Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 06/07/2023 - Last updated on 08/29/2024
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These Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes are delicious healthy protein pancakes packed with 33 grams of protein per breakfast. They are lightly crispy on the edges, soft and moist in the center, with a delicious vanilla flavor.
A complete breakfast should bring 30 grams of protein or more, depending on your workout in the morning. During the week, I like protein shakes or omelets post-workout. But on the weekend, I love my protein waffles, protein pancakes or, recently, these cottage cheese protein pancakes.
If you never added cottage cheese to pancake batter yet, you should start now! It adds a deliciously moist texture to the enter and a bunch of protein. While there are many ways to make cottage cheese pancakes, this recipe focuses on using wholesome ingredients, no refined flour or sugar. Therefore, it’s also packed with fiber and vitamins from rolled oats to keep you full for the house.
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need to make these high protein blender cottage cheese pancakes are:
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats – This is the most nutritive grain to add to your breakfast pancakes. It’s also higher in protein than white flour and packed with fiber, vitamins, and gut-friendly.
- Cottage Cheese – Feel free to use low-fat cottage cheese to cut down the calories if desired.
- Eggs – Use large eggs or the batter gets dry.
- Vanilla Protein Powder – Feel free to use any protein powder you love. I use a clean vanilla pea protein powder. It is made with only three ingredients: pea protein isolate, natural vanilla flavor, and thaumatin as a sweetener.
- Sweetener of Choice – To keep the calories low and avoid added sugar, I like allulose, erythritol, or a few drops of stevia glycerite. Feel free to use coconut sugar or date sugar if preferred.
- Baking Powder – for a slightly fluffy texture.
- Vanilla Extract – Use only if your protein powder is unflavored. Mine has a strong vanilla flavor so I do skip the vanilla extract.
- Cinnamon – for flavors.
How To Make Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes
If you are after something sweet and filling, these pancakes with cottage cheese are for you. To make tasty and healthy cottage cheese pancakes, you must blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender.
- Place cottage cheese, eggs, oats, protein powder sweetener, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and baking powder in the jug of a blender.
- Blend on medium-high speed and use the tamper tool of the blender to push the batter next to the blade. The batter is ultra-thick, and that’s normal, it shouldn’t be liquid like for regular pancakes. If too difficult to blend, stop the blending, or use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides of the jug and repeat blending at low speed. If really too dry, feel free to add one egg white or 2 to 3 tablespoons of water, but this can make the batter fragile when cooking later.
- Place the thick cottage cheese pancake batter in a bowl. Set aside while warming the pancake griddle. If you are using a food processor, start by adding the oat and blend on high speed to form oat flour.
- Then, add the remaining ingredients and blend again to form the thick pancake batter.
- First, warm the pancake skillet over medium-high heat and grease the surface with cooking spray or avocado oil.
- Add 1/3 cup of batter – I use an ice cream scoop to release a nice round dollop of batter. These are not your classic pancakes. The batter is thick and won’t spread.
- Then, wet your finger a little and press the top of the uncooked batter to spread the pancakes and make then wider.
- Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until the sides start to dry.
- Flip and cook an extra 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat until golden brown and cook in the center.
Serving
This recipe makes 6 pancakes of about 1/3 cup of batter each. Serve 3 pancakes as a high-protein breakfast, stack the cottage cheese oatmeal pancakes then add:
- A dollop of Plain Greek yogurt for a boost of protein.
- Fresh fruits like raspberries, blueberries, or banana slices.
- Maple syrup, honey, or sugar-free pancake syrup.
- Nut butter- this also adds protein, try a drizzle of fresh peanut butter or almond butter.
- Nuts – add a few slices of almonds, chopped walnuts, or pecan.
- Chocolate chips
Storage Instructions
This high-protein cottage cheese pancake recipe is freezer-friendly. Place it in Ziploc bags and freeze it for up to one month. You can also store it for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Rewarm leftovers in a warm pancake griddle or non-stick pan or for a few seconds in a bread toaster.
Allergy Swaps
Below are some options to make this recipe if you have some food allergies:
- Egg-Free – Removing and swapping eggs for egg replacers decreases the protein content of the pancakes. Also, remember that the texture will be more dense and gummy. To skip eggs, replace with 1/2 cup of mashed banana and one tablespoon of flax meal.
- Gluten-Free – Use gluten-free certified oats.
- Protein Powder-Free – Feel free to skip the protein powder and add one teaspoon of vanilla extract for flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are my answers to your most common questions about this healthy pancake recipe.
You can add protein powder in a cottage cheese protein shake, in cottage cheese protein pancake batter, or on its own to thicken and flavor the cottage cheese. To eat on its own, add one scoop of protein powder per cup of plain cottage cheese.
Yes, adding more proteins to your breakfast feed your muscles with energy and encourage muscle growth instead of fat. It’s also a great way to keep you full for longer as proteins are very filling and stop food craving for a long time.
Yes, protein pancakes are packed with proteins that keep you full quickly and reduce the number of calories you eat. Also, they are often made with unrefined grain and low sugar, and they are better for you if you want to eat more wholesome ingredients.
More Cottage Cheese Recipes
If you enjoy making delicious recipes with cottage cheese, you’ll love these:
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Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cottage Cheese low-fat
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 2 tablespoons Vanilla Protein Powder not packed, swept
- 1-2 tablespoons Granulated Sweetener like allulose or erythritol, adjust regarding taste
Optioanl
- 1-2 tablespoons Almond Milk
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender, add all the ingredients: cottage cheese, large eggs, old-fashioned oats, cinnamon, baking powder, vanilla protein powder, and sweetener.
- Blend on medium-high speed and use the tamper tool of your blender to push the batter next to the blade. You may need to stop the blender to scrape down the sides of the jug with a silicone spatula and bring all ingredients together.
- Blend until thick, and well combined – it does look grainy, wet, not dry. If dry, you can blend in an extra egg white, or 1-2 tablespoon almond milk, but you shouldn't have to.
- Warm a pancake griddle over medium-high heat with avocado oil.
- Scoop 1/3 cup of batter per pancake, forming a thick dollop that won't spread. Oil or lightly wet your fingers with water and pat/press to spread and flatten the batter.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sides dry, and it's easy to flip.
- Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes until the center is not wet and set. They will puff when warm and deflate as you serve, and that's normal.
Serving
- Serve with maple syrup or sugar-free pancake syrup, berries, and a dollop of Greek Yogurt for a boost of extra protein.
Storage
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container or zip-lock bags for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge the day before serving.
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Nutrition
About The Author
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
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The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only. The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates.
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Absolutely amazing. I added more almond milk to the recipes, 😋! I will add to this to the breakfast rotation moving forward. Thx!
These are the best protein pancakes I have ever made. I could not get them to come out in a pancake form the way I wanted so I started putting them in mini muffin tins and they are perfect . Pop a few in the microwave every morning for work and off you go. thank you!!!!
Thank you, glad you liked them!!
These are amazing. I just did a second batch, doubled it and put 2 tbs of chia seeds. These keep well in the fridge and are so easy to just pop in the microwave in the morning.
Thank you!
Just made these and wow! They’re honestly the best protein pancakes I’ve made. I didn’t have baking powder so they were quite thin but delicious, so easy to mix up and a reasonable number of calories. They’d be perfect for a snack too if you made them smaller. Best part for me is that they don’t have that weird grainy/slimy texture i always get. My new go-to pancake recipe…thanks!!
Thank you so much!!!
I rarely comment on recipes that I find online, but I just had to for this one! It is straight 10/10!!! So so good! Smooth and fluffy!
I find that rolled oats can sometimes throw off the texture/make baked goods come out a little more sticky.gummy. Definitely not the case here! I added raspberries and blueberries and it was *chef’s kiss*
Thank you!!!
Hi Carine!
Could you send me the brand name of the protein powder you use? It sounds better than what I have. I look forward to making these pancakes. Johanna
I am always baking with Nu Zest, a Clean protein powder made in New Zealand where I live.
I was short on time and put the batter in a muffin tin. They also make amazing muffins.
How long did you bake them? At what temp? I would love to try them as muffins!
Wow, wow, wow! My new fave high protein pancake recipe. My daughter doesn’t love cottage cheese but she absolutely loved these pancakes. They brown up SO beautifully and the texture is pillowy and moist without being dense.
Absolutely delicious and super easy!! I used Vegan vanilla protein, so I ended up adding 4 tablespoons of almond milk to keep them somewhat fluid. I only had coconut sugar, but it added a delicious caramelized flavor. I also added fresh blueberries to them on the griddle I cannot wait to have these again! Thank you!
I am so thrilled that this was an easy recipe and one that I absolutely enjoyed. It’s definitely going in my regular rotation! It’s packed with protein and I loved the taste. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
These were amazing and so much better than I expected. I subbed plain Greek yogurt because I didn’t have any cottage cheese. Tasted like a yummy buttermilk pancake! Thank you for this recipe!
Can egg whites be used insted of whole eggs?
The pancakes will be very dry if you do so.
turned out better than expected, inhaled them in 2 minutes with some protein yoghurt, maple syrup and blueberries 🙂
If i didn’t want the oats. How much almond flour or coconut flour would i use. Thanks
I’m afraid I haven’t tried this recipe with almond flour. If I had to try, I would start with 1/2 cup of almond flour and check the texture.
These pancakes were very tasty. They made us think of French toast for flavor. Will do again.
Is there a substitution for the rolled oats ?
I didn’t try something else yet, I will keep you posted if I do
Is there a substitute for the oats I cannot have them
Thanks, just the type of recipes I’m looking for. Will these work well in a waffle iron?
I haven’t tried, but I think it’d be fine. Make sure the irons are well greased though.
I didn’t try something else yet, so I can’t recommend.
Hi What could I substitute ( oatmeal) to make it keto. By the way I enjoy your recipes
Thanks! I didn’t try a keto flour yet, I will try to post a keto version very soon