These delicious, fluffy, and easy high protein pancakes take just minutes to make, use only 5 ingredients, and have 30g of protein per serving. Make a bunch and freeze them for a quick breakfast anytime!
I was planning on easing into the non keto recipes with semi keto friendly options after making an announcement about the future of IBIH last week, but these easy high protein pancakes were just too good not to share immediately.
As in I was testing these protein packed pancakes this morning and ended up photographing, editing, and I’m now writing this post all in the same day because I wanted you to have them in time for the weekend good.
For those of you that are still limiting your carbs, I recommend my keto cream cheese pancakes or the squeaky clean keto pancakes from the ebook. Another option are these highly rated pancakes from the Big Man’s World.
Growing up, pancakes were an indulgence. My mom always made them from scratch, and we didn’t have them very often, so when we did it was a treat. As an adult, I always thought of pancakes as unhealthy carb bombs with no nutritional value, so they were reserved for breakfast out or special occasions.
Or camping – because pancakes and sausage when camping is just necessary breakfast perfection.
Getting the protein grams up to 30g per serving in this high protein pancake recipe is a game-changer for me, because now this isn’t just basically breakfast dessert, but a respectable meal that is helping me reach my daily protein target.
Of course, what you put on your high protein pancakes matters too, so choose your toppings wisely and measure them out, because those syrup calories add up quick if you aren’t paying attention.
These high protein pancakes contain only 5 ingredients (not including water) and one of them is store-bought pancake mix. I debated making them with all “from scratch” ingredients, but in this climate of everyone being super busy and looking for shortcuts (including myself,) I figured this would be a realistic and easy substitution.
The ingredients that bulk up the protein in this pancake recipe are low-fat cottage cheese, egg whites, and unflavored whey protein powder. The combination created a truly fluffy and light high protein pancake that browned beautifully.
As you can see from the photos these fluffy protein pancakes are sturdy and have a great texture on the inside. They would definitely hold up really well to the addition of blueberries without falling apart. I ate mine with black cap raspberries picked from my garden this morning, and they were so so good.
I can’t wait for you to try these fluffy and delicious pancakes yourself!
Recipe Notes
I’m not sure if it’s the egg whites, or some other reason, but these fluffy high protein pancakes definitely want to stick to the pan, so be sure to use a non-stick skillet and some form of oil or butter. To keep the calories down I use an avocado oil spray, which worked great to keep them from sticking, and resulted in a nice golden brown exterior.
I used Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix because that is what I had in the pantry, but any complete (just add water) mix will work. I don’t recommend a high protein pancake mix, because that might result in a much denser pancake, and I have yet to try one that I thought tasted good or had a good texture out of the gate anyway.
I used Good Culture low fat cottage cheese, which is our favorite, but any small curd cottage cheese that isn’t super liquidy should work ok in this protein pancake recipe. Breakstone or Daisy are both good options.
For convenience sake, I used liquid egg whites (store brand) in this protein pancake recipe, but you could definitely just use separated egg whites. To equal the 1/2 cup I used, it would take about 4 large eggs.
I used unflavored, plain whey protein powder in these high protein pancakes, but you could get creative and try vanilla, chocolate, or even strawberry protein powder if you wanted to.
I am putting the serving size as 3 pancakes (half the recipe) and it is a very generous and filling amount, so you may decide to only have 2 pancakes per serving. I ate them at about 9:45am and I’m still full now at 2pm.
To make these high protein pancakes gluten free, simply replace the regular complete pancake mix with a gluten free pancake mix or baking blend.
Unfortunately this recipe hasn’t been tested in a dairy free format so I can’t recommend any substitutions, but here is a dairy free protein pancake recipe I found online that you might want to try instead.
These protein packed pancakes can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave for those hectic mornings. They will keep for about a week in the refrigerator, and about 6 months in the freezer. If frozen, reheat for 30 seconds or until warmed through, if refrigerated it may only take 10-20 seconds to warm them up, depending on the strength of your microwave. Err on the side of less time so you don’t dry them out.
If you try this high protein pancake recipe I hope you will report back in the comments, because I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! And if you have questions that aren’t covered here, leave them in the comments and I’ll add them to the recipe notes for others to benefit from.
Thanks for being here!
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Easy High Protein Pancakes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 pancakes 1x
Description
An easy high protein pancake recipe with only 5 ingredients and 30g protein per serving!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 1 scoop (30g) unflavored whey protein powder
- 1 cup pancake mix
- 1/2 cup water
- oil or butter spray for the pan
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients (except the oil spray) in a small blender.
- Blend for 15 seconds, or until smooth.
- Spray a nonstick skillet with avocado oil (or other pan spray) and set over medium-high heat for 3o seconds, or until you can flick a drop of water onto it and it sizzles immediately.
- Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the pan and spread to about 6 inches in diameter.
- Cook for about 2 minutes, or until bubbles form on the surface of the batter and it’s firm enough to flip.
- Flip over and cook for an additional 20-30 seconds.
- Remove from the pan to a clean plate or platter, and repeat with the rest of the batter until you have 6 pancakes total.
- Serve warm with whatever toppings you like.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator, or 6 months in the freezer.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 pancakes
- Calories: 355
- Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 47g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 30g
Gabe H says
General question, why the cottage cheese? Does it help with consistency or something or is it just to make it closer to being keto?
Mellissa Sevigny says
It significantly raises the protein content!
Ashley S says
Can I use almond flour instead of pancake mix?
Mellissa Sevigny says
No, it won’t have all of the necessary ingredients to make these work with just the almond flour. Maybe a gluten free or keto pancake mix, if you can find one.
Claudia says
Unfortunately, keto pancake mixes are difficult to find and very expensive here in Canada (as are all keto mixes). Hopefully, your new book will include a pancake recipe that doesn’t rely on a mix (or includes recipes on how to make a mix from scratch) 🤞
Speaking of your new book, I have just pre-ordered it!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I don’t have a book available for pre-order, so you are probably thinking of someone else. These pancakes aren’t really meant to be keto, but can be adjusted with the keto mixes. If you can’t get a mix, then you can probably make keto pancakes like these as an alternative.
Judie says
I’m sure they are great, but I just don’t understand your 90 degree turn from low carb to 47 carb pancakes. Where can I learn about your big change? I’ve always loved your low carb recipes .
Mellissa Sevigny says
I wrote a post about it here!
Ellen Cohen says
If I could give these 6 stars I would! Easy, delicious, high protein, and they freeze well for crazy mornings. I even tried King Arthur GF flour and they were good too. Definitely a Keeper Recipe that is now on repeat. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Heather says
I have been making these pancakes twice a week since the day you published the recipe and they request them even more often. They love the marsh- mallowy texture and I love how much protein they’re getting for breakfast 😋
Mellissa Sevigny says
That’s great to hear Heather, thank you!
Debbie Corbett says
I love love these pancakes, so tasty and filling!! I had my leftovers for dinner last night. These will be a “go to” Thanks so much Melissa!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for taking the time to rate and comment Debbie, so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed them!
Kate Mack says
These are absolutely excellent – great texture, great flavor, easy to make, stores well in fridge. We’ve been on keto since 2015, and we’ve never found a pancake recipe worth doing twice. But wow, these are outstanding. My family loves them. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Kate, I really appreciate the feedback!
GEORGENE HARKNESS says
Well, this is embarrassing. Upon second look, I see that you listed it as “High Protein Recipes” right at the top of the recipe. Apologies for asking you to do something you have already done, thank you for doing it, and it really does look like a wonderful recipe.
GEORGENE HARKNESS says
These really look lovely, but in light of your new setup with recipes that decidedly aren’t keto, low carb, though still high protein, I wonder if it would be possible to indicate at the top of the recipe if it’s not keto or uses ingredients with gluten (just for an example). I certainly have no complaint about your new focus on other types of recipes – and I definitely appreciate that you bothered to name and link at least 3 different pancake recipes that are more likely to fit keto. It’s simply that recipes like this (for example) would never pass my husband’s lips, and there’s no way I could convince him to try (health issues). It would be simpler if your loyal readers could see a quick categorization at the top of the recipe. Thank you! I certainly appreciate all you do for us in the community!
Marsha says
How would using whole eggs affect the recipe?