November 11, 2015
updated
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If you love pancakes, you’re going to love these pancake muffins.
Fresh out of the oven, they have a soft and fluffy texture with bits of melted chocolate in every bite. It’s everyone’s favorite breakfast food – made portable!
Easy Pancake Muffins
These pancake muffins offer the light texture and flavor of a pancake in a portable muffin. And just like pancakes, you can add any of your favorite mix-ins to the batter. In this case, it’s chocolate chips.
Breakfast is a big deal around my house, it’s the types of foods everyone in my family agrees on, and the recipes can often be prepped ahead. Pancake muffins are a delicious variation of my family’s favorites: pancakes, but in a muffin.
Pancake Muffin Ingredients
To make this easy and delicious breakfast, you’ll need:
- butter: makes the muffins moist.
- sugar: just enough to make the pancake muffin slightly sweet and adds structure.
- milk: regular or a non-dairy alternative will work.
- eggs: binds the ingredients and helps the muffin batter rise.
- vanilla extract: for that cake-like flavor.
- all-purpose flour: makes these super soft, but you can swap it for a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose option if needed.
- baking powder: a leavening agent that helps the batter rise and makes these muffins fluffy.
- salt: enhances the other flavors.
- chocolate chips: adds bits of melted chocolate in every bite. You can use milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips.
For a less indulgent option, omit the chocolate chips and use diced strawberries or blueberries like I do to make these Mini Blueberry Pancake Muffins.
How to Make Pancake Muffins
Grab those ingredients and let’s make these pancake muffins!
- Prep
Preheat the oven to 375F and line a 12-count muffin pan with paper liners. - Sift the dry ingredients
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. - Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Add the egg, vanilla, and milk, and mix until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to form a thick but smooth batter. Fold in the chocolate chips. - Bake
Divide the muffin batter between the muffin cups and bake for 18 minutes, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. - Time to eat
Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool down slightly before serving.
Watch this recipe video to make pancake muffins with me!
Making Mini-Size Pancake Muffins
If you have a mini muffin pan, you can also make these muffins bite-size! Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray, distribute the batter between the cups, and bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Pancake Muffin Mix-Ins
Think of this recipe as a base for all sorts of delicious pancake muffin variations. This recipe uses chocolate chips, but you can swap those out for one of the mix-ins below:
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup diced strawberries
- ½ dried cranberries + 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¾ cup caramel chips
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest + 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice + 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
How to Serve Pancake Muffins
Enjoy these pancake muffins plain or like pancakes and serve them with homemade pancake syrup for dipping. However, I like to serve these muffins plain, since the chocolate chips add plenty of sweetness. Sometimes with a smear of peanut butter over the top because chocolate chips + peanut butter + muffin = heaven.
Make Ahead & Storage Tips
If you want to make the muffins ahead of time for an easy grab-and-go breakfast- good thinking! Simply allow the baked muffins to cool down to room temperature before placing them in an airtight container and covering the muffin tops with a paper towel. Store at room temperature for 2 to 4 days.
You can refrigerate them, but it does alter the flavor and texture of the muffins.
Instead, you can further extend their shelf-life, by freezing the muffins. Place the cooled muffins in a large zip bag and freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat, allow them to defrost on the counter or reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Easy Pancake Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour*
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ to 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk, mix until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup ¾th of the way.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with a few moist crumbs, and the tops are golden brown.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before removing them from the pan and serving.
Eve
Epic pancake muffins!! The recipe is quick, easy and the muffins are delicious!
Amy J
I ALWAYS add sweet potato puree to my pancakes and muffins for a nutrition boost. I would add about one baby food sized jar to this recipe and lower the liquid / milk a tiny bit. Makes all my baked goods and pancakes taste that much better. Thanks for a great recipe!
Laura Fuentes
great tip!
Leslie
I tried the recipe with two flax seed egg and Jules GFree flour. The muffins sank in the center, but tasted good. I may try the recipe again using mashed banana as a substitute for the egg.
I liked using the blender to do the mixing. Much easier than creaming the butter and sugar. Great idea!
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad it worked! The egg substitute will definitely change the texture but I’m glad it worked (enough) for you.
Erika
Can I use almond milk instead of regular milk in this recipe?
Laura Fuentes
Absolutely.
Leslie
I am confused about how many muffins this makes. The recipe says 12 muffins on the top, but then it says to line the muffin tin with 9 paper liners and pour the mix into 6 muffin cups.
Also, I want to make this egg and gluten free. I will let you know how they turn out.
If I want to make it in the blender, do I just stir the chocolate chips in at the end? I am afraid that they would get too broken up in the blender.
Thanks! I love your recipes.
Laura Fuentes
My apologies, I’ve corrected the liners and yield. The recipe yields 6 muffins, which you can double. I make these gluten-free all the time but I can’t advise on egg free. I’d love to know how they turn out. If you make in in the blender, place wet ingredients at bottom, dry on top, fold chocolate chips at the end. Enjoy!
Michelle
The recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it, but I have a question. The recipe says it serves 12 muffins, but the recipe says to use 9 paper liners and fill only 6 muffin cups. How many muffins does this recipe make? I would definitely need 12 (or more) muffins for my family. Do I need to double the recipe amounts? Thanks.
Laura Fuentes
Sorry, as stated above, I’ve corrected the yield. The recipe yields 6, the one at the bottom yields 12. You can easily double the recipe and freeze too!