Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Marshallese Banana Pancakes
Thick, sweet banana pancakes flecked with coconut, griddled golden, a modern Marshall Islands breakfast favorite.
Marshallese · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 15 min
~467 cal · 8g protein · 61g carbs · 22g fat · 6g fiber · 16g sugars · 11g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
Banana pancakes are a modern Marshall Islands breakfast favourite, a happy meeting of imported flour and the ripe bananas and coconut that grow across the atolls. They turn up on family tables and at gatherings alike.
Mashed ripe banana is beaten into the batter along with grated or shredded coconut, then griddled until thick, golden, and fragrant. The banana keeps them moist and sweet while the coconut adds richness and a little texture.
Eaten warm, sometimes with a drizzle of syrup or a dab of butter, they are a comforting, filling start to the day.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and dairy- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 egg
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup water
3 tbsp
Instructions
1
Mash the bananas smooth, then whisk in the egg (or flax), sugar, and water.
2
Fold in the flour, baking powder, and grated coconut to a thick, spoonable batter.
3
Heat a little oil in a pan and drop in rounds, spreading them slightly.
4
Fry until golden and set on both sides, then serve warm with syrup or sugar.
Marshall Islands atoll home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Majuro. Majuro is an atoll capital eating reef fish, tuna, and breadfruit that is often fermented and preserved for the lean season. Marshallese cooking centres on coconut, pandanus, and arrowroot, with rice and tinned goods now everyday.
🗺️
Marshall Islands. The Marshallese-English dictionary records around twenty distinct breadfruit preparations, which is a fair measure of how central the tree is. Iaraj is the giant swamp taro, grown in dug pits like Kiribati's babai, and the um is the earth oven, the same hot-stone method used across the Pacific under other names.
🌍
Oceania. The staple crops here were carried on purpose. Lapita voyagers moving east from roughly three thousand years ago brought taro, yam, banana, breadfruit and coconut with them along with pigs and chickens, because most of the islands they settled had almost nothing edible growing on them. The earth oven travelled too, as umu, imu, hangi, lovo, mumu, motu and um.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Marshall Islands
Bwiro with FishPreserved-breadfruit dumplings in sweet coconut, served with grilled reef fish.
Marshallese Macaroni SaladA cool, creamy macaroni salad with tinned tuna and crisp vegetables, the potluck staple of the Marshall Islands.
Benben in Mokmok (Arrowroot and Coconut Sap Dumplings)Marshallese arrowroot simmered with sweet coconut sap into a soft jelly, shaped into little balls and rolled in fresh grated coconut.
Browse all Marshall Islands recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Best fresh and hot. Keep batter covered in the fridge for up to a day, and rewarm cooked ones in a dry pan.
Make it a Marshall Islands meal
JekaroDrink
Benben in Mokmok (Arrowroot and Coconut Sap Dumplings)Dessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Marshallese Banana Pancakes?
Thick, sweet banana pancakes flecked with coconut, griddled golden, a modern Marshall Islands breakfast favorite.
Where does Marshallese Banana Pancakes come from?
Marshallese Banana Pancakes is a Marshallese dish from Majuro, Marshall Islands.
Can Marshallese Banana Pancakes be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Marshallese Banana Pancakes recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Marshallese Banana Pancakes safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Marshallese Banana Pancakes take to make?
About 25 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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