Elvis-Style Grain-Free Banana Pancake: Let There Be Bacon

What day is it?? I don’t even know anymore. Monday blurs into Tuesday blurs into Wednesday blurs into Thursday, and then all of a sudden, HEY, it’s Friday! Which, sadly enough, doesn’t feel too different from any other day at this point. I miss there being a stark difference between Monday and Friday. I’m basically just calling every day Blursday at this point.

I used to look forward to Fridays, or girls nights, or trips I knew were coming up. All placed on hold for the time-being. Now what do I look forward to? Food. (Ok, I kind of already did that pre-pandemic too, but it’s most definitely been taken up a notch!) I plan my days around baking things and what I’ll make for dinner and how I’ll use up those last couple of spotty bananas. One ingredient I’ve been finding ways to work into my repertoire this quarantine: bacon. And y’all, it’s really giving me life right now, something meaty to look forward to.

There are two different kinds of bacon people: stovetop-bacon people OR oven-bacon people. My feet are planted firmly in the oven-bacon camp. It’s not nearly as messy or splatter-y, it cooks more evenly and it just produces superior bacon. I stick it in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, and it’s good to go.

Another way I love doing bacon: wrapping it around a big carrot and grilling it indirectly on a 400 degree grill for 25-30 min. Then…wait for it…during the last 5 minutes of grilling, I brush the carrots with maple syrup. I kid you not, this tastes soooo much like a hot dog.

But one of my absolute favorite ways: this banana + bacon pancake. COOKED in bacon fat and TOPPED with crumbled bacon, so it’s perfectly crisp on the outside and soft and pancakey on the inside, then studded with little salty specs of bacon-y goodness on each forkful, perfectly complementing the sweetness of the maple syrup on top.

I initially came up with this recipe because I was craving a pancake one Saturday morning when the boys were having their usual Saturday morning donuts, so I wanted something light and single serve that would quell my cravings without having to make an entire batch of pancake batter. This fit the bill perfectlyyyy. Kind of a cross between an omelette shell and a pancake, it’s got that irresistible salty-sweet thing goin’ on. I used almond flour to keep it lighter, but you can sub in regular flour if you prefer! It was so good that the boys actually stopped eating their donuts and came over begging me for bites of MY bacon-loaded pancake.

Want more delicious ways to eat up that bacon? Here are a few ideas from the National Pork Board:

Overnight Bacon Casserole
Puffy Omelet with Canadian Bacon Filling
Smoky Pork, Bacon and White Bean Chili
BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Basil Stuffing
Bacon + Peanut Butter Cookies
Grilled Chocolate Chip Cookie Bacon Smores

Feeling like every day is Blursday yourself? Good news: bacon is a proven Blursday cure. And for the next few weeks, when you tag the National Pork Board in one of your own creations on social media and include the hashtag #BaconforBlursday, you could be one of up to a THOUSAND people across the country to receive a package of bacon in the mail!

As Socrates once said, money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy bacon, and isn’t that basically the same thing? Ok, it probably wasn’t Socrates, but I’m quite confident he’d be fully on board with the messaging.

Print Recipe

Elvis-Style Grain-Free Banana Pancake

This is what I make when I'm craving a quick pancake, but don't want anything too heavy. I most often keep it simple with just a few blueberries added into the batter, but this version is ridiculously good. Plus, there's bacon. Need I say more?? If you don't have almond flour, you can also sub in regular or gluten-free all-purpose flour.

Servings: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 slice bacon
• 2 eggs beaten thoroughly
• 1 banana halved
• 3 tbsp almond flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• dash cinnamon
• peanut butter
• maple syrup or honey

Instructions

• In a small ovenproof skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon to your liking. Remove from skillet, reserving the rendered fat, and set aside to cool before crumbling.
• Mash half the banana, then whisk in with the eggs, along with the almond flour, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour batter into the skillet to cook in the bacon fat. Let cook a minute or two, then place skillet in the oven to broil a minute or so, until the top of the pancake is cooked through.
• Serve topped with the bacon crumbles, the other half of the banana, sliced, and a little drizzle each of peanut butter and maple syrup.