The Very Best Protein Pancakes

These high protein pancakes fuel our bodies to get us all the way to lunch. Gluten-free, sugar-free, and delicious, you’ll want to add this protein pancake recipe to your next menu plan for an easy and filling breakfast! Pair with Scrambled Eggs or Oven-Roasted Hash Browns to take this breakfast to the next level.

Generally, the bigger kids get, the more their appetites grow. But all bets are off when a kid goes through a growth spurt – they’ll eat anything in sight and ask for more!

My family loves a big breakfast with Strawberry Pancakes, Fluffy Scrambled Eggs, and delicious Breakfast Sausage…they gobble that right up!

Upping the protein of our favorite family foods with one of my favorite superfoods – flaxseed – is my latest attempt at not going broke while feeding these monsters.

And the latest invention to come out of the test kitchen is a recipe that’s sure to please even the pickiest eater: protein pancakes!

PROTEIN PANCAKES

Making protein pancakes is more than just a slight tweak and change in shape. I also had high expectations for these pancakes. They needed to be:

• Hearty, filling, and with enough oomph to get to lunch (and beyond)
• Sweet because of the syrup on top, not because of sugar in the recipe
• Designed for breakfast, but flexible enough for banana nut butter sandwiches
• Would NOT leave you feeling empty and hungry a couple of hours later
• Have simple, real food protein sources – I didn’t want the protein in these pancakes from protein powder

HIGH PROTEIN PANCAKES

In a way, you could say that turning food into its high-protein doppelganger is my middle name.

• I first did it when I wrote High Protein, No Powder. Back then I was doing P90X and the eating plan recommended either a protein shake or a protein bar every day.
• I wasn’t okay with ingesting the chemicals found in conventional whey protein powder or typical protein bars. NOR was I okay paying an arm and a leg for a teeny tiny container of organic powder that I’d devour in a week (or even less if I’m trying to make protein powder pancakes!).
• Instead, I chose to make my own protein smoothies and protein bars with real food and write a book about it.

Fast forward a bit and I did it again with the ever-amazing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars.

Now, those granola bars have a good bit of protein on their own with both peanut butter and oats in the recipe but changing the ratio and adding milled flaxseed (along with a few other delicious changes) ended up creating Sweet and Salty Energy Bites – a high-protein snack that will rock your protein-loving socks off!

I’ve also created a delicious High Protein Oatmeal that is perfect for athletes in training. It’s my go-to for marathon training since I need the whole grains to keep me going.

And now I can add these high protein pancakes to the list!

PROTEIN PANCAKES RECIPE INGREDIENTS

I started with the goal of every ingredient in the protein pancakes recipe being high in protein by itself so that when you added all the ingredients together, you had one incredibly high protein pancake.

• Oats = 11g protein. Most pancakes call for flour, but protein pancakes aren’t like most pancakes. We’re using oats instead, which contain more protein, AND give these pancakes a little bit of chew. It’s what makes protein pancakes feel like a meal, rather than bites of fluff that will leave you hungry in an hour. Plus they’re gluten-free for those who need it!
• Cottage Cheese = 24g protein. Before you freak out at the mere mention of cottage cheese pancakes, hear me out. Thanks to our trusty blender, you don’t see it. And because it melts as the pancakes cook, you don’t taste it. What you DO taste is a creamy, pudding-like center of an irresistibly good pancake. And you can thank the cottage cheese.
• Eggs = 13g protein. Classic pancake ingredient here that is naturally high in protein. If it works, why fix it?
• Egg Whites = 7g protein. There aren’t a lot of wet ingredients in this recipe, but subbing egg whites for some of the usual wet ingredients lets us increase the protein while thinning the batter.
• Milk = 8g protein. Milk does a body good, and it also does these pancakes well. Any milk will work here, but with the goal of a high-protein pancake, cow’s milk is your best bet. Unless you have sheep milk. Sheep milk wins the protein race.
• Milled Flaxseed = 6g protein. Flaxseed makes a great substitute for eggs, but here we’re adding flaxseed (the brand I use) for an entirely different reason – flavor! The gentle nutty flavor of flaxseed plays a major role in these protein pancakes, so I do not recommend skipping it.

When all is said and done, these key players are bringing a whopping 7 grams of protein to every single pancake! How’s THAT for fuel?!

INGREDIENTS FOR HIGH PROTEIN PANCAKES

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this high protein pancakes recipe:

• oats (any kind)
• cottage cheese
• milled flaxseed
• egg whites
• eggs
• milk
• banana (over-ripe is best)
• baking powder
• ground cinnamon
• vanilla extract
• salt

Psst! Speaking of salt, I highly recommend Ava Jane’s Kitchen. You may think all salt is created equal, but unfortunately, 90% of the salt produced around the world contains microplastics (gross, right?). Ava Jane’s Kitchen is an exception. Their salt is 100% microplastic-free, and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt (just pay shipping and handling!)

HOW TO MAKE EASY PROTEIN PANCAKES

Step 1. Preheat a griddle to 350F or warm a skillet over medium heat. Use either cooking spray or a teaspoon of butter to lightly grease the griddle.

Step 2. Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Blend until the batter has a mostly smooth texture and is incorporated well.

Step 3. Pour ⅓ cup of the batter onto the griddle and cook until the outer edges turn golden brown and bubbles start to appear, about 1 minute.

Step 4. Flip the pancakes and cook on the other side until they’re medium brown, about 30-45 seconds.

Step 5. Remove the protein pancakes to a plate and keep them warm. Top with fresh fruit and maple syrup.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. I recommend flash-freezing the pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet first so that they don’t stick together, and then putting them in a resealable bag once they are frozen.

PROTEIN PANCAKES TOPPINGS

These protein pancakes are deliciously nutty on their own, but with a blank slate of a pancake, you can really go crazy with your pancake toppings.

• Spread peanut butter (or another nut butter) on top for even more protein
• If you have extra bananas, put banana slices on top
• Top with fresh berries and maple syrup for sweeter protein pancakes (or add a sprinkle of chocolate chips – yum!)
• Sprinkle with extra flaxseed or finely chopped nuts, like almonds, for a bit of crunch
• Add some Homemade Whipped Cream or Chocolate Whipped Cream
• Add a dollop of Greek Yogurt for even more protein!

PROTEIN PANCAKE RECIPE TIPS

Ready to whip up a batch of fluffy protein pancakes? I’ve made this protein pancake recipe often enough that I have a few tips for you.

• The banana is for sweetness, not flavor.
  • In round 1 of taste testing, half of the family could taste the banana and the other half couldn’t. No one tasted the banana during round 2. An overripe banana will be naturally sweeter than a just-ripe banana, so feel free to let one go brown just for this recipe. Go ahead and give the batter a lick to see if it’s sweet enough. If you don’t think so, consider adding a second banana OR one fresh Medjool date to up the sweetness.
• The vanilla is for flavor, but it’s powerful.
  • I made the unfortunate mistake of adding extra vanilla for more vanilla flavor and that batch of pancakes turned out terrible. It’s definitely needed in the recipe, but don’t go overboard here.
• The cinnamon is for sweetness AND flavor.
  • Did you know that cinnamon tricks your palate into thinking something is sweet? It does, and that’s why we’re using it here. The flavor also compliments the flaxseed really well and creates a pancake that legitimately tastes good on its own, even without maple syrup.
• Skip the griddle and BAKE pancakes!
  • Did you know you can bake pancakes? Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray OR use silicone liners and fill them ⅔ full. Bake at 350F for 22-24 minutes and not only do you have pancakes, but you don’t have to stand at the griddle AND you can make double (or triple, or quadruple!) the batch in the same amount of time!
  • Better yet, cook your protein pancakes in a sheet pan. You can find the instructions for that baking hack HERE. Talk about a meal prep time saver!

PROTEIN PANCAKES FAQS

MORE HIGH PROTEIN RECIPES

• High Protein Trail Mix Recipe
• Collagen Protein Bars
• Sweet and Salty Energy Bites
• 25+ Cheap and Healthy Protein Foods
• High Protein Gingerbread Smoothie
• 12 Ways to Boost the Protein in Smoothies