Homemade pancakes for breakfast are a guaranteed hit any morning, but banana chocolate chip pancakes are a serious no-brainer! This recipe is a great way to use up those black bananas in the back of your freezer. Adding chocolate chips and a handful of oats makes banana pancakes a family favourite in my house.
Start your day off right with buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes or sourdough pancakes, too.
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Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- White flour: you can substitute half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Chocolate chips: use any chocolate chips you like or have on hand. Mini chips are particularly good. Don't use chopped bar chocolate, as it's much more likely to burn.
- Add-ins: consider stirring ½ cup (75g) of raspberries or chopped strawberries into the batter before cooking. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter if you like.
- Oil: any neutral oil will work in this recipe. Common options are canola oil, avocado oil, or grape seed oil. Be sure to choose an oil with a high smoke point.
Method
Step 1: whisk the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: in another bowl, mash the bananas and mix in the remaining wet ingredients.
Step 3: add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
Step 4: cook the pancakes on a hot griddle or skillet until golden and fluffy.
Top Tips
- Make it in one bowl: you don't have to use two mixing bowls for this recipe. You can mix the wet and then add the dry to the same bowl. I like to premix my dry ingredients to make sure everything is well distributed beforehand to prevent over mixing of the batter.
- Use a good pan: if using a cast iron griddle or pan, be sure it is well seasoned or else the pancakes may stick no matter how much oil you use.
- Watch the chocolate: if any exposed chocolate chips may look like they're starting to burn on the griddle, reduce the heat a bit.
- Brush with oil: use a pastry brush to lightly brush the griddle or skillet with oil to prevent sticking without making greasy pancakes.
Recipe Notes
This recipe makes about 12 medium-sized pancakes (approximately ¼ cup (56g) of batter each). It also doubles well.
A hot griddle is your best bet for cooking banana oatmeal pancakes but if you don't have one, preheat a large skillet over medium heat while the pancake batter rests. I recommend using a neutral oil like vegetable oil for cooking, as butter will burn.
The reaction of buttermilk with both the baking powder and baking soda gives these chocolate banana pancakes a fluffy lift and texture you won't get without it. If you don't use buttermilk often, it's super cheap and freezes well for later use. You can use it in many delicious recipes, like these buttermilk raspberry muffins or homemade buttermilk quiche.
How to Store Banana Pancakes
Storage: transfer cooled pancakes to a sealed container and keep at room temperature for a day or two. These taste almost as good cold as they do fresh!
Freezing: once cooled, freeze leftover chocolate chip pancakes in a zipper top freezer bag or airtight container. Lightly toast until they are thawed and warmed through on busy mornings.
FAQ
Should banana pancakes be gooey in the middle?
If your banana pancakes are gooey in the middle, they're probably undercooked. Reduce the heat in the pan a bit if they're burning before the middle is cooked, and they should be light, fluffy, and moist without the centre being underdone.
Can bananas be too ripe for banana pancakes?
Overripe bananas, even black bananas, are perfect for banana pancakes. The riper, the better! They'll make for sweeter pancakes with a stronger banana flavour.
Why are my banana pancakes mushy?
If your banana pancakes have a mushy texture, it's probably due to the pan being too hot. The outside is cooking to quickly before the middle has a chance to catch up. Reduce the heat so that the pancakes cook through evenly.
If you make this Banana Chocolate Chip Pancake recipe or any other breakfast recipes on the Baked Collective, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more baking, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Fork
- Whisk
- Skillet
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- pastry brush
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup quick-cook oats
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- â…› teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 small-medium overripe banana
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Stir together the flour, chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small-medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a second larger bowl, mash the banana with a fork.
- Add the buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla to the bowl.
- Whisk everything together until well combined.
- Add the dry flour mixture to the banana mixture.
- Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to gently stir the wet and dry ingredients together.
- Stop when the flour is just combined (a few streaks of flour is okay). The batter should be quite lumpy.
- Set a timer for 10 minutes to let the batter rest.
- While the batter is resting, heat up a griddle or skillet over medium heat.
- Sprinkle a bit of water on the griddle. When the water droplets dance and sizzle, the griddle is ready.
- Lightly grease the griddle with vegetable oil then scoop the pancake batter onto the hot griddle using a ¼ cup measuring cup.
- The pancakes are ready to be flipped when the tops start to bubble. Flip each pancake over and continue to cook until cooked through.
- Serve hot with sliced bananas, chocolate chips, and lots of maple syrup.