So Delicious Dairy-Free Recipe Contest Entry: Chocolate Banana Pancakes (vegan, gluten-free)

It's no secret that our family is crazy for pancakes; I've mentioned our Saturday morning pancake breakfast tradition several times and have shared a few different recipes for our favourite healthy gluten, dairy, and egg-free versions here over the years.  Apparently we are not the only ones who love a good pancake breakfast, either.  The recipe I shared back in February for chocolate banana pancakes has been one of my most popular food posts on Pocketfuls. (Who doesn't enjoy a little chocolate as part of a nutritious start to the day, right?)  When I saw that Go Dairy Free and So Delicious were teaming up to present a dairy-free recipe contest, I knew right away which recipe I wanted to enter.  Hearty, decadent, and good-for-you too, these chocolate banana pancakes are sure to make your morning a happy one!

Chocolate Banana Pancakes

1 1/2 cups certified pure oats
2 1/2 cups So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage
1 cup ground certified pure oats (I use a Magic Bullet to grind them)
3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp coconut sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp gluten-free baking powder
1 tbsp ground chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp warm water (stir and let stand to make a gel)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 mashed ripe banana

Pour the coconut milk over the whole oats and let them sit for ten minutes. Sift the ground oats, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, sea salt, cinnamon, and baking powder together, then add them to the oat/coconut milk mixture and stir to combine. Add the chia seed gel, melted coconut oil, and vanilla, and mix well. Fold in the mashed banana.

Ladle the batter onto an oiled hot griddle. Flip the pancakes when the edges begin to set, and then cook the pancakes on the other side until they are cooked through. (This recipe makes approximately 12 pancakes.)

To serve these pancakes, I topped a stack of them with a dollop of cashew cream*, then added a few fresh strawberry hearts and a sprinkling of finely chopped dark chocolate and drizzled them with pure maple syrup. Oh my.

*You can make cashew cream very easily by blending 1/2 cup of raw cashews with 1/4 cup of cold water in a high speed blender. I soaked my cashews in water in the fridge overnight to make them softer and easier to blend.  

To find other scrumptious dairy-free recipes made with So Delicious products, visit the contest Pinterest board, and vote for your favourites by "liking" them there.  The recipe with the most likes will win a $500 Williams-Sonoma gift card!