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This recipe for a tall stack of chocolate chip pancakes is very hard to beat. They are so good, with golden edges, soft centres, and gooey chocolate in every bite. I fry them in butter for the best flavour and colour, and they are just the perfect weekend pancake. Whether you’re making them for kids, brunch guests, or just for yourself, this recipe will give you pancakes that are fluffy, evenly cooked, and full of flavour.
In this post, you’ll find a tried-and-tested recipe for chocolate chip pancakes as well as tips for extra fluffiness, chocolate distribution, and avoiding flat pancakes, different variations and how you can make these ahead and store. I also include a troubleshooting guide to make sure you can make the best pancakes with chocolate chips.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- This recipe uses baking powder for maximum rise so they are extra fluffy.
- The batter is tender and light, resulting in tender and light pancakes.
- The chocolate chips melt into the pancakes for gooey pockets throughout.
- It takes about 20 minutes to make these chocolate chip pancakes.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Baking powder – this is crucial for fluffy pancakes. Make sure yours is fresh for the best results. Old baking powder doesn’t work the same way and your pancakes won’t be so fluffy.
Milk – opt for whole (full-fat) milk for best results.
Chocolate – I like to chop a chocolate bar into small chunks as they melt better than chocolate chips, but either work.
Substitutions and Variations:
Flour – for extra rise and fluffiness, sub the plain/all-purpose flour for self-raising flour.
Chocolate – you could use white or milk chocolate chips too. I like dark chocolate.
Vegan chocolate chip pancakes – use my base recipe from my fluffy vegan banana pancakes, and fold in chocolate chips.
Double chocolate pancakes – Replace 2 tbsp flour with cocoa powder and fold in extra chocolate chips for a rich, brownie-like stack.
Here’s how to make delicious chocolate chip pancakes:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
TWO: Then add the milk and melted butter to the flour.
THREE: Add the eggs, stir gently until just combined – don’t overmix. It may still be lumpy. Or mix all the wet ingredients in a jug and pour into the flour.
FOUR: Fold in the chopped chocolate or chips, and mix until just smooth. If you have time, you can rest the batter in the fridge for 15 minutes but this isn’t 100% necessary.
FIVE: Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and lightly grease with butter or oil. Spoon in the batter (about 2–3 tablespoons per pancake) and cook for 1–2 minutes, until bubbles appear on the surface.
SIX: Flip and cook for another 1–2 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
Cooking Tips:
Don’t overmix: too much stirring develops gluten and makes pancakes tough. Mix until just combined, add the chocolate chips, mix a final time.
Resting helps: I know this isn’t always ideal but resting the batter gives the baking powder time to activate, making fluffier pancakes. You can skip this but if you have time, it does help with fluffiness.
Pan temperature matters: too hot, and your pancakes will burn on the outside before the middle cooks; too cool, and they’ll spread flat. Aim for gentle sizzle.
Chip placement: scatter a few chocolate chips directly onto the pancake after you’ve spooned the batter into the pan for extra even distribution.
Troubleshooting
- Flat pancakes: baking powder may be stale. If you want to test freshness before baking, add ½ tsp to hot water; it should fizz.
- Burnt outside, raw inside: lower the heat – medium is best as this gives the pancake time to cook in the centre without burning the outside.
- Chocolate sinking: toss chips in flour or sprinkle on after batter is in the pan.
- Too thick: add a splash more milk. Too thin? Add a spoon of flour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can add buttermilk to chocolate chip pancakes. It gives tang and tenderness. Just swap the milk for the buttermilk. The batter will be a little thicker than if you only used milk, so add a splash more milk if you need to loosen it.
Toss chips in flour before folding into the batter, or I like to sprinkle a few directly onto pancakes once in the pan. You must do it as soon as the batter hits the pan though, so that the chocolate doesn’t sit on the surface and burn when you flip it.
Yes you can easily freeze chocolate chip pancakes. Stack with baking paper, wrap well in plastic wrap or in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven or air fryer at 170c/325f. I like to cover the dish with foil when reheating. I wouldn’t use a toaster with chocolate chips as they can burn in the toaster and create smoke.
Yes you can make this batter the night before. Cover it and leave it in the fridge overnight and then when ready, give it a good stir and let it sit out at room temp for 20 minutes or so before cooking just so it loosens again.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you like this recipe for chocolate chip pancakes, you will also like my tiramisu pancakes, mango pancakes or fluffy lemon and blueberry pancakes.
Pancake Recipes
Poffertjes (Dutch Mini Pancakes)
Pancake Recipes
Racuchy (Polish Apple Pancakes)
Pancake Recipes
Aumônières de Crêpes (French Pancake Parcels)
Pancake Recipes
Pannekaker (Norwegian Pancakes)
If you tried this chocolate chip pancake recipe or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Easy Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Ingredients
- 190 g all-purpose (plain) flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of flaky salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 300 ml milk
- 1 large egg
- 40 g butter, melted
- 55 g dark chocolate, finely chopped (or chocolate chips)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- In a separate jug, whisk the milk, egg, and melted butter until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently until just combined – don’t overmix. It may still be lumpy.
- Fold in the chopped chocolate or chips, and mix until just smooth. If you have time, you can rest the batter in the fridge for 15 minutes but this isn't 100% necessary.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and lightly grease with butter or oil.
- Spoon in the batter (about 2–3 tablespoons per pancake) and cook for 1–2 minutes, until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook for another 1–2 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
- Keep the pancakes warm in a low oven (100c/210f) while you cook the rest. Serve with a drizzle of syrup, a pat of butter or a scoop of honeycomb butter like I did (if you're feeling really indulgent!)
- The video below will help with this recipe.
Video
Notes
- 250g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 140 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Line a 23cm square baking tin or baking tray with non-stick baking paper. This is for the honeycomb which will be very hot, so make sure it is on a surface that can handle heat in case of any spills.
- Next, take a large pan (the honeycomb mix will froth up a lot so choose a pan larger than you think) and add the golden syrup. Place over a gentle heat for about 1 minute – or until the syrup becomes very runny.
- Add the sugar and bring to the boil, swirling the pan to stop it from burning (don’t stir). Once boiling, continue to cook for 3 minutes, swirling often to prevent it from burning. Do time it and don’t guess.
- Remove from the heat and shoot in the bicarbonate of soda. Stir quickly and confidently – you don’t want to overmix it but you do want it to be completely dissolved. Take care, it will really froth up.
- Pour into the prepared tin/onto the prepared baking sheet and leave for about 1 hour – or until set. Don’t touch it at all during this time as it will be VERY hot. See the tips for how to clean your pan immediately!
- Once the honeycomb has completely cooled, roughly chop into small-ish pieces.
- Then take about half the chopped honeycomb and add it to a food processor with the softened butter. You could also mix it by hand. Mix until combined then scoop onto pancakes. Save the other half of the honeycomb for sprinkling on top, dipping into melted chocolate like a crunchie bar or make honeycomb ice cream.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These soft and fluffy chocolate chip pancakes are my breakfast favourite. Topped with honeycomb butter, these are such a treat and so simple.