, maple syrup, diced apple

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Mash banana in a medium bowl.  Add pumpkin and eggs and stir to combine.

  2.  Add oat flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon and stir again until just combined. Let batter rest while pan is preheating.

  3. Preheat large skillet or griddle over medium low (I find that halfway between medium low and medium worked perfectly on my stovetop).

  4. Once pan is hot, add butter (or fat of choice) and coat the bottom.

  5. Drop batter by the heaping 1/8 cupfuls (2 tablespoons) into hot skillet and fry until golden, 3-5 minutes.

  6. Once golden, flip each pancake and flatten slightly with the back of the spatula and fry until golden, another 3-4 minutes.

  7. Set finished pancakes on a cooling rack and repeat with remaining batter, adding more butter between batches.

  8. Load up with toppings and enjoy!

SWAPS:
this recipe works great with about any kind of flour. oats can be omitted too; just increase whatever flour you choose to use from 3/4 cup to 1 cup.