These healthy, Low Calorie Pancakes are made with Greek Yogurt, whole wheat flour, and studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips. A healthy and satisfying breakfast, and only 123 calories per pancake! Stack them up!
Do you love making pancakes on the weekend or for a breakfast-style dinner? Try my classic Buttermilk Pancakes, and you won’t be able to get enough of my Pumpkin Pancakes this fall!
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Healthy Pancake Recipe
What’s better than chocolate chip pancakes? Chocolate chip pancakes you don’t have to feel guilty about eating! I lightened up these low calorie pancakes by using Greek yogurt, whole wheat flour, and added flaxseed. These pancakes are guilt-free, super fluffy, thick, and loaded with chocolate chips. With only 123 calories per pancake, you can really stack them up!
These pancakes are incredibly easy to throw together. A great breakfast treat for Sunday mornings, or meal prep a large batch for the week ahead. They taste delicious hot or cold!
You can serve them plain, drizzled with maple syrup or honey, or even topped with fresh fruit. Any way you serve them they are awesome!
Ingredients needed for low calorie pancakes
- Flour: These pancakes are 100% whole wheat, however, if you prefer you can always do a mix of mix whole wheat and all-purpose flour.
- Flaxseed: I also added some flax seeds for extra fiber and protein. They help to fill you up and keep you feeling satisfied!
- Sugar: Not much sugar at all, just 1/2 a tablespoon between 12 pancakes! I kept the sugar low to make these low calorie pancakes healthier.
- Salt: Salt brings out all of the other flavors. The pancakes don’t taste salty, but without the salt, something is definitely missing!
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon brings a warm, spicy aroma to the pancakes. It’s not powerful – just a little hint.
- Baking powder: Baking powder was added to give the pancakes a little lift.
- Egg: Egg is a binding ingredient, keeping all of the ingredients mixed together.
- Greek Yogurt: To keep the low calorie pancakes moist, I added Greek yogurt. This is a great way to skip adding butter or oil to baking recipes!
- Milk: I added 1% milk, however, you can use fat-free or even alternative milk like unsweetened almond milk for even fewer calories.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract amplifies all of the sweetness from the sugar and cinnamon. It’s a great way to make something taste a little sweeter than it is!
- Butter: Don’t worry, there is no butter in these pancakes! I greased my skillet with butter. Feel free to substitute a low calorie cooking spray instead!
How to make Chocolate Chip Low Calorie Pancakes
- Combine dry ingredients: Whisk whole-wheat flour, flaxseed, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients: In a medium bowl whisk together egg, Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla.
- Make pancake batter: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and fold gently. Do not over mix.
- Cook: Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter or cooking spray. Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet or griddle. Add chocolate chips to each pancake before flipping, about 1/2 tablespoon each. Cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Coat griddle or skillet with more butter in between each batch to prevent sticking.
- Serve: Immediately with syrup or honey if desired. Keep pancakes warm in a 200°F oven until you are ready to serve.
Storage Instructions for Low Calorie Pancakes
- Store these low calorie pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Reheat them in the microwave, oven, or in a skillet on the stove.
- Freeze: You can freeze this healthy pancake recipe for later! Store them in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months.
Tips for Success
- Use a 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and a 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour if you prefer! This will make the pancakes a little less healthy with the refined flour, but they will still taste great.
- Don’t overmix the pancake batter! This will result in a denser pancake, and we like light and fluffy pancakes, right? Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together until they are just combined.
- Use low calorie cooking spray instead of butter to grease your skillet. This will cut down on calories even more!
- Double the batch and save half for later! This will make mornings and breakfasts much easier, plus you’ll know that you are having a healthy and satisfying start to the day. Definitely, something to look forward to!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can pancakes be healthy? YES! To make healthy pancakes I recommend reducing the sugar (you could even swap it for something like stevia if you have a sweet tooth), and increasing the protein and fiber. You could even add in fresh fruit to boost the nutrition even more!
- What is the healthiest flour for pancakes? I would suggest whole-wheat flour or another whole-grain flour (oat, corn, buckwheat) is much healthier than all-purpose flour as they are far less processed. This is why I added whole-wheat flour to these low calorie pancakes!
- What are healthy things to put on pancakes? You can add fresh fruit, sugar-free or reduced sugar syrup, my mixed berry compote (delicious!!), coconut whipped cream, and a sprinkle of chopped nuts.
Here are more breakfast recipes to try!
- Super Easy Breakfast Bake
- Shakshuka
- Overnight Blueberry French Toast Bake
- The BEST Zucchini Muffins
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Healthy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon flax seed
- ½ tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup milk, I used 1%
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- butter for greasing griddle or skillet
Instructions
- Combine flour, flax seed, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together egg, Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and fold gently. Do not over mix.
- Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter or cooking spray. Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet or griddle. Add chocolate chips to each pancake before flipping, about 1/2 tablespoon each.
- Cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Coat griddle or skillet with more butter in between each batch to prevent sticking.
- Serve immediately with syrup or honey if desired.
Nutrition Information
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Gayle
These pancakes are gorgeous, Kelley! I’ve never tried whole wheat flour in pancakes before. I’ve definitely have to make these!
Maya
Love that you combined whole wheat and chocolate! These look so light and fluffy and definitely perfect for a weekend breakfast treat. I don’t make pancakes that often but I really want to make these!
Shelby
I must say that my favorite way to pancake is chocolate chip. But when you can make it healthy it makes it even better!
mira
These pancakes look super delicious Kelley! And I love that they are whole wheat! Pinned!
Dannii
Yummy! I make something similar, but I use a mashed banana in replace of the sugar 🙂
Joanne Bruno
So glad it’s almost Friday, which means I am only TWO DAYS away from having enough morning time to get these in my belly! The chocolate chip addition is genius.
Sarah
I am pretty much swooning here over how light and fluffy and exploding with chocolate these look! And holy moly, Kelly your photos are absolutely gorgeous! You had an awesome subject to work with for sure. These are absolutely stunning. Weekend breakfast here I come! 🙂 Pinned!
karen
These pancakes look unreal! Your pictures are sooo good! Those chocolate chips….mmmmmm….
Christina
Ooo those pancakes look absolutely perfect! And those chocolate morsels on top look so yummy!! Pinned 🙂
Stacey
I love that you added Greek yogurt to these, that’s such a great idea! And chocolate chips in pancakes is always a great idea! These look fantastic!