These healthy chunky monkey banana pancakes are fluffy, naturally sweet, and loaded with chocolate chips and walnuts. They're made without flour, using just ripe banana, oats, and egg, so they stay light instead of dense. An easy, gluten-free breakfast recipe.
Chunky Monkey Pancakes At A Glance
- ✅ Recipe Name: Healthy Chunky Monkey Banana Pancakes (Flourless!)
- 🕒 Ready In: 5 minutes prep + 10 minutes cook
- 👪 Serves: 2
- 🍽 Calories: ~306 per serving
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Banana, oats, egg, chocolate chips, walnuts
- 📖 Dietary Info: Naturally sweetened (no added sugar), gluten-free, and dairy-free
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: Everything goes in the blender, so there's no separate bowl for dry ingredients and barely any cleanup. They're ready in 15 minutes, freeze well for busy mornings, and pack 9g of protein and 6g of fiber to keep you full.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
Pancakes are my favorite thing to make on a slow morning, and these chunky monkey ones are the recipe I come back to most. If you love this style, my protein oatmeal pancakes and 3 ingredient banana oat pancakes are two more I make on repeat.
What makes these work is the blended oats. They give you that classic chunky-monkey flavor (banana, chocolate, walnuts) without any flour, butter, or added sugar, so they stay light rather than heavy. I make a batch most weeks, either for a cozy weekend breakfast or to stash in the freezer for busy mornings.
Want something a little fancier? My banana foster pancakes with a caramelized banana topping are the move.
Jump to:
- Chunky Monkey Pancakes At A Glance
- What Are Chunky Monkey Pancakes?
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You'll Need
- Ingredient Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Healthy Chunky Monkey Banana Pancakes (Step-by-Step)
- Video Tutorial (Step-by-Step)
- My Tips for Fluffy Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
- What makes these banana pancakes healthy?
- How to Store, Freeze & Meal Prep
- Chunky Monkey Banana Pancakes FAQs
- More Pancake Recipes You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
What Are Chunky Monkey Pancakes?
Chunky monkey pancakes are banana pancakes made with chocolate and walnuts, named after the classic chunky monkey ice cream flavor. The pancake version delivers those same flavors in a fluffy breakfast stack. My recipe is flourless, made by blending oats instead of all-purpose flour, so they stay naturally gluten-free and lightly sweet from ripe banana.
Early on, my batches kept turning out flat and dense until I figured out the fix: the oat batter needs to rest. Letting it sit about five minutes before cooking gives the oats time to absorb the liquid, and that single step is what keeps these fluffy instead of gummy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh my gosh- these are incredible!! They are super fluffy and sweet. My family didn't believe me when I told them the ingredients!
- Annick
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- No flour, no problem. Blended oats stand in for all-purpose flour, so these are naturally gluten-free without any special baking mixes.
- One blender, almost no cleanup. Everything goes in together, blends in 30 seconds, and you skip the separate bowl for dry ingredients.
- Naturally sweetened. Ripe banana does the sweetening, so there's no refined sugar in the batter.
- Ready in 15 minutes. Five minutes to blend and rest, ten to cook. Fast enough for a weekday, cozy enough for the weekend.
- Freezer-friendly. Make a double batch and reheat straight from frozen in under a minute for busy mornings.
- 9g protein, 6g fiber per serving. Banana, oats, and egg keep you full instead of crashing an hour later.
Ingredients You'll Need
You only need six simple ingredients (plus mix-ins) for these flourless chunky monkey pancakes. Here's what goes in:
- Ripe banana. Use one with plenty of brown spots. The spottier it is, the sweeter your pancakes.
- Rolled oats. Blended into oat flour for a gluten-free base. Quick oats work too, but skip steel-cut. If you love oat-based pancakes, my protein oatmeal blender pancakes use the same trick.
- Egg. Holds everything together and helps the pancakes rise and stay fluffy.
- Milk. Any kind works. I use unsweetened almond milk, but oat, cashew, or dairy are all fine.
- Baking powder. Gives the pancakes lift so they cook up tall, not flat.
- Cinnamon. Optional, but it adds warmth that pairs perfectly with banana.
- Mix-ins. Chocolate chips and chopped walnuts are what make these "chunky monkey." Fold them in or sprinkle on top once the batter hits the pan.
Scroll to recipe card for quantities!
Ingredient Substitutions & Variations
One of the best things about these pancakes is how flexible they are. Here are the swaps I've tested and the variations worth trying:
- Make them dairy-free. This recipe is written dairy-free. Just make sure you use almond, oat, or cashew milk in place of dairy. Any unsweetened variety keeps the flavor clean.
- Make them nut-free. Skip the walnuts and stick with chocolate chips, or add seeds like sunflower or pumpkin for crunch.
- No blender? Use store-bought oat flour (about ½ cup), mash the banana by hand, and whisk everything together in a bowl.
- What more protein? For a higher-protein stack, try my almond flour banana pancakes instead. Then add the chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Different mix-ins. Pecans, chocolate chunks, or a swirl of peanut butter all pair well with the banana base.
How to Make Healthy Chunky Monkey Banana Pancakes (Step-by-Step)
- Step 1: Blend. Add all your ingredients to a blender and blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds, until smooth and fully combined.
- Step 2: Let the batter rest. Let the batter sit for 3 to 5 minutes to thicken. While it rests, heat a large nonstick pan over medium and lightly grease it with butter or nonstick spray.
- Step 3: Cook. Pour about ¼ cup of batter onto the hot pan and top with chocolate chips and walnuts. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges look set and crisp.
- Step 4: Flip and serve. Gently flip and cook another 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Serve warm with banana slices, a drizzle of maple syrup, and extra chocolate chips.
Video Tutorial (Step-by-Step)
My Tips for Fluffy Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
Oat-based pancakes can turn out dense or gummy if you skip a couple of small steps. Here's what keeps mine fluffy every time:
- Always rest the batter. This is the one that matters most. Oat batter needs 3 to 5 minutes to absorb the liquid. Skip it, and the batter stays thin, which is what gives you flat, gummy pancakes.
- Use a spotty banana. The riper the banana, the more natural sweetness and moisture it has, so you don't need added sugar.
- Don't expect bubbles. Oat batter is denser than flour, so you won't see the usual bubbles on top. Lift an edge with your spatula instead. If the bottom is golden, it's ready to flip.
- Keep the heat at medium. Too high, and the outside browns before the inside cooks, leaving the center gummy. Lower the heat if they're coloring too fast.
- Don't overmix or overcook. Blend just until combined, and pull them off as soon as both sides are golden.
What makes these banana pancakes healthy?
These pancakes are lighter than a typical stack because of what's in them, and what isn't:
- No refined flour. Blended oats replace all-purpose flour, adding fiber and keeping you full longer (just like my fluffy oat flour pancakes). Each serving has 6 grams.
- No added sugar in the batter. Ripe banana does the sweetening, so the sweetness comes from the whole fruit rather than spooned-in sugar.
- No oil or butter in the batter. They stay soft and fluffy without it, so you skip the extra fat most pancakes rely on.
- A real dose of protein. Banana, oats, and egg provide 9 grams of protein per serving, which helps the meal hold you over without spiking and crashing.
- Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free friendly. Made with oats and your choice of milk, they fit a range of diets without any special ingredients.
How to Store, Freeze & Meal Prep
These pancakes are made for busy mornings. Here's how to keep them fresh:
- Store: Let the pancakes cool, then refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Once cooled, wrap them loosely in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer-safe bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Lay them flat or stack with parchment between each so they don't stick.
- Reheat: Warm refrigerated pancakes in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds. From frozen, microwave for 60 to 90 seconds, or pop them in the toaster for crisp edges.
- Meal prep: Make a double batch on the weekend and store individual servings in the fridge or freezer. Grab a stack on your way out the door, and they reheat in about a minute.
Chunky Monkey Banana Pancakes FAQs
They're named after the classic chunky monkey ice cream flavor, which combines banana, chocolate, and walnuts. These pancakes use the same three flavors in a fluffy breakfast stack.
Yes, this version is naturally gluten-free. It uses blended oats instead of flour, so there's no wheat. Just make sure your oats are certified gluten-free if you're sensitive, since some are processed alongside wheat.
The most common reason is skipping the batter rest. Oat batter needs 3 to 5 minutes to absorb the liquid before cooking. Heat that's too high can also leave the centers undercooked, so keep your pan at medium.
Yes, quick oats work fine since we are blending the batter. Avoid steel-cut oats, which won't soften or blend in time.
Yes. Use about ½ cup of store-bought oat flour, mash the banana by hand, and whisk everything together in a bowl.
Yes. Let them cool, then freeze in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave for 60 to 90 seconds, or use the toaster for crisp edges.
More Pancake Recipes You'll Love
If you loved these fluffy chunky monkey oatmeal banana pancakes, try these next:
Did you make this recipe?
If you make this recipe, be sure to comment and rate it down below. Also, don't forget to tag me @healthfulblondie on Instagram and use the hashtag #healthfulblondie so I can see your delicious creation and share it with my followers!
📖 Recipe
Healthy Chunky Monkey Banana Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 medium spotty banana, (with lots of brown spots = sweeter)
- 2 tablespoon almond milk, or any milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup rolled oats
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional but I LOVE it
- ¼ cup chocolate chips, or chunks
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts, leave off if you are nut-free
Instructions
- Blend. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds, until smooth. Let the batter rest 3 to 5 minutes to thicken.
- Heat the pan. Warm a large nonstick pan over medium heat and lightly grease with butter or nonstick spray.
- Cook. Pour about ¼ to ⅓ cup of batter onto the pan and top each pancake with chocolate chips and walnuts. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges look set and crisp. Oat batter is denser than flour, so you won't see bubbles. Lift an edge to check that the bottom is golden, and lower the heat if it browns too fast.
- Flip and serve. Gently flip and cook another 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Serve warm with banana slices, maple syrup, and extra chocolate chips.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe tested and developed by Tati Chermayeff, creator of Healthful Blondie. A former Division I rower, Ironman triathlete, and recipe developer based in Austin, TX, Tati creates high-protein and healthy recipes that actually taste like the real thing.
Nelli 🧡 says
This came out so yum!
I shaped with pecans and caramel chocolate chunks!
Highly recommend 🤍
Tati Chermayeff says
Pecans and caramel chocolate chunks?! That sounds incredible, Nelli. I am totally trying that combo next time. So happy you loved them! 🧡
v says
been using for over a year 10/10
Tati Chermayeff says
WOW!! this made my day!
Emma says
Do these have a strong banana flavor?
Tati Chermayeff says
i would say, medium to strong. Not overpowering, but you can taste the banana for sure.
Sue says
Hello! I’m so excited to give these pancakes a try! I’d like to experiment and wondering if you could let me know if I could add in whey protein isolate powder and skyr yogurt inside this pancake mix to help me meet my daily protein intake? If so, could you let me know how much I should add? Thanks in advance!
Tati Chermayeff says
Hi Sue! Yes, you can absolutely add both. I'd start with about half a scoop of whey isolate so it doesn't dry the batter out, and swap a couple tablespoons of the skyr in for some of the milk. Protein powder soaks up liquid fast, so just add a splash more milk until the batter looks smooth and pourable again. If you want a stack that's built for higher protein from the start, my almond flour banana pancakes are a great base to add these mix-ins to. Let me know how they turn out! 🍓
Alysse says
This is the best healthy gluten free pancake recipe I’ve found! They’re so fluffy and so easy to make
Tati Chermayeff says
Thank you so much, Alysse!! I love these pancakes so much too.
Shirley says
Wow these pancakes are delicious. The recipe is so quick and easy to follow. A great way to use up your ripened bananas. I will definitely be making them again 😊
Tati Chermayeff says
Thank you, Shirley! I am so happy to hear that you loved this pancake recipe. It's a great way to use up ripe bananas 🙂