Treat yourself to a stack of my super soft and fluffy Chocolate Banana Pancakes for breakfast or brunch. They are melt in your mouth delicious with amazing, rich banana chocolate flavour!
About ½ cup / 85gramsdairy-free chocolate chips, (add as many as you like!)
Instructions
To make in a blender
Starting with the liquids, add all of the ingredients to the blender except the chocolate chips. Peel the banana and break it up into manageable pieces before adding it. (If using nut butter instead of the oil, add an extra 2 tablespoons of milk).
Blend the ingredients until smooth. Don't over blend. Turn it off as soon as everything is smooth and combined. You might need to scape the sides of the blender down halfway through.
Leave the batter to rest while you preheat your pan/griddle to medium-low. The batter should be thick. Don't thin it out.
Grease the pan/griddle with a little oil or vegan butter, then pour the batter on in rounds, about 1 ladle full or ⅓ cup per pancake. Immediately sprinkle some chocolate chips over each pancake. Use as many as you like. Just let them settle on their own. Don't push them in or you will affect the texture of the pancake. They will embed themselves once you've flipped.
Leave the pancake to cook slowly until bubbles are covering the top, and the sides and outter edges of the pancake have set (like in my process photos in the post above). It is important to cook these pancakes for longer on the first side than you might usually. That's to avoid the chocolate chips burning after we flip.
Flip the pancake over gently, and cook until just golden brown. It will only take a minute or two. Then remove from the pan.
Have the oven on its lowest setting then you can pop the cooked pancakes in there to keep warm while you finish cooking the rest.
To make by hand
Mash the banana really, really well until it is a smooth puree consistency. Beat it together with the milk and oil until combined well.
Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl (except the chocolate chips), whisk them together, then gradually pour in the milky banana mixture, stirring gently as you go to work out the lumps. Stir until all of the flour is absorbed and the batter is smooth, but don't overmix. Then leave to rest for 10 minutes before cooking them as above.
Notes
Success Tips
Make sure your banana is very ripe. It should be very spotty.
To get the best fluffy, soft texture the oil is necessary in this recipe. You can use nut butter to make them oil-free but they won't turn out quite as light and soft. Still good though!
Don't add the chocolate chips to the batter when mixing it. Because these pancakes are egg-free, they take longer to cook and the chocolate chips will burn if they are in contact with the hot pan the whole time. Add them after you've spooned the pancake batter into the pan then they have no contact with the pan for the whole time the underside cooks.
As always with any recipes involving flour, I highly recommend that you weigh it. Cup measurements are not accurate enough to get the best results. If you do need to use cups, spoon the flour into the cup then level off the top with a knife without compacting it or shaking it down. By doing it like this you will get roughly the correct amount. If you scoop the flour up into the cup, you will end up with much more than is needed and it will affect the outcome of the recipe. Digital scales are available at most big superstores now and you can pick one up for around $10. It's so worth it!
Don't overmix/over-blend the pancake batter. Mix/blend it just enough to combine everything only. Overmixing creates tough, gummy pancakes.
I always get questions about why I suggest resting the batter. It's because resting allows the gluten strands in the flour to relax before they are cooked. This creates a softer, more tender pancake.
This pancake batter is thick. Thicker than a pancake batter made with eggs. That's the trick to getting light, fluffy, and very thick vegan pancakes with no gumminess or dampness inside.
Always cook vegan pancakes on medium-low and no higher. Patience is key. They take longer to cook than non-vegan pancakes because there is no egg to set them up. If you rush them you won't get the best, fluffy texture.
Because of the chocolate chips, it's important to flip these pancakes a bit later than you usually would so that the cooking on the other side is minimized. That ensures the chocolate chips don't burn.
Storing - Leftover pancakes will keep in the fridge for a couple of days in a bag or airtight container. To reheat from the fridge, just pop them in a hot skillet for a few minutes on each side, microwave them for 20 to 30 seconds, or pop them in a toaster.Freezing - These pancakes will freeze well for up to 3 months. Put them in an airtight container or freezer bag once they are cool and place them in the freezer. To reheat straight from the freezer, pop them in the toaster for 2 cycles and they should be heated throughout.