These Healthy Cottage Cheese Pancakes are gluten-free, easy to make and packed with 28 grams of protein per serving! Whip up a batch of these pancakes in just 15 minutes for a delicious breakfast.

maple syrup being poured onto cottage cheese pancakes

What are cottage cheese pancakes?

Cottage cheese pancakes are protein-packed pancakes that are made with cottage cheese instead of milk to give the pancakes a delicious texture, and flavour and make them high in protein without adding protein powder.

Cottage cheese is a curd cheese that is soft, creamy and has a very mild flavour. It’s not only packed with protein but is also low in fat and high in calcium. It can be enjoyed fresh but also works wonderfully in pancakes!

Why you’ll love these pancakes

  • High in protein. Each serving of these cottage cheese pancakes has 328 calories, 5 grams of fibre and 28 grams of protein making them an amazing protein-packed breakfast to start your day.
  • Ready in 15 minutes. This recipe is super easy to make and fuss-free!
  • Healthy and gluten-free. These pancakes are made with healthy ingredients like cottage cheese, and oat flour and have no added sugar. As long as you use gluten-free certified oats these pancakes are also gluten-free!

Cottage cheese pancake ingredients

  • Oats or oat flour: you can use store-bought oat flour in this recipe or make your own at home.
  • Baking powder & soda: these are added to the pancakes to make them rise and become fluffy!
  • Salt: just a pinch to balance the flavour of the pancakes
  • Eggs: two regular/large-sized eggs.
  • Cottage cheese: you can use 0%, 2% or a higher percentage of cottage cheese depending on your personal taste!
  • Vanilla extract: to flavour the pancakes.
  • Milk: depending on how thick your cottage cheese is, you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of milk to the batter to thin it out a bit.

How to make homemade oat flour

These Healthy Cottage Cheese Pancakes are made with oat flour. You can either buy store-bought oat flour to use in this recipe or easily make your own at home by blending up quick oats or rolled oats into a fine powder.

  • oats in a food processor
  • oat flour in a food processor

How to make cottage cheese pancakes

Step 1

Whisk the eggs together in a large mixing bowl.

  • 2 eggs in a mixing bowl
  • eggs being whisked in a mixing bowl

Step 2

Next, add the cottage cheese and vanilla extract and whisk together until combined.

  • eggs and cottage cheese in a mixing bowl with a whisk
  • eggs and cottage cheese whisked together in a bowl

Step 3

Mix the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Then add the flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and gently fold together to combine.

  • oat flour and baking soda in a mixing bowl
  • eggs, cottage cheese and oat flour in a mixing bowl

Step 4

Heat an oiled or buttered pan on medium heat and spoon the batter into the pan. Let the pancakes cook for 2-3 minutes on one side then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes on the second side.

  • cottage cheese pancake batter in a mixing bowl
  • a cooked oat flour pancake in a white pan

Mix-ins and topping ideas

There are so many delicious ways you can customize these pancakes! Feel free to add any mix-ins you love to the batter or any toppings you love. Here are a few of my suggestions:

Mix-ins:

  • Blueberries
  • Chocolate chips
  • Cinnamon
  • Chopped walnuts
  • Orange zest or lemon zest
  • Nut butter

Toppings:

How to store pancakes

Storing in the fridge: store leftover pancakes in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat the pancakes in a pan on the stovetop or in a toaster.

Storing in the freezer: place the pancakes in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost on the countertop and reheat in a pan or in a toaster.

Expert tips for making this recipe

  • Use traditional cottage cheese, not pressed cottage cheese. Pressed cottage cheese, also known as farmer’s cottage cheese is a type of cottage cheese sold in a brick that all the liquid pressed out of it. Avoid using this type of cottage cheese as it doesn’t have enough liquid in it for this recipe.
  • Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing the batter will lead to dense pancakes! Just mix lightly until the ingredients are incorporated.
  • Add sugar if you like. I find these pancakes don’t need sugar in the batter since I top them with maple syrup, but if you like your pancakes sweet, add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar to the batter.
  • Use all-purpose flour if you prefer. Don’t want to use oat flour? No problem! This recipe can be made with all-purpose flour instead.
  • Add any mix-ins you love. I love to make these pancakes with some wild blueberries mixed into the batter!

Cottage cheese pancakes FAQ

What do cottage cheese pancakes taste like?

Cottage cheese pancakes taste very similar to regular pancakes but with a light and fluffy texture. They don’t taste like cheese.

What is the best type of cottage cheese for pancakes?

You can use any traditional cottage cheese in this recipe. 0%, 2% or a higher percentage of fat cottage cheese all work well!

What can I use instead of cottage cheese?

You can make this recipe with plain greek yogurt if you don’t have cottage cheese.

cottage cheese pancakes stacked on a plate topped with berries

More pancake recipes to try

If you tried these Oat Flour Pancakes or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook for even more deliciousness!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
maple syrup being poured onto cottage cheese pancakes

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Jessica Hoffman
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Pan fry
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

These cottage cheese pancakes have 28 grams of protein per serving for a healthy high-protein breakfast!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup quick oats or oat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2–3 tbsp milk of choice*
  • oil or butter for the pan

Instructions

  1. Blend the oats in a food processor to turn them into oat flour. They should be blended into a fine powder. (if you are using pre-bought oat flour, skip this step.) 
  2. Mix the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
  3. Whisk the eggs together in a large mixing bowl, then add the cottage cheese and vanilla extract and mix to combine. 
  4. Add the oat flour mixture and gently fold it together. If the batter is too thick, mix in 2-3 tbsp of milk. (The batter should be thick, but not feel too dry.) 
  5. Heat a lightly oiled/buttered pan on medium heat and spoon some pancake batter (about 1/4 cup per pancake) into the pan.
  6. Cook for 2-3 minutes on one side then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes.
  7. Serve alone or with your favourite toppings.

Notes

Depending on how thick your cottage cheese is, you may need to add a bit of milk if your batter appears too thick. 

I get about 6 medium-sized pancakes from this recipe.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
  • Calories: 328
  • Sugar: 2g
  • Fat: 9g
  • Carbohydrates: 33g
  • Fiber: 5g
  • Protein: 28g