Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
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These Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes are perfection. Fluffy flavor packed pancakes made with overripe bananas and sprinkled with chocolate chips. Easy to make and freezer friendly!
Try serving these with Buttermilk Syrup, Caramel Syrup, or my Butter Pecan Syrup for the perfect sweet start to your day!
Recipe Features
- Easy Breakfast Idea: Pancakes are easy to make with no special equipment required! Whipped up in under 30 minutes!
- Family Favorite: Even my banana hating 12 year old raves over this recipe.
- Freezer Friendly: Make a double batch and freeze for a quick on-the-go breakfast.
These pancakes are incredibly fluffy and full of banana flavor. Melt in your mouth delicious with the perfect ratio of cake to chocolate chips! I am obsessed!
My uncle would make these pancakes for me waaaay back when I was little. He’d let me climb up on a stool and put me in charge of the sprinkle of chocolate chips. He always told me the secret was very ripe bananas. You want them to be brown or heavily spotted. These bananas add the best flavor and a slight sweetness that is unmatched!
Restaurant worthy and picky eater approved! You cannot go wrong with this recipe.
Pancake Ingredients
Every Sunday we make pancakes as a family. Our go-to is mainly the classic Buttermilk Pancake, but we’ve been branching out. This recipe is quickly making its way up the list of favorites.
- All-Purpose Flour: We have also made these with half whole wheat flour with delicious results.
- Leavening Agents and Salt: Always double check the expiration date on your baking soda and baking powder. I like to replace mine once they have been open for six months. This helps ensure freshness and helps give you a nice fluffy cake.
- Sugar: Just a touch. You don’t need much, especially if your bananas are very ripe.
- Buttermilk: No buttermilk? You can make a substitute with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice per 1 cup of milk. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
- Butter: Melted butter is key to getting a super rich flavor in the pancake. Don’t skip!
- Eggs: Large eggs provide structure and help the pancakes hold air and rise.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract works as a flavor enhancer to the other additions.
- Bananas: Ripe bananas work best. Super soft and brown is key to bold flavor. However, you can use a yellow banana.
- Chocolate Chips: Regular or mini chocolate chips.
- Pecans or Walnuts: Optional, but a delicious addition.
Like this recipe? You will love my Buttermilk Pancakes, Cornmeal Pancakes, and Birthday Cake Pancakes!
How To Make The Best Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- PREP: Preheat a skillet over low/medium heat. You don’t want to skillet too hot. Add butter just before starting the first pancake.
- WHISK: Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Gently stir to combined. In a large measuring cup stir together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Gently stir into the dry ingredients.
- BANANA: Mash the bananas. Stir into the batter until it has just combined. Add pecans, if using.
- COOK: Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the prepared griddle. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let the pancake cook until the sides start to pull up from the pan and bubbles begin to form on the top, about 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side has browned.
- ENJOY: Serve warm with extra butter and your favorite syrup!
Helpful Tools
- Skillet: I like to use an electric skillet (affiliate) when cooking pancakes. You have a little more control over the temperature and you can make more at one time.
- Batter Dispenser: Is this necessary? No. Does a pancake batter dispenser (affiliate) speed up the process and reduce waste? Yes!
- Spatula: I like to use a flexible spatula (affiliate) when making pancakes. The one I use is made with silicone, which allows it to slide easily under each cake for flipping.
Recipe Notes:
Hand mix. Over mixed batter tends to sink. Mix only until your ingredients are incorporated.
Flip only once. Wait until you see the edges of your pancake starting to curl and bubbles on top before flipping the first time.
Use fresh ingredients. Baking powder and soda should be fresh. This helps your pancake rise and fluff.
To make sure chocolate chips are evenly distributed, I like to sprinkle them over the batter once you place it in the pan and before you flip.
We’ve found that the easiest way to keep pancakes warm is in the oven. I line a baking tray with parchment and place the pancakes in a single layer. Set the oven to the lowest temperature and keep stored inside until ready to serve.
Yes! To freeze pancakes, make the pancakes all the way through the recipe. Let them cool completely. Place on a baking tray in a somewhat single layer, it’s ok if they slightly overlap, and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
This is known as flash freezing and keeps the pancakes from sticking together.
Remove the tray from the freezer and place the pancakes in an airtight container or zip top bag.
Frozen pancakes will last up to 2 months.
Place a stack of 2 to 3 pancakes on a microwave safe plate. Heat 30 seconds, flip the stack, and heat 30 seconds more. Times will vary depending on the wattage of your microwave.
More Must-Try Pancakes
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Chunky Monkey Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 3 Tablespoon melted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large bananas (diced)
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat a skillet over low/medium heat. You don’t want to skillet too hot. Add butter just before starting the first pancake.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Gently stir to combined.
- In a large measuring cup stir together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Gently stir into the dry ingredients.
- Mash the bananas. Stir into the batter until it has just combined. Add pecans, if using.
- Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the prepared griddle. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
- Let the pancake cook until the sides start to pull up from the pan and bubbles begin to form on the top, about 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side has browned.
- Serve warm with extra butter and your favorite syrup!
Equipment
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
How many pancakes does this make?
Does the t stand for teaspoon or tablespoon?
Teaspoon. Thanks for pointing it out. I’ll update this recipe this week.
Made these for dinner tonight and they were so good! I had a add a little extra milk in mine.
Made these this morning for “my monkey” and made them with whole wheat flour and they were yummy!! Thanks!
Made these this morning and they were YUMMY! I only used about 1/4 cup of the mini choc chips after reading that you said they were overpowering. I am glad I did. I think they were perfect!!! We didn’t need to use syrup….we just used a little bit of butter. They were very filling.
glad you loved them!
I made these this morning and they were a hit! They were super fluffy, very easy to make and absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
I tried some similar a month or so ago, and my boys ate them up! I have yours pinned, I’ll have to try it next time! Yummy!
Oh yum! These look so good, I love breakfast food…. but I prefer it for dinner. 😉
These looks sooooo yummy!!! Breakfast is my favorite meal – I’m definitely trying these and definitely pinning them as well 🙂
Oh my yummyness! Looks delicious!
Hard to imagine going wrong with chocolate and banana! These sound really good, and I’m diggin’ the “Freezer Friendly” tag. I need more of those.