Don’t you want a big stack of chocolate pancakes for breakfast? Made with coconut flour, they are low carb and gluten-free.
Low carb diets rock! Sure, they’re healthy and all that, and I suppose that’s kind of cool. And they help people with diabetes keep their blood sugars under control, that’s a nice benefit too. Trying to lose weight without going hungry all the time? A low carb diet can help there, which some people like. But low carb diets are super duper awesome mostly because I can eat chocolate for breakfast without the least pang of guilt. That’s what makes low carb diets rock my world. Because as it turns out, chocolate in its natural state is really a low carb, high fiber food. It’s all those sugary, carby additives that make commercial chocolate not so good for you. Find a way around those less-than-healthy bits, and you are golden. Free to eat chocolate day and night, without guilt, without gaining weight and without sending your blood sugars into the stratosphere. The only question is, why haven’t more people figured this out??? Meh, hardly matters. All I care about are these low carb chocolate pancakes. Mine…all mine. Although I did have to share them with my kids, little greedy monkeys.
If you follow me on Facebook, you would have seen me in desperate need of chocolate yesterday morning. My son managed to lock me out of my bedroom minutes before we needed to leave for school, and I was still in my pyjamas. He thought it was one of the doors you could pop open from the outside with a little tool and he wanted to try it. He’s seen me do it a number of times when the bathroom door accidentally gets locked. Except our bedroom door doesn’t work that way and I had to take the handle apart with a screwdriver. That was fun. I was highly annoyed but trying not to be too hard on him. And I really, REALLY didn’t want to drive him to school in my red plaid PJs.
So I came home craving chocolate and I could have happily devoured a big stack of these low carb chocolate pancakes. Alas, we were fresh out because of my chocolate-addicted greedy little monkeys. I settled for a low carb mocha with a ton of whipped cream on top. But it reminded me that I need to make these again soon. They are delicious with butter and a little sugar-free syrup.
Mmmm, chocolate for breakfast. Without guilt. Have I swayed you over to the low carb dark side yet???
Low Carb Gluten-Free Chocolate Pancakes made with coconut flour. A perfectly indulgent yet guilt-free breakfast.
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup vanilla whey protein powder
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener or powdered erythritol
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 to 1¼ cup almond milk
- 2 ounces gluten- and sugar-free high % cacao chocolate finely chopped
- Additional butter or coconut oil for pan
- Preheat oven to 200F.
In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour, cocoa powder, whey protein, powdered Swerve, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in eggs, melted coconut oil, and 1 cup almond milk until well combined. Stir in chopped chocolate. Let batter rest 10 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brush with butter or coconut oil. Scoop a scant ¼ cup of batter onto skillet and spread into a 3 to 4 inch circle. Repeat until you can't fit any more pancakes into the skillet (you should be able to get 3 or 4 in).
- Cook until bottom is set and bubbles begin to form around edges. Flip carefully and continue to cook until second side is completely set. Remove from pan and keep warm on plate or baking sheet in oven, while repeating with remaining batter.
Serves 8. Each serving 13.25 g of carbs and 7.25 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 6 g.
Jennifer Eloff says
February 1, 2013 at 10:50 amYum!!
Jennifer says
February 1, 2013 at 11:29 amCan I just say, I love your blog soooo much. It has saved my low carb life! These are going to be my Saturday Indulgence, as I like to call them. I have been eating your maple pecan scones all week for breakfast, and finally broke a month long plateau!
One question, what kind of whey protein powder do you recommend? I have tried Isopure Zero Carb (which makes amazing shakes), but, it doesn’t bake well.
Carolyn says
February 1, 2013 at 12:08 pmHi Jennifer. I like Jarrow, as it’s about 2 g of carbs per 1/4 cup, it’s certified gluten free and it doesn’t contain any artificial sweeteners, either in the flavoured or the unflavoured varieties. And congrats on breaking through that plateau!
Paul says
February 13, 2016 at 2:29 pmHi Carolyn,
I noticed the whey protein says to keep away from children. I wanted to serve this recipe to my kids but am hesitant based on the warning. Do you have any insight as to why? Thanks!
Carolyn says
February 13, 2016 at 3:42 pmHi Paul…I think because whey protein powder is technically a supplement and EVERY supplement on the market says that. You do as you see fit, but I am usually adding what is 1 serving to a recipe, which means that 1 serving is spread between 6 to 12 servings so I don’t personally worry about it. This is not to be taken as any kind of medical advice. Thanks.
Pink Peppercorn and Paprika says
February 1, 2013 at 12:44 pmThese look so delicious! Healthy chocolate is my favorite discovery to date. Is there any replacement for the whey protein?? Thanks!!
Carolyn says
February 1, 2013 at 1:00 pmWhat would you like to replace it with? There are certainly options, like hemp, soy or egg protein powder. You just need some to help texture and fluffiness.
Pink Peppercorn and Paprika says
February 1, 2013 at 1:31 pmOk thanks! I wasn’t sure what the purpose of it was since I never used it in baking before. But now I will have to try!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
February 1, 2013 at 4:03 pmHoly yumminess! These look crazy good, Carolyn. I love how you kept them relatively healthy too.
Eric says
February 1, 2013 at 6:33 pmI bet these would be good with a few blueberries or raspberries added to each pancake… I have to try these, to see whether I can get over my inability to make anything with coconut flour that isn’t a hockey puck. Wish me luck.
Rebekah Phillips says
February 1, 2013 at 9:53 pmI am not a fan of coconut flour, how can I convert this recipe using almond flour?
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious says
February 2, 2013 at 2:45 amWhat’s up with that? Kids are always stealing the good stuff, sigh..Great pancakes btw!
Debby says
February 2, 2013 at 6:01 pmI made these this morning for my 2 kids. Even my picky daughter loved them. They were very filling so I cooked them all up and froze for busy weekday breakfasts.
Rivka says
February 2, 2013 at 11:07 pmI made these tonight, they were delicious! perhaps a little too chocolat-y for my tastes (who knew there was such a thing??) but maybe i’ll replace the chopped chocolate with pecans next time! my non-low-carbing family couldn’t tell it was anything other than delicious, by the way 🙂 thanks for another delectable recipe!
claire @ the realistic nutritionist says
February 3, 2013 at 11:20 amThese are like…melt in my mouth amazing. YES PLEASE.
Esther R. says
February 3, 2013 at 2:15 pmThese are amazing.Your blog is wonderful. Thanks Carolynn
Judy says
February 3, 2013 at 11:05 pmMy kids were both home from college this weekend, so I made these on Saturday morning. I made some whipped cream that I sweetened with Swerve, and everyone loved them! The one thing I’ll do next time is serve them with some berries along with the whipped cream. It’ll be like having dessert for breakfast! In fact, I wondered about thinning the batter down so they’d be more like crepes and actually making them for dessert some time…any thoughts on whether that might work?
Sarah G says
February 4, 2013 at 11:29 amWanted to let you know we made these over the weekend. All I did to change it was to add some extra erythritol to the batter (probably less sweet because it wasn’t Swerve) and they were SO delicious!!! Love them!
It was nice that I didn’t need almond flour too because I’m out and it’s expensive. I’ll be making these again very soon.
Jennifer says
July 22, 2015 at 7:48 pmHi Sarah! Just want to ask what you meant that you didn’t need the almond flour? Can I just replace it with all coconut flour? Thanks! 🙂
Pam says
February 5, 2013 at 10:01 amThese look amazing…can’t wait to try them!
Wendy says
February 22, 2013 at 6:17 pmI’m new to all this… Can these be made with almond flour? If so, what would be the ratio? Thanks!
Laura E says
May 14, 2013 at 1:31 pmHi Carolyn these look wonderful! Thank you! Do you know if they freeze well?
Carolyn says
May 14, 2013 at 2:12 pmYes, they freeze very well! I usually make a huge batch and keep them through the week.
Vanessa says
July 10, 2013 at 2:55 pmI’m not sold on erythritol. Do you think it would be possible to make these with something a little less daunting, like coconut sugar?
Carolyn says
July 10, 2013 at 3:17 pmYou bet, I think it would work just as well. There’s not a lot of sugar/sugar substitute in these as it is.
Jennifer says
July 22, 2015 at 7:50 pmHi Carolyn! If I substitute with coconut sugar, what will the net carbs be per serving? Thanks!
Carolyn says
July 22, 2015 at 9:16 pmI have no idea but you should be able to calculate that with My Fitness Pal.
Jennifer says
July 22, 2015 at 11:15 pmThanks Carolyn! Can I substitute the almond flour with all coconur flour? Almond flour is pricey and we only have almond meal 🙁 Thanks!!
Carolyn says
July 23, 2015 at 7:27 amThis recipe doesn’t take any almond flour.
Jennifer says
July 23, 2015 at 7:35 amWaaaa! Oh my! My mistake 🙁 I was thinking about your chocolate cake. Sorry.
sherry says
August 22, 2013 at 11:10 amThese were awesome!! Made a bunch and froze them. They re-heat in the microwave very nicely.
susan says
January 22, 2014 at 8:48 pmHi. Can I replace eggs w chia seed egg replacement? Have you ever tried? Last time I tried the pancakes kept breaking apart. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Carolyn says
January 23, 2014 at 7:40 amNo, I really don’t think the chia eggs would work very well. It’s because of the coconut flour and how it needs egg to have any structure. You could try my flax seed pancakes and see if you can cut out the eggs on that.
Lourdes Gonzalez says
January 27, 2014 at 4:44 pmI just started low carbing and your website and recipes seem heaven sent. I tried these but didn’t like it but I think it was something I did wrong. For example I did not find swerve powder and tried something else that said powder sweetener. And I used a 100% cacao chocolate. Could this have messed up the results? Thanks
Carolyn says
January 27, 2014 at 5:30 pm100% cacao chocolate for the chocolate chips? That might have made them quite bitter. What sweetener did you use?
Andy says
March 23, 2014 at 9:24 pmMade this today for brunch with friends. Came out perfectly! Absolutely delicious. Even better with home made chocolate syrup or Hershey’s sugar free syrup made with erythritol.
I’m going to have to try out your other pancake recipes now. I love how you can make the most carb rich dishes and make low carb versions of them! Thanks so much.
Mzeinstein says
April 12, 2014 at 4:24 pmChewing these as I type. Made these for my Saturday re-feed post-workout and they are HEAVEN!! So delicious and satisfying. Ty for sharing!
Sue says
December 7, 2014 at 11:32 pmCan you tell me what the rest of the nutritional information is for the chocolate chip pancakes? You only list the carbs and fiber.
angela says
February 21, 2015 at 11:28 amLove this recipe as is but today I’m going to replace the whey protein with collagen hydrolysate and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Using enjoy life mini chips too.
Dee Gee says
March 29, 2015 at 8:28 amGreat recipe! Thanks so much!
Rachael says
February 4, 2018 at 9:15 amI am confused about preheating the oven to 200 degrees in step 1, but then it seems these are cooked over medium high heat in a skillet. I’m excited to make these!! Thanks for all your recipes.
Carolyn says
February 4, 2018 at 9:21 amThe oven is to keep the pancakes warm after you’ve cooked them in the skillet.
Janelle says
September 21, 2018 at 6:03 pmJust had these pancakes tonight for supper! They had an excellent texture, closer to regular pancakes. I did not like the sweetener that I used–I used an erythritol/monkfruit blend whereas in the plain coconut pancakes elsewhere on this site, I did half of that blend and half xylitol. I think next time I will do that with the sweetener. I could tell that if I nail down the sweetener, I will really like these pancakes. I did have to add an extra tablespoon of coconut flour and only used 1 cup of the almond milk. I also had to do 2-tablespoon sizes for putting batter in the pan as I found the scant 1/4 cup of batter hard to flip. It is hard to tell when they’re done as they’re dark, but I didn’t burn any. We each topped ours with fake pancake syrup and ate 3 minis (equivalent to 2 if I had done the 1/4c batter per pancake) each with some bacon on the side.