These Bananas Foster Pancakes are tender, fluffy and absolutely addictive! These delicious pancakes are topped with sweet caramelized bananas and pecans in a warm, rich and buttery maple syrup sauce. These pancakes with bananas foster sauce are sure to become one of your favorite breakfast recipes. And the best part? They take under 30 minutes to make!
Bananas Foster Pancakes
A stack of steaming hot, fluffy buttermilk pancakes with butter and maple syrup are such a classic breakfast and brunch staple. Adding some ripe bananas to the pancake batter will switch things up a bit, but if you want to turn a simple breakfast into an extraordinary and decadent meal, this bananas foster pancakes recipe is definitely the way to go!
The simple foster topping combines tender, caramelized banana slices with crunchy pecans in a rich and buttery brown sugar, rum and maple sauce.
On special occasions, serve these fluffy pancakes and amazing banana topping with a big scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream (it’s like having a delicious dessert for breakfast!)
Why You’ll Love This Foster Pancakes Recipe
- Quick recipe: This easy recipe is made in less that 30 minutes!
- Customizable: Switch things up as needed. If you are worried about the alcohol content, use rum extract instead of dark rum. Make dairy free pancakes by using oat milk or almond milk and vegan butter.
- Impressive: Start your day with a delicious breakfast and a wow factor! These heart-filling, soul-warming homemade pancakes are sure to impress your family and friends.
- Dessert for breakfast: If you have a sweet tooth, satisfy your cravings with a stack of pancakes with brown sugar and maple rum caramelized bananas topped with vanilla ice cream!
What’s Bananas Foster?
Traditional Bananas Foster is a dessert created by the chef at Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans in 1951. This classic New Orleans dessert is made with ripe bananas in a sweet and buttery rum sauce. When served, the rum sauce is ignited and flambé table side in front of the mesmerized diners. The iconic dessert is then served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Now that is what I call dinner and a show!
We love Bananas Foster so much that we have a great recipe for Bananas Foster French Toast. The recipe has so many great reviews from readers that love the recipe as much as we do!
Bananas Foster Pancakes Ingredients and Substitutions
This section reviews the ingredients you need to make these delicious fluffy pancakes. For an exact list of ingredients and quantities, check the recipe card below.
- Flour: You’ll need all-purpose flour for these bananas foster pancakes.
- Baking Powder: Used as a leavening agent.
- Sugar: This recipe uses 2 types of sugar. Granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Milk: You can use whole milk, 2% milk, oat milk or almond milk.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter but salted butter can be used if that’s what you have at home.
- Eggs: I use large eggs at room temperature.
- Rum: For this pancake recipe I’m using dark rum, but you can also use white rum. Banana liqueur can also be used. If preferred, rum extract can be used to make this bananas foster recipe.
- Maple Syrup: Use good quality pure maple syrup.
- Flavorings: Vanilla extract and salt.
- Bananas: For the pancake batter, ripe bananas work very well. For the foster topping, it’s best to use ripe but firm bananas as they will keep their shape and not turn into mush.
How To Make These Homemade Pancakes?
In this section we share step by step photos and an overview of how to make this easy recipe. For detailed instructions, temperatures and timing, check the recipe card below.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mash the banana with a fork until almost smooth. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, and melted butter. Whisk until combined.
- Make the Pancake Batter: Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture. With a spatula, gently mix the ingredients until combined. The batter should be thick and a bit lumpy. For fluffier pancakes, do not overmix the batter.
- Make the Bananas Foster: Heat the butter in a large pan. Whisk in the brown sugar and maple syrup and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and has thickened slightly. Add the pecans and mix to combine. Add the banana slices and cook for about a minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the rum. Return the pan to heat and cook for about 3-5 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
- Cook the Pancakes: Heat an electric griddle or a large skillet over medium heat. Coat with a small amount of butter. Drop some batter onto the griddle. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until bubbles starts to form on the surface. Flip and cook for a couple minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve: To serve, spoon the banana topping over the pancakes.
What is the Difference Between Bananas Foster and Bananas Flambé?
The iconic New Orleans dessert Bananas Foster is sometimes called bananas flambé because the cooking method known as “flambé” is used in the preparation of the dish. In this dessert, tender bananas are cooked in a buttery sweet rum sauce which is ignited or flambeed at tableside to the delight and surprise of the diners.
Why Are My Banana Pancakes Mushy?
Perfect banana pancakes are crispy outside and fluffy inside. If your pancakes are mushy, it could be because you cooked the pancakes at very high heat, This could result in golden brown pancakes that are still not set inside. Using the wrong amounts of ingredients can also cause mushy pancakes.
How Do I Know When To Flip My Pancakes?
Your pancakes are ready to flip when large bubbles start to form on the surface and the edges are dry and start to get golden.
Do These Pancake Recipe Have Alcohol?
The banana topping on this banana fosters pancake recipe contains rum but don’t worry, the alcohol in the foster sauce evaporates as it cooks. If preferred, skip the rum and use rum extract instead.
What Can I Use Instead of Rum?
You can totally make these pancakes without alcohol! Instead of rum, use 1 teaspoon of rum extract.
Making Ahead, Storage, Freezing and Reheating
- Make Ahead: The foster sauce can be made ahead of time without adding the banana slices. Reheat low and slow so the sugar doesn’t over-caramelize. The pancake batter can be mixed and stored in the fridge, covered, overnight.
- Storage: Store leftover pancakes, separately from the foster topping, in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you have leftover banana foster sauce, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: Pancakes freeze well for up to 2 months. I don’t recommend freezing the sauce.
- Reheating: My favorite method for reheating pancakes is the microwave. Heat in 20 to 30-second intervals until heated through. You can also reheat pancakes in the oven at 325°F.
Bananas Foster Pancakes Tips For Success
- You can use over-ripe bananas to make the pancakes.
- For the banana foster topping, the bananas should be ripe but firm.
- Don’t overmix the pancake batter to prevent dense pancakes.
- Grease the skillet or griddle with cooking spray or butter between cooking each batch of pancakes.
- Although the alcohol in rum burns off while the banana foster sauce cooks, you can use rum extract if preferred.
- To keep the pancakes warm while cooking them, preheat the oven to 200°F. Transfer the pancakes from the skillet or griddle to a baking sheet and keep the pancakes warm in the oven until ready to serve.
- Banana Foster Pancakes can be served a la mode with vanilla ice-cream or with whipped cream, if preferred.
If You Love Pancakes, Take A Look At These Other Delicious Pancake Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes
- Corn Pancakes
- Caramel Apple Pancakes
- Blueberry Pancakes
- Fluffy Japanese Pancake
- Dutch Baby Pancake
Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma The Kid's Cookbook, by Abigail Johnson Dodge.
Bananas Foster Pancakes
Ingredients
For the Pancakes
- 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon sea or Kosher salt
- 1 small ripe banana peeled
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk or 2%, oat or almond milk
- 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter melted
For the Banana Topping
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup dark rum or 1 teaspoon rum extract
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 2 ripe but firm bananas, peeled and sliced *optional
Instructions
To Make Pancakes
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and kosher salt.
- In a separate bowl, mash the banana with a fork until almost smooth.
- Whisk in the eggs, milk and vanilla, and add the melted butter. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture.
- With a spatula, gently mix the ingredients until combined. Do not overmix. The batter should be thick and a bit lumpy.
- In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Ladle about ¼ cup of batter for each pancake.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbles appear on the top and the bottom is nicely golden brown.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for an extra minute or until browned.
- Wipe out the pan with paper towels, add more butter and continue cooking the pancakes until all the batter is used.
To Make the Banana Topping
- Heat the butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- Whisk in the brown sugar and maple syrup and cook for about 5 minutes or until all the sugar has melted and thickened slightly.
- Add the pecans (if using) and mix to combine.
- Add the banana slices and cook for about a minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the rum or rum extract.
- Return the pan to the heat and cook for about 3-4 minutes. This will burn off the alcohol in the rum leaving you with just the flavor.
- To serve, spoon the banana topping over a pancake serving.
Recipe Notes
- You can use over-ripe bananas to make the pancakes.
- For the banana foster topping, the bananas should be ripe but firm.
- Although the alcohol in rum burns off while the banana foster sauce cooks, you can use rum extract if preferred.
- Grease the skillet or griddle with cooking spray or butter between cooking each batch of pancakes.
- To keep the pancakes warm while cooking them, preheat the oven to 200°F. Transfer the pancakes from the skillet or griddle to a baking sheet and keep the pancakes warm in the oven until ready to serve.
- Whole milk, 2% milk, oat milk or almond milk can be used to make this homemade pancake recipe.
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