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
Recipe video
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.
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!
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
Perfect Fluffy Protein Pancakes (no banana!)
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.
Sandra
Wow I love your recipe. I didn’t have any Greek yogurt I used cottage cheese and no maple syrup I added a splash of oat milk as I prefer a thin batter. Thanks for sharing your recipe *****
Denise Bustard
Hi Sandra! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, and thank you so much for reporting back about the cottage cheese! That’s super helpful as I’ve been asked about that a few times.
Alex
Hi – how many servings does this make? The nutrition says one serving is 147 calories but is this for all
The mixture or 1/8th? Thanks
Adina
I have the same question, thanks for asking!
Mike
I have the same question.
Denise Bustard
Hey guys! Apologies for my late reply here. The recipe makes 8 pancakes, and nutritional info is for one pancake. Of course I would probably eat 2-3 per serving. Sorry for any confusion!
stacey
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve never found a recipe which makes protein pancakes so fluffy, they were amazing! Really enjoyed making them and they were so light and fluffy! 🙂
Denise Bustard
Hi Stacey! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them, and that they were nice and fluffy for you 🙂
JB
Hi! Going to try these tomorrow! Is there a way to only use egg whites, vs. while eggs?
Denise
Hi JB! I have not tried that, would you let me know how it goes if you give it a try?
Jana
Unbelievable how the taste and texture is just like regular pancakes! For the reader who said their mixture was grainy, that happened to me too, probably because I used a plant based protein powder. But I just added some almond milk to thin it out to pancake batter consistency and it was perfect. I added coconut flakes to the batter too and yum! Thanks for the recipe!
Denise
Hi Jana! Wow, I love reading this! And thank you for your tip about adding extra milk to thin it out. That’s super helpful!
Molly
These are SO amazing. I’ve been settling for subpar protein pancakes for years and these have saved me! They have flavor, keep me full, and are so easy to make. I mostly have everything on hand to whip these up. And they do keep well! Although they’ve only lasted a couple of days in my house so I don’t know about freezing them. I am wondering- would there be any alterations to this recipe if I wanted to use it for a waffle iron?
Denise
Hi Molly! Your comment makes my heart so happy! It took me so many tries to get these right. I have not tried them on a waffle iron, and am not sure if you’d need to modify, but I’d love to hear how they go if you give them a try!
Jane
Hi I am going to attempt this recipe! I was just wondering if you could use 1 egg and the some egg whites? Maybe leave out the syrup if I don’t have any? Looking forward to trying it!
Denise
Hi Jane, apologies for my late reply. I personally haven’t tried that, but would love to hear how it goes for you if you try it!
Javiera
I’ve tried maany many protein pancake recipes and this is absolutely the best one. Fluffy, soft and almost like eating a muffin (I added some blueberries to the batter). I used low fat margarine instead of coconut oil, and added a couple tablespoons of water because soy protein made the batter too thick, and they came out absolutely perfecf!
Thanks for the recipe, greetings from Chile.
Denise
Wow, thank you so much for the amazing review, Javiera! I’m so happy you enjoyed. Thanks for letting us know they work with soy protein. Stay safe!
Stephanie
Thank you! I’ve relied on a yogurt/egg/banana recipe in the past, but wanted to introduce a more genuine “fluffy” protein pancake to fit my bfs palate. We both loved the taste of these! I added a bit of cinnamon in too and it was yumm. Followed the recipe but my batter was a little thick, so thinned down with 2% milk. These cooked well, though we did think they were a little dry, so I might opt for full fat Greek yogurt next time (I used nonfat in my version). I know you said the protein powder may also be to the issue, so I’ll keep trying to tweak. Thank you!
Denise
Thanks for your feedback, Stephanie! Did you use a pea protein powder or whey? Pea protein really did not work for this recipe, unfortunately 🙁
Molly
I used pea protein for mine and I used almond milk and a more heaping measurement of whole fat greek yogurt. They worked great that way!
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!