Cottage cheese pancakes are light, fluffy and so delicious. They are higher in protein and lower in carbs than regular pancakes and make a filling, tasty breakfast.
Most weekends at my house, we have an eggs and bacon and toast day (or my homemade biscuits, which are simply the best) and the other day is for pancakes and waffles.
My daughter loves my whole wheat waffles, and my son always requests my chocolate chip pancakes. I’m a sucker so I make both (or pull some out of the freezer if I’ve got any on hand).
Today’s recipe though has become a new favorite in my house.
Cottage cheese pancakes are so light and fluffy and just crazy delicious.
Plus, they are high in protein from the cottage cheese and eggs, which makes them a more filling breakfast, and a great one for my kids before school.
In fact, I tend to make a big batch just to store them and have on hand for mid-week breakfasts. Makes mornings so much easier.
(And my kids are thrilled to get to have pancakes on an extra day!)
They’re also lower in carbs than most pancakes - we only use ¾ a cup of flour for the whole batch.
So they can fit into a lower carb lifestyle and be a good choice for someone with diabetes.
And like I said, they’re just so tasty. My kiddos adore these pancakes!
Plus, these are just 6 ingredients! (OK, plus salt, but that’s a gimme in my mind.)
Yup, they are a definite winner.
OK, let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips, substitutions and FAQs coming up below on how to make cottage cheese pancakes. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
(Also, I’ve had a lot of experience making pancakes and want to share what works. )
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on making cottage cheese pancakes:
- Cottage cheese: I use and recommend small curd cottage cheese. Full fat or a reduced fat is fine to use.
- Eggs: You need FOUR eggs, which also helps bump up the protein.
- Maple syrup: This adds just a bit of sweetness. (And we don’t need any sugar.) You could also substitute honey or agave syrup.
- Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or substitute a whole wheat flour; I’ve used both. You could also try it with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour for gluten-free cottage cheese pancakes.
- Size: It helps to use a ¼-cup measuring cup to measure out the batter into the skillet so you get evenly sized pancakes.
Tip: It helps, too, to spray that measuring cup with cooking spray so the batter falls easily out of it.
The recipe yields about 18-20 pancakes. You could certainly adjust the recipe up or down if you want more or fewer.
They do store great, though, so I always make the full batch. (Tips on storing the extras are below.)
Now, for some other tips…
Tips & Tricks
Knowing when to flip your pancakes is kind-of the key to keeping them light and fluffy and oh so tasty.
You’ll know they are ready when you see little air bubbles forming all over the tops of the pancakes.
Here’s a picture of one of my basic pancakes to show you what that looks like:
The other big trick with cooking pancakes is keeping your pan at the right temperature.
For pancakes with cottage cheese, I think it helps to keep the heat a little on the lower side. You don’t want them to burn.
I heat my pan over a gas burner on just below medium heat and then lower it a little bit as I continue to cook pancakes. (You can adjust when you flip or between batches.)
It will depend on your burner, your pans and just the weather. But it won’t take long to figure out your perfect temp adjustments.
Pro tip: Use two large skillets to cook twice as many pancakes at once.
If you are standing there flipping pancakes, you might as well do two batches at once and cut your time in half.
This has saved me countless hours over the course of my life and that makes me happy.
Alright, let’s get ready to eat.
Now, these cottage cheese pancakes are delicious on their own, but of course I want to give you some toppings so you can dress up these pancakes to your heart’s content.
Topping ideas:
- Maple syrup
- Butter
- Sliced bananas
- Strawberries, blueberries or other berries
- Mini chocolate chips
- Peanut butter
- Nutella
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate sauce
Feel free to mix and match and create your own perfect topping combinations!
OK, a few other commonly asked questions…
Don’t cover the pancakes on a plate to keep them warm. They’ll steam and get soggy.
Instead, place the cooked pancakes on a sheet pan in a single layer and put into the oven at 200 degrees until ready to eat.
Leftover pancakes can be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days. I put them in a plastic bag once they’ve cooled down and pop them right into the refrigerator.
Yes, pancakes freeze great! Let them cool completely, then place in a freezer-safe ziptop plastic bag — that’s labelled! — and freeze for up to 6 months. I’m able to get 4-5 pancakes in a standard quart-size freezer bag.
Move the pancakes to the fridge to defrost overnight and warm in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, or until warmed through.
Or place in the microwave directly from the freezer and warm for 20-30 seconds per side, flipping and adding extra time as needed to warm through completely.
Whew, that was a lot, but I wanted to try and help answer all of your questions. Cause you’re definitely gonna want to make these again and again!
(If I’m missed something though or if you have another question, please leave me a comment below. I’m happy to help!)
I hope you give these a try soon for a new, healthy, delicious way to have a pancake breakfast.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cottage cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey or agave)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For cooking:
- Butter or cooking spray
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, eggs, vanilla extract and maple syrup.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet (or two skillets if you want to make this go faster) over medium heat. Add butter or cooking spray.
- Use a ¼ cup measure (I spray it with cooking spray) and pour the batter into the skillet. (You can get 3 pancakes per pan in a 10- or 12-inch skillet.)
- Reduce heat to just below medium and cook the pancakes on one side until bubbles begin forming all over the tops of the pancakes. Flip and cook for another minute on the other side, until set and cooked through.
- Remove the pancakes from the pan and repeat with the remaining batter. You may need to adjust your heat slightly lower with subsequent batches if your pans are heating up too much. (You can keep pancakes warm on a sheet pan in a 200 degree oven if needed.)
Miller
These cottage cheese pancakes are so delicious, fluffy and are more like a dessert when paired with one of toppings. I used fresh fruits, cream, honey and Nutella as some of the toppings. There was nothing left to freeze. I will be making a bigger batch next week to freeze and eat as snacks on busy school days.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy you enjoyed these pancakes! Thanks so much for sharing!
Amy
Have you ever tried baking this in the oven in a jelly roll pan or 9x13 pan(s)? I would like to do it instead of the 2 skillet method 🙂 but am unsure of pan size and oven temp!
Kathryn Doherty
I have not tried that Amy. I always make my pancakes stove-top, so I'm not sure what adjustments might be needed or if they would work in the oven. Would love to hear if you give it a go!