Cheater Banana Oatmeal Pancakes for One

These pancakes are “cheater” because I use a Bob’s Red Mill mix as the base, with a few tweaks … like adding oats, of course. This is a great way to make ~consistent~ pancakes quickly, and it’s easy to make a small batch at a time.

And, while my other pancake recipes are solely made from ground oats, these pancakes are more like traditional oatmeal pancakes, which are made from flour but have a handful of whole oat flakes thrown in for texture.

What you’ll need: 

• 1/3 of a ripe banana
• 1 tsp oil*
• 1/4 cup milk of choice**
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill High Fiber Pancake and Waffle Mix (other BRM mixes are not vegan, so make sure you get this one)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon***
• 1 tbsp quick oats

How to make it:

1. Set a skillet or griddle pan over medium or medium low heat. (If you work slowly, be careful not to let it overheat while you are mixing your batter.)
2. Mash banana thoroughly.
3. Stir in oil, milk, and vanilla extract.
4. Add in pancake mix, cinnamon, and oats, and stir until combined. Do not overstir! There were will be lumps in the batter.****
5. If desired, stir in other mix-ins now, like chocolate chips, walnuts, or blueberries.
6. When pan is hot (it should sizzle if a drop of water hits it), grease it with nonstick cooking spray and pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan.
7. When pancake begins to show bubbles in the center and brown on the edges, flip and cook for another minute or two. If you shake the pan and the pancake easily comes loose, it’s probably ready!

Just an FYI:

* I have made this with both canola oil and melted coconut oil and both worked great.

** I often use unsweetened soy milk since that’s what I regularly cook with, but my boyfriend prefers it with vanilla almond milk. In that case, you can omit the vanilla extract in the recipe.

*** Omit cinnamon if you plan on adding chocolate chips.

**** My boyfriend refuses to believe this and I have to pry the fork out of his hands. 😉 Stirring the mix too much will make your pancakes dense and even tough.

*This is not a sponsored post!

Although I’m not much of a pancake person, I have actually started to enjoy a stack of these! What really made the difference for me was adding the oats.  I think it makes the pancakes fluffy and puffy and THICK and magical.