Banana Breakfast Recipes

Three weeks and two days until the wedding. I have written this week's entry in my head approximately a hundred times and every version of it sounds either too calm or too dramatic, which is accurate to how I feel: oscillating between the two states with no fixed middle ground.

Liam is born — Meghan's son Aidan is two, Patrick's kids are getting bigger, and all of a sudden I am in the generation of the family where we are the ones adding people rather than the ones being added to. The rehearsal dinner is in three weeks. The rehearsal is in three weeks. The wedding is in three weeks. These are all real sentences that describe real events that are going to happen to me specifically.

At work I've been covering extra shifts because a colleague is on leave, which means the week has been full in a way that leaves me pleasantly occupied and not obsessing over wedding logistics during my commute. This is probably exactly what I needed. Oncology nursing has a way of putting everything else in perspective, not in the "my problems aren't real" way but in the "this specific hour matters and I'm here for it" way, which is different and more true.

I made Sean D.'s pancakes this week — the blueberry buttermilk ones he makes every Saturday, or rather, the ones he's told me he makes every Saturday, because I've been at his apartment for several of those Saturdays and watched the process. Buttermilk batter from scratch, blueberries for me and chocolate chips for a hypothetical child, cooked in a cast iron pan with just enough butter to make them golden. I burned the first one, the way he always does. He came over and ate four of them and said, "You're learning my recipe." I said, "I'm learning your recipe." We both understood what that meant.

I’ve been thinking about what it means to learn someone’s recipe — not just copy it, but actually absorb it, burn the first one the right way, understand why the cast iron matters. These banana buttermilk pancakes are my version of that Saturday ritual: the same from-scratch batter, the same measured patience, adapted just enough to make them mine. If you’re standing in your kitchen three weeks before something enormous happens, this is exactly the kind of morning you want to make.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4 (about 12 pancakes)

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (optional)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

Mash the bananas. In a large bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth with only a few small lumps remaining. The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful your pancakes will be.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
Combine the wet ingredients. Whisk the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract into the mashed bananas until well blended.
Make the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined. A few lumps are fine — do not overmix or the pancakes will turn out tough.
Heat the pan. Place a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat and add a small pat of butter. Let it melt and foam, swirling to coat the surface. The pan is ready when a drop of water flicked onto it dances and evaporates immediately.
Cook the first pancake. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan. If using blueberries or chocolate chips, scatter a small handful onto the surface of the pancake before it sets. Cook until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip once and cook another 1 to 2 minutes until golden. (Expect the first one to be imperfect — this is tradition.)
Cook the remaining pancakes. Continue with the remaining batter, adding a little butter to the pan between batches as needed. Adjust the heat down slightly if the pancakes are browning too fast before the centers cook through.
Serve immediately. Stack the finished pancakes and serve warm with maple syrup, a pat of butter, and extra fresh blueberries if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Banana Breakfast Recipes — Learning His Saturday Morning Ritual