I’m no bodybuilder, but I have been actively trying to consume more protein in my day, especially in the morning. If you’re anything like me and you often find yourself hungry an hour or so after eating breakfast, this might be something for you to try too. These Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes have no protein powder but are packed with protein thanks to the creamy goodness of cottage cheese. They are super delicious and versatile, and a great way to satisfy your hunger any time of day.
I love the silky, almost custardy texture these protein pancakes have, thanks to the addition of cottage cheese. This has become my go-to pancake recipe!
Why cottage cheese is a great addition to pancakes
There are tons of benefits of incorporating cottage cheese into pancakes. It adds creaminess without adding too much extra fat, and it makes the pancakes delightfully custardy, almost like a cross between a pancake and cheesecake! Cottage cheese is also super high in protein, making your pancakes ultra satisfying. Each portion of these pancakes has about 14 of protein. Not too shabby!
Why no protein powder?
I don’t have a particular issue with protein powder, but it does tend to give everything a gritty texture and a very specific flavor. (In other words, it makes everything taste like protein powder. 😅) I think there’s a time and a place for that flavor, like in the occasional morning smoothie, but I don’t want that texture and flavor to infiltrate these pancakes. I want them to maintain their silky, custardy texture and a nice neutral flavor that can pair with anything.
What you’ll need - equipment and ingredients
To make these cottage cheese protein pancakes, all you need is a blending mechanism (I use a stick blender, but you can also use a food processor or blender). If using a stick blender like me, you’ll need a large measuring jug to mix the ingredients.
The basic version of these pancakes has a nice, short ingredient list. The recipe only requires:
- Cottage cheese: Creamy and packed with protein, this makes the pancakes deliciously custardy.
- Eggs: For structure and lift. You can also use straight-up egg whites for a higher protein option.
- Milk: Dairy, soy, almond, whatever you have in the fridge should do the trick.
- All-purpose flour: To hold these pancakes together. They also work incredibly well with oat flour if you prefer.
- Baking powder: To make the pancakes rise and be fluffy!
- Salt: Just a pinch, to add flavor to the pancakes.
Optional:
- Sugar: To slightly sweeten the batter.
- Vanilla: To complement the sweetness.
There are endless flavor variations you can try with these pancakes too, but more on that later.
How to make Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes
There are no fancy techniques involved in making these high-protein pancakes, and the mixture only takes a few minutes to make.
- Combine cottage cheese, eggs (or egg whites), and milk in a measuring jug or blender
- Blend until smooth
- Add the dry ingredients, and stir in with a spatula until just combined.
- Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes, then scoop the pancakes onto a lightly oiled griddle, and cook as you would any pancakes. I like to use a ¼ cup measure to scoop my batter, and I end up with 8 pancakes.
How to serve these high-protein pancakes
If you’ve made the OG version (without any extra flavorings), you have myriad options for serving these up. You can go sweet or savory, depending on your mood.
Some of my favorite sweet toppings:
- Defrosted frozen raspberries or blueberries: Defrosting from frozen gives you a lot of delicious berry juice to soak into the pancakes
- Sliced bananas: Add natural sweetness and bulk up the nutritional profile
- Peanut butter: Add creamy nuttiness (even better when paired with bananas!)
- Toasted flaked almonds: Jazz up the pancakes with a delicate crunch
- Plain yogurt: For even more protein and creaminess
- Cream cheese: Just a dollop makes these pancakes super luxurious
- Cinnamon honey butter: Mix honey and cinnamon into some salted butter and let it melt over the pancakes.
- Maple syrup or honey: Classic ways to sweeten up these decidedly non-sweet pancakes.
Some of my favorite savory toppings:
- A fried egg
- Crispy ham or bacon
- A drizzle of hot sauce or chili oil
- Grated cheddar cheese
TIP: For a quick work-from-home lunch, I often toast up a leftover pancake and top it with smoked turkey, dijon mustard, and a dill pickle spear, then fold the pancake around it like a taco. This is a great little snack or side along with a big bowl of soup.
Cottage Cheese Pancake variations
I have a feeling this list is going to get longer and longer as the years go on. Here are a few tried and true Cottage Cheese Protein Pancake variations to start:
Flavor variations - make them sweet
- Sweetened Cottage Cheese Pancakes: Before blending, add 2 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla to the pancake mix.
- Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes: Before blending, add 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and the zest of 1 lemon to the pancake mix. Replace 2 Tbsp of the milk with the lemon juice.
- High-Protein Orange Almond Pancakes: Before blending, add 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and the zest of one orange to the pancake mix. Replace 3 Tbsp of the milk with the orange juice. After blending, replace 30g of the flour with almond flour, and sprinkle a few flaked, toasted almonds on top of each pancake while they’re on the griddle.
Flavor variations - make them savory
- Herby Cottage Cheese Pancakes: After blending, add 1 tsp of chopped fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, or tarragon to the pancake mix.
- Cottage Cheese and Cheddar Pancakes: After blending, stir in 3 Tbsp of shredded cheddar cheese for a cheesy twist.
Other variations - ingredient substitutions
- Use egg whites instead of whole eggs: This bumps up the protein and lowers the total fat & calorie count. It also lightens the texture slightly.
- Use oat flour instead of all-purpose flour: This adds a slightly nutty flavor to the pancakes, and makes them gluten-free (just make sure you're using GF oat flour).
How to store leftover Cottage Cheese Pancakes?
If you have any leftover pancakes, let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for up to 3 days. To reheat, you can microwave them or toast them in a toaster oven.
TIP: These pancakes also freeze really well! Just cool the pancakes fully, then stack the pancakes gently in a freezer bag or airtight container with a piece of parchment paper in between each one to prevent them from sticking together.
When you're ready to eat them, reheat the frozen pancakes in a toaster oven or air fryer. until they are warmed through and slightly toasty around the edges.
Cottage Cheese Pancake FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about these Cottage Cheese Pancakes:
My go-to cottage cheese is 1% or 2%, both of which are low-ish fat (but not no-fat). I find them both to work great for this recipe.
Eggs play a crucial role in binding the ingredients together and giving the pancakes structure. If you want to make them without eggs, I would recommend using a flax or chia egg. To make a flax or chia egg, combine 1 Tbsp of ground flax or chia seeds with 3 Tbsp cold water and allow it to thicken for 20-30 minutes before using.
Yes, you can make these gluten-free by using gluten-free oat flour. Make sure to check the packaging for any cross-contamination warnings if you have celiac disease or a gluten intolerance.
Yes, these pancakes freeze well. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply microwave them or toast them from frozen.
More high-protein recipes to try
If you have any other questions about these Pancakes, feel free to ask in the comments below! I hope you love them 🙂
Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes (No Protein Powder)
Equipment
- digital scale optional
- Electric griddle or frying pan
- immersion (stick) blender or blender
- bowl or measuring jug for mixing the batter
- rubber spatula for scraping the bowl
- flipper to flip the pancakes
Ingredients
- 200 grams cottage cheese
- 2 eggs Can sub for egg whites. See recipe notes.
- 125 millilitres milk or alt milk, like soy or almond.
- 140 grams all-purpose flour Can sub for oat flour. See recipe notes.
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt
- ½ teaspoons oil or butter for greasing the griddle optional if using a non-stick griddle
For sweetened pancakes, add:
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine cottage cheese, egg, and milk in a large measuring jug or blender.
- *Optional* If you want your pancakes to be sweet, add the sugar and vanilla.
- Blend until smooth, using a stick blender or regular blender.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Note: If using oat flour instead of all-purpose flour, you can mix the entire batter in the blender without the risk of over mixing.
- Allow the pancake batter to rest for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat a nonstick griddle to 325F.
- Lightly grease the griddle, and scoop the pancake batter onto the griddle. If using a ½ cup measuring cup as a scoop, you should end up with 4 large pancakes.
- Allow the pancakes to cook on the first side until bubbles form on the surface—approximately 5-7 minutes. Don't rush this part!
- Flip the pancakes, and cook for another 5 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown on both sides.
- Allow the pancakes to cool slightly before eating. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Cook these pancakes low and slow. If using an electric griddle, cook them at 325. If using a pan on the stove, keep the heat on the low side of medium-low. You may need to remove the pan from the heat from time to time to stop it from getting too hot.
- Don't rush the cooking process! Wait till bubbles form on the surface before flipping, and continue cooking after flipping for a good 5 minutes.
- The finished pancakes have a slightly squidgy, custardy texture.
- If swapping egg whites for eggs, use ¼ cup (60ml) egg white per egg.
- Oat flour is a great replacement for all-purpose flour for these pancakes. It makes them nutty and delicious!
- If using oat flour, you can make the whole recipe in the blender without risking the overdevelopment of gluten as you would with wheat flour. Bonus!
Brevitywrites says
Just loved the way you have explained!
Recipe was so good, Thank you!
Sue says
Why is the recipe in US and metric quantities? One or the other!
Paula says
I'm Canadian and use metric, but always get complaints when I don't include the US option. Just doing my best over here!
Bethany says
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Sheila Cubine says
You’re doing great! There’s an option so I just used that! Thank you 😊
Beth says
You’re doing great! Thank you for providing both measurement types, it helps a lot of people. ❤️
Trina says
I wanted this to work so badly, cause they sound amazing! The batter looked great - nice and smooth and seemed to be the right consistency and thickness for pancakes. Unfortunately they stuck to the pan, even though I used a nonstick electric griddle and some butter melted on it.
I scraped it all off and tired again - I added about 1/4 cup of oil to the batter, and still they stuck so badly. I have made regular pancakes this way many, many times and never had a problem.
Next I tried a very good nonstick frying pan on the stove top - then I realized that although they didn’t stick, the batter just wouldn’t cook beyond that first tiny layer touching the pan. I tried spreading out the batter to make it thinner, and turning down the heat - but they still wouldn’t cook through.
In an effort to salvage the rest of the batter, I put it it muffin cups and into the oven at 325F. Even though I cooked them for 27 minutes, I still had similar results with the outside being cooked, but the inside just staying liquidy. I did eat a couple, and the flavour was nice, but unfortunately they didn’t work for me.
Perhaps they just need more dry ingredients? I’m not sure.
Thanks for trying - please let me know if I did something wrong!!
Paula says
Hmm the only thing I can think of is that your cottage cheese might have been very liquidy. It's a good call out, as cottage cheese consistency does vary a fair bit. 🧐
Heather says
Made these for my toddler and I today. They are amazing! No sticking to the pan- they came off clean and easy. I also really appreciated both metric and US measurements- makes the job easy as you can switch from one or the other. Another great recipe Paula!
MK says
I did not have cottage cheese so I used 150 g whole milk greek yogurt, and it came out great!
georgina says
The cottage cheese protein pancakes, which I tried recently from How to Make Dinner, were a delicious take on a traditional breakfast dish without the need for protein powder. Oats, eggs, and cottage cheese combined to create a fluffy texture with a hint of tanginess. For an extra protein boost, I served the pancakes with a side of Kodiak Cakes mix (https://kodiakcakes.com), which went great with the pancakes. I appreciate you sharing this delicious, high-protein pancake recipe; it's quickly become a morning staple!
olddeadmiko says
These were so good and filling! I froze the leftovers for a quick protein hit!
Paula says
Wonderful to hear! I love freezing them too. Pop em in the toaster oven for a quick brekkie or snack!
Amy says
Didn’t work.
Paula says
So sorry to hear that! What was it about them that didn't work?
Roelien says
Disaster.
Sticked to the pan, fell apart and the inside stayed gooey. Horrible..
Vg says
Brown in outside, wet on the inside. Yuck! Where's the vanilla extract, sweetener? Just wasted all that cottage cheese
Paula says
Sorry to hear they didn't turn out for you! They are intentionally unsweetened as they can go in either a sweet or savory direction. I talk about this in the post.