Strawberry Pancakes with Dark Chocolate Drizzle
Classic fluffy pancakes topped with fresh sliced strawberries and a melted chocolate drizzle are the best breakfast treat. Come learn how to make Strawberry Pancakes, and be sure to check out How to make the Best Homemade Pancakes! Makes 4 servings.
Love hosting brunch at home? Make these pancakes alongside a Mimosa Bar and Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Egg!
Mother’s Day is coming up before too long! High-five to all the mamas out there for the awesome job they’re doing with their kiddos.
Being a mom isn’t always easy, but it’s totally worth it. And I think y’all are doing a fabulous job, so keep on keepin’ on, mamas. You rock!
Honestly, I couldn’t resist thinking about what we did for my mom when I was a kid. It usually involved some kind of baking that occasionally ended in a minor disaster. They also usually involved the best chocolate covered strawberries from Dinstuhl’s.
Why I love this recipe:
I developed these Strawberry Pancakes with a Dark Chocolate Drizzle the weekend of my due date of our first child in an attempt to lure her into the outside world. (It didn’t work.)
However, this is a pancake recipe we’ve kept in our wheelhouse because there’s nothing like a giant stack of pancakes with fresh sliced strawberries and chocolate to really up your breakfast/brunch game.
These pancakes are as good as they look. And you don’t even need syrup because you’ve got that chocolate drizzle.
The chocolate-strawberry combo is a winning one, if you ask me. Add in the fact that they’re easy to make, and you’ve got a wonderful Mother’s Day surprise breakfast.
Other pancake recipes our whole family adores: Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes | Red Velvet Pancakes | Sweet Potato Pancakes | Blueberry Breakfast Sausage Pancakes | Peanut Butter Pancakes with Raspberry Preserves Syrup
Need breakfast inspiration, but don’t know where to start? Head on over to my Breakfast and Brunch Recipe Index.
What you need to make Strawberry Pancakes with a Dark Chocolate Drizzle
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- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- 2-tablespoon cookie scoop
- Cast iron griddle—you can also use an electric one if you have one
- Pastry brush—to brush oil or butter onto your griddle
- Metal spatula—if you’re using a nonstick skillet, make sure your spatula is plastic so it doesn’t scratch the surface!
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour — we always have unbleached at our house, but the regular kind works perfectly, too!
- Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar, this is our sweetener for the pancakes.
- Leaveners — we’re using a combination of baking powder and baking soda in this recipe. Make sure they’re fresh.
- Kosher salt — a medium-grain kosher salt is my go-to for recipes like these.
- Milk — over the years, we’ve made these pancakes with every type of milk available. Recently, we’ve made them with whole milk because we always have that on hand, but this pancake recipe works with any cow’s milk (from whole to skim), as well as almond, cashew and coconut milk
- Eggs — large eggs from the grocery are my favorite.
- Vanilla extract — the real deal will make these ingredients sing!
- Unsweetened applesauce — you can also substitute flavorless oil (like avocado or vegetable) for this if you don’t have it on hand
And, of course, we need toppings for our pancakes, too!
- Fresh strawberries—since we’re using them as a garnish, the frozen kind simply won’t do
- Dark chocolate chips—or your favorite chocolate chip that’s good for a drizzle
- Homemade Strawberry Syrup—for extra strawberry goodness!
- Strawberry Whipped Cream
- Fresh Blueberry Sauce
How to make Strawberry Pancakes
Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until incorporated, and set aside.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a smaller bowl or a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and applesauce. Make sure they’re well-combined.
Mix the pancake batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring with a plastic spatula until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this will affect the texture of the pancakes. Set the batter aside, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
Preheat the skillet or griddle. Heat a griddle or a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Grease the pan lightly with butter or cooking spray.
Make the strawberry pancakes. Dollop the pancakes onto the preheated skillet once the batter has rested and the pan is hot. When several bubbles have formed on the surface, flip the pancakes, and cook through.
Repeat until all batter has been made into pancakes.
Top with the strawberries, then drizzle with the melted chocolate. Enjoy warm!
Make this strawberry pancake recipe extra strawberry-y! When the pancakes are cooking on the griddle, add a tablespoon of chopped pancakes to the top of each pancake before flipping. This will change the texture of the pancakes (as strawberries will add more moisture to the pancake), but it’s a fun way to get more pancake flavor into the pancakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
In my opinion, to secret to fluffy pancakes is mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately so you don’t overmix the batter once they’re combined. Also, making sure your baking powder and baking soda are both fresh.
Overmixing the batter will create more gluten formation and make for a tougher pancake. The key to light and fluffy pancakes is stirring the batter until just combined and not worrying about lumps in the batter.
Cook pancakes over a medium heat! If the heat is too high, you run the risk of scorching the outside and the middle still being raw.
This batter is kind of in between super thick and runny. The key is letting it be lumpy and just stirring until all the flour is incorporated so the pancakes will be nice, light and fluffy.
Quick Tips and Tricks for the Best Pancakes
- Don’t overmix your batter! Just mix the batter until it has just come together. Lumps are OK. If you mix until it’s smooth, the pancakes won’t be as fluffy.
- When do you know how to flip? When big ‘ol bubbles start to form in the batter. Lift up the edge a little bit with a spatula to confirm the color on the other side before committing… because when you flip them, you won’t flip them again. (Yep. We only need to flip our pancakes once.)
- Once you’ve flipped your pancakes, don’t press down on them! This will deflate them. Obviously, we want them to puff up and be as light and airy as possible.
- Leftover pancakes? Freeze ’em! Line a baking sheet with wax paper, and pop them in the freezer for 4-6 hours. When the pancakes are fully frozen, transfer them to a freezer baggie. Reheat in the toaster oven, toaster or the oven until warm.
More pancake recipes to try:
- The BEST Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Double Chocolate Pancakes
- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
- Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup
Here’s how you can make this Strawberry Pancake recipe:
Strawberry Pancakes with Dark Chocolate Drizzle
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups milk (dairy or non-dairy work!)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
Toppings
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips melted
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- Strawberry Syrup
- Strawberry Whipped Cream
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Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together until incorporated. Set aside.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and applesauce.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring with a plastic spatula until just combined. (Be careful not to overmix, as this will affect the texture of the pancakes.) Set the batter aside, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
- While the batter is resting, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Grease the pan lightly with butter or cooking spray.
- Dollop the pancakes onto the preheated skillet once the batter has rested and the pan is hot.
- When several bubbles have formed on the surface, flip the pancakes, and cook through. Repeat until all batter has been made into pancakes.
- Top with the strawberries, then drizzle with the melted chocolate. Enjoy warm!
Notes
Quick Tips and Tricks for the Best Pancakes
- Don't overmix your batter! This means you want to mix the batter until it has just combined. Lumps are OK. If you whisk/mix until it's completely smooth, the pancakes won't become as fluffy.
- When do you know how to flip? When big 'ol bubbles start to form in the batter. Lift up the edge a little bit with a spatula to confirm the color on the other side before committing… because when you flip them, you won't flip them again. (Yep. We only need to flip our pancakes once.)
- Once you've flipped your pancakes, don't press down on them! This will deflate them. Obviously, we want them to puff up and be as light and airy as possible.
- Leftover pancakes? Freeze 'em! Line a baking sheet with wax paper, and pop them in the freezer for 4-6 hours. When the pancakes are fully frozen, transfer them to a freezer baggie. Reheat in the toaster oven, toaster or the oven until warm.
Nutrition
This Strawberry Pancakes post was originally shared May 6, 2015. The text and images were updated and republished in April 2021.
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
Erin, these pancakes look so delectable with fresh strawberries and sauce! Not just mother’s day, I would eat a stack of these any weekend for breakfast! Yumm! Pinning, of course!
What a glorious stack of pancakes! I think they are just exactly the right amount of decadence for a day that celebrates all our favourite women! I know my Mama would love a high stack of these all to herself 🙂
Enjoy your first Mother’s Day! I can only imagine the gorgeous breakfasts lady baby is going to cook for you in the future!
I love pancakes and I could eat them all the time 🙂