Adding zucchini to pancakes is much like adding it to bread. It adds moistness, perhaps a little sweetness, and it loves to be covered in spices and sugar. Plus it doesn’t mind sharing the limelight with chocolate.

Zucchini seems to be everywhere this time of year. I don’t have a garden but I can’t resist buying it when I am at the farmers market. It’s an easy way to add nutrition to recipes and it is wonderfully inexpensive.

Be sure to finely shred the zucchini. Since pancakes only cook for a few minutes, you run the risk of having a little crunch in your pancakes if you don’t. I shred it on the small grate on my box grater and then give it a quick whirl in my mini food processor just to make sure.

I don’t add much sugar to the batter because I like to drown my pancakes in maple syrup, plus there’s ¾ cup of chocolate chips added to the batter. If you like to go light on the syrup you may want to add another tablespoon or two of sugar to the batter.

And if you have a tendency to over buy zucchini like I do and you still have some left, try Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. They’ll really help you get your chocolate fix and they work great as an on the go snack or breakfast.

There’s no better way to start the weekend than with hot, fluffy Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Pancakes.