Vegan Banana Walnut Pancakes (Sugar-Free, Oil-Free)

These simple one-bowl vegan banana walnut pancakes come without any oil or refined sugar and still turn out wonderfully soft and fluffy. Perfect for a relaxed weekend breakfast or a quick brunch.

I love recipes that leave as little washing-up as possible. That is why 1-bowl recipes always rank high on my list: everything simply goes into one bowl, a quick stir and the batter is ready. These vegan banana pancakes definitely belong in that category.

Ripe banana combined with a little date sugar provides natural sweetness and a wonderfully fluffy texture — all without any oil. The walnuts folded into the batter add a lovely crunch. It gets even better with my caramelized walnuts, which bring an extra crispy bite and a subtle caramel note. My husband and I love to enjoy these fluffy vegan pancakes with a dollop of soy yogurt, some almond butter and a small drizzle of maple syrup.

Jump to:

Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
Step-By-Step Instructions
Top Tips!
Variations
Serving suggestions
FAQ
More Vegan Breakfast Recipes
Recipe
Comments

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Super fluffy: Despite simple ingredients and a high proportion of whole grain flour, these pancakes turn out surprisingly light and soft.
Only 1 bowl: The batter is mixed in a single bowl — less time for washing-up, more time for breakfast.
Naturally sweetened: Banana and a little date sugar provide pleasant sweetness without any refined sugar.
Oil-free: Perfect for anyone who wants a lighter, more wholesome breakfast.
Quick to make: The batter comes together in just a few minutes. With a large non-stick pan, the pancakes are ready in no time.

ingredients for oil-free sugar-free vegan pancakes

Ingredient Notes

Banana - provides natural sweetness. Use a banana that is as ripe as possible — ripe bananas are noticeably sweeter than unripe ones.
Soy milk - gives the batter the right consistency. Other plant-based drinks will work too, but soy milk provides better binding and structure thanks to its naturally occurring lecithin (which has an emulsifying effect) and its higher protein content.
Vanilla - adds a lovely aromatic note to the batter. Use either vanilla extract or dried vanilla powder.
Spelt flour - I like to prepare the pancake batter using a mix of white spelt flour (type 1050 in Germany) and whole grain spelt flour.
Date sugar - a natural alternative to refined sugar. Make sure the date sugar has a fine texture so you do not get any lumps in the pancakes. Sifting helps in this case.
Baking powder - makes sure the pancakes turn out nice and fluffy.
Cinnamon - pairs perfectly with banana and brings warmth and aroma to the pancakes.
Salt - a tiny pinch enhances the sweetness, but you can leave it out.
Walnuts - add crunch and taste wonderful with banana. We also love caramelized walnuts in the pancake batter.

See recipe card for quantities.

Step-By-Step Instructions

As mentioned, you only need one bowl (and a sieve) for this vegan spelt pancake recipe with banana and walnut. Have everything ready and it really comes together in a flash.

Step 1: Mash the banana with a fork in a large bowl until smooth.

Step 2: Add soy milk and vanilla extract to the banana and stir well.

Step 3: Sift the flour, date sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into the bowl.

Step 4: Stir into a smooth batter and carefully fold in the coarsely chopped walnuts.

Step 5: Heat a non-stick pan and pour in the batter in portions (about ⅓ cup per pancake).

Step 6: Cook the pancakes over medium heat for 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown.

Top Tips!

Only stir the batter until everything has just come together. Overmixing pancake batter quickly makes the pancakes compact rather than fluffy.

Also, do not set the heat too high, otherwise the pancakes will turn dark on the outside while staying raw inside.

As soon as bubbles form on the surface, it is time to flip them.

whole food vegan banana pancakes without sugar

Variations

At its core this is a basic vegan pancake recipe that is easy to adapt. Here are a few ideas:

Chocolate pancakes - add a few vegan (sugar-free) chocolate chips to the batter instead of, or in addition to, the walnuts.
Gluten-free version - replace the spelt flour with oat flour or a gluten-free flour blend. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid, though.
Extra protein - you can replace about 50 g (~⅓ cup) of the flour with vegan protein powder. Note: depending on the ingredient list of the protein powder, the banana pancakes may be a little less fluffy and a bit more compact.
With apple - grated apple or unsweetened apple sauce also works beautifully in the batter in place of the banana.

Serving suggestions

These sugar-free, fluffy egg-free pancakes taste especially good topped with:

more maple-glazed walnuts
fresh berries or banana slices
homemade plum compote
plant-based yogurt (e.g., soy or coconut)
a little maple syrup or date syrup, or a drizzle of my coconut caramel sauce
a generous dollop of nut butter (e.g., peanut, hazelnut or almond)

FAQ

Can I make these banana pancakes without date sugar?

Sure, the pancakes will turn out a bit less sweet, though. You can also use a different sweetener instead.

Why did my pancakes not turn out fluffy?

You may have mixed the batter for too long.

Can I make this gluten-free?

You could use oat flour or a gluten-free flour mix in place of the spelt flour. Bear in mind that the flours have different water-binding properties, so the texture of your pancakes may vary.

More Vegan Breakfast Recipes

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

I hope you give my walnut-banana pancake recipe a try. If you love this recipe, be sure to leave a comment, rate the recipe and tag me on Instagram @veggiejam (#veggiejam) with your recreation.

Recipe