Start your weekend morning with a fun breakfast by making these dairy free chocolate chip pancakes! These are super fluffy and have a delicious flavor thanks to browning the dairy-free butter for the batter. The recipe is very simple with just eight ingredients and is a great one to have the kids help making.
Ingredient Notes
Here’s a photo of all the ingredients you’ll need, along with product recommendations for the dairy-free products:
- Dairy-free butter: Most dairy free butters should work for this recipe. I recommend a stick-based option like Country Crock plant butter sticks with avocado oil. You can also use their homestyle dairy-free salted butter. If you need a soy-free option, Earth Balance soy free sticks work well.
- Dairy free chocolate chips – I personally love Enjoy Life chocolate chips (affiliate link; I earn a commission). They are easy to find at grocery stores or online and the quality is very good. Their dark chocolate morsels or mini semi-sweet chocolate chips are great for these pancakes. You can also use Nestle Allergen Free Morsels (be sure to check the packaging as the bag can look like other Nestle products that do contain dairy) or Wegmans brand chocolate chips (which were dairy-free at the time of publish).
Instructions
You’ll find the full recipe amounts and instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s a helpful overview with photos and tips.
Start by putting the dairy-free butter in a small pot. Heat that over medium heat, stirring often, until it’s a light amber color. Immediately remove from heat at this point. It’s important to keep a close eye on it because you don’t want to burn the butter. (Top left photo above in collage).
Time saving tip: If you’re short on time, you can skip the brown butter step and just melt the butter in the microwave. The flavor won’t be as deep but the pancakes still taste good this way!
Let the butter cool a few minutes, then add it to a mixing bowl with the sugar, egg, and oat milk. (Top right photo in collage). Whisk well.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. (Bottom left photo in collage). Stir to incorporate all the ingredients.
You can then either mix the chocolate chips right into the batter, or you can sprinkle them on after you’ve poured the batter onto the griddle or skillet. The first is a little easier but can result in some uneven pockets of chocolate chips. (Bottom right photo in collage).
Portion out about ¼ cup of batter onto a hot griddle or a greased skillet, working in batches. I almost always prefer cooking on a griddle because a) the pancakes are easier to flip, and b) you can cook more at a time. But the day these were photographed, we needed to cook in a skillet instead. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, until the pancake is cooked evenly and thoroughly.
Enjoy! I like mine topped with extra dairy-free butter and maple syrup.
Recipe Tips
Storage: Store leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Freezing: Freeze pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or ziptop bag. Reheat in the microwave.
Why are my pancakes not fluffy? A few things can affect pancake texture. For ingredients, make sure your baking powder is fresh and don’t pack flour into the measuring cup (this can result in too much flour and dense pancakes). When preparing, avoid overmixing the batter and don’t flip too early.
Allergens in this Recipe
Disclaimer: Always double check ingredients and labels yourself prior to making a recipe. While I try to check all ingredients for allergens, there’s always the chance I may miss something, or manufacturer formulations can change.
As written, this recipe is dairy free and should be nut free as long as your dairy-free butter and chocolate chips do not contain nuts.
This recipe does contain wheat/gluten (in the flour), egg (in the egg), and possibly soy (in the dairy-free butter). Here are suggested modifications – please note that I have not tested all of these with this particular recipe, but based on my past experiences, I’m fairly confident they should work:
- To make soy free: The Country Crock dairy-free butter sticks have gone through several changes the last few years – they used to not contain soy, then they did contain soy, and now the latest box I have does not have soy by ingredients (but does have a “may contain” cross contamination warning). If you are avoiding soy, I recommend checking the labels carefully.
- To make wheat/gluten free: Use a 1-1 all-purpose substitute, like King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten free flour. Also, double check that your oat milk is made with certified gluten-free oats, or use a different dairy-free milk.
- To make egg free: Use a tablespoon of oil instead of the egg. It adds the richness that the egg yolk provides, and there is enough baking powder in the recipe that you shouldn’t have to worry about the leavening properties of the egg.
More Dairy Free Pancake Recipes
If you’re looking for more dairy-free pancakes in other flavor combos, try one of these tasty ideas:
- Dairy free egg free banana pancakes
- Vegan apple pancakes
- Dairy free pumpkin pancakes
- Dairy free gingerbread pancakes
I hope you enjoy these dairy free chocolate chip pancakes! If you get a chance to try them, please leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted dairy-free butter (i.e. Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks with Avocado Oil, ½ stick)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cups oat milk
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups dairy-free chocolate chips (i.e. Enjoy Life)
Instructions
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In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the dairy-free butter. Stir regularly until the butter starts to develop an amber color (watch carefully, you don’t want it to burn). Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, egg, and oat milk until well combined.
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Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined, scraping along the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure no hidden pockets of dry flour remain unincorporated.
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Fold in the chocolate chips (or alternatively, you can sprinkle on the chocolate chips on later after portioning the batter in the griddle/pan).
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Heat a griddle or large pan over medium heat. If using a griddle, there is typically no need for greasing. If using a pan, add a little butter or nonstick cooking spray.
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Pour ¼ cup portions of pancake batter onto a griddle or into the pan. Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until bubbles begin to pop on the surface of the batter. Use a spatula to flip the pancake and let it cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
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Serve as desired – extra dairy-free butter and maple syrup are great on top. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to add more or less chocolate chips according to preferences. Regular morsels or mini chocolate chips both work.
- You can mix the chocolate chips right into the batter, or you can sprinkle them on after you’ve poured the batter onto the griddle or skillet. The first is a little easier but can result in some uneven pockets of chocolate chips.
Nutrition analysis (approximate per pancake): 257 calories, 15 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 290 mg sodium, 34 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 13 g sugar, 4 g protein, Vitamin D: 3%, Calcium: 13%, Iron: 35%, Potassium: 6%
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