Who would like to start their morning with chocolate AND still be healthy?!? I know I do! These healthy Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes are so sweet and delicious that you will want a stack of them on your plate.
I love these Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes because you can eat well without sacrificing flavor. The bananas and cacao nibs have a wonderful natural sweetness that you will forget you are eating healthy.
Moreover, these Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes are the perfect way to sneak in some bananas and a super food into your kid’s breakfast. They will just think they are eating fluffy, sweet pancakes with fancy chocolate chips!
So if you are ready for breakfast to taste delicious and feel good eating it too, make my easy Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes recipe!
Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes in St. Lucia
We wined and dined during our honeymoon in St. Lucia at Jade Mountain Resort. The cuisine was absolutely delicious because everything was so fresh! From seafood right off the boat to fruits and vegetables from the resort’s very own farm (Emerald Farm) – we dined like kings and queens.
Our honeymoon was filled with activities in St. Lucia. So we always had to eat a big and healthy breakfast. One of our favorite breakfast entrees to order was the Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes.
The best part of our Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes was the ingredients. As I said, everything is fresh at Jade Mountain. So the bananas and cacao nibs in our pancakes came from Emerald Farm. Yes, even the cacao nibs (chocolate) because Emerald Farm is also a cacao bean plantation.
It was so refreshing to see how the chef would come to Emerald Farm, find ingredients, and then use them daily at the restaurant. That is why I love this Banana Cacao Nib Pancake recipe. It reminds me of our amazing honeymoon and the experiences we enjoyed.
What are Cacao Nibs?
In my recipes, I usually always talk about what is “insert recipe here” for readers who want more information on what they are preparing in the kitchen. This recipe is pretty self-explanatory. Therefore, I will focus on one primary and important ingredient that you may not know – cacao nibs!
So what are cacao nibs? Cacao nibs are pieces of cacao beans and the key ingredient for making chocolate.
How Cacao Nibs Make Chocolate
It starts with the fruit – a cacao pod. Cacao beans are the seeds from a cocoa pod and are removed from the fruit. Then the cacao beans are fermented, dried, roasted, and crushed into pieces. These crushed pieces are cacao nibs.
The following process is grinding the cacao nibs until it becomes a chocolate liquor (also known as chocolate mass). This chocolate liquor is mixed with the basic ingredients – cocoa butter, sugar, and milk. After the ingredients are thoroughly blended, you have… chocolate!
Health Benefits of Cacao Nibs
It is said that dark chocolate is very good for your health. That is true because it has the most amount of raw chocolate, also known as cacao nibs.
In fact, cacao nibs have almost four times the antioxidants of dark chocolate. So if you want the health benefits of dark chocolate, perhaps you eat more cacao nibs with the help of my Banana Cacao Nib Pancake recipe.
Cacao nibs help protect the heart, are high in dietary fiber, heighten fat-burning, and have more antioxidants than most superfoods. It also has numerous trace nutrients, helps boost your mood, prevents premature aging, fights cavities, and more.
Needless to say, cacao nibs are the top tier of superfoods!
List of Ingredients for Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes
Most of the ingredients for this recipe are pretty standard for a household pantry. The only exception is cacao nibs.
Cacao nibs can be found in most local grocery stores, especially grocery stores such as Sprouts or Whole Foods. However, if you cannot find cacao nibs at your local grocery store, you can easily get them on Amazon.
You want to use ripe bananas because it has more flavor and natural sweetness. A ripe banana will be slightly soft and dark yellow with a few brown spots.
This is a brief overview. Please refer to the full recipe description at the end of this post.
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Whole milk
- Eggs
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
- Bananas, ripe
- Cacao nibs
How to Make Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes
This is a brief overview. Please refer to the full recipe description at the end of this post.
Whisk the dry ingredients – in a bowl.
Whisk the wet ingredients – in a separate bowl.
Make the batter – pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk until combined. It is important not to over-mix the batter. It is okay if there are some lumps. Let the batter rest for a few minutes.
Mash bananas – in a separate bowl. Then fold it into the batter.
Add cacao nibs – fold into the batter.
Cook pancakes – grease a skillet or griddle with butter or spray vegetable oil. Once the skillet/griddle is hot, pour 1/4 cup of the pancake batter at a time. Make sure the pancakes are at least an inch apart from each other. Cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbles pop on the surface. Flip the pancakes and cook on the other side for another minute.
Repeat – until all the pancake batter is finished. Add more butter or spray vegetable oil when needed.
Serve – warm with sliced bananas, cacao nibs, and maple syrup.
Tips and Tidbits
Here are a few tips and tidbits on ripening bananas and creating the perfect pancakes.
How to Ripen a Banana
Getting bananas to be perfectly ripe might sound simple, but they really have a mind of their own. You could buy a banana a few days before making your recipe, and it will still not be ripe when you are ready. Or worse, the bananas ripen too quickly.
So here are a few tips for ripening bananas.
- Store the bananas in a warm place, such as near the oven. In 24 – 48 hours, you should have ripe bananas.
- Place the bananas in a brown paper bag and close loosely. In 12 – 24 hours, you should have ripe bananas
- If you really need ripe bananas, place unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet in the oven at 300ºF for 15 – 30 minutes.
And if you need to slow down the ripening process, you can put the bananas in the refrigerator.
How to Make Your Pancakes Fluffy
No one wants a flat pancake. So to ensure you make light and fluffy pancakes, follow these tips below.
- First and foremost, check the expiration dates on your leavening agents – baking soda and baking powder. These should be less than 6 months old. It can result in flat pancakes rather than fluffy if it is old.
- Use room-temperature eggs for fluffy pancakes.
- Do not over-mix the batter. If you mix the batter too much or rather overwork the flour’s gluten, it makes the pancakes flat and chewy.
- Let the batter sit for at least two minutes. This allows the baking powder and baking soda to activate and make the pancakes fluffy.
- Do not make the batter ahead of time. The leavening agents activate quickly and will become less effective over time.
When to Flip a Pancake
Flipping a pancake is such a crucial moment for the perfect pancake. The best time to flip a pancake is when bubbles form and pop! Moreover, when the bubbles pop, the holes should stay open. If the hole formed from the bubble popping closes (batter fills it again), the pancake is not ready to flip.
More Breakfast Recipes
- The Best Banana Nut Bread – A 50-Year Family Recipe
- Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Coconut
- Delicious Dutch Pancakes (Pannekoek) with Apple Stroop
Healthy Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes
These Banana Cacao Nib Pancakes are so fluffy, sweet, and delicious - you would never know you were eating so healthy!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 medium bananas, mashed (1 cup)
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract together.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk until combined. It is important not to over-mix the batter. It is okay if there are some lumps. Let the batter rest for a few minutes.
- In another separate bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Then fold it into the batter.
- Add the cacao nibs and gently fold them into the batter.
- Grease a skillet or griddle with a tablespoon of butter or spray vegetable oil on medium heat. Once the skillet/griddle is hot, pour 1/4 cup of the pancake batter at a time. Make sure the pancakes are at least an inch apart from each other. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until bubbles pop on the surface and the holes stay open. Flip the pancakes and cook on the other side for another minute.
- Repeat the cooking process until all the pancake batter is finished. Add more butter or spray vegetable oil when needed.
- Serve the pancakes warm with sliced bananas, cacao nibs, and maple syrup.
Notes
Test one pancake before repating the cooking process. If the batter is too thick, add more milk. If the batter is too runny, add a tablespoon of flour more at a time.
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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, when you click on the link you will have the option to purchase a product at no extra cost to you, but I would receive a small commission. I want to thank everyone for following and supporting us on all of “Our Sweet Adventures” and for cooking with my recipes on "Christina's Culinary Creations".
