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Jump to recipeThese chocolate pancakes are sneaky delicious. They are rich and chocolatey & filled with nutritious veggies. Decadent AND good for you!
Picture this:
A loving aunt serves up a snack to her 8 year old nephew. The offering – a moist, rich, chocolate cake.
After gobbling up his first piece, he asks for a second. She dishes it up, and as she passes it back to him, here is their exchange,
“I’m so glad you like my Chocolate Zucchini Ca—“
“I think I’m full.”
Cake plate pushed politely back across the table.
And Scene.
The scene was real. The loving aunt was played by my sister and the nephew, my eldest child. Picky in his younger days. Less so now.
Because of said pickiness, I have been known to employ covert tactics in some of my cooking.
Click here for more help for parents of picky eaters.
These chocolate pancakes are sneaky delicious. They are rich and chocolatey, and filled with veggies. They are sure to satisfy a sweet tooth and a health nut.
And because much of the work is done in your blender, they are super easy.
Recipe adapted from this one.
Customize this chocolate pancake recipe
They are made to be customized, too. I add what I’ve got.
Got a surplus of cooked pumpkin…throw some in! Don’t have one of the listed veggies – no problem. Substitute something else or leave it out altogether.
I find that I make these the most towards the end of summer, when I’ve got a freezer full of shredded zucchini and piles of other veggies from the CSA we participate in.
Play with it. Have fun.
You can serve these just like regular pancakes, with syrup. But I like mine with very lightly sweetened whipped cream. And berries, if we’ve got them.
My oh my. Mouth watering.
This recipe has definitely earned it’s spot in my rotation when we have Breakfast for Dinner nights. But I can’t say I’d turn them down in the morning, either.
Chocolate any time of day is all right with me.
I can feel where Augustus Gloop was coming from when he said of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate River, “Gosh, I need a bucket to drink it properly.”
Yeah, that would be me. And then I’d fall in, just like Augustus.
But I digress…
Make these pancakes. Make them for your picky eater or chocolate lover or health nut or anyone you just really love. And if you’ve got a non-chocolate eater (they do exist), but have pancakes on the brain, check out my go-to pancake recipe.
Do you have any sneaky recipes you’ve used? I’d love to hear them!
Healthy (But You Wouldn't Know It) Chocolate Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- 1 apple, peeled and roughly chopped (or 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce)
- ½ cup chopped spinach or kale leaves
- ½ cup shredded zucchini or yellow squash
- ¾ cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup oats
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark, if you have it)
- 3-4 Tablespoons of sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
- ¼ cup of milk + more as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
- Whipped Cream and Berries (Optional Serving Suggestion)
Instructions
- Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Optional step: Put carrots in a small, microwaveable dish with a splash of water and microwave on high for a couple of minutes or until soft. Drain.
- Put carrots, apple (or applesauce), spinach or kale leaves, zucchini, yogurt, oats, cocoa powder, sugar, and ¼ cup of milk into blender.
- Blend on high until the mixture is very smooth, at least 1 minute. Add more milk as needed to get the proper consistency – think smoothie or melted ice cream.
- Add eggs and vanilla and blend again to mix well.
- Pour mixture over your dry ingredients in bowl. Mix gently, folding dry ingredients into liquid.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Heat your pan or griddle, greasing with oil spray or butter.
- Cook your pancakes on first side until edges appear dry and you see bubbles in the center (about 2 minutes). Flip, and cook on other side until done… about 1 minute.
- Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream and berries, with syrup, or however you like.
Susan, these were fabulous! I made them exactly as your wrote here. Can something be fluffy and dense at the same time? Well these were! I have to admit though that spinach is not one of my favorite vegetables. So, next time we will replace that with a different veggie.
So, we also decided to make a double batch and freeze them. Let me tell you, they we’re just as yummy out of the freezer as they were on the day we made them. This recipe will definitely be made again at our house. Thank you so much for sharing.
I’m so happy you liked them as much as I do! And THRILLED to learn that they freeze well!