3-Ingredients Kids-friendly Healthy Pancake Recipe

We've put a Hey! Chips spin on this breakfast classic to make it even more fun and delicious. These simple pancakes are high in protein & fibre, and naturally sweetened by just bananas! It’s the perfect nutritious breakfast for kids (and adults) of all ages, packed with protein, fibre and potassium.

The best part? You can get creative and choose any of our fruit crisp to make your pancakes pop! 

What breakfasts are good for kids?

Well, there are quite a number of breakfast choices, targeted at children. The most common one would be the classic corn flakes and honey stars, which are deemed unhealthy by modern nutritional science, packed with sugar, colourings and ultraprocessed chemicals that we don’t even know.

And other convenient choices are white bread, Asian noodles, congees, or milk with granola and oat. The list goes on, and it differs from one culture to another. To choose a healthy breakfast for kids, parents should definitely look out for a few things. 

1. Simple ingredients. When shopping for kids and toddler-friendly breakfasts, look at the ingredient lists, and find ones that are short and uncomplicated.  You would definitely want to see food ingredients that you can pronounce and would likely use in your own home cooking. In general, cereal and packaged beverage options from big food brands and even the innocent-looking white bread are ultraprocessed, laced with many unwanted chemicals. These options often contain low nutritional value. 
   

2. Easy to Prepare. Working parents often face a time challenge when it comes to breakfast. It is no wonder there are so many storebought breakfast options in the market. That said, if 15 min can be spared in the kitchen some time in the week, this recipe is just for you. With only three ingredients, you can make a batch fairly quickly, which is perfect for your hectic lifestyle. If you make them in a larger batch, you can also freeze the pancakes for reheating in the week, making them quick and easy. These make life a lot easier, as you can just reheat as needed for a quick healthy snack for you and your kiddos. 
   

3. Little/No added sugars. We love giving our little ones breakfasts and snacks that only have natural sugars from real fruits and vegetables. In this case, our pancake recipe has the perfect amount of sweetness from the ripe banana and no added sugar is required. For an even less sweetened pancake, you can also consider replacing banana with sweet potato mash, which will also deliver a great natural taste and the optimal pancake bouncy texture. 

For weaning babies and toddlers, parents want to select breakfasts that are soft and easy to hold. These banana pancakes are perfect for the little ones, giving them a fun time playing and practising self-feeding. The soft, gentle and bouncy texture is easy to grab and easily chewable for those without teeth. Making these pancakes can be a fun bonding activity for all ages and a great way to develop their fine motor skills. 

For older children, breakfast can also be a great time to engage and to learn about food. Kids can make their own simple pancakes hands-on, mashing the bananas, stirring the batter and decorating them. A fun idea would be to use different fresh fruits and fruit crisps to add colours and crunch to their pancakes, turning mealtime into a playful learning experience. This helps develop creative thinking skills and most importantly, help them start a wholesome relationship with their food! 

Everything you’ll need to create these simple pancakes

Ingredients: 

• ½ cup of All Purpose Flour

• 1 Ripe Banana 

• 1 Egg

• For toppings: Fruits and fruit crisps (Hey! Chips banana and mango are used here)

How to make: 

1. Mash one banana in a bowl until smooth.

2. Mix in an egg and ½ a cup of flour to the banana mash. 

3. Spoon small sizable amounts of the batter onto a lightly greased, heated pan.

4. Cook until bubbles form on the surface, then flip and cook the other side until golden brown.

5. Allow to cool slightly.

6. Add yours or your kid’s favourite Hey! Chips topping. The pancake is your canvas. 

Actually, did you know…

Some common questions that you may have or didn't know that need answering.

You should use over-ripe bananas

Overripe bananas are sweeter and give you that banana taste. They should have at least a few brown spots. In fact, this is how Hey! Chips make their banana crisps tasty too. By picking bananas that are ripe, they are also much easier to mash. 

Banana pancakes are much healthier than conventional pancakes

If you ask a nutritionist, he/she would tell you that pancakes are secret sugar bombs with low nutritional values. In fact, browsing through the internet, you will see that baking soda/powder and lots of sugars and syrups are commonly used in pancakes. Banana replaces all of those nasties, giving you wholesome sweetness from nature, with significantly lower carbs and higher source of protein and prebiotics. WIth this amazing pancake, you are not having empty calories but a nutrition-packed breakfast for a true win! 

There are other substitutes for all dietary needs

This recipe is flexible! You can use a variety of flours for these pancakes, including all-purpose, whole wheat, oat flour, or a gluten-free 1:1 blend. So if you have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, that can be fixed as well. 

As for banana, you can replace that with other mashed fruits and vegetables like squash, sweet potato, or even avocado! Test out other options and change the dry ingredient ratio according to your observations. From what we have tested, sweet potato is a winner as well, and it needs little to no flour to hold up as a soft bouncy pancake. This means a much more low-carb, and higher protein breakfast fix, suitable for all ages, even the gym bros. 

You can mix-in other ingredients?

Add finely diced fruits, small berries like blueberries directly to the batter after mixing. If you feel like indulging a little more, you can also mix in a touch of cinnamon, semi-sweet chocolate chips or vanilla extract for that extra flavour. 

Make your own version with your little ones

This simple 3-ingredient pancake is just the beginning! Don't be afraid to experiment with your little ones, using different flours, mix-ins, and toppings to create your perfect version. Whether you're adding cinnamon to the batter, stirring in some fresh berries, or stacking on your favorite Hey! Chips flavours, the possibilities are endless.