These Protein Pancakes without protein powder are so delicious and easy to make! We're skipping the powders and using real protein sources from cottage cheese, milk and oats. Hitting our daily protein goals can taste amazing too!
I used to be a hater of cottage cheese until I actually ate it. I realized it was a texture thing, so now I use it in recipes all the time and just blend it up. Cottage cheese is a great source of high protein with approximately 13 grams per ½ cup serving.
I really like using real food to meet my protein goals instead of protein powder, which doesn't taste great and makes me feel bloated.
Try this Cottage Cheese Buffalo Chicken Dip too!
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Why You'll Love This Cottage Cheese Pancake Recipe:
- High Protein. 3 small pancakes equal approximately 19 grams of protein! What a great way to start the day.
- Quick. Ready to eat in about 15 minutes.
- Easy. Simple step by step instructions with minimal mess.
- Healthy. This is a great recipe to feed the family over the weekend with healthier ingredients versus regular pancakes or the store bought version.
For more healthy breakfast ideas, try this Strawberry Ricotta Toast, Spinach Feta Omelet, and Banana Peach Smoothie.
Ingredients:
Cottage Cheese: I used the Daisy brand with 4% milk fat and it worked great for this recipe.
Old Fashioned Oats: Bring in extra protein and texture. I like to really pulse these in the food processor to puree them. If you don't, you can definitely taste them in the batter.
Butter: If you're not big on salty, I suggest using unsalted butter for cooking the pancakes, because the cottage cheese does bring a bit of salt into the recipe.
Find the full recipe ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
- The whole milk can be substituted with 2% or even oat milk or almond milk.
- Feel free to use any cottage cheese brand with whatever fat content you prefer.
For more easy pancake recipes, try these Sheet Pan Pancakes from mix and Sweet Cream Pancakes.
How to Make High Protein Pancakes:
Step 1: Pulse the oats in the food processor or blender until as fine as possible.
Step 2: Add the cottage cheese and ¼ cup milk over the oats and pulse until smooth in the food processor.
Step 3: Into a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined.
Step 4: Pour the cottage cheese mixture in over the flour and add in egg, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir with wooden spoon until completely combined.
Step 5: Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and allow to melt in the pan. Move the melted butter around to cover the full surface. Pour the pancake batter onto the surface. I like to make smaller pancakes with about ¼-1/3 cup of batter each, but you can do big ones too.
Step 6: Once the bottom edges are golden brown and you can see a few bubbles on top, flip the pancakes and cook until the centers are fully cooked (just a few minutes). Remove from the pan and cook the next batch with another tablespoon of butter.
Step 7: Serve with syrup and/or fruit and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Make sure to pulse the oats and cottage cheese really well to avoid chunks in the batter.
- The second batch of pancakes cooks faster. Be careful not to burn them. If the butter looks burnt on the pan, wipe it out and add new butter to avoid a bitter taste.
For more high protein recipes, try these Honey Mustard Chicken Wraps, Dill Pickle Egg Salad, High Protein Wraps, and High Protein Pasta Salad.
Recipe FAQs:
They're dry because they include protein powder or too little of ingredients. Try this recipe for protein pancakes, which are fluffy and moist from the cottage cheese, egg and milk.
I typically only save the pancake batter for a day or two in the fridge, and find it tastes best fresh. If it thickens up in the fridge, just stir a few more tablespoons of milk into the mix.
More High Protein Recipes You'll Love:
If you tried this Protein Pancakes without Protein Powder Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Protein Pancakes without Protein Powder
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6-7 small pancakes 1x
Description
These Protein Pancakes without protein powder are so delicious and easy to make! We're skipping the powders and using real protein sources from cottage cheese, milk and oats. Hitting our daily protein goals can taste amazing too!
Ingredients
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- ¾ cup cottage cheese (I used 4% milk fat)
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter for cooking the pancakes
Instructions
- Pulse the oats in the food processor or blender until as fine as possible.
- Add the cottage cheese and ¼ cup milk over the oats and pulse until smooth.
- Into a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined.
- Pour the cottage cheese mixture in over the flour and add in egg, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir with wooden spoon until completely combined.
- Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and allow to melt in the pan. Move the melted butter around to cover the full surface. Pour the pancake batter onto the surface. I like to make smaller pancakes with about ¼-1/3 cup of batter each.
- Once the bottom edges are golden brown and you can see a few bubbles on top, flip the pancakes and cook until the centers are fully cooked (just a few minutes). Remove from the pan and cook the next batch with another tablespoon of butter.
- Serve with syrup and/or fruit and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure to pulse the oats and cottage cheese really well to avoid chunks in the batter.
- The second batch of pancakes cooks faster. Be careful not to burn them. If the butter looks burnt on the pan, wipe it out and add new butter to avoid a bitter taste.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: breakfast
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Holly says
These are so much better than other protein pancakes I’ve tried. Thanks for the recipe!