Easy recipe for Toasted Coconut and Banana Sourdough Pancakes. A great way to use up sourdough starter discard! Adaptable to gluten-free families, too!
I have this thing with tropical flavors. I just can’t seem to get enough of them!
My smoothies, our tacos, and now breakfast all seem to have a slight pina colada feel to them… You know, that lying-on-a-beach-with-the-warm-sun-beaming-on-your-body type of feeling. Sounds nice, right?
Toasted coconut and banana sourdough pancakes have rapidly become a favorite of both the kids and myself. I thought they wouldn’t like the slight tang of the sourdough at breakfast, but boy was I wrong!
The first time I made them, the kids didn’t even blink at the taste. Not only did they eat them, but they devoured them. They were so light and fluffy and there wasn’t a single pancake left!
Ever since, I’ve been doubling this recipe and restricting pancakes to breakfast only, just so that they last beyond that first day… because a double batch of pancakes on one day really means less work on other days!
Toasted Coconut and Banana Sourdough Pancakes
Besides the fact that they’re light, fluffy, and delicious, why make sourdough pancakes?
- Health benefits. The health benefits of sourdough are outstanding. One of the main reasons I love sourdough is because your body can more easily absorb the nutrients in the grain. (Science-y people call that bioavailability.)
- This recipe goes great with your existing sourdough starter. This recipe is truly ideal if you’re actively working on or feeding your existing sourdough starter.
- It feels like such a waste to pour excess sourdough discard down the drain, doesn’t it? Instead, pour off the leftover sourdough starter discard into a 16oz glass jar (I like these or you can remove labels and repurpose). Then keep the jar in the fridge and when it’s full, make pancakes!
Ingredients for toasted coconut and banana sourdough pancakes
- Shredded or flaked coconut
- Coconut oil
- Egg
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract (here’s how to make it homemade)
- Honey
- Banana
- Sourdough starter
What can I substitute coconut oil for?
Melted butter can be substituted for coconut oil if you have none available.
Can I make this sourdough pancake recipe without bananas?
Yes! We’ve also made this recipe with chopped apple instead of banana and it was just as delicious. In addition, mangos or peaches would also be an excellent choice!
Can I make toasted coconut and banana sourdough pancakes egg-free?
Yes! Just use 1 Tbsp of ground flaxseed meal and 3 Tbsp water in place of the egg.
How to make toasted coconut and banana pancakes from scratch
- Toast shredded coconut
- Preheat griddle
- Combine dry and wet ingredients and slice in bananas, mix in shredded coconut
- Add ¼ cup of pancake batter onto hot griddle, cook pancakes and flip
- Serve warm with maple syrup or honey!
Can I make this sourdough pancake recipe in a sheet pan?
Yes, you sure can! Here is how to make these in a sheet pan! You can even double or triple the batch and freeze extras for later. Batch cooking is my lifesaver to get breakfast (or dinner) on the table fast.
Can I make plain sourdough pancakes?
Yes! Omit the flaked coconut and banana and you have a clean slate to experiment with.
How do I make this sourdough pancake recipe gluten-free?
Well, I happen to have an option for a gluten-free sourdough starter! Trust me, the pancakes will be just as amazing!
Does my sourdough starter need to be fully active to make coconut and banana sourdough pancakes?
Nope! You can easily rack up a couple of cups of excess starter with a week and no feeding is required before using it in this recipe.
- Just pull the jar of starter out of the fridge the night before you plan to make pancakes and let it sit on the counter at room temperature. This gives the yeast a chance to “warm-up” to the environment and do its job.
- Personally, I’ve been feeding my starter with 1/4 cup of flour each morning and night and I’ve found that it’s just the right amount for a double batch of pancakes on Monday and a batch of sourdough bread on Thursday.
- If you want to be SUPER efficient, grind your own wheat berries (without a grain mill) on Monday while the pancakes are cooking. Store it in the freezer and use that freshly ground flour to feed your starter for the rest of the week!
More Sourdough Recipes
- No Knead Einkorn Sourdough Bread
- Buttery Sourdough Biscuits
- Simple Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Sourdough Pancakes
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Easy recipe for Toasted Coconut and Banana Sourdough Pancakes. A great way to use up sourdough starter discard! Adaptable to gluten-free families, too!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 6 mins
- Total Time: 16 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 pancakes 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded or flaked coconut, toasted (see recipe for directions)
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 banana
- 2 cups sourdough starter
Instructions
TOASTING COCONUT
- Spread shredded or flaked coconut on a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven and set the temperature to 350 degrees. The heat will cause the natural oils of the coconut to release and in turn toast the coconut. With a spatula, stir and/or shake the coconut every 1-2 minutes until coconut is light to medium brown. Note: Do not leave the kitchen while toasting coconut. Once the oils are released the toasting process goes very quickly. Brown coconut is good. Black coconut is not so good.
MAKING PANCAKES
- While the coconut is toasting, preheat a griddle to 350 degrees or a skillet to medium. Melt coconut oil in a large mixing bowl. Add egg, baking powder, vanilla and honey and whisk thoroughly. Slice the banana into the bowl and combine well. If you prefer smaller pieces of banana in the pancakes, mash slightly while mixing.
- Add toasted coconut when done and mix well. Finally, measure and add sourdough starter, mixing well into the batter.
- Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle or skillet. Cook pancake until it is bubbly on top and cooked on the edges, approximately 2-3 minutes. The edges will not necessarily turn brown.
- Flip and cook the pancake for another 2-3 minutes, removing from the griddle or skillet when the bottom is golden to medium brown.
- Serve with maple syrup or honey. Yields 6-8 pancakes.
Hi, looks yummy!
Do you have any suggestion to use something other than coconut? Not a fan…
Never really had pancakes to BE honest but always curious and seems a great way to use discard if I like it!🙄
Hi Sergio! Here’s a great “blank slate” recipe for sourdough pancakes: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/sourdough-pancakes/
How could you make this without sourdough starter and with oat flour? I have some of the latter leftover as well as toasted coconut from your coconut milk recipe. Am trying to find ways to use them this week before going on vacation!
Kendall – you can sub oat flour for all-purpose flour in any pancake recipe! These are one of our favorites: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2016/08/protein-pancakes/
Since I am already using a starter, can I make gf pancakes without neither baking powder or baking soda? Would it work? Thank you.
You can Agi, but you won’t get the fluffiness you’re used to in pancakes. The rise that comes from natural yeast in sourdough takes a long time to develop, and won’t happen instantly in pancakes.
Thank you, Tiffany!
Fantastic news, thank you Tiffany. I’ll keep feeding the “beast” as its affectionately known!
Hi there.
I’m making my sourdough starter with buckwheat flour. The first two feedings were great and I already had a dome with bubbles. However, its not happened again with subsequent feedings – the surface is flat, goes dark brown and very few bubbles. I’m persevering and might add some kefir. Can I still use this for the pancakes or does it mean its not matured properly?? Be grateful for any advice.
Thanks.
Hi Jo! You can definitely still use it for pancakes! If you don’t think the starter is fully mature yet, the concern would be using it in bread… and the reason you might not see significant growth after the first few days is because buckwheat doesn’t contain gluten. You can certainly use it in GF sourdough recipes though!
I just made these for breakfast amd they are AMAZING! My GF bread has been a bit hit ans miss, but I would keep my culture alive just to make these pancakes! Thanks for the recipe
Hi Tiffany!
I’m new to all things sourdough! I currently have a very active starter using rye flour. I’ve been saving the discard for these pancakes. Mine turned out sticky and flat. My batter was super funny, too. After a few pancakes flopped, I added coconut flour. They cooked up better, but were chewy. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Mandy
Wow! My 4 year old said they smelled great while I was toasting the coconut. Boy was he right. Thanks for sharing!
A compliment from a 4 year old is hard to come by – so glad ya’ll like it!
I made a double batch of these for dinner tonight. I omitted the coconut and it was the first time making something with my new sourdough starter, which is gluten free. The batter was runny so I added a total of 2 cups flour (I doubled the original recipe) and they turned out AWESOME! I sooo can’t wait to try bread soon! 🙂 thanks so much for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed them Joy!!
Hi Tiffany,
I tried this recipe this morning & the batter was extremely thick & wouldn’t fully cook through. It also created a crispy surface rather than soft & fluffy. What could have been done wrong? I also tried thinning by adding liquid but still wasn’t right.
Hi Angela,
Honestly, I don’t know what could have gone wrong. I’ve never had a pancake turn out crispy, but I can do my best to offer solutions! Thinning with water (2 tbsp – 1/4 cup) should have done the trick, but maybe the skillet was too hot? It should be on medium, medium-low. The baking soda reacts w/the acid in the sourdough starter to create the rise, so maybe another 1/2 tsp? You also might try subbing butter for the coconut oil to see if that helps too. I’m sorry your batch didn’t turn out well Angela 🙁
Thank you Tiffany. Did you mean to say baking powder? The recipe says powder not soda…
Thank you
LOL, probably. I didn’t have the recipe pulled up the entire time, so that’s probably what I meant. Similarly, we made pancakes yesterday for breakfast (a different recipe) and it called for 1/2 tsp of baking SODA if I swapped cultured milk for regular milk. Which I did. So I added the soda and they were really good. You might want to try adding this too to see if it helps with the rise. Don’t swap soda for powder, just add. 🙂
I had the same issue. The ingredients call for baking powder and your comment above says Baking soda. Not sure I would make them again. Too crispy, too hard to flip (stuck to a well oiled cast iron pan), had a elastic kind of texture on the inside, sort of undone tasting).
Making this today for breakfast. Can’t wait.
Pretty much! I have it timed where I have enough starter at the beginning of the week for pancakes, then enough for bread later in the week. You can add up to 3 times the existing amount of starter if needed though. So if you had 1 cup today and you needed 3 cups for a recipe, you could add 3 cups and be just fine. I usually don’t though, only because I’d end up with TONS of starter and one way I limit our carbs is by baking only once/week. When I haven’t been paying attention I’ve added 2 cups with success. 🙂
So good!
Mmm, these look great, and very healthy! I love the idea of adding shredded coconut to any pancake, but I bet it pairs nicely with the tang of sourdough.
Do you buy your coconut shredded, or do you shred it yourself? I love the taste of fresh coconut, but it can be sooo much work!
What a timely post! I was literally just trying to figure out how I was going to deal with all this starter I have!