These Chunky Monkey Pancakes were first posted back in 2010 (how has it been that long!) and they quickly skyrocketed to our list of all-time most popular recipes. I haven’t made them in a really long time so when I whipped them up to refresh the photos and update the instructions I even surprised myself about how good they were! We’ve added some beautiful new photos and a video and I hope if you haven’t tried this one, you’ll put it on your list of things to make!
Have I ever told you guys that I often dream about food? I can’t tell you how many recipes I’ve come up with because I cooked them in a dream and then woke up craving it. Such is the case with these pancakes! I woke up a couple of weeks ago and ran to the kitchen to see if they were as good in real life as they were in my sleep and I have to say- they even better. If only I had the body I have when sleeping, because I eat all I want and never gain weight when I’m dream-eating. These pancakes are light and fluffy and easy to make. They’re dotted with bits of melted chocolate and chunks of sweet banana. And the best part is the syrup. When I was a kid my friend Jessica introduced me to peanut butter and maple syrup on pancakes. Ever tried it?? It’s amazing. So that’s the inspiration behind the syrup; a sweet and creamy blend of melted peanut butter and maple syrup that takes these pancakes next-level.
We start by combining your average dry pancake ingredients with your average wet pancake ingredients. Originally I had you mixing these in separate bowls but now that I’ve made these lots of times, I know it works great to just make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and whisk in the wet.
Just don’t overmix. this batter is quite thick.
Next you’ll add a couple of mashed bananas. I use bananas that aren’t quite banana bread material. I don’t want mushy brown banana chunks in my pancakes, just soft sweet ones. And you don’t need to pulverize them either, leave some chunks in there.
And everything is better with a touch of chocolate, right?? Use mini chips, or roughly chop some regular chocolate chips. The smaller bits distribute better in the batter, and tossing them with a bit of flour helps keep them from all sinking to the bottom.
I think the best part about these pancakes is the syrup. And it only involves 2 ingredients: Creamy peanut butter and pure maple syrup.
Heat them up together in the microwave and watch the magic happen. Okay, it’s not really magic, it just tastes really really good. Trust me. It will be runny at first but as it sits it thickens quite a bit. If it gets too thick, just warm it up again in the microwave.
Spoon the batter out onto a hot buttered skillet to get your beautiful stack of chocolate banana pancakes.
I like to slather on some butter and then pour on that glorious syrup.
This syrup is EVERYTHING.
The sweet bites of banana aren’t overwhelming; it’s just enough to make the pancakes super soft with mild banana flavor and the little specks of chocolate are perfectly melted.
When you combine that perfect bite with the peanut butter maple syrup, it’s perfection.
Chunky Monkey Pancakes
Description
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 large or extra large egg
- 2 small-medium ripe bananas
- 6 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (or regular chips chopped up) mixed with 2 teaspoons flour
- Cooking Spray or butter for pan
Syrup:
- 1 cup 100% real maple syrup
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until moistened and combined. Place bananas in a bowl and roughly mash with a fork. Fold into batter. Add the chocolate chips that have been tossed with flour and stir.
For syrup, heat peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add maple syrup and gently whisk to combine. Heat in the microwave for another 30 seconds, whisk, and then set aside.
Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet to medium heat. Coat pan with little butter and then pour on pancake batter. Use1/4 C batter for large pancakes (4-6″) and 2 T for kid-sized ones (2-3″). Wait until bubbles form and edges are set and then flip.
Reheat syrup if necessary and pour over warm pancakes.
Yield:
28-30 2-3″ pancakes (using 1/8 C batter measure)
14-15 4-6″ pancakes (using 1/4 C batter measure)
Freezer Instructions: Let cooked pancakes cool to room temperature. Place in a single layer in the freezer until frozen and then place pancakes in a ziplock bag or airtight container. Reheat in a microwave or toaster until heated through.
Notes
I’ve found the consistency of the pancake batter to change a bit depending on the size and specifics of bananas. If you find your batter is just too thick to really spread well, just drizzle in a few extra tablespoons of buttermilk or milk until it does.
Questions & Reviews
My all time favorite food combo is pb, chocolate, and banana! Oh my yum! I will be trying these VERY soon! Thank you!
Found you through foodgawker!
My kids are going to love me in the morning! They will probably just try to drink the PB syrup alone!
These were soooo yummy. Should I thank you for expanding my waiste? They were delish!
WOW way to go and make me look like a dork for telling my husband that he was NOT NORMAL for slathering his pancakes in PB and then drizzling syrup over them. I may have to keep your post a secret so he doesn't rub it in. My kids are now all addicted to PB and Syrup on their pancakes. I guess I may have to show them the beauty of mixing the two in the microwave. Amazing, just amazing.
WOW!! What a winning favorite and peanut butter syrup?!
I know other people have had similar experiences, but now I have one to share too! I was just thinking today that I would try to make banana pancakes since I have some leftover bananas (they're banana bread bananas though) and then this is the recipe for today! I just ran out of white flour though, so I'll be trying them with whole wheat flour. My dad is a peanut butter fiend so I've for sure had peanut butter on pancakes, but I've never thought to mix the peanut butter with the syrup! Dinner for tomorrow done… Thanks!
They look so fluffy and delicious, topped in that sauce this is the type of breakky I dream of.
This looks divine! I ALWAYS eat pb on my pancakes, but never have i thought to mix it with the syrup, yummmmy!! i am so making these tomorrow!
My Husband is going to be so excited when I surprise him with this one night. His favorite combination is Peanut Butter, Banana & Chocolate. Thank You for such awesome recipes.
I pretty much want to dive into that platter of pancakes with peanut butter syrup! What a fantastic recipe :).
It's late afternoon, but this sounds simply delicious!
Okay…so I don't even like bananas, and you've got my mouth watering! I can't wait to try this!
There's nothing like starting the day off right with three great flavors. The Peanut Butter syrup is inspired. Wonderful recipe.
Now I am dreaming about peanut butter syrup, chocolate and bananas. Looks so good!
I have a few things to say to you, Sara:
1. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?! I decided last week I was going to be very careful about the *quality* of the calories I ate, not just the quantity. You have screwed that up with this recipe. Also with your brownie recipe that I caved in and made last night 😉
2. I find the first paragraph hilarious, but only because I have been around since the beginning of this blog and I am fairly certain there are at least 4 or 5 posts that start out the exact same way LOL
3. Dream eating is great. No joke, a few years ago while on the first phase of the South Beach diet for two weeks, I would dream of eating sandwiches and cookies. Surprisingly, I wasn't disappointed when I woke up and found it wasn't true. I got to enjoy them, but didn't break my diet plan 😀
Yum! You've got my mouth watering! And that is hard to do, ever since the beginning of my pregnancy (no cravings–backwards, I know). I totally know what we are having for dinner! HA!
Ooooh, those look so, so good!! Some girls in my unit at Girls Camp one year introduced me to peanut butter on pancakes with syrup and I haven't looked back since!! Never thought to try combining the PB and syrup into it's own syrup, though. Pretty smart if you ask me!
OK, I have to make these!
I have LOVED peanut butter on my pancakes since forever! I never thought to mix the syrup and pb together first…GENIUS! Thanks for the idea!
Hmmm, I love peanut butter with bananas. I love Peanut butter with chocolate. And really, you can't go wrong banana chocolate chip either. Hello, Saturday morning breakfast. (I even have all the ingredients in the house.)
PB Syrup- who would of thought! Ingenious! I think I'm going to owe you a big thanks for this recipe- I'm positive this will make me the Best.Mom.Ever when I make them for my boys tomorrow morning!
I have a recipe similar to this, but it doesn't.have.chocolate. GENIUS!!! I can hardly wait to try these!
This looks decadent! Thanks for the tip on the flour w/ chocolate chips!
This looks too delicious for words — definitely gonna try this — perfect breakfast for a cool fall morning or dessert for a cool fall evening! Thanks!
Love that PB syrup!
I have always eaten pb and syrup on my pancakes since I was a little girl but I have never thought about adding the pb into the syrup! What a great idea! Glad to see there are others out there that eat pb on their pancakes (people always look at me funny when I mention it.) I want pancakes now 🙂
You can add 3 more to your group of peanut butter & syrup on pancake lovers. I am the only one in my family who does not partake in this concoction. A close friend also adds powdered sugar on top of the peanut butter/syrup. 🙂
I dream about grammar usage. To each his own haha.
Also, this looks amazing. I will have to try the peanut butter syrup immediately.
This looks amazing! My 1 year old daughter was literally trying to pick it off the screen
THIS looks like trouble! I can't WAIT to try it 🙂
Oooh this looks SO GOOD!