Who doesn’t love a good pancake? These peanut butter pancakes are incredible and were adapted from a famous recipe by Rosa Parks. I added sliced bananas to this version for extra deliciousness!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Pancakes are the best food in the world, I think. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t like them, and they’re easy to customize to your own tastes, and SO much better than using a pancake mix!
These pancakes are from the Rosa Parks, where her handwritten recipe was on the back of an envelope the Library of Congress released with other personal belongings in 2016. Parks’ recipe is also referred to as “Featherlite Pancakes”, which they totally are. In fact, the lightness is one of the best things about them! (There’s more about her inspiring story here).
Here’s a few good reasons to make them:
- This pancake recipe is full of peanut butter flavor, but are light and bouncy, not heavy and dense.
- Banana’s are optional in this recipe, but why not? They are so good, you’ll see 🙂
- Weekends are for pancakes and other delicious stuff like these little vegetable frittatas, some cut fruit, bacon or sausage, that kind of thing 🙂
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the full recipe and list of instructions, please scroll down to the recipe card below.
This recipe is easy, and there’s nothing tricky about it! The key ingredients are:
- Peanut Butter: Just a third cup peanut butter. Smooth, please.
- Eggs: Room temperature is best
- Flour: A cup of all purpose flour for structure
- Milk: A little more than a cup of whole milk is needed for this recipe
- Baking Powder & salt: Just a half teaspoon of salt and some baking powder to keep these pancakes light!
- Butter: I believe it’s illegal to have pancakes without butter, not totally sure 🙂
- Banana: Sliced in all their glory.
Step-By-Step Instructions
For the full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe card below.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl
- Mix the wet ingredients with a spoon in a separate bowl, medium-sized
- Transfer the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients
- Spoon the batter onto a hot griddle with melted butter
- Cook on both sides over medium high heat
- Serve hot with warm maple syrup and sliced bananas on top!
Expert Tips and Serving Suggestions
- Make sure your skillet is hot before adding the pancake batter. This will help them set up quickly and give you a nice golden color
- Warm up some maple syrup to serve alongside these pancakes (I zap in the microwave for a few seconds)
- Pancakes are extra good with some turkey sausage or crispy bacon and hot coffee.
- If you’re making these for several people, add a small bowl of beautifully cut fresh fruits to serve alongside.
- While you’re at it, make this easy Zucchini Potato Fritatta too…. leftovers are great the next day!
Frequently Asked Questions
No problem! Just leave them off. The bananas aren’t in the batter, they are just sliced on the top.
You can! Try strawberries, raspberries or blueberries, and experiment with what you like!
Sure! Whenever there are leftover pancakes (which isn’t often) just warm them for a few seconds in the microwave and smear with more peanut butter or the topping of your choice. I like to roll them up to eat on the run, too.
More Recipes:
White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups: A little fancy, a lot easy!
Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies: Oh my gosh these are good!
Cornmeal Pancakes with Strawberry Jam: Amazing!
California Fig Banana Bread: Classic flavors, with or without frosting
Fresh Banana Cake: Nostalgic and so delicious!
Cherry Cheese Danish: A wonderful, easy recipe that uses store-bought puff pastry
If you’ve made Rosa Parks Pancakes Recipe, or any recipe on Studio Delicious, leave a recipe rating and tell me all about it in the comments below!
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Rosa Parks Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Flour, all-purpose
- 2 tablespoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- 1 Egg, large room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup Milk, whole
- 1/3 cup Peanut Butter, creamy
- 1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 tablespoon Canola Oil
- 1 Banana, sliced
- Maple Syrup, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients a large mixing bowl, the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar.
- In a separate, medium mixing bowl, combine the egg, milk, peanut butter and vanilla extract. Whisk the wet ingredients together until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Add the canola oil to a non-stick skillet and heat on medium high heat (275 degrees.) Spoon one-fifth of the batter into the pan making a roughly 4 " pancake.
- Cook each pancake for about 2 minutes, until the edges start to bubble and look a little dry. Lift the pancake using a thin spatula to carefully flip the pancake to the other side. Continue cooking for another 2 – 2 1/2 minutes until golden brown.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve with sliced bananas on top and warm maple syrup.
Notes
- Use non-dairy milk instead of whole milk if you’d like.
- You can double this batter to make more pancakes too.
Nutrition
- Super important to read the whole recipe before you begin
- Pay attention to the ingredient list and photos for the recipe
- If possible, prep your ingredients a little before you start
- Always use a sharp knife for safety
- Use the size of pan called for in the recipe
- For savory recipes, taste and season as you go
- Buy fresh, organic ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible
SOURCE: Studio Delicious, via Food 52
Here is the text to the original post to this recipe, which was updated with new text and instructions January, 2022:
There are lots of terrible things that can go wrong with pancakes. They can be tough and dry, too thick or thin, too big or small. Pancakes served cold should be against the law, and often they don’t have much flavor.
I consider myself a pancake connoisseur of sorts, as my love for them is very, very deep 🙂 My friends don’t even flinch when I order salad for lunch with a pancake on the side, because that’s just normal, right?
Whenever I stayed home sick from school as a kid, I’d make either Cream of Wheat with milk, butter and a handful of brown sugar, or pancakes from the recipe on the side of the box of Bisquick.
I just could never get the pancakes to taste like my Mom’s, though. Hers were light and fluffy and hot and perfect. Mine looked like something you found on the bottom of the junk drawer 🙂
I think really good pancakes are something of a mystery – right up there with cooking a perfect omelet.
This recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes is adapted from Rosa Parks now famous “feather light” pancakes that was found haphazardly written on the back of a bank envelope in Detroit years ago. I love that story.
This recipe made the rounds online, and these peanut butter pancakes are so incredibly good, I thought you should have the recipe too. You’d think that putting peanut butter in the batter would make these guys heavy, but not a chance.
Enjoy these light, tender cakes piping hot with sliced bananas, warm maple syrup and a cup of strong coffee.
Please rate this recipe and thanks for leaving a comment!