Cottage cheese pancakes were one of my very favorite breakfast dishes my Mom made growing up; they were comforting, delicious and little did I know, full of protein. I remember thinking they might sound weird to others so I would always quietly give my friends a disclaimer when they’d stay over night and join us for breakfast. I would always tell them, “You have to try the cottage cheese pancakes, trust me, they’re SO good!” Some would look at them apprehensively, but after trying them, they were always going for seconds or thirds.
Protein Pancakes
Today, I think most people have heard of cottage cheese pancakes or tried them in some shape or form; whether it be during pregnancy, after reading a what to expect type book or the health conscious who know they’re full of protein and a nice way to enjoy a comforting breakfast food that gives you a fuller tummy for a busy morning or pre-workout.
Fluffy & Creamy Version
This recipe is a fluffier version of the healthy cottage cheese pancakes. My Mom made a crispier version for us growing up; crispy on the outside, (sometimes too crispy as my Father joked when my Mom burned them) chewy and creamy on the inside. I will post a recipe for the crispier cottage cheese pancakes at a later time. I’m posting this version of my cottage cheese pancakes recipe now because it seems to be the type my boys prefer at this point. Hopefully when they’re a little older they’ll appreciate the crispy pancakes as I did, but now it’s not as pleasurable for their palettes.
My husband and I love the chunks of cottage cheese in these pancakes, but the kids don’t care for them (even though they love cottage cheese on it’s own…..kids….). So, to make everyone happy I do use an immersion blender on just a few pulses to smooth out the lumps once I finalize my wet mix, just before adding it to the dry flour mix. This gives these pancakes a smooth and creamy texture that pleases the masses.
Cottage Cheese Pancakes Main Ingredients
- Cottage Cheese- I prefer Whole Milk Cottage Cheese for the creamiest pancakes
- Milk- You can substitute for the milk of your choice, but I always have whole milk on hand.
- Flour- I use unbleached all purpose flour and whole wheat, but you can use all purpose only if you like
- Eggs- I use whole eggs, yolk and whites
- Cooking Oil Spray– I prefer olive oil or avocado oil for all of my pan or griddle spraying needs.
The Zest Factor
I highly recommend you add lemon zest to this recipe. It takes these cottage cheese pancakes from good to great! When I add lemon zest instead of lemon juice all 4 of my boys rave about them and I hear a lot of “Mmm mmm’s” coming from the table. If you don’t own a microplane yet, get one! It makes a world of difference for a recipe like this. It’s so fast and effortless adding your zest this way.
Serve with Real Goodness
As with any pancakes on this site, I will always recommend real maple syrup, honey or jam on these. Don’t let those fake syrups full of high fructose corn syrup come near your homemade cottage cheese pancakes. Add real berries too. These are great with fresh blueberries or strawberries.
Fluffy Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- dash of sea salt
- 1/8 Cup ground Flax Seed optional
- 4 Eggs
- 2 Cups Whole Milk small curd Cottage Cheese if you run short on cottage cheese you can substitute with some plain yogurt
- 1/4 Cup Milk adjust milk amount Tbsp at a time if batter too thick
- 1 Tbsp melted Butter or Olive Oil
- Zest of 1 Lemon highly recommend zest, but can sub with about 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- Extra virgin olive oil spray
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, flax and dash of salt.
- Heat Griddle to 350 deg. or pan to med-high (adjust later if pan gets too hot)
- In a medium bowl add cottage cheese, eggs, milk and zest (if you prefer no cottage cheese small clumps, us an immersion blender to quickly blend this wet mix)
- Add cottage cheese mixture to dry mix and whisk until well mixed with no dry lumps.
- Whisk in melted butter.
- Give your griddle or pan just a light spray of cooking oil.
- Use full 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour batter onto cooking surface.
- Let pancakes cook till you see one or 2 bubbles pop and edges start to cook.
- Once flipped let cook until undersides nice light golden color.
- Keep pancakes warm in oven till ready to serve.
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