Gluten Free, Protein-Packed Quinoa Flour Banana Pancakes

Oh hi! I have to confess that my usual breakfasts don’t consist of pancakes or anything quite special. Typically I’ll fry an egg or two, or enjoy an on the go protein shake.

FLASHBACK to my glittery college years: I remember sitting down with a bowl of oatmeal or a peanut butter and strawberry jelly toasted English muffin and enjoying breakfast while reading in our college breakfast nook. I’d soak in the flavors for a good 30 minutes because at that point in my life, breakfast was a time I cherished.

For some reason I’ve been craving those incredibly long breakfast mornings again; mostly I want to recommit to making enjoyable, nutritious and creative morning meals – even if I’m the only one eating it. I find that when I take the time to prepare something, it somehow feels more satisfying and filling.

I wanted to start with pancakes (of course). Whipping up a batter of fluffy, flavorful banana pancakes is something I’ve loved to do on the weekends. My go to pancake recipes are usually these banana cottage cheese protein pancakes or greek yogurt pancakes because they provide great nutrition and protein without weighing you down like a brick.

This time I decided to switch up my pancake game with new flour I adore: Quinoa Flour! Quinoa flour is gluten free and pretty amazing to work with in recipes. If you haven’t yet tried it, give it a go! It’s a little on the spendy side when it comes to gluten free flours, but I find that it’s worth the money. Also, then you can make my best gluten free chocolate chip cookies – they’ve been a reader favorite because of their chewy and soft texture. No seriously, I’m talking MELT IN YOUR MOUTH GOODNESS folks.

But today we’re talking about pancakes, so let’s get to it…

I created these based off of my greek yogurt pancake recipe. The quinoa flour is incredibly fluffy and adds such a nice texture to the final pancakes. They’re naturally sweetened with banana and a touch of honey, which the batter needs since sometimes quinoa flour can be on the bitter side if used alone. The recipe also uses greek yogurt and an egg for a nice protein boost of 10g per serving!

Unfortunately I didn’t have chocolate chips or blueberries in the house to add to these pancakes, but I do recommend giving those a try for a little extra flavor. You can also use vanilla greek yogurt instead of plain and skip the honey since the vanilla yogurt will most likely have added sugar. Another great way to top them is with a little peanut butter. Up to you!

P.S. I should also quickly mention that freezing these pancakes works well. You can freeze or refrigerate and reheat them later; I usually portion mine properly then divide into plastic baggies and freeze. Sometimes they just make for an easy weeknight dinner too. No judgments here. I recommend serving these almond or peanut butter on top and a fried egg on the side for a well-rounded breakfast of over 15 grams of protein!

What’s your go-to breakfast? Leave a comment!

If you make this or anything else from Ambitious Kitchen be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations!

More healthy breakfast recipes to try:

Fluffy Coconut Flour pancakes with Wild Blueberry Maple Syrup

Lemon Blueberry Quinoa Pancakes

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Greek Yogurt Waffles (gluten free!)

Cottage Cheese Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes + video

Banana Chocolate Chip Quinoa Flour Waffles

The
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook

125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day

Order Now

Gluten Free, Protein-Packed Quinoa Flour Banana Pancakes

5 from 5 votes

byby :Monique Volz of Ambitious Kitchen

Leave A Review Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

ServesServes 4 servings

Delicious gluten free quinoa flour pancakes made with wholesome ingredients like quinoa flour, banana and greek yogurt. These are so fluffy! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt (vanilla is fine)
• 1 large ripe banana, mashed
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more if necessary
• Optional: blueberries or chocolate chips

Instructions

• In large bowl whisk together quinoa flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside. 
• In a separate medium bowl beat banana, greek yogurt, eggs, honey, vanilla and almond extract and almond milk until smooth and well combined. 
• Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and mix together. The batter will be very thick; consistency will vary based on which yogurt you used. Note: If you find that it is WAY too thick (almost paste like), you can add in a tablespoon or two more milk until it is smooth, but still thick.
• Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with butter or cooking spray and place over medium heat. Drop batter by 1/4 cup onto skillet. Add toppings of choice. You may need to use a spoon to spread out the batter just a tiny bit, as pancake batter will be thick and you'll want them to cook thoroughly. It's very important to cook until bubbles appear on top and the edges are well cooked; this is thick batter so you want to ensure even cooking. 
• Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more melted butter or cooking spray and remaining batter. You may need to reduce heat to medium low. Makes 8 pancakes total. Serves: 4 people, 2 pancakes each.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to sub a flavored greek yogurt for the plain. You can also use whole fat or 2% yogurt.

This recipe is really great with a few tablespoons of almond or peanut butter stirred into the batter.

Go ahead and get adventurous and try throwing in a few blueberries, chocolate chips or even granola for more flavor.

Nutrition

Serving: 2pancakesCalories: 201calCarbohydrates: 31.8gProtein: 10.2gFat: 2.9gFiber: 2.9gSugar: 9.5g