Banana Walnut Pancakes with Caramelized Banana Topping

This recipe for Banana Walnut Pancakes with Caramelized Banana Topping is like a tale of two bananas. One is brown and overripe and the other is full of hope, with nary a mark on it’s yellow flesh. You’ll need both for this recipe but it’s worth it.

I personally can’t remember the last time I ate a banana as nature intended but ask me what to use them in and I’m like the Bubba Gump of the banana plant. You can fry ’em, mash ’em, bake ’em, freeze ’em—you see what I’m getting at. They’re ridiculously versatile so I routinely bring them home and then promptly forget about them until I’m ready to cook with them.

Normally, the overripe banana is what you need for baking, as with this recipe for Banana Bread in a Skillet. For this Banana Walnut Pancake recipe though you’ll need both.; the overripe bananas for the pancakes, and the just ripe bananas for the sauce.

Either part of this recipe can stand alone; the banana walnut pancakes from scratch or the caramelized banana topping. Putting them together though pushes this from standard breakfast fare into something wonderfully decadent.

It’s an eat your feelings kind of breakfast, and whether your eating your own or making this for someone else who needs to find comfort in carbs and sugar, then this is the recipe for you.

If you do decide to make the caramelized bananas on their own, they are perfect alone, over ice cream, or on top of french toast. You may be tempted to use overripe bananas for this part of the recipe but if you do they will turn to mush on you in the pan, and while tasty, it will definitely lose some of its aesthetic a-peel. (oh you know I had to throw in one banana pun)