These Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes are light, fluffy, and so easy to make! They taste just like banana bread with pockets of melted chocolate. You can make them for breakfast, brunch, or even dessert! They're also freezer-friendly so you can make a double batch, perfect for busy mornings!
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Banana bread in a pancake form - The pancakes taste like soft banana bread with pockets of melty chocolate in each bite. They're extra light and fluffy and truly one of the best pancake recipes I've made! You can add any toppings you like but they're so flavorful you could totally eat them on their own!
Easy to make - You only need one bowl, a skillet, a whisk, and a few simple ingredients to make these pancakes. The recipe is super straightforward and totally foolproof.
Freezer-friendly - You can make these during meal prep or you can just double the recipe and freeze the leftovers. They can be easily defrosted and warmed up in the oven or a toaster. This makes these pancakes an easy breakfast for busy mornings!
Ingredients
- Bananas - You want extra ripe bananas for the best results, the same ones you'd use for banana bread. They're sweeter and much easier to mash.
- Eggs - Eggs help bind everything together so they're essential in this batter. I haven't tried any vegan replacements.
- Almond milk - This recipe calls for almond milk to keep the recipe dairy-free but you can use whole milk or any milk you prefer.
- Flour - I used a gluten-free flour blend (my favorite is Bob's Red Mill 1:1 flour blend) but all-purpose flour works great here too.
- Chocolate chips - I like using darker chocolate chips but you can use any kind you prefer. I find mini chocolate chips spread out in the batter better than bigger chocolate chips so you can use less of them to get the same amount of sweetness. The recipe calls for ½ cup but you can add extra chocolate chips if you want, these pancakes deserve it!
- Maple syrup - The batter is sweetened lightly with maple syrup but you can omit this if you'd like or you can replace it with the same amount of brown sugar instead.
Variations and Substitutions
- Apple sauce - If you don't have bananas or don't have enough, you can use pure apple sauce instead.
- Butter - Instead of oil in the batter and for cooking, you can use butter. I usually use oil in the batter because it's easier but I usually use butter for greasing the pan.
- Chocolate chips - You can use a mix of dark chocolate chips and white chocolate chips to change things up. Alternatively, you can also use sugar-free chocolate chips like 100% cacao ones or ones made with stevia or other sugar substitutes.
- Blueberries - To change things up, you can add only half of the chocolate chips, and add ½ cup fresh blueberries.
- Oil or butter - My go-to is always butter for cooking pancakes. Usually, I go with salted because it balances out the sweetness well. If you don't want to use butter, you can use avocado oil, coconut oil, or cooking spray.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, avocado oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt.
- Mix in mashed bananas and almond milk.
- Add all-purpose flour and baking powder. Whisk until just mixed.
- Lastly, fold in your chocolate chips and set the batter aside while you prep your pan.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tsp-1 tablespoon butter. You can use less if you're using a non-stick pan.
- Lower the heat to medium and add pancake batter to make 2-3 pancakes. The batter should make 12-13 pancakes.
- Cook for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. The pancakes should be easy to flip once bubbles start to form on top and the edges set slightly.
- Repeat until all pancakes are cooked. Add more butter as needed and clean the pan carefully with a paper towel if any of it burns.
I always cook pancakes on a large pan but an electric griddle also works great if you have one. The lower the edge of your pan is, the easier the pancakes will be to flip. Always make sure not to overcrowd your pan.
If you're using a stainless steel pan, heat it up over high heat until water forms little balls when you add a few drops. Lower the heat, wait for it to cool down a bit, and then start cooking your pancakes. This way, the pan will be more non-stick and it will be easier to cook on it.
Keep the pancakes warm: If you want to keep your pancakes warm while you cook the remaining batter or while you're eating the pancakes, keep them in a warm oven. Preheat your oven to 150F and lay your pancakes out on a baking sheet.
Serving Suggestions
These pancakes are so light, fluffy, and sweet from the bananas that you could probably eat them on their own but toppings are always fun. Below are a few ideas of what could be delicious.
- Maple syrup - The classic! Always make sure you're using real maple syrup without any additives or added sugar.
- Berries - Fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries are all delicious. Berry jam is also great. You can also make your own Strawberry Chia Jam ahead of time and use leftovers on toast! You can also serve it with other fresh fruit like diced apples, pears, peaches, or plums depending on what's in season.
- Nut butter - almond butter, peanut butter, hazelnut butter (like this Homemade Healthy Nutella) or sunflower seed butter if you don't eat nuts.
- Whipped cream or ice cream - Serve the pancakes for dessert instead of breakfast!
- Caramelized bananas, caramelized peaches, caramelized apples, or pears.
- Yogurt - Greek yogurt, vegan coconut yogurt, or any other kind you like!
Storing
Fridge: Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezer: Freeze the pancakes in a freezer-safe container or a freezer bag for up to 3-6 months. To prevent them from sticking together, freeze them laid out in a single layer on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours before transferring them to a container.
How to Reheat the Pancakes
To reheat your pancakes, you can warm them up in the oven, in a toaster, or in a pan. You can reheat your frozen pancakes in the oven from frozen or defrost them in the fridge overnight for the other two methods.
- Oven - You can warm up your pancakes in a preheated oven at 300F on a baking sheet until warm both from the fridge or the freezer.
- Toaster - This is the quickest method, mainly suitable for pancakes stored in the fridge. Keep a close eye on them to make sure the chocolate isn't burning too much.
- Pan - You can also reheat your pancakes in a pan over medium heat with a little bit of butter to make sure they don't stick. This method is also only for the fridge pancakes.
FAQs
You can skip the maple syrup in the batter and use sugar-free chocolate chips like Lily's. If you want to just avoid cane sugar, you can use Hu's Kitchen chocolate chips which are made with coconut sugar.
I haven't tried any vegan substitutes for the eggs so I can't recommend anything for sure. You can try using flax egg instead but the batter is very loose with a cup of banana puree so I'm not sure flax would be enough to hold it together.
Other Pancake Recipes
Pancakes are one of my favorite breakfasts so there's lots to choose from on my website. The five below are some of my all-time favorites (especially the apple ones!). If you want to see all the latest ones, head over to Pancakes and Waffles.
- 3 Ingredient Banana Oat Pancakes (The easiest pancakes out there, try them with chocolate chips!)
- Peach Pancakes (Fluffy and light with peach slices)
- Apple Ring Pancakes (With an apple ring in each pancake and just like apple fritters!)
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes (Perfect for fall)
- Matcha Pancakes (As pretty as they are delicious!)
📖 Recipe
Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 18 mins
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 12-13 pancakes (3-4 servings) 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Light and fluffy banana chocolate chip pancakes. They're so easy to make, delicious, and freezer-friendly!
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (plus more for serving)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 cup all purpose flour (I used a gluten-free flour blend)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Butter or oil for cooking
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, avocado oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt.
- Mix in mashed bananas and almond milk.
- Add all-purpose flour and baking powder. Whisk until just mixed and fold in chocolate chips.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tsp-1 tablespoon butter depending on how non-stick your skillet is.
- Lower the heat to medium and add batter to make 2-3 pancakes. The batter should make 12-13 pancakes.
- Cook for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. The pancakes should be easy to flip once bubbles start to form on top and the edges set slightly.
- Repeat until all pancakes are cooked. Add more butter as needed and clean the pan carefully with a paper towel if any of it burns.
- Serve the pancakes with maple syrup, berries, yogurt, nut butter, or more bananas.
Notes
To keep the pancakes warm while you cook the rest of the batter, preheat your oven to 150F and lay the pancakes out on a baking sheet and keep them in the oven.
Nessa
Bananas and chocolate are my all time favorite dessert and sweet breakfast combo. These were fluffy, soft, and so good!