Who says chocolate for breakfast has to be unhealthy? These Chocolate Pancakes are low in sugar and pack a huge chocolate-y flavor that kids and adults alike will both love.

Pancakes. They’re are SO many varieties of pancakes! The possibilities seem endless. We have Quick Oatmeal Pancakes, Cottage Cheese Pancakes, Pancake Tacos, Sheet Pan Pancakes… I could go on and on. But my (and my kids’) newest pancake obsession has to be these Chocolate Pancakes!

When I made these Chocolate Pancakes for my family for the first time my kids’ eyes lit up! “Chocolate? For breakfast?!” I felt like the coolest mom ever. They reason I feel good about giving these Chocolate Pancakes to my kids is because they are actually quite healthy for them. They aren’t packed with sugar and the unsweetened cocoa powder that gives them that delicious chocolate flavor can actually be beneficial to their bodies!

This brings me to coconut oil. I cook these light-as-air Chocolate Pancakes in coconut oil. Just a tablespoon of coconut oil adds a lovely flavor to these tasty little choco-disks which will get everyone excited for the beginning of the day. If you want even more coconut flavor, top these with some unsweetened coconut flakes!


Chocolate Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- butter or coconut oil, for greasing the pan
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and sugar.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and oil.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and lightly coat with butter or coconut oil.
- Pour about 1 tablespoon of the pancake mixture onto the griddle, making as many pancakes as will fit, cook for 2 minutes or until you see bubbles forming.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for one minute longer.
Could the whole wheat flour be subbed for gluten-free or oat flour to make them GF?
Not sure why, but these turned out super salty.
I did follow the directions. Will try them again, with less salt and maybe a little more sugar.
Made these, turned out great. Thanks Catherine! You rock as always!
I was wondering if I could use honey instead of sugar for these and would it be the same amount? Also I have cacao powder will that be the same thing? Thanks!!
Love your recipes!
Yes you can! The finished product will be denser, chewier and nuttier, though, so just be prepared for that!
I have whole wheat flour. Can I use that instead of white whole wheat flour? Making these for Sunday breakfast tomorrow!
These pancakes were delicious!!! My kids which are 5 and 1 really enjoyed them. I will be making them again.
Light and fluffy and wonderful. Thanks for the recipe.
[…] and all sorts of treats, ready to drop into the batter. It was quite strange. I tried a new recipe. Some chocolate coconut pancakes. They were quite delicious. Chocolatey. Rich. Coconut-y. But, I insisted on adding more chocolate […]
We can’t have wheat, so I was hoping that these would be made with coconut flour. They look fantastic!
I was just thinking the same thing about food fads!
I made these yesterday and my 2 year old who “doesn’t want to eat” ate 2. First decent breakfast she has eaten in a month. They were delicious!
Hello.
We started eating based off of paleo, about a month ago.
Can I substitute almond flour instead of wheat flour and if so, in your opinion, what would be the measurement difference
Where can you buy that cocoa?
For the best cacao powder, that is second to none, use Scharffenberger. We use it at my bakery and it makes everything more fudge-like!
I made these over the weekend and they were delish, but had the clumping issue with the coconut oil. I’ve not worked with it often, but was wondering if I should have “melted” in the microwave first. Sounds like adding to room temp ingredients in the best way to avoid the clump? Has anyone tried/reco melting or would the some clumping issue apply?
Glad I’m not the only one that’s done this. 🙂 Definitely want to have all your ingredients at room temperature – the milk is what I usually forget about…
Just a tip – when mixing coconut oil with cold liquids it will solidify. I have made this mistake so many mornings when mixing all my wet ingredients together for pancakes. Then you end up with chunks of oil in the batter rather than a nice blend.
Hi, do you use refined or unrefined coconut oil? Also, recomendation on cocoa powder, I have tried many including Ghiraldeli to expensive ones from Whole Foods. Thank you!
I haven’t tested those, but I bet they would work! Definitely worth a try!
We have a ton of allergies. Can I use Coconut flour or Quinoa flour instead?
Good to know! Mine didn’t have any coconut flavor so I ended up adding flaked coconut…But I was using LouAnn
If you are new to coconut oil, there is a difference between refined and unrefined coconut oil – if you buy refined (LouAna, or a brand like Spectrum Organic which has both types) – there will be no coconut odor or flavor in the finished product. If you want the coconut flavor, buy unrefined.
I recently got some coconut oil spray and use it instead of (evil) canola oil spray. It’s great with everything, especially some weelicious french toast sticks 🙂
Thank you for the info. I was wondering what your take was on coconut oil, esp b/c of the high saturated fat content. We will definitely try it in these pancakes!
Cannot wait to try these!
Yes, you can use any milk you prefer!
Do you think I could also sub coconut milk in these? These look great!
My dr suggested that I use organic coconut oil on my son’s skin to help relieve the dryness from eczema. It has really worked and doesn’t have an odor like some products!
Have you used coconut oil to pop popcorn…it’s my favorite and doesn’t leave that “taste” other oils tend to have. These look delish by the way, I haven’t used it in my pancakes so thanks for the inspiration.