Cottage Cheese Pancakes (light + fluffy!)

These cottage cheese pancakes are light and fluffy, with pockets of gooey cottage cheese. With 6 g of protein per pancake, they will actually fill you up, and they are simple to mix up in one bowl.

Pancakes are a staple at our place on the weekend, whether it's a batch of perfect, fluffy protein pancakes, or deliciously savory bacon pancakes.

These cottage cheese pancakes are great because you don't need quite as much flour as traditional pancakes, and they get a boost of protein thanks to the cottage cheese. Not only that but they are so fluffy!

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Recipe video

Watch the video below for step by step instructions for prepping cottage cheese pancakes! You can find more recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Ingredient notes

• Cottage cheese- this recipe was tested with 2% cottage cheese. I believe it would work fine with low fat cottage cheese, but recommend avoiding dry curd cottage cheese, which would alter the moisture content of the pancakes.
• Flour- you may use a mixture of all purpose and whole wheat flour (50% of each), or you can use 100% all purpose, or 100% white whole wheat flour. Gluten-free, almond, oat and other alternative flours have not been tested.
• Maple syrup- feel free to swap for brown sugar or honey

A note about cottage cheese

When measuring the cottage cheese, make sure you get the liquid with the cheese curds. Depending on the brand of cottage cheese, it may be more or less 'liquidy'. Once the pancake batter is mixed up, if it seems dry, you may add ¼ cup or more of milk to thin it out. See the images below and video for a good visual of how your batter should look.

Step by step directions

Scroll to the recipe card for ingredient quantities.

Mix the batter- Star by mixing together the wet ingredients: add the cottage cheese, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix with a spatula until the batter is well combined. Next, add the dry ingredients: place the flour, baking powder and salt onto the wet mixture. Mix until no pockets of flour remain. At this point, you can assess whether the batter needs milk to thin it out; see the photo above for the desired consistency. If adding milk, start with ¼ cup, then add more as needed.

Measure + cook- I recommend measuring out ¼ cup portions of pancake batter; it may seem like it's not enough, but the pancakes expand quite a bit when cooking.

Heat a pan over medium heat. Spray the pan with spray oil, or grease well with olive or vegetable oil. Add the ¼ cup portion of pancake batter and pat it into a circular shape using the measuring cup. Cook for 2 minutes on the first side.

Flip- Pancakes are ready to flip when the edges become set and dry, and there are bubbles throughout the pancake. Carefully flip the pancake and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the second side.

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Recipe tips

Measure your flour correctly

For this recipe, accurate flour measurement is essential- I recommend you use a kitchen scale to weigh out exactly 125 g, or that you fluff, spoon, then level the flour into a measuring cup. Scooping the flour can as much as double the amount of flour that you use, which will cause big problems for these pancakes.

Thin the batter as needed

Due to variations between brands of cottage cheese, you may need to add a touch of milk to thin the batter out. I recommend you compare your pancake batter to image 1) in the photo collage above, or watch the recipe video in this post to see what the batter should look like.

You can also cook a test pancake, and determine if the thickness of the pancakes is what you are looking for; if the pancakes are too thick to your liking, thin the batter out.

When adding milk to your batter, start with ¼ cup, then add more as needed.

Cook a test pancake

I always recommend cooking a test pancake to start. This helps you determine whether you'd like to thin out your batter, and whether your pan is at the correct temperature. Once you have those factors figured out, you can transition to cooking multiple pancakes at the same time.

Flipping the pancakes

When pancakes are ready to flip, they will become dryer around the outside, and lift up slightly from the pan. If I'm unsure of whether a pancake is ready to flip, I use my spatula to gently touch the edge of the pancake; if it sticks to the spatula, it's not ready. Pancakes will also have bubbles throughout.

To flip, quickly work the spatula all the way under the pancake, and in a fluid motion, flip it over. Practice makes perfect, and it's OK if your first flip is a flop 😉

Serving suggestions

Cottage cheese pancakes could be topped with either sweet or savory toppings:

• berries
• maple syrup
• powdered sugar
• chopped bacon
• scrambled or poached eggs
• chopped tomatoes

Storage and reheating

These pancakes store well for meal prep. You could cook up a double (or triple) batch, then freeze for later!

• fridge- cool completely on a wire rack. Stack pancakes in an air tight meal prep container, then store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• freezer- cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap individual pancakes in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag or meal prep container. For a plastic-free option, stack with a square of parchment or wax paper between them, cover loosely in parchment, then store in a meal prep container. Freeze for up to 1 month.
• thaw- heat in the microwave, or thaw overnight in the fridge.
• heat- you can place pancakes in the toaster (this works best with thick/sturdy pancakes), or reheat over medium heat in a frying pan. I bet they'd reheat great in the air fryer, too! Try 350°F for 2-3 minutes.

Check out my favorite meal prep containers!

More pancake recipes

• Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe
• Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes
• Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
• Zucchini Chocolate Chip Pancakes
• Sweet Potato Pancakes
• Sheet Pan Protein Pancakes