Plantain Pancakes
African plantain pancakes are rich, tender, and deliciously soft. Similar to crepes, but with a sweeter plantain taste. Coconut and chocolate sauce make them even better for a breakfast or dessert treat.
Have you tried that 2-ingredient banana recipe? When I heard about the trend, I had to jump on board and do a taste test. Sad to say, it’s not my thing.
Decided to do the same with plantains since they contain more starch. I loved the full plantain flavor and the soft interior. I’m just not a fan of flourless, sugar-free, and dairy-free pancakes, but if your dietary requirements call for them, enjoy!
Making Crepes With Plantains
This is my variation of plantain pancakes made with flour, eggs, milk, overripe plantains, butter, and nutmeg. Simply delicious and satisfying, and good enough to make me want to get extra plantains when I’m at the grocery store.
The ingredients come together quickly in a blender. Let it rest, and you are on your way to a tasty breakfast. Top with coconut sauce for an easy dessert, and you’ll be glad you did.
How to Make Plantain Pancakes
- Puree the peeled and chopped plantains in a blender. (Photos 1-2)
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Let the batter rest for about 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator. (Photos 3-5)
- Heat a skillet or a non-stick frying pan lightly coated with oil or ghee, and pour in about a ½ cup of batter, depending on the size of your fry pan or skillet.
- Tilt the pan so the batter spreads across the bottom. Cook each pancake for about a minute on each side until lightly browned. (Photos 6-7)
- Serve hot with chocolate sauce, coconut sauce, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or maple syrup. Enjoy!!! (Photo 8)
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Please don’t skip the 30-minute resting part because it allows flavor to develop and the flour to completely hydrate.
- Swirling the pan in a circular motion will spread the batter out more evenly.
- Try to use the same amount of batter for each pancake and keep the finished ones warm while you cook the rest.
- For an easy coconut sauce: simmer 1 cup of coconut milk, ½ cup of brown sugar, and 2 ounces of butter until everything melts and starts bubbling (2-5 minutes).
How to Use Plantain Crepes
Crepe cake with a plantain flair is incredible, but you can also fill these pancakes with fruit dip or caramel sauce. And crepe suzettes with banana flavor are amazing.
More Sweet African Delights to Enjoy
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”kb6LfD2m” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 20:37:44 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Plantain Pancake” description=”Plantain Pancakes- Rich, tender, & delicious Soft, Tender, Rich Plantain Pancakes, like pancakes but with a sweet plantain taste. Good for Breakfast or make it for dessert with coconut sauce.”]
This blog post was originally published in July 2016 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Plantain Pancake
Ingredients
- 2 medium overripe plantains (1 cup puree)
- 1½ cups (180g) flour
- ⅔ cup (158ml) milk
- ¾ cup (177ml) water (add more if the batter is too thick)
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar (adjust to taste)
- 5 eggs
- ⅓ cup (75g) melted butter
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- ½-1 teaspoon (1-3g) nutmeg
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Peel and cut up the plantains. Puree them in a blender or mash them with a potato masher.
- Add the flour, milk, water, sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, and nutmeg, and pulse several times until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Scrape the sides if needed and do one last pulse.
- Let the batter rest for about 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator. Adjust the consistency of the batter if needed. You want it to be pourable, but not too thin.
- Heat a skillet or a non-stick frying pan, and lightly coat it with vegetable oil, cooking spray, or clarified butter.
- Pour in about a ½ cup of batter, depending on the size of your fry pan or skillet. Tilt the pan so the batter spreads across the bottom. Cook the pancake for about a minute on each side, or until the bottom is light brown.
- Serve hot with coconut sauce, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or maple syrup.
Tips & Notes:
- If using a potato masher and a whisk instead of the blender, have your ingredients at room temperature for easier mixing.
- Replace the plantains with bananas if that’s what you have.
- You can use these pancakes the same way you’d use crepes.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Thanks so much. I am loving these pancakes. I am making them for the second time now. But this time I am following the exact recipe.
I am going to give this a go, but make it with vegan substitute ingredients. I am looking forward to trying this!
Can wait to hear how it works out for you. Thanks
Looking so good!can I use almond milk.
Thank you. Yes, you can.
Hello Imma, very good job you are doing. I Just tried your plaintain pancake recipe. It sure taste nice but i fan into trouble while making it. I discovered that each time i try to flip over the undone side, the batter spills all’ over the pan. Thus leaving me with a moist and mashed pancake. The look also was not fine. I couldnt even get a flat surface or a nice shape. Please Can you let me know what i can do next time to avoid this. Thanks
What you are describing can happen any time you try to cook any type of pancake. Here are some strategies to try:
Make sure the pan is not too hot. Otherwise, the bottom will be very brown before the pancake is ready to flip.
Make smaller pancakes, ones that fit on your thin pancake flipper. Don’t try to cook too many at once.
WAIT UNTIL BUBBLES APPEAR before trying to flip. This means that air is cooking the inside. The edges should be solid and the middle not too gooey.
Once you gently loosen the edges (with the thinnest egg turner you have), slip the egg turner under the pancake WITH ONE QUICK PUSH, then quickly flip the pancake. If the spot where it was looks brown, move it to a new one.
Store the cooked cakes between paper layers as they come off the griddle, so that they won’t stick together. Use paper towels to absorb extra grease at first, then waxed paper for storage in the refrigerator, assuming you have any left!
So yummy! The recipe was a bit confusing as I wasnt sure what “add all of the ingredients “included. I almost left out the butter!
The texture I would like to be a bit drier so I can get it off the pan easier. Any suggestions?
Less butter would make it drier. Also you can use a spray to help get it off the pan .
I love these always wonder kow to make them, I have them all the time in Las Vegas me and my Husband Yummy in my Tummy Thanks!!!
Hi Imma! I made these for my family for our Christmas breakfast and I wanted to let you know I really loved your recipe. I’m completely new to African cuisine, but this was a great first step for me since pancakes are familiar territory for me. I didn’t make any coconut sauce to go with it but since I had coconut sugar and coconut water on hand I substituted these for the normal sugar/water so I could still get the coconut flavour. I’m looking forward to trying more recipes from your site 🙂
You are in for a treat Steph! Glad to hear it worked out well for you. Can’t wait to hear which ones you try out next. Wishing you all the best of 2018.
Hi. I have this plantain just lying around in the kitchen. I’ll definitely like to try this, but my blender is bad. Can I mash it spoon?
Yes you can.
I tried these today, so easy to make and delicious. I used raw coconut sugar in mine.loved the taste
Awesome! Glad you liked it
I made this today for our Sunday brunch and it was nothing short of amazing. Even my husband who is very choosy when it comes to loved it too. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
YAY! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Please why do you have to let it rest for a while before frying?
It helps make it tender . You can try both ways and see which one you prefer.
I made these plantain pancakes for breakfast this morning and it was a hit! My husband wolfed down three pancakes in quick succession – And he does not like plantain- AT. ALL!!! Its his least favorite food, he’ll avoid it altogether if he can. He enjoyed the pancakes so much I didn’t have the heart to tell him what was in it. Ssssh! It will be our little secret! The pancakes were soft and sweet! The nutmeg made my kitchen smell delicious. I omitted the vanilla (I forgot to add it) and used the pureed plantain straightaway without allowing it rest. The end result was delicious all the same. This recipe is keeper! I will be repeating it again soon. Thank you
OH WOW! same thing happened with my son. The first time I made them- you just can’t tell. My lips are sealed. It’s going to be our little secret. Thanks for letting me know Isimeme!
Do you have the recipe for coconut sauce?
Thank you.
Check it out here. https://www.africanbites.com/vitumbarice-pancakes/
Have you tried using green plantains? I just discovered this recipe and I’m hooked.
1 large green plantain
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbs coconut oil
pinch of baking powder (I’m sure baking soda would work just as well)
pinch of salt
I just blend everything together until the batter is nice and smooth. These come out amazingly light and fluffy. I’m not really a huge fan of banana-egg pancakes either, but using unripe plantains seems to be the secret. They taste great with lots of honey (and butter!).
No, I haven’t .Will have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing Rachael
I have made the thick american style plantain pancakes not the thin ones yet. On my too do list. Looks great.
Thanks Bintu!
Looks amazingly delicious!! Can’t wait to try this one. I recently tried the 2 ingredient banana pancake and was sadly disappointed because it mainly tasted more like eggs. I’ll give this one a shot.
Agree with the two ingredient pancakes. Hope this is more to your liking .Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks
I love plantains but I never thought about putting them in pancakes. I’m definitely going to give this a try as a dessert — I’m thinking caramelizing the plantains with a little brown sugar first, then serving with some fresh mango, shredded coconut, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Nice touch Julie.
Wow! Now this is something new. Will try.
I love plantains in general, and plantain pancakes in particular. However, due to dietary restrictions I can’t eat gluten; I will try making this with a small portion of coconut flour, to see if it’ll work. Thank you for sharing this unique recipe!
When I was in high school, we used to go get delicious crepes after class. These plantain pancakes remind me of those crepes! They look so light and sweet–perfect for a special occasion breakfast. I can’t wait to try them out!
They sure are a special treat.
These pancakes look absolutely delicious!