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Zebra Pancakes are a step up from everyday pancakes and a fun twist on the classic Zebra cake. Two lightly flavored batters are swirled together to create beautiful stripes running through each pancake, so every slice reveals a surprise inside. These are not your usual breakfast stack.
Imagine a steaming plate of pancakes that are just as pretty on the inside as they are on the outside. At only 89 calories per pancake, they are soft, fluffy, and almost cake-like, making them an easy addition to your Sunday menu. I do not know about you, but seeing those stripes in every bite of a pancake that tastes like cake is enough to make me genuinely excited for breakfast.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
What makes these Zebra Pancakes so good is that they start with one solid, fluffy pancake recipe, then turn it into something special by simply dividing the batter. Half stays classic vanilla, the other gets a touch of cocoa, so both flavors cook evenly and stay light, soft, and cake-like instead of dense or dry.
This marble pancake recipe is also refreshingly low-effort for how impressive it looks. The swirl technique is forgiving, meaning you do not need perfect circles or special tools to get those signature stripes. You end up with beautiful marble pancakes that feel fun and indulgent, without adding extra steps or stress to your morning.
What Goes Into Zebra Pancakes
This batter comes together with simple pantry staples, but a few key ingredients do the heavy lifting to give these Zebra Pancakes their fluffy texture and signature swirl.
- Self-Raising Flour: This gives the pancakes their lift and soft, cake-like crumb, keeping both batters light and evenly cooked.
- Sugar: Just enough to lightly sweeten the batter without overpowering the cocoa swirl or making the pancakes cloying.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Mixed into half of the batter, this creates the chocolate stripes and that classic zebra look without drying the pancakes out.
- Milk: Used in the main batter and again to loosen the cocoa mixture, ensuring both batters stay pourable and swirl smoothly together.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make Zebra Pancakes
- Mix Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until evenly mixed.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Make a well in the centre, add egg, vanilla, and milk, then whisk before gradually incorporating the dry.
- Finish The Batter: Pour in the melted butter and whisk again until the batter is smooth, creamy, and free from lumps.
- Divide And Flavor: Pour half of the batter into a separate jug or bowl and whisk in the cocoa powder until fully dissolved.
- Adjust Chocolate Batter: Add the extra 2 tablespoons of milk to the chocolate batter if needed, just until it matches the consistency of the plain batter.
- Marble: Heat a nonstick pan with butter, spoon 2 tablespoons of batter in the centre, then spoon 2 tablespoons of chocolate, repeat to form 5–6 rings.
- Cook And Flip: Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook the other side until set and cooked through, as you would with regular pancakes.
- Serve And Enjoy: Repeat with remaining batter, greasing the pan as needed, and serve warm with maple syrup, fruit, berries, ice cream, or melted chocolate.
These Zebra Pancakes pair beautifully with something light and fresh to balance their cake-like texture. A simple Honey Lime Fruit Salad adds brightness and keeps the plate from feeling too sweet, while a spoonful of Homemade Blueberry Sauce brings a juicy contrast that works especially well with the chocolate swirls.
If you want to round things out into a fuller breakfast, serve them alongside Cream Cheese Scrambled Eggs for a soft, savory element that balances the pancakes without competing for attention. The mix of sweet, fresh, and creamy makes the whole meal feel intentional and satisfying without being heavy.
Tips For Making Zebra Pancakes
- Match the batter consistency: I always check this before I start cooking. If one batter is thicker than the other, the stripes will not spread properly. When you lift the spoon, both batters should fall back into the bowl at about the same speed.
- Work quickly when swirling: Once the plain batter hits the pan, I add the chocolate batter straight away. Waiting even a few seconds makes the rings harder to form, and the stripes will not look as defined.
- Keep the heat on the lower side: These Zebra Pancakes are thicker and more cake-like than a basic pancake recipe, so I stick to medium-low heat. It gives the centres time to cook through without over-browning the outside.
- Hands off while cooking: I know it is tempting to press pancakes down, but I never do it here. Pressing flattens the batter, blurs the stripes, and takes away that soft, fluffy texture.
Recipe FAQ’s
This usually comes down to batter consistency. If one batter is thicker than the other, the rings will not spread evenly. Make sure both batters flow at the same speed before cooking.
Zebra Pancakes are thicker than a basic pancake recipe, so cooking them over high heat will brown the outside before the centre cooks through. Medium-low heat works best for even cooking.
Wait until bubbles form on the surface and the edges look set before flipping. Use a wide spatula and flip confidently in one smooth motion to keep the stripes intact.
Watch Me Make Zebra Pancakes On Video!
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Zebra Marble Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups self raising flour see notes
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder see notes
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg large
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup skim milk or unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons reduced fat butter melted
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, vanilla and milk. Whisk the wet ingredients first before incorporating them into the dry ingredients. Add in the melted butter and whisk again until the batter is smooth and creamy.
- Pour half of the mixture into a separate jug or bowl and stir in the cocoa powder; whisk until dissolved. Add in the extra 2 tablespoons of milk if batter is too thick.
- Preheat a nonstick pan with cooking oil spray (or lightly grease with butter/oil) and pour out about two tablespoons worth of the plain mixture into the centre of the pan. Straight away spoon two tablespoons of the chocolate batter over top. Continue doing this until you have 5-6 rings (the more batter you use, the bigger your pancakes will grow). You will have alternate rings of batter in the pan (it doesn't have to be neat)!
- Cook until bubbles form on top; flip and cook until cooked through (as you would normal pancakes). Repeat the process until all of the batter is used (grease in between every second or third pancake, depending on the quality of your pan).
- Serve with maple syrup, ice cream, fruit, berries melted chocolate, whatever you like!
Notes
*Use 1 tablespoon baking powder if using plain or all purpose flour
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m a major pancake fan, and I love zebra cakes, down for both any day of the week…so i had to give these a go once I saw this recipe. Your recipe came out so good!! The pancakes were wiped clean in normal time, not a crumb left behind. I think I’ll need to double the recipe the next time I make it LOL! Thank you for sharing your wonderful talent!
Karina, you never cease to amaze me. This recipe is absolutely by far, the most imaginatively and created work of are I’ve ever experienced, even at Culinary school. The 2nd time I made these I experimented, using 2 tablespoons of espresso powder a d 1 tablespoon cocoa powder…oh so yummy. Thank your husband, the music was great. Keep those great recipes coming. Love them and love you for creating and sharing.
OMG!!
I need to try these! It looks fantastic!
Thanks for the recipe
Hi Lara! You’re very welcome!
This is the first time I’ve seen a marble pancake! Gotta try this. Love the idea (and the video too!) x
Thank you so much Judith!