Having a little nostalgia moment here as I rework and reshare this incredible pancake recipe from 2017. Yes, SEVEN whole years ago! Before Tony and I even got married, let alone had 4 amazing little boys. Safe to say, life looks a lot different these days, but these older recipes are still go-tos years later.
These incredibly fluffy cottage cheese pancakes are flourless, naturally sweetened with banana, packed with 20g of protein, and perfect for piling high with your fav toppings. My kiddos gobble them up every time, and they’re such a great way to use up your container of cottage cheese!
Make mornings a little more special with this easy, nourishing breakfast.
Cottage cheese pancakes: your new favorite breakfast
Besides being incredibly fluffy and delicious, you’re going to fall in LOVE with this healthy pancake recipe because it’s:
- Easy to make right — the pancake batter is made in your blender!
- Packed with 20g of protein per serving (thank you, cottage cheese!)
- Naturally gluten-free and flourless
- Great for both kiddos and adults!
Ingredients in these fluffy cottage cheese pancakes
These cottage cheese protein pancakes are made with 7 super simple ingredients (including baking powder) and seriously taste like your fav banana bread. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Rolled oats: these pancakes are nice and hearty thanks to old fashioned rolled oats. No flour needed! Be sure to use gluten-free rolled oats if you want to keep the pancakes gluten-free.
- Banana: you’ll need just half of a banana to naturally sweeten the pancakes.
- Egg: this recipe calls for 1 egg to give the pancakes the right texture.
- Cottage cheese: the key to fluffy, protein-packed pancakes!
- Baking staples: you’ll also need baking powder, vanilla extract, and a little cinnamon.
What do cottage cheese pancakes taste like?
Whether you’re a big cottage cheese fan like our whole team or it’s not your thing, you won’t even be able to taste it in these protein pancakes. The banana gives these cottage cheese pancakes a lovely banana bread flavor, and you can feel free to add fun mix-ins and toppings (ideas below!)
Have fun with mix-ins & toppings
The best part about pancakes? All of the delicious mix-ins and toppings you can add! Here’s what we like to add to our cottage cheese pancakes:
- Fresh berries
- A dollop of yogurt
- Nut butter
- Chocolate chips
- Chopped nuts
- A drizzle of maple syrup
Make them ahead & keep the pancakes warm
Feel free to make these cottage cheese pancakes ahead of time (or store leftovers) and keep them warm in the oven! Simply set your oven to 200 degrees F, add your pancakes to a baking sheet or oven-safe plate, and place them in the oven until you’re ready to serve.
Our fav pancake-making tools
Check out all of my fav kitchen tools here!
Make mini pancakes
I love making these pancakes mini for kiddos. Simply drop 1-2 tablespoons of batter onto your griddle at a time!
Freeze them for later
- To freeze: place the pancakes on a baking sheet so they aren’t touching and place in the freezer for 30 minutes (this is called a flash freeze), then place them in freezer safe bags or an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reheat: once ready to reheat, simply add pancakes to a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm.
More pancake recipes you’ll love
- Fluffy Yogurt Pancakes (high protein, gluten free)
- Healthy Apple Pancakes (made right in the blender!)
- Outrageously Fluffy Vegan Pancakes
- Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes
- Grandma’s Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes
Get all of our pancake recipes here!
I hope you love these amazing cottage cheese banana oatmeal pancakes! If you make them, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Cottage Cheese Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
Ingredients
- ½ cup (48 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats, gluten-free if desired
- ½ medium banana
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup (55 grams) low-fat cottage cheese
- Optional add-ins/toppings: Fresh berries, chocolate chips, peanut butter
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium low heat. Drop batter by 1/4 cup onto skillet. Add desired toppings such as chocolate chips or blueberries.
- Cook until bubbles appear on top. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside.
- Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more cooking spray and remaining batter. Makes 3-4 pancakes
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by Monique Volz | Ambitious Kitchen, Photography by: Sarah Fennel
This post was originally published on April 25th, 2017, republished on October 27th, 2022, republished on February 18th, 2024, and republished on August 24th, 2026.
I haven’t made this yet but wanted to know if I can leave out the egg or substitute as my daughter has an allergy.
I haven’t tested these without an egg substitute, so I’d suggest trying my vegan pancakes instead!
Hello! Does it make a difference what kind of skillet you use to make the pancakes? We used a cast iron. Kept waiting for the batter to “bubble” but never did🤔. Some burned. Not fluffy at all? Eager to try again. Any help appreciated. Thank you!
I like to use a square griddle, but it shouldn’t matter as long as you grease it enough! Make sure you don’t cook them on too high of a heat, and if the batter isn’t bubbling up, just check the sides to see if they’ve solidified a bit (or peek under the pancake to check for doneness with your spatula!)
These are AMAZING!! No need for maple syrup on top, With a few chocolate chips added, they are plenty sweet enough. My son, who put maple syrup on just about anything, even ate them without complaints or begging for maple syrup.😳 I followed all the directions and can honestly say, I highly recommend this recipe. Thank you Monique!
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
I was out of cottage cheese so I subbed in plain Greek yogurt. DELICIOUS! I will definitely make again. Simple and quick recipe.
I’ve used rolled oats and they came out amazing! But can I use steel cut oats as a sub for rolled oats in this recipe? Or can I blend them up a little first before blending it all together?
I would not recommend steel cut oats! You could try oat flour as a replacement for the oats 🙂
These were quick, easy, and, delicious!😋
I did modify the recipe because I only had one egg 😄, just a bit more cottage cheese and banana, worked perfectly. Oh and I know you are wondering, 🤔did they come out fluffy?…YES! Did we have a crash afterwards? 😴 NOPE 😄! Thank you for this, it saved out Sunday.🫶🏼
Perfect Sunday breakfast! Glad they turned out beautifully!
Excellent! Batter is thicker than normal pancake batter so patience is required. Added a pinch of nutmeg in addition to the cinnamon. Yummy!
Patience is key, but so worth it! Glad you enjoyed!
So delicious! A perfect high protein recipe for the family! Thank you!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Made a quadruple batch of these for dinner when I had zero ideas of what to make. They were so easy and delicious! I have had so many ripe bananas in this heat but don’t want to heat up my oven for banana bread. Love that they were full of protein, will be making often for school once it starts.
The perfect way to use those bananas up! My kiddos love these, too 🙂
This is the best ‘healthy’ pancake recipe I’ve tried. Easy and delicious. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed!
Can I use egg whites instead of the full egg? If so how much would you recommend? I can’t wait to make these for an easy grab and go breakfast!
You can use egg whites if you’d like! 1 egg equals about 2 to 3 tablespoons of egg whites.
I was looking for something quick and easy and healthy for breakfast, that was not egg bites!😅 These fit the bill! I’ve made them twice now and love them. And best part? They fill me up for hours upon hours!
The perfect alternative! Glad you found these!
This didn’t work for me at all. Not enough liquid as written to even blend ingredients. I added a touch of milk. Just doesn’t bind or cook. I usually do 3 ingredient cottage cheese pancakes and they are perfect.
So strange! With the banana, egg, and cottage cheese, these have always had the perfect amount of liquid for just 1/2 cup of oats. The batter will be thick, because the pancakes are meant to be thick and fluffy.
I agree there wasn’t enough liquid to blend but I did add a little milk and it was fine
Can I make the batter the night before & store it in the fridge?
I’m afraid it will get too thick overnight and be harder to cook!
What can you substitute for the banana in these pancakes? I do not like banana 😊
Hi! These are banana pancakes, so I can’t recommend a sub here. Sorry! Feel free to check out all of my pancakes HERE (many of them are banana-free).
Delicious. Simple. Healthy. What more could you want? I topped mine with almond butter and caramelized dates. Yum!
Sounds amazing! Perfect breakfast!
Followed perfectly and turned into mush 😣
So strange! Did you cook the pancakes on medium-low?
Delicious pancakes with the perfect pancake texture!
Agreed! Glad you loved them!
These were so easy to make and so good! made 4 even size pancakes with the PB2 recommended topping and some blueberries. I made two batches to freeze one but my husband devoured the second batch. This will be a go to breakfast recipe on repeat! Thank you!
PerfecT! So happy to hear that!
Super easy to make and I was thrilled when I saw the lack of sugar in this recipe (banana excluded, of course) because all pancakes should be good enough without the extra sugar and normal humans put sweet toppings on pancakes after they’re cooked. I didn’t feel like having a half banana on my counter, so I doubled the recipe and I also didn’t feel like pancakes, so I made the recipe into waffles. They turned out great! I do recommend cooking them on a medium low setting for waffles, I increased the cinnamon because that’s what I prefer. But, I will definitely make these again. I’m now thinking of subbing out cooked pumpkin (plus maybe a little maple syrup) for the banana and seeing how that turns out. I bet applesauce would be great as well. I’ll let you know. Thank you for a great recipe!
Amazing! I’m glad the waffles turned out well 🙂 Let me know how the other experiments go!
These look delicious. Do you use ripe banana or do you think a slightly green banana would work?
I would use ripe banana to give the pancakes the proper sweetness!
Delicious!!! My new favorite healthy pancakes!!!
So happy to hear that!
If I double the recipe for the pancakes do I have to double also the baking powder?
Yes, you should double all of the ingredients!
I think the proportions are off or maybe an ingredient is missing like milk as they are the opposite of fluffy, very flat. Disappointing.
So strange! Did your batter seem overly thin? Did you use low fat cottage cheese? They shouldn’t need another liquid like milk to make them fluffier.
Could a substitute for oat flour be used such as almond or gluten free AP?
I haven’t tested it, so I’m not 100% sure! I’m afraid the texture might change.
These are AMAZING… I have made them 4 days in a row they’re just so good and easy.
So happy to hear that!
I love making these! I’ve began to experiment a little bit more. I like to add a handful of frozen spinach. Warning- it does change the color so if you like green, no big deal. In my opinion, the benefits are worth it. I also added a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa, again for the benefits, and it tastes great. Thanks for a wonderful, healthy recipe!!
I love the addition of spinach! Great idea!