Homemade pumpkin pancakes are spiced with cinnamon and loaded with chocolate chips. You’ll love starting fall mornings with a happy stack of these thick, moist, and flavorful pumpkin pancakes.
Pancakes, buttermilk waffles, whole wheat waffles, or French toast are a weekend tradition. In the fall, soak into this pumpkin French toast casserole or try today’s pumpkin pancakes instead. Who said pumpkin only belongs in at the dessert table in pumpkin pie? 🙂
Overview: How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes
I always appreciate how quickly these pumpkin pancakes come together. You’ll have a satisfying breakfast on the table in no time.
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Use a blender to mix all wet ingredients together (see more below). This recipe uses 1 and 1/4 cups (285g) of pumpkin puree and if you have more to use up, here are recipes to make with leftover pumpkin puree.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until *just* combined. The batter is very thick.
- Heat a skillet and generously coat with butter. Once it’s very hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle. Cook on both sides until cooked through, then repeat this process for remaining batter.
- Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings like maple syrup, salted caramel, or whipped cream.
Looking for a pumpkin waffles recipe? Use this pumpkin pancake batter for your waffle maker! Follow steps 4 and 5 in my recipe for buttermilk waffles.
Use a Blender for Smooth Pancake Batter
My trick for perfect pancakes? Mix the wet ingredients in a blender. A blender guarantees an incredibly smooth batter and also breaks down the pumpkin in the process. This is especially necessary if you are using fresh pumpkin puree. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar, egg, oil, and whole milk to a blender and blend on high for 45 seconds until combined. I have used and love all of these blenders—you can’t go wrong! I recommend a blender when making homemade crepes, too.
No blender? No problem. Whisk by hand or use a hand mixer.
Ingredients in Pumpkin Pancakes
Made with fall pantry staples, these pumpkin pancakes come together easily.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for the base of these pancakes.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: Yes, we use both, just like we do in whole wheat pancakes and birthday cake pancakes. These leaveners are what make your pancakes tall and fluffy.
- Cinnamon + Pumpkin Pie Spice: Pumpkin’s favorite spices. Using a combination of these two adds mega fall flavor. Go ahead and whip up a batch of this homemade pumpkin pie spice because you’ll want to use it again for other favorites like pumpkin snickerdoodles & pumpkin muffins.
- Chocolate Chips: I used semi-sweet in this recipe, but mini, dark chocolate, white chocolate, or cinnamon chips would also be delicious! If you don’t like chocolate chips in your pancakes, feel free to leave them out—they’ll still be delicious.
- Pumpkin: Measure your pumpkin carefully. In my recipe testing, I found that 1 cup of pumpkin wasn’t enough, while 1 and 1/2 cups was way too much. You need a precise 1 and 1/4 cups.
- Brown Sugar: The slight molasses flavor from brown sugar pairs well with pumpkin.
- Egg: Binds everything together.
- Oil: Adds moisture.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk is key to rich and tender pancakes. I do not recommend using soy, almond, rice, coconut, skim, 1%, or 2% milk. The best substitute would be buttermilk.
Pumpkin Pancakes Success Tips
It’s easy to make fluffy pancakes using a box of pancake mix, but nothing compares to homemade. When I began testing pumpkin pancake recipes, I had a long streak of reject batches comparable to hockey pucks. They were dense and flavorless. Why? Because pumpkin is a funny little ingredient. It changes the moisture, tenderness, and texture of anything it touches.
Here are my tips to making perfect pumpkin pancakes:
- Pumpkin pancakes are very temperamental and even the slightest change in ingredients could spell disaster. Make the recipe as written first, then tweak as you see fit if necessary.
- Measure the pumpkin carefully! Use exactly 1 and 1/4 cups in this recipe.
- Use a blender to combine the wet ingredients.
- Whisk batter until *just* combined, no more. A few lumps is OK.
- Make sure your griddle is very hot before adding the pancake batter.
Follow these tips for moist, fluffy, and flavorful pancakes!
More Pumpkin Breakfast Recipes
- Pumpkin Bread & Pumpkin Coffee Crumb Cake
- Mini Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins
- Homemade Pumpkin Coffee Creamer
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes are the epitome of a cozy fall breakfast! Moist and fluffy, they’re wonderful with a pat of butter and a cascade of maple syrup. Make sure you read my notes in the post before beginning.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 heaping teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 and 1/4 cups (285g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) whole milk*
Instructions
- In a large bowl, preferably with a pour spout, toss the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and chocolate chips together until combined. Set aside.
- I like to mix the wet ingredients in a blender (I love the one that is linked!). This guarantees a smoother batter and breaks down the pumpkin. This is especially necessary if you are using fresh pumpkin puree. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar, egg, oil, and whole milk to a blender and blend on high for 45 seconds until combined. Alternatively, you may whisk by hand or use a hand mixer.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk gently to combine. Make sure there are no patches of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. The batter is very thick and a few lumps are fine.
- Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Once it’s hot, drop/pour a heaping 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look set and you notice holes in the pancake’s surface around the border, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until cooked through, about 1–2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet with butter or nonstick spray again, if needed, for each batch of pancakes.
- Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve pancakes immediately with toppings of choice.
- Cover and store leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Pancakes freeze well up to 3 months. Reheat frozen pancakes in the microwave. Or you can reheat frozen pancakes in a 350°F (177°C) oven. Place pancakes on a lined baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 6–8 minutes or until defrosted and warm.
- Can I make the batter the night before? No, I don’t recommend it. Baking powder is activated once wet. You can, however, mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together and keep them separate and covered in the refrigerator until the morning.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Mixing Bowls | Blender | Whisk | Electric Griddle, Griddle Pan, or Shallow Skillet/Pan
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/4 teaspoon each: ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice. This is in addition to the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon—you will still add that.
- Milk: Whole milk is key for the richest tasting pancakes.
Keywords: pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes
Wow! Made these this morning after stumbling across your recipe as I was searching online. These were amazing! Best pumpkin pancakes I’ve ever had. I substituted 2% milk since it’s what I had in the fridge, but still turned out great. Thank you for testing and sharing your insights with us!
Just made these and they are so wonderful!! I didn’t have chocolate chips so substituted the cinnamon chips I had. Oh my goodness. Divine in every way.
Made these for dinner tonight and they were absolutely fantastic! Will definitely be having these again and again! So glad it’s pumpkin season!
These are great!!! Only had 2% milk so I used a little under 1 1/2 cups. These were thick but perfect. I also used the blender and that is a genius idea! I cooked them on an electric non stick griddle (no butter needed) at 300 degrees, I don’t time, but it was longer than 2 min. My normal pankcake temp of 325 left the middle uncooked.
I was wondering if you’ve ever used this recipe for waffles and if so how did they turn out?
Yep, absolutely. This batter as waffles is incredible. One of my favorites to make this time of year.
Wow! I just made these and, WOW! Who knew pumpkin and chocolate were meant for each other? My fiance is always skeptical when I cook/bake new things – yes, he is one of those, haha. He loved these and he loves them with the chocolate chips, too! Thank you so much for opening my eyes to a whole new world of pumpkin chocolate muffins, waffles, bars, cakes, etc. Thank you thank you thank you:-)
I’m relatively new to your blog so I haven’t used very many of your recipes…..but I made these pancakes for dinner last night. Here’s what my mister said “siiiiiiigh…..this is the perfect way to end a stressful monday!” He was right – wonderful recipe that was satisfying and comforting without being too heavy or rich!
Sally, we made these absolutely amazing pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes this weekend and the whole family loved them. My daughter said they were the best! Thank you so much for testing until you got it right. Your hard work and dedication saves all us foodies the time so we can just enjoy making them and eating them of course!
These look amazing and I can’t wait to try them. Have you tried making the batter the night before? I’d love to save some time in the morning, but I’m not sure if they’d turn out the same.
Jen, the pancakes should be cooked right away. The baking powder is activated once wet. You could prep the wet and dry ingredients separately the night before and mix them the morning of.
I made these last night with my daughter and they were delicious! She isn’t a big pancake eater, but she LOVED these. Since it was just her and me for dinner I froze the rest in plastic bags separated with wax paper. Would you recommend defrosting in the fridge and then reheating for a few seconds in the microwave? Or is there a better way to enjoy them from the freezer? Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Emily! Defrosting in the fridge then reheating in the microwave is exactly how I prepare them after freezing. So happy you both loved these!
These were amazing! My kids are already begging for them again. Thanks! We froze the leftovers and they taste just as good.
These pumpkin chocolate-chip pancakes were delicious, although I’m slightly frustrated at my inability to make perfect pancakes. 😀 Unless the pancakes are from a mix, they end up black. I followed every direction carefully, but my pancakes were still burnt. Practice makes perfect, so I’ll have to keep on practicing NOT burning pancakes! 😀 Thank you, though, for the recipe! 🙂 Do you have any suggestions or tips that I might use? Thanks!
I halved the recipe since most mornings its just me and my 2 year and it was awesome! Thanks for your amazing recipes!
Made these this morning and they turned out great. Added a little ginger and skipped the chocolate chips, but followed the recipe otherwise. I was a bit concerned they’d end up too sweet, but they weren’t at all – the brown sugar gave just the right amount of sweetness. The batter really tastes like pumpkin pie. I topped them with buttered pecans, butter, and real maple syrup.
Sally. Time and time again your recipes are always kickass. I don’t know how you do it! I made these this morning (cool October day was the perfect setting for them) for a birthday weekend treat and they were fabulous. Not too pumpkin-y but had great flavor. I used to be hesitant about mixing pumpkin and chocolate but after trying your skinny pumpkin chocolate muffins this week, I am a believer.
My only issue is that recently I’ve been making pancakes in my new cast-iron skillet and the outsides always overcook before I can get the middle to be done but maybe I should just make them on our griddle from now on.
Anyway, another great recipe, very happy! Please come visit Boston soon, my cookbook could really use an autograph!
– Amy
I made these pancakes this morning for my family with a side of maple bacon and pure New Hampshire maple syrup. They are AMAZING! A huge hit in my household. Great way to warm up on cool Fall mornings. This has been added to my list of favorites!!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
These were tasty, but a bit mushy on the inside. I wound up burning them because I felt like I had to cook them more. I followed all your directions perfectly, except I used less chocolate chips. Any ideas what I could’ve done wrong?!
Hi Megan! How about you cook at a slightly lower stovetop temperature. Also, try pressing down on the pancakes with the back of the spatula – this helps that gooey inside ooze out of the sides and cook.
These pancakes were amazing! I usually make pancakes for the kids during the weekend. With this weekend being a couple days longer, I though I would try out different pancakes recipes. I ended up only trying yours because the kids have wanted them 3 days in a row. These pancakes have definitely become a favorite in my house. Thanks for helping make family breakfast even more special.
Can you make the batter ahead of time? Like the night before? I have two little ones and want to try these and thought it might be easier to make the batter the night before so that I can just put them on the griddle first thing in the morning.
Hi Meredith, as much as I want to say yes to the preparing ahead – it just doesn’t work. The batter must be prepared and then cooked right away. I find the pancakes are not as thick because the baking powder has been activated for far too long (unless you can find “slow-acting” baking powder). If you don’t mind thin pancakes, you may certainly do it.
I am currently eating these pancakes, and OMG, they are SO good!! They are thick and fluffy, just the way I like them. The pumpkin and chocolate go so well together. I was a bit worried when I looked in my fridge and saw that I was out of maple syrup, but I just topped with a bit of butter, and they are amazing, moist and full of flavor. I’ll definitely be making these again!! I didn’t have whole milk, so I made some with nonfat dry milk and water.
I know you said not to use anything but whole milk, but I don’t eat dairy and these looked so good, I had to make them. I used almond milk and they turned out AMAZINGLY! My sister and I ate the whole batch in two days.
I tried these out this morning, they are fantastic! The only difference I made was switching the chocolate chips for white chocolate because its’ what I had on hand. Thanks for a great recipe, this one is definitely getting added to my box of favorites!
Would coconut oil work the same? That’s the only oil I use really.
Yep! Melted coconut oil is fine.
These pumpkin pancakes were AMAZING! Incredibly delicious and they cooked perfectly. Bonus that I had just the right amount of leftover pumpkin puree for a batch after making skinny pumpkin latte ice cubes. Which were also amazing.
Thank you for the wonderful recipes!
My husband and I love these pancakes. They’re so moist and pumpkiny. I had some cinnamon chips in the frig, so I used them instead of chocolate chips, and I halved the spices. The flavors blended well.
these were AMAZING! might be making them weekly 🙂 I topped them with a little maple cinnamon whip cream (heavy whipping cream, maple syrup, and cinnamon) – delicious!
Made these pancakes over the weekend for my husband and in-laws and they were a huge hit!! I was so glad everyone was ready for some pumpkin flavor and so was I! I will definitely be making these again, thanks for starting up the pumpkin season for me, can’t wait to make your iced pumpkin coffee cake again this year….one of my all time favs!!! 🙂
I have been WAITING for pumpkin season to start (so glad I am not the only one)! My husband and I made these pancakes for breakfast a couple days ago and they were AMAZING! Pumpkin + chocolate chips + pie spice = <3 New favorite homemade pancake recipe; cannot wait to make them again!
I made these today and OH MY GOODNESS they are wonderful!
I had leftover punkin’ from Mr. J’s bday cake last week and when you posted this recipe it was fate! LOL
I didn’t put the chocolate chips in; but served with fresh strawberries & maple syrup they were still to die for. SO good!
Thank you again for another amazing recipe!
Obsessed with this recipe since I read it yesterday afternoon. Made them for lunch today. Absolutely perfect, followed the recipe exactly. Personally, I will make some without chocolate chips next time, detracted from the pumpkin flavor that I can’t get enough of all year long! But…kids love their pancakes with chocolate chips and these were no exception. Smelled wonderful cooking up too!