The snow started early on Friday and did not relent until the following morning. Upon waking, we were met with the sun peeking into our bedroom windows giving the promise of a beautiful day. The promise was fulfilled with sun, warmer weather and just enough snow to make sledding, snow ice cream and snowmen possibilities.
But first, before venturing out, we shared a special breakfast together.
We fortified ourselves with paleo banana pancakes made with almond and coconut flours, mashed banana and eggs. They were the perfect accompaniment to our wonder at the beauty of God’s creation in the snow.
After devouring pancakes and bacon, and feasting our eyes on the snowy morning outside our windows, we decided to head to a nearby estate-turned-park known as Natirar. The crystal blue sky, the sparkling white snow and the giant sycamore trees greeted us.
We thought it would be fun to make use of the pristine snow and venture sledding on the rolling hills.
It turned out a few others had the same idea.
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy EveningBy Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Snowballby Shel Silverstein
I made myself a snow ball as perfect as could be.
I thought I’d keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas and a pillow for it’s head.
Then, last night it ran away.
But first — it wet the bed.
It was a fine day in the sunshine and snow filled with the beauty of nature and the joy of life exemplified by frolicking children and adults.
Paleo Banana Pancakes
One of the great things about these Paleo Banana Pancakes is they are sweet without any type of sweetener other than the bananas. The almond flour is rich and gives the pancakes moisture and great body. I added coconut flour because I think the two work in harmony with the coconut keeping the almond from being too heavy and oily.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 ripe banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon raw honey (optional)
- coconut oil, ghee or butter for frying
- maple syrup and fruit for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Sift together the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the coconut milk, mashed banana, eggs and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until well-combined.
- Preheat a pan or griddle on medium heat and coat with a layer of coconut oil, ghee or butter.
- Pour, or spoon out about two tablespoons of batter to make small pancakes. (They are much easier to manage if you keep them small – You can use your spoon to spread them out a bit.)
- Cook the pancakes for 2-3 minutes per side. (I usually end up cooking them longer on the first side than the second.)
Serves 4-6
Cooking paleo pancakes is more of an art than a science. The blanched almond flour seems to work better than other almond flours or almond meal. Coconut flour can be finicky so you may need to adjust the liquid to get the right consistency in the batter. The mixture will be fairly thick but if you think it is too thick to pour you can add a little more liquid. If the batter is too thin you can add just a touch more coconut flour. But be careful with the coconut flour, a little goes a long way. Check out my fluffy coconut flour paleo pancakes recipe for a different take on the paleo pancakes genre, especially if you are cooking for someone with a nut allergy. There are quite a few comments on that post you might find helpful regarding readers’ experiences using coconut flour.
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Good Morning Lea,
I am reading this from sunny Florida so am truly enjoying your beautiful snowy pictures but perfectly happy to be enjoying warmth and sunshine. I do want to try out these yummy pancakes. When your recipe calls for full fat coconut milk, is this canned coconut milk or refrigerated carton coconut milk?
Thank you
Sherry Clooney
Hi Sherry,
It’s a cloudy day here so I wouldn’t mind a little Florida sun! I typically use canned coconut milk and that’s what I did when I made these pancakes. The coconut milk in the cartons can have some ingredients that I try to avoid but I have definitely used it in the past. I think that would work in this recipe just fine. The difference will be the fat content and the thickness. You might need to make slight adjustments for that but all-in-all the recipe is probably flexible enough to allow you to use either.
Thanks for your comment.
Lea
Thanks for the comment Lea. So, in the recipe you do want the thickness of the canned coconut? Sorry, just wanting to clarify.
Sherry
I think the biggest variable is the coconut flour – people tend to have varying results because of differences in brands. The milk thickness is probably less important. I would imagine you could make this with a thinner coconut milk or even whole milk if you tolerate dairy.
Lea,
My son and his girlfriend came over last night and were famished. They are both vegetarians and with me being Paleo, sometimes it makes it a little difficult for us all to share a quick bite. Let’s just say on a spur of the moment visit, your banana pancakes were a complete hit!! They turned out as pretty as your picture and the taste was sinful!!
Thanks again,
Sherry
Lea,
I would love to chat diet, nutrition and wholistic health. I feel we would both benefit by sharing things that are mutually interesting we’ve learned. I’ve loved looking around your site. I hope you contact me.
Kimberly
Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos, of both your life and winter! These pancakes look awesome and will definitely try them soon.
Hi Lea
These pancakes look great and those photos are AMAZING. I react to coconut milk, which is a bummer doing paleo, but I can tolerate small amounts of heavy cream. Do you think cream could be used instead? I was thinking on the lines of adding water to the cream. Love to know you thoughts.
PS those photos look even better as I am in Australia and about to have a HOT day!!!
Hi Michelle,
Yes, you could use whole milk instead of the coconut milk or the watered down cream – as you suggest – in case you are avoiding the lactose of milk. We had some Australian friends here for a visit recently and they got caught in a snow storm before heading back to warm Australia! Good luck with the pancakes. Thanks for the compliments on the photos.
Lea
Made the pancakes yesterday Lea, very yummy. I used heavy cream and it worked well. Had to use almond meal instead. Mine didn’t look like yours in the photo but they still had the YUM factor about them.
Thanks for a great recipe.
We’ve made these 2 days in a row. They are just that yummy! They remind me of a old peanut butter pancake recipes we used to enjoy a lot! I topped these with butter, fresh diced banana, pear, and apple and a drizzle of maple syrup. Yummo! Thanks!
Hi, the pics of these pancakes are fabulous, however, i followed your recipe to a T and mine did not look like that! the consistency was crumbly and they did not cook through properly. The batter i made was a good consistency – thick runny – not thin and not sludge, however, they just didn’t resemble your pics one bit. Not sure what went wrong ;(
Wow! Just wow. By far the best Paleo pancake recipe we have tried, and we have tried them all! Thank you!
they look so good!! I am trying to cut out eggs and have been struggling with gluten free pancakes. do you know how this recipe will do with an egg replacer? have you worked with replacing eggs or know anything about it? I just wish I could find a recipe that would work with me. :/
Margie,
I don’t know how these would work with an egg replacement. I have never used one so I can’t guarantee any results. The eggs are a fairly important part of this particular recipe. You might want to look into what is known as “flax eggs”.
Hi Lee,
Loved your pictures they are great. I’ve been researching Paleo recipes since my doctor put me on the Paleo 30 diet in hopes of lowering my cholesterol. I’ve been eating more vegetables and meats plus fruits. I have to say its actually refreshing to eat foods that are healthy and good for you.. I’m dying to try the pancakes and the mini meat loaf muffins. Incidentally I’m trying to lose a few pounds and am wondering if the pancakes are ok in that respect.
Hi Maria,
I’m impressed your doctor is recommending using paleo as a means to control cholesterol as well as weight. My personal opinion is when your goal is losing weight you should stick primarily to recipes for meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. The paleo pancakes are meant more as a treat meal that you would not be eating on a regular basis. They contain ingredients that fall into the “paleo” category because they are grain-free, legume-free and dairy-free. They will not raise your blood sugar the way normal pancakes would. But I see them as something you might try when transitioning to a new way of eating and/or as a more rare treat.
I hope that is helpful.
Lea
Sorry Lea I wasn’t wearing my glasses!
This recipe was amazing….mine came out just like your pictures (which I have to add…your pictures are so beauitful).
These were WONDERFUL!!! Thank you for sharing your talent & knowledge with us!
This recipe is amazing! I added blueberries to the batter and a touch of honey on top – to die for. Thanks so much for sharing.
Came across your website googling paleo recipes and tried out your pancakes this morning with home-made turkey sausage. The pancakes were great although they didn’t quite look like yours. I had to cook them longer because they were too mushy to turn. I did not use blanched almond flour, regular almond flour and unsweetened almond milk.
Hi,
Was wondering if there are substitutes for coconut flours and oil for I hate coconut. Could you make the pancakes with only almond flour?
Jenn,
You could certainly make this using something other than coconut oil. I’ve made them using butter and ghee. You could probably leave out the coconut flour but will need to adjust the amount of almond flour. The amount of coconut flour is small enough that it doesn’t end up tasting like coconut. It just serves to dry out the somewhat oily almond flour. Good luck.
Lea
You could also use buckwheat flour. It’s a seed and not a grain. Quinoa or millet, also seeds. And you could grind up the seeds in a blender and make your own flour. You’ll have to experiment and decide on the texture and taste.
Hello! I found this recipe on Interest! It looks amazing, however do you have a substitution for almond flour? My daughter allergic to tree nuts. Thank you!
Kelly
Kelly,
My oldest son is allergic to tree nuts but he can eat pancakes made with coconut flour. I have a recipe for that http://paleospirit.com/2011/coconut-flour-paleo-pancakes/
Lea
this will be my first meal after I come off of my Whole30 experiment this month! cant wait!!
I followed this recipe but subbed the coconut milk for organic whole milk, and found they look exactly as they should. I did not find them hard to manage at all, and they are delicious! Great recipe. We topped them with a simple strawberry rhubarb sauce. Thanks for sharing.