The Best Caramel Banana Pancakes

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These light and fluffy pancakes are loaded with banana slices that get caramelized as they cook. And caramel sauce in place of syrup creates the most delicious flavor combo in this vegan caramel banana pancakes!

What's your favorite meal of the day? Mine is breakfast. Or dessert. It's close tie, to be honest. But here's the thing - the line between breakfast and dessert is sometimes blurred. I mean, pancakes could totally be a dessert. Especially this caramel banana pancake recipe. Basically, this is an excuse to eat dessert for breakfast. 🙂

And while maple syrup is a tried-and-true pancake partner, my vegan caramel sauce is pancake's new BFF. It's a lot thicker than maple syrup. And bananas with caramel is simply a match made in heaven. Once you try these caramelized banana pancakes, you'll know what I mean.

Pancakes are popular and simple, but they can also be really hard to execute perfectly. I've gone through dozens of pancake batches that burned, didn't cook through, or turned out tough, soggy, or just plain gross.

Now I have all the tips to help you make the perfect pancakes. In fact, I've spent hundreds of hours developing foolproof recipes for beginner home cooks, and I'm so excited to share this one with you!

Why You Should Make This Recipe

• The batter comes together in just a few minutes.
• It's vegan! Both the pancakes and the caramel sauce are dairy free and vegan.
• You can make these pancakes gluten free by using a gluten free flour blend.
• These pancakes freeze well, so you can make a bunch at once, then reheat them in the toaster for a ready-made breakfast.

Ingredients

Banana Pancakes

• All-purpose flour - provides the structure for the fluffy pancakes
• Brown sugar - adds sweetness and an extra caramel flavor
• Baking powder - helps the pancakes rise as they cook to become fluffy and airy
• Ground cinnamon - optional, to add a warm spiced flavor
• Salt - brings out the flavors of the other ingredients
• Non dairy milk - I usually use oat milk, but any type of non dairy milk works in this recipe
• Vegetable oil - keeps the pancakes soft and moist
• Vanilla extract - brings out the flavors of the other ingredients
• Vegan butter or cooking spray - greases your griddle or pan so the pancakes don't stick to it
• Bananas - sliced ripe bananas are essential to banana pancakes!

Vegan Caramel Sauce

• Vegan butter - any type of vegan butter works well in this recipe; you can use regular butter if you aren't strictly vegan
• Brown sugar - adds sweetness and a rich, caramelized flavor
• Coconut milk - use full-fat coconut milk; light coconut milk won't make the caramel sauce thick enough
• Vanilla extract - brings out the flavors of the other ingredients
• Salt - balances the sweetness

How to Make the Best Banana Pancakes

Below are the general steps to make this recipe. For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient measurements, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Prepare the Vegan Caramel Sauce

1. Melt the butter: Melt the vegan butter on medium-high heat in a sauce pan.
2. Add the sugar: Stir in the brown sugar until it is smooth.
3. Add the coconut milk: Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the coconut milk until it is smooth.
4. Add the salt and vanilla: Remove the sauce pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
5. Let thicken: Let the caramel sauce cool and thicken.

Make the Pancakes

1. Mix the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
2. Add the wet ingredients: Add the milk, vegetable oil and vanilla and stir just until there's no visible dry flour remaining.
3. Rest the batter: Allow the batter to rest in the mixing bowl for at least 10 minutes, while you prepare the griddle or pan.
4. Prepare the griddle or pan: Heat a griddle to 375°F or heat a pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the griddle or 1½ teaspoons to your pan. Or spray cooking spray to grease it.
5. Pour the batter: Using a ⅓ measuring cup, pour your batter onto the hot greased griddle or pan.
6. Add the banana slices: Place a few banana slices towards the center of each pancake and gently press them in. Allow it to cook on the first side for 2-3 minutes, until you see little popped bubbles along the edges of the pancakes.
7. Flip the pancakes: Flip them over with a spatula and cook the second side for another 2-3 minutes, until golden.
8. Serve: Top with more banana slices and a generous drizzle of the caramel sauce.

Recipe Tips

• Stop mixing the pancake batter once you no longer see dry flour pockets. It's easy to overmix pancake batter, which results in dense, chewy pancakes.
• Don't skip resting your pancake batter. This is what allows the air bubbles to form and create fluffy pancakes.
• It's best to use ripe bananas, not overripe/mushy bananas, as those might stick to your pan.
• Grease your pan or griddle well, to prevent your banana pancakes from sticking.
• Don't press down on your pancakes after you flip them. This will squish the air out and cause them to lose their fluffy texture.

Recipe Variations

• Swap out the banana slices for blueberries, chocolate chips, or chopped apples.
• Add one half teaspoon more salt to the caramel to make salted caramel sauce.
• If you don't want to make the caramel, you can serve these pancakes with maple syrup or pancake syrup instead.
• Top your pancakes with chopped nuts like pecans.

Should You Let Pancake Batter Rest?

Allowing your pancake batter to rest gives the liquid in the batter time to soften the flour and release some of the starches to aid the pancakes in rising while they cook.

Resting your pancake batter also gives the baking powder time to evenly distribute amidst the batter, for level rising of your pancakes.

I personally like to rest my pancake batter for at least 10 minutes, to create fluffier pancakes.

What to Serve with Pancakes

• Coffee, juice, or chai
• Roasted root vegetables
• Hashbrowns
• Homemade vegan butter
• Scrambled eggs
• Granola
• Sausage or vegan sausage

Frequently Asked Questions

Storing

Fridge: Refrigerate pancakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Wrap pancakes individually in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheat: I prefer to reheat pancakes either from the fridge or straight from the freezer in the toaster. This helps the outsides get a little crispy again and warms them all the way through.

Reheating pancakes in the microwave could cause them to be floppy and mushy.

More Delicious Breakfast Recipes

• Lemon Lavender Scones
• Caramel Miso Scones
• Banana Chocolate Smoothie Bowl
• Green Avocado Smoothie Bowl
• Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowl
• Vegetable Quiche
• Blueberry Almond Butter Oatmeal
• Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
• Vegan Baked Oatmeal with Caramel
• Apple and Hazelnut Baked Oatmeal
• Lucky Charms Pop Tarts