Sour Cream Banana Pancakes

I hope you’re enjoying the start of the New Year! I haven’t been blogging long enough to merit a “year in review” post, so instead, I wanted to share one of my favorite weekend breakfasts. This will be a simple and easy post, so you can take your time to welcome in the New Year, and maybe event try this for breakfast today!

These Sour Cream Banana Pancakes are from Ina Garten’s book Barefoot Contessa Family Style. She is great at coming up with new twists on familiar favorites, and these are super simple, but have a lovely tangy flavor from the sour cream that is a fun twist on pancakes. The batter is simple and quick, and not too fussy. It is important not to over-mix the batter, so leaving it a little bit lumpy like you see above is just fine.

The batter also keeps really well in the fridge, and is even better the second day. I love this, as I don’t want to eat a whole recipe in one morning. You can also make extra pancakes and re-heat in a toaster. Just make sure you let them cool completely upside-down before putting in the fridge, as the bananas hold a lot of moisture and can make the pancakes soggy if you put them in plastic before they cool.

There are bananas inside, and bananas on top. That’s a lot of bananas. (I like bananas)

Once you start cooking the pancakes, you just drop the banana bits on top.

Flip them over…

And you’re left with delicious caramelized bananas on the bottom of your pancake. Yeah, that’s pretty good. Top with more bananas and real maple syrup, and you’ve got a great breakfast!

Happy New Year!

Sour Cream Banana Pancakes by Ina Garten 

Serves 4 (3 large pancakes each)

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

2 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Unsalted butter

2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving

Pure maple syrup

In one bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with a whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas and maple syrup.

Do you have a favorite weekend breakfast recipe? Share it here!