Thursday, October 16, 2014

2 Ingredient Banana Pancakes

Legends of the mystical "2 ingredient pancakes" have been floating around the blogosphere for many moons, so I decided it was finally time to find out for myself if this mythical culinary unicorn did in fact exist.  The lore, frankly, just seemed too good to be true.

There are a few key features of this "recipe" that set my soul on fire.  First and foremost, you only need 2 ingredients.  I'm sold right there.  As someone who does the bare minimum in terms of cooking and meal preparation, I do not have a fully stocked kitchen.  Many times, I'll come across recipes online I'd love to try, only to discover I don't currently have any of the needed ingredients and frankly, wouldn't even know where to procure them!  (ie. almond flour, brewer's yeast)

In addition, these pancakes are healthy and pack a nutritional punch.  They're low-carb, high protein and dairy free!  Pretty much the complete opposite of your standard pancake, hence the reason I rarely eat pancakes, unless they're prepared by me.  Because there's no flour, they're also gluten free.

Alright so I've been sung their praises on blog after blog for months.  Time to find out if they live up to the hype.  I decided to treat myself to these little gems this morning before work.  Most days I'm up and out the door before 7 so taking a little time to sit down to a  hot breakfast was a really nice treat!  (My normal breakfasts lately have been a bowl of cold cereal or a protein shake.)  With the fall weather upon us, it also just feels like the perfect time to be eating pancakes.

Without further ado, I present to you step by step instructions for this incredibly complicated recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
1 banana (ripe)

 
 
DIRECTIONS:

1.  Mush up your banana with a fork in a bowl.  You should be using a fairly ripe banana for this recipe.  Mush as finely as you can because as noted in another blog, if you don't, you're just going to end up with scrambled eggs, with chunks of banana mixed in.  And no one wants that.

2.  Once the banana is finely mushed (technical term I'm sure), add in your 2 eggs and whisk with the fork until combined.  Your batter ends up looking like this:



3.  Spoon batter onto a greased skillet (I used non-stick cooking spray) and cook at medium-low to medium heat.  I started my first pancake out at medium heat, but by the time I got to my 3rd pancake, the pan was getting too hot and I had to crank it down. 

 
 
4.  Check for browning and that flip that baby to side #2:
 
 
 
5.  You're done!  Top with bit of real maple syrup like I did or anything else your heart desires (fruit, nuts, whipped cream, go crazy) and DIG IN:
 


FYI:  1 banana + 2 eggs yielded 3 large pancakes for me, so keep that in mind if you are preparing these for more than one person or an entire family. 
 
VERDICT:
The unicorn does exist!  I enjoyed not only the extreme ease of preparation of these pancakes, but the 'cakes themselves.  They were YUMMY!  They are obviously not quite as doughy or fluffy as regular pancakes, but they tasted like warm banana bread to me.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm.  Healthy comfort food at its finest.
 
*A tip I saw on another blog suggested adding a pinch of baking powder to make them fluffier.  I may try this next time.  I've also seen suggestions to add vanilla extract for flavor, but I actually really liked the banana flavor.



So, what do you think? 

Will you try the infamous 2 ingredient pancakes?! 

Have you tried them already? 

12 comments:

  1. Ah, the unicorn!! Bananas make everything better, and these pancakes look great!

    Farin
    http://farinvazquez.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, give them a try! I was so surprised the recipe actually worked!

      Delete
  2. Hmm, seems too simple to be true, so I'm glad you checked it out. I may try that sometime!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes give it a try! They don't taste like 'real' pancakes, but they are surprisingly good :)

      Delete
  3. I've tried this once and they are really yummy! That is a good idea to add the baking soda. I also read adding some sparkling water makes them fluffier too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Karen. Thanks for stopping by! The sparkling water sounds like a good tip! I"ll try that next time!

      Delete
  4. I've never really felt the need to do the banana pancake. I'd rather get my protein on ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Susie my friend, I knew this here 'recipe' would be far too simple for your sophisticated taste. I think you should come visit me and teach me how to cook. As you can see, 2 ingredient recipes seem to be the extent of my culinary skills thus far in life :)

      Delete
  5. This sounds fabulous! I happen to have a single overripe banana that isn't quite enough to make a loaf of banana bread... ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Karen. Thanks for checking it out! Let me know if you decide to try the 'recipe' and how it pans out for you!

      Delete
  6. aren't they yummy? i make these really thin and the whole circumference of my pan so they are crepe-like. delish!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Laura! I never would have believed this recipe actually worked until I tried it myself. But now I am a believer. And I'm totally on board with trying your magical crepe tip!

      Delete