Plantain Collagen Protein Pancakes (AIP/Paleo/Refined Sugar-Free)

When someone is on a healing diet,  reframing the way we think about breakfast is absolutely necessary. Muffins filled with gluten and obnoxious amounts of sugar as well as that bowl of quaker oats are commonly replaced with leftover meat and veggies from the night before or a big bowl of soup. Why? Because our systems absolutely do better with a balanced morning meal that isn’t going to spike our blood sugar!  

I do a bit of everything. Some mornings I go for the leftovers or I enjoy some bone broth soup. I will even eat organ meat in the morning, or if I’m on the go, I will often do a green collagen smoothie. But some mornings I crave a pancake breakfast. You know those mornings, you wake up and say  “I just want a freakin’ pancake!” BUT I don’t want to feel miserable, the struggle is real!  My solution: Plantain Collagen Protein Pancakes.

What’s SO great about Collagen?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body (making up 30% of our total protein).  Our skin, hair, muscles, bones, cartilage and joints all contain collagen. It is vital for healthy connective tissues (basically what holds our bodies together), making it the perfect ingredient for healing, especially healing the gut lining.

I am a HUGE fan of grass-fed collagen.

I’ve noticed major improvements to my healing since I started using it daily. As a bonus, my skin is more supple, hair more shiny, and my nails are stronger.  Drinking bone broth and eating gelatin (like in gelatin gummies) will also have the same effect, since they also contain proline and glycine, the amino acids that are in collagen.

The great thing about collagen, though, is that it has no taste and does not gel. It can be added to tea and smoothies without altering the taste.  I’ve also been experimenting with collagen in my AIP baking, and I am pleasantly surprised with the results (these pancakes included)! I love that it adds protein and healing benefits to something I would consider a treat. It feels good to treat myself, but know that I’m also doing my body good.

I personally use and trust three brands of collagen:

Great Lakes Collagen: Great lakes offers both gelatin and collagen.  Make sure to buy the green can, this is the collagen, which dissolves in cold liquids and will not gel like the gelatin (red can) does.  Great lakes is the most economical choice (a great price) and I’ve used it often.

Vital Proteins Collagen: Vital proteins also offers both gelatin and collagen. The collagen is the blue labeled container. I’ve been very happy with Vital Proteins products.  They have recently started offering collagen in travel packs, making it easy to add collagen in your smoothies and tea while on the go. How convenient! They’ve also teamed up with The Paleo Mom and created an AIP collagen veggie blend. Super exciting!

Further Food: The newest collagen on the block! I am quite impressed with Further collagen. I must say, I noticed even more improvements to my skin, hair, and nails while using this collagen.

If you’d like to try Further Collagen, they’ve graciously offered a discount code to my readers! Woohoo! Use coupon code AIP10 for 10% off!

These pancakes are easy to make with only five ingredients. I’ve also included two cooking methods.

Baking: If I’m batch cooking and want some extra pancakes for the freezer, I will often bake as it takes less time standing at the stove.

Frying: Some mornings (usually on a Sunday, because it’s a classic pancake day amirite?), I want to stand at the stove and fry up some pancakes just like I used to pre-AIP.

Both methods result in a slightly different pancake, but equally tasty. I like enjoying these with a little bit of maple syrup and some smoked wild salmon, for extra protein and omega 3s, and because the combo just tastes ah-mazing! However, they taste wonderful alone as well.

Plantain Collagen Protein Pancakes (AIP/Paleo/Refined Sugar-Free)

Yield: 2-4 servings

Plantain Collagen Protein Pancakes (AIP/Paleo/Refined Sugar-Free)

Prep Time:
5 minutes
Cook Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
15 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

    1. Place all ingredients in a blender.
    2. Puree until smooth.
    3. Cook with either Method 1 or Method 2 instructions:

    Method 1

    1. Drop puree by 1/4 cup on parchment-lined baking pan
    2. Bake for 25 minutes at 350.
    3. Enjoy!

    Method 2

    1. Warm coconut oil (I use a tbsp) in cast-iron pan (you may need to add oil in between pancakes to prevent sticking)
    2. Once oil is hot, drop puree by 1/4 cup
    3. Cook approx. 3 minutes per side or until cooked through.
    4. Enjoy!

35 Comments

  1. Can the collagen be replaced with something else?

    • Hi Jan,

      I haven’t tried using anything else besides collagen. You could try using coconut flour but then it wouldn’t have the protein that the collagen offers. Let me know if you try something that works! oooh just thought of cricket flour. I haven’t tried it yet, but plan to. It’s an AIP flour that contains protein.

  2. These were delicious! My 3 year old lloved them, too. We added some blueberries for fun. Thanks so much for sharing these.

    • YAY and yum, blueberry plantain pancakes! So glad your little one enjoyed them, they are a hit with my kiddos too 🙂

  3. Would this work with bananas?

    • Hi Ali! I haven’t tried it with bananas, but if I did, I would probably use bananas that are still a bit green. I think this would hold up better then super ripe bananas. Please report back with the results if you give it a try! 🙂

  4. Nicole Crawley

    I have a jar of collagen and didn’t know I could cook with it. I was going to just use in smoothies. Please tell me what else can I do with it? Is it a kind of flour alternative??

    • Hi Nicole, I wouldn’t say it’s a flour alternative but more a supplement – adding nutrients to whatever you add it to. However, when I do use it in my baking, it does change the texture. I like to add collagen to my tea, tea lattes, smoothies, you can even sprinkle it over your meals to get some more healing benefits!

  5. Would gelatin work in place of collagen?

    • Hi Heather, I don’t think gelatin would have the same effect as the collagen does, since they act very differently. However, I have not tried it personally.

  6. Hi, may i ask what is the role of palm shortening? Can it be substituted? Thanks!

    • Hi Julie,

      Using palm shortening results in a fluffier pancake. You could try substituting with coconut oil (maybe a little less), however the texture will be different. Hope this helps!

  7. So this was an epic fail for me! So, I ask, could it be my pancakes stubbornly refused to firm up because the plantains were probably a bit too ripe? Another question, I had my cast iron skillet set at a medium-high temperature, should it have been higher? Lower? Either way, I did not waste this food, and it was extremely yummy! I just scooped my fried pancake mush into a bowl and topped it with a few sliced strawberries and a dabble of maple syrup. Delish!!!

    • Oh no! Glad it was still tasty tho! The plantains were most likely too ripe. I use plantains that have just turned yellow, so they are still firm but sweet. The pan temp was probably ok. I just make sure my oil is hot by adding a drop of water and if it sizzles I add the batter.

      Hope this helps! Let me know how it turns out next time. 🙂

    • Mine were a disasterous mess, also. Followed the recipe exactly, so I’m not sure what went wrong!

    • Yes! They freeze great. I usually put a piece of wax or parchment paper in between pancakes to prevent sticking and freeze in a ziploc bag.

  8. I can attest to making sure you use green or only slightly ripe plantains… Mine was way over ripe and it made a sticky mess! Looking forward to trying this again with the greener variety.

    • Yes do not use ripe plantains! I usually use plantains that have just turned yellow, but are still firm, not mushy. Hope it goes better next time Holley 🙂

  9. Can I use Great Lakes collagen in the red can? That’s all I have.

    • Hi Nicole,

      Unfortunately no the great lakes red can is gelatin, this recipe uses collagen, which is the great lakes green can.

  10. These look dreamy! Any subs you could think of for the plantain? I’m allergic to bananas and plain rains.

    • Hi Ashton! I’ve only used plantains for these, you could try white sweet potatoes, but I’m really not sure how it would turn out. Let me know if you give it a shot!

  11. Melonie Klay

    How many pancakes does this recipe make?

  12. These are so good! I greatly appreciate your simple recipes 🙂 I also really like your content. Thank you for all you do for us on this aip journey.

  13. Well this was a hot mess! After reading the comments I’m sure my plantains were too ripe AND I used gelatin instead of collagen, didn’t realize there was that much of a difference. They are still baking so I’m still going to try to eat them they’re just one big pancake lol

    • Definitely need to use yellow plantains that are still a bit firm (ripe but not overly ripe). It doesn’t hold well if the plantains are very ripe. Although, it does usually still taste good even if it’s a hot mess, hope that was the case for you!

  14. I’d love to try these, they look delish but I cannot tolerate coconut, can I substitute with extra virgin olive oil? Thank you

  15. Like others have said, total fail!! I followed recipe as written and my plantains were as described. From blending to fry nothing went well. There’s something off about the recipe. Will explore other options.

    • Hi Leanne,

      Sorry the recipe was a fail for you, that’s frustrating. I’ve made these many times with success, gotta make sure you use plantains that are still firm – usually when they are too ripe, it becomes messy. I hope you find a recipe that works for you!

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