A great way to add nutritious spinach to a baby recipes. These healthy spinach pancakes are made with just 4 ingredients - banana, oats, egg and spinach and in 10 minutes. Perfect for 6 month old, baby-led weaning, toddlers, kids and even adults love them.
We have many pancake recipes on our site, but I have to say this one is one of my favorites, and mostly because how simple it is and yet so nutritious.
Why we love these banana spinach pancakes?
- Healthy kids pancakes
- Super tasty
- Great spinach baby recipe
- Made in 10 minutes
- 4 ingredients
- Perfect for baby-led weaning for 6 month old baby +
- No-flour pancakes
- Dairy and gluten-free (if you use gluten-free oats)
- Can be made vegan (scroll below)
Ingredients
- Oats - use instant, rolled oats or oat flour. Good source of complex carbs and fiber as well as minerals such as magnesium and manganese. We prefer to use Bob's Red Mill Rolled oats as they have the fewest ingredient, nutrition and processing concerns that we could find.
- Bananas - the riper the banana the sweeter the pancake. Bananas contain good amounts of vitamins B6 and C, as well as plenty of potassium.
- Spinach - use fresh spinach for these pancakes as the frozen one will make the pancakes "watery" and hard to bake. Spinach is very healthy - a good source of iron, calcium (especially helpful if you are dairy-free), magnesium, potassium as well as vitamins B6, B9 (folate), and E.
- Eggs - we always tend to choose free-range eggs or organic ones because of the better nutritional profile they have. Great source of protein and nutrients such as choline, biotin and vitamin B12. To make these pancakes vegan see below.
Step-by-step instructions
- Make the batter. Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. We use the Magic Bullet because it blends very smooth and is easy to use and wash up (and inexpensive) or the Vitamix which is top of the range and better to use when making bigger batches.
- Make the pancakes. Preheat a skillet to medium heat and add a little coconut or avocado oil. Take a tablespoon of batter and portion out 4 pancakes across the skillet and let them cook for about 3 minutes until the sides are golden and have firmed and you can easily flip them. If they ain't flipping wait a bit!
- Flip them (they should flip super easily) and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Serve. Then add some toppings as you like them – we love adding hazelnut butter and forest fruits but even plain they are a great snack for any time of day
How to serve baby-led weaning and for toddlers?
Baby-led weaning
- 6-9 month old – cut the pancakes in length and width of your index finger so they can easily grab them
- 9 month+ or pincer grasp – cut into smaller bite size pieces, the size of your pinky fingernail if you prefer
- You can serve these with a thin smear of nut butter (nut butters are choking hazards so be careful to spread it thinly) and fruit mashed or cut up age appropriately
Toddler
- Serve them whole, the same as you would for adults
- Spread peanut butter on them and then fold like a sandwich to make them mess free but delicious
How make vegan spinach pancakes?
You can make these pancakes vegan, with no egg by using either a flax egg or chia egg.
Take 1 tablespoon of chia seeds or ground flaxseeds and mix with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit for about 5 - 10 minute to make a chia-egg/flax-egg. And then use that instead of egg in the recipe.
Note: If you have not yet tested your baby for an egg allergy, it's best if you offer egg white and egg yolk on separate occasions to check if your baby has an allergy to either.
How to store and reheat kids pancakes?
Storage
- Fridge – place in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezer – if you think you will be defrosting them individually then place them one on top of the other and then separate them with parchment paper followed by placing them in an airtight container. Once defrosted, use within 24 hours.
Reheating from frozen
- Reheat in the oven at 180°C / 350°F for about 5-10 min.
- Reheat in toaster for 1 min on defrost setting
- Reheat in microwave for about 15 sec on defrost setting (depending on the microwave)
FAQ
Babies can eat spinach pancakes as soon as they start solid foods. It is recommended that you test whether or not they have an egg allergy beforehand by introducing a yolk and the white separately.
Yes, you can, by either using a flax egg or a chia egg. Mix one tbsp of chia seeds or flaxseeds with 3 tbsp of water and wait for 15 minutes until it turns into a gel-like consistency.
Not easily because you need the spinach blended otherwise the spinach will need to be chopped and that takes time and the consistency of the pancakes will not be as nice.
Tips
- Use ripe or overipe bananas to make them sweet
- Use coconut oil when heating up the pan. For some reason it just works 100x better than any other oil with this recipe. And it gives a nice flavour
- Blend the mixture in an blender or Vitamix
- If the batter is too loose add more oats or a little more banana
- Use a silicone spatula to flip the pancakes because it will change your life
- Cut the pancake the length and width of your index finger to serve for baby-led weaning
- Add chia seeds, flax seeds or hemp seeds for additional nutrient boost
Variations
- Add seeds for nutritional boost - chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds
- Add milk instead of water for more calcium
- Add spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg
- Make them vegan by using chia egg or flax egg (see above)
- Use wholewheat flour instead of oats
More healthy kids pancakes recipes
If you've tried this or any other recipe on the blog, then please rate it and leave us a comment below!
Banana Spinach Pancakes Baby Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup oats
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup raw spinach
- 3 tbsp water
- coconut or avocado oil for cooking
Instructions
- Make the batter. Combine all ingredients (except the oil) in a blender and mix until smooth.
- Make the pancakes. Preheat a skillet to medium heat and add a little coconut or avocado oil. Take a tablespoon of batter and portion out 4 pancakes across the skillet and let them cook for about 3 minutes until the sides are golden and have firmed and you can easily flip them.
- Flip them (they should flip super easily) and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Serve. Then add some toppings as you like them – we love adding hazelnut butter and forest fruits but even plain they are a great snack for any time of day.
Video
Notes
- Age - from 6 month old +
- To flip - use a silicone spatula to flip the pancakes because it will change your life
- BLW - cut the pancake the length and width of your index finger to serve for baby-led weaning
- Store 3 days in fridge and up to 3 months in freezer. For reheating instructions see post
- Make it vegan by using chia egg or flax egg (1 tbsp of chia/flax soaked 3 tbsp of water for 15 minutes)
- If the batter is too loose, add more oats or flour
Nutrition
If you've tried this or any other recipe on the blog, then please rate it and leave us a comment below!
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