Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Chocolate Chip Pancakes combine fluffy buttermilk pancakes with rich and delicious melty bites of chocolate. Incredibly quick and easy to make at home in under 30 minutes, your family will love when a batch of these chocolate-filled flapjacks is on the menu.

If your family loves getting pancakes at the 24 hour diner, then you will love how quick, easy and inexpensive it is to make (better than) restaurant quality pancakes at home. In less time than it take to drive to IHOP, you can have a stack of mouth watering Chocolate Chip Pancakes on the table!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients you will need to make this easy Chocolate Chip Pancakes recipe. Important notes and substitutions for certain ingredients are discussed. The full printable recipe, with amounts and specific details, can be found at the bottom of the page.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Buttermilk – I highly recommend using actual buttermilk in this recipe. Not only does it give incredible flavor to your chocolate chip pancakes, but it also helps with the rise. That said, if you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own buttermilk substitute.
• All Purpose Flour – AP Flour helps give these pancakes that light and fluffy pancake quality that you enjoy at the diner. If you prefer making a whole grain pancakes, check out my Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes that are made with whole wheat flour and oats.
• Chocolate Chips – I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate if desired. You could also use different flavored chips, such as peanut butter!

How To Make Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Let’s discuss the steps you’ll take to make chocolate chip pancakes. If you want to skip my discussion, tips, information and answers to frequently asked questions, just scroll to the bottom of this post for the printable recipe.

1. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a bowl. Stir to combine.
2. Add in buttermilk, milk and eggs, stirring just enough to start to combine.
3. Add in melted butter and stir just until combined.
4. Batter will be lumpy and thick. Let batter sit for 2-3 minutes, this will allow time for the baking powder and buttermilk to help puff up the batter.
5. Scoop approximately 1/4 cup of batter (an ice cream scoop is perfect) into a skillet that has been preheated to medium-low / medium heat (for reference I heat to 4 on a 1-10 scale) and lightly brushed with butter or oil. The batter will be thick and you will need to use your scoop or spoon to help spread the batter out a bit. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
6. When bubbles start to appear on surface and edges of pancake begin to appear to be browning, flip with a spatula and cook until golden. Pancakes should only be flipped once. Transfer to a plate and serve with syrup, butter, chocolate sauce or even peanut butter!

Tips and Advice

Storage

Store any leftover pancakes tightly covered in an airtight container or freezer style bag. They’ll last 3-4 days in the fridge, or up to three months in the freezer. To reheat, you can microwave, place in your toaster, place on a baking sheet and pop into the oven (great if you have a lot to reheat) or even use your air fryer.

Tips For The Best Results

Don’t overstir – If you overstir the batter, you’ll stir the air bubbles right out. Those air bubbles help create fluffy pancakes. This batter is thick, that’s to be expected. You don’t pour it, you scoop it into the pan, then you need to spread the batter out a bit with your spoon or scoop, to get the desired size.

Let it sit – It’s important to let the batter sit for a few minutes prior to cooking. This let’s the baking powder activate and really helps puff up the pancakes. DO NOT STIR after letting it sit. This will take out all that puffy air that helps create fluffy pancakes.

Flip once – Much like when making burgers, you only want to flip once. Let that first side cook fully, until you start seeing the edges appear cooked, then flip.

Chocolate Chips – You can stir your chocolate chips in, but personally I prefer to sprinkle the chocolate chips on while cooking. I find it easier to distribute the chocolate chips evenly, and to be honest – it’s less messy.