Perfect, fluffy protein pancakes made without bananas, refined sugar, or flour! Made with protein powder, eggs and greek yogurt, these pancakes pack 9 grams of protein and are going to fuel you through your morning!
Is 2019 the year of the pancakes? Because I’ve shared my Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes, Sweet Potato Pancakes, and 7 Homemade Pancake Flavors…and now I’m tackling the perfect, fluffy protein pancake recipe!
Protein powder has the tendency to make things dry or dense, but after many experiments, I got the right ratios to get perfect protein pancakes that are light and fluffy!
These are really a blank canvas for your favorite toppings. I like topping with extra greek yogurt, fresh blueberries and of course: maple syrup.
Don’t forget to pin this post to save it for later!
These protein pancakes
- are fluffy and light
- have no bananas (unlike 99% of the protein pancake recipes out there!)
- will fill you up with 9 g protein
How to make protein pancakes
First, we will gather our ingredients:
- Rolled oats
- Protein powder– I recommend a vanilla whey protein powder
- Baking powder– for fluffiness
- Eggs– for extra moisture and protein
- Greek yogurt– extra moisture, thickness and protein- use plain
- Maple syrup– just a touch to sweeten- can swap for honey or sugar
- Coconut oil– for moisture- can swap for melted butter or olive oil
- Vanilla extract– to give a bit more flavor
For this recipe, you are going to need a blender…but fear not, you don’t need a good blender (if you want to see my horrible blender, watch the video below 🙊).
Here’s how to make protein pancakes:
- Blend up your rolled oats until they are powdery.
- Add in all other ingredients.
- Blend until completely smooth and no powdery pockets remain.
- Cook on a greased frying pan for 2 minutes on the first side, 1 minute on the second side.
- Enjoy!
Can I store this protein pancake recipe in the fridge? Yes! These pancakes can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days. Be warned that they are best served fresh and do get a little drier as they sit in the fridge. But smother with greek yogurt and you won’t notice. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can I bake protein powder pancakes? Yes, but you’ll need a completely different recipe. Check out this No Flipping Sheet Pan Pancake.
What kind of protein powder can I use? I tested this with three types of protein powder. I highly recommend using a flavored whey protein powder (like vanilla). I did test with a vegan (pea protein) powder, and the pancakes were very thick… you can give it a try and add some almond or dairy milk to thin them out. The texture was completely different, so I really do recommend sticking to a whey protein powder.
Can I make these without a blender? I tested one variation of this recipe with 1 cup white whole wheat flour and they were good! However I haven’t tested the final version of this recipe with it so if you try, I’d love to hear how they went for you!
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped these protein powder pancakes. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.
Tips & equipment for protein powder pancakes
- my blender is no longer available for purchase (not that you’d want to own it 🤣), but I have my eye on this Vitamix!
- I cooked in my teflon-free non-stick pan (similar to this GreenPan)
- Looking for more high protein breakfast recipes? Check out these Cottage Cheese Pancakes, these Baked Egg Cups and this Breakfast Burrito
Protein Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (135 g)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (30 g; 1/2 cup roughly)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (120 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted; swap for butter or olive oil)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Place the rolled oats in a blender and blend until powdery.
- Add in all remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and no pockets of powder remain.
- Grease a nonstick pan and heat over medium heat.
- Cook 1/4 cup portions of pancakes for roughly 2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute on the second. Edges of pancakes dry out and pancakes will move around on the pan when shaken when they are ready to flip.
- Enjoy!
Storage
- These protein pancakes are best enjoyed fresh but can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or the freezer for up to 1 month.
Deana Dorman
The batter makes sure looks nothing like pancake batter. It is thick and grainy. I followed the recipe. Not sure what happened
Denise
Hi Deana, that’s so strange! Did you watch the video in this post? Did the batter look similar? The only variable I can really think of is the protein powder. I had issues when I used plant-based protein powders…which type did you use?
Ali
Best protein pancakes i have ever had… not dry like the pthers and turns out nice and thick! AND the taste is amazing! Thank you so much.
Denise
WOW! Thanks for making my day with your review, Ali! I really appreciate you taking the time to report back.
Sally Trottier
These are very good, thank you for sharing this recipe! I’m not a big fan of bananas so it’s great to find this! A couple questions…is the serving size 1 pancake? Also is the coconut oil and syrup to be mixed in with the batter?
Denise
Hi Sally! Yes, the nutritional info is per pancake. And yes, the coconut oil and syrup go into the batter. Hope this helps 🙂
Lana
I don’t know if it’s really right to leave a review when I change a recipe so much, but your guide was definitely the start of these! I tend to adjust recipes to fit some of my needs and what I have on hand. First, for these, I had the white whole wheat flour you mentioned and had JUST used up my rolled oats for a horse cookie recipe I made. I always drink chocolate protein so that’s what I have. I always eat Activia yogurt, either peach or black cherry (usually) so that’s what I have. I used the black cherry. I didn’t strain it to make it Greek, and since it had the added sugar, I eliminated the maple syrup, thinking the moisture and sugar from the yogurt would take its place. I also used 1 T of olive oil and 1 T of unsweetened applesauce. I have an apple tree and try to use up my applesauce any way I can! LOL! They came out really good. I had a little bit of a learning experience with them, since the top did not bubble like most pancakes, and I let a couple get a little too dark before turning them. I took the rest of my 1/2 cup contained of applesauce, blended it with some plain syrup and cinnamon and made a “syrup” that was out of this world. I’m waiting for my husband to get up to see what he thinks, but I am pleased!
Denise
Happy to hear they worked for you with those modifications, Lana! I have found that applesauce can cause pancakes to burn on the outside before they cook through on the inside. Which is too bad because it’s such a great natural sweetener! Anyway glad they worked for you. <3
Kathleen M Hendriks
These pancakes are really good! I liked that they were filling and flavorful enough to get by without anything but some sliced strawberries on top or a little drizzle of sugar free pancake syrup (for those of us cutting calories). The recipe was easy to follow and I think I will even prepare a few baggies of measured dry ingredients (pre-blend the rolled oats, add the baking powder) for an even quicker morning meal. Thanks Denise!
Denise
Hi Kathleen! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the pancakes. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!