Banana chocolate chip pancakes are light, incredibly fluffy and studded with melty chocolate chips! They only take 10 minutes to mix up and are such a delicious breakfast!

Earlier this week I shared chocolate chip pancakes, which are such a fun treat for a weekend breakfast!

It’s part of a recent pancake kick here on the blog.

I realized over the summer that I had never shared our classic fluffy whole wheat pancakes recipe, which are a serious staple in our house.

And I’ve also shared healthy blueberry pancakes, healthy chocolate pancakes and whole wheat pumpkin pancakes, which are a fall favorite.

I even make pancake mini muffins for a fun baked version. Those are great for sending as part of a school lunch too.

Total pancake obsession in our house!

Today, it’s banana chocolate chip pancakes. Because you just can’t go wrong with having a little chocolate at breakfast.

(See my oatmeal chocolate chip waffles and my healthy chocolate oatmeal for other ways I try to sneak chocolate into our mornings.)

These pancakes are seriously SO fluffy! I think they are the fluffiest pancakes I have ever made and I’m a wee bit obsessed with them.

I’m also thinking of that cute scene with the little girl in Despicable Me - IT’S SO FLUFFY! Cracks me up every time!

Bananas and chocolate are a favorite combination and putting them together at breakfast just makes me smile and starts my day off right.

(My kids wholeheartedly agree with me on that, if not much else. )

Plus, like all of my pancake recipes, these are made with maple syrup (cause you already have it for serving with the pancakes) so they are naturally sweetened and there’s no added sugar.

AND you can opt for whole wheat flour or white wheat flour if you want to make these whole grain for healthy banana chocolate chip pancakes. (I’ve also got tips below on how to make these gluten-free, dairy-free and/or vegan. )

However you decide to tweak them to make them your own, these are a MUST in your kitchen on a morning very soon.

Now, I’ve got some notes, tips, substitutions and FAQs coming up below on how to make banana chocolate chip pancakes. Just tryin’ to be helpful.

(Also, I’ve had a lot of experience making pancakes and want to share what works. )

If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.

Notes on making banana chocolate chip pancakes:

• I have made these using white wheat flour and regular all-purpose flour. You could also use a mix of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour or try it with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour for gluten-free banana chocolate chip pancakes.
• It helps to use a ¼-cup measuring cup to measure out the batter into the skillet so you get even sized pancakes.
• Helps, too, to spray that measuring cup with cooking spray so the batter falls easily out of it.
• This recipe makes about 10 pancakes and I’d say the serving size is 2.

Full disclosure though, my kiddos often eat 3, 4 sometimes even 5 or 6 pancakes in a sitting. Maybe it’s a growth spurt thing, but just wanted to put that out there.

Now, for some other tips and substitutions…

Knowing when to flip your pancakes is kind-of the key to keeping them light and fluffy and oh so tasty.

You’ll know they are ready when you see little air bubbles forming all over the tops of the pancakes.

Here’s a picture of one of my basic pancakes to show you what that looks like:

The other big trick with cooking pancakes is keeping your pan at the right temperature.

For pancakes with chocolate chips, I think it helps to keep the heat a little on the lower side. They just brown faster and you don’t want them to burn.

I heat my pan over a gas burner on just below medium heat and then lower it a little bit as I continue to cook pancakes. (You can adjust when you flip or between batches.)

It will depend on your burner, your pans and just the weather. But it won’t take long to figure out your perfect temp adjustments.

OK, special diets coming right up.

Dairy-free banana chocolate chip pancakes are really easy to make using this recipe.

(My daughter used to have a cow’s milk allergy, which she thankfully outgrew, so I’ve done them this way before. And still do pretty often.)

Just use your dairy-free milk of choice, such as soy milk or almond milk. Then make sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips and you are set.

Want to make vegan banana chocolate chip pancakes?

Use a dairy-free milk, a flax egg in place of the egg and vegan chocolate chips for this recipe.

And now, my very favorite time-saving hack. This was life-changing guys.

Pro tip: Use two large skillets to cook twice as many pancakes at once.

If you are standing there flipping pancakes, you might as well do two batches at once and cut your time in half.

This has saved me countless hours over the course of my life and that makes me happy.

OK, a few other commonly asked questions…


How to keep pancakes warm:

- Don’t cover the pancakes on a plate to keep them warm. They’ll steam and get soggy.

- Instead, place the cooked pancakes onto a sheet pan in a single layer and put into the oven at 200 degrees until ready to eat.

(Or use my two-skillet method mentioned above to do twice as many pancakes at once and you won’t have much of a problem with pancakes cooling off.)

This recipe makes a pretty big batch and while my kids and husband sometimes power through ALL of those in a single morning, we usually end up with some extras.

Or else I double the recipe to ensure I have some extras.

(That’s the goal - it makes future breakfasts on busy mornings so easy to have some of these on hand!)

Here’s a few tips on how to store any extras you have.

How to store leftover pancakes:

- Leftover pancakes can be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days. I put them in a plastic bag once they’ve cooled down and pop them right in.

- Pancakes also freeze great! Let them cool completely, then place in a freezer-safe ziptop plastic bag — that’s labelled! — and freeze for up to 6 months. (I’m able to get 4-5 pancakes in a standard quart-size freezer bag.)

- Move the pancakes to the fridge to defrost overnight and warm in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, or until warmed through.

- Or place in the microwave directly from the freezer and warm for 20-30 seconds per side, flipping and adding extra time as needed.

Like I said, we’ve *always* got extra pancakes of some variety or other in the freezer.

It really comes in handy if I’m out of town and my husband can just pull them out. Or if we need a quick breakfast on a busy morning.

Or if I just don’t feel like making another full batch one Sunday morning and I can use those instead.

Lastly, it wouldn’t be a Family Food on the Table post if I didn’t attempt to offer you some topping ideas.

Pancakes are no exception!

Pancake topping ideas:

• Maple syrup is our go-to and a classic favorite.
• Butter. Duh.
• Sliced bananas on top of course go perfectly with these.
• Top with strawberries, blueberries or another favorite berry.
• Double up on the chocolate by serving these with some mini chocolate chips scattered over the top. Or a smear of Nutella!
• And if we’re getting decadent, feel free to do a drizzle of chocolate sauce or a swirl of whipped cream on top.

So many delicious options!

Oh, and I have to say, I do recommend real maple syrup over the imitation stuff. It’s way tastier and so much healthier too. Just look at the labels.

I hope you give this banana chocolate chip pancake recipe a try soon. It’s sure to brighten up your morning and start your day off right!

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn