If you had told me a few years ago that I would soon become obsessed with cottage cheese, I would have laughed in your face. And now look at me, whipping up delicious Cottage Cheese Pancakes for a high protein breakfast!
Really, I have come to love that funny curdy cheese that I used to consider “grandma food”. It’s tasty by itself and I will happily eat it straight from the container. But it also works well in so many low carb baked goods. From keto protein bagels to high protein pizza crust, cottage has become a staple in my kitchen.
Recipes abound for cottage cheese pancakes, but so many of them rely on oats or flour to give them bulk and structure. While they may be high in protein, they also contain upwards of 30 grams of carbs. That’s a deal-breaker for me anyone on a low carb diet.
So I got tinkering in my kitchen with a little almond flour and some protein powder, and came up with a very tasty alternative. I gave mine a spring flavor twist with a little lemon but you could make them plain vanilla too.
Don’t forget, I have a new cookbook coming out that’s all about high protein, low carb recipes. Check it out!
Why we love this recipe
My husband and youngest child absolutely devoured these protein pancakes!
- So easy! Just whiz the ingredients together in a blender and you’re ready to get cooking.
- Adaptable: You can easily switch up the flavor profile to suit your tastes. Make classic pancakes by using vanilla instead of lemon extract and water instead of lemon juice.
- Amazing texture: I can’t say that these are as light and fluffy as my regular keto pancakes. But they have a delectable creamy texture inside from the cottage cheese.
- Make ahead recipe: They store well so you can make a big batch and pop them in the fridge or freezer for easy breakfasts!
- Great macros: This delicious breakfast recipe has 6.6 grams of carbs and 19.5 grams of fiber per serving.
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: Fine blanched almond flour always produces the best texture. If you want to be nut-free, you can try sunflower seed flour.
- Protein powder: I like to use the protein powder from Just Ingredients, which is a mix of protein sources. But regular whey or egg white protein should work as well.
- Sweetener: I prefer to use an erythritol based sweetener, as allulose will darken the exterior too much. You could also use highly concentrated sweeteners such as monk fruit or stevia extract.
- Xanthan gum: Keto pancakes lack gluten and starch, so they tend to be more fragile than regular pancakes. A little xanthan gum helps add strength to the pancake batter.
- Cottage cheese: I used whole milk cottage cheese but 2% should work just as well.
- Lemon juice: You can use fresh or bottled lemon juice.
- Lemon extract: This adds extra lemon flavor without the carbs. You can substitute with vanilla extract.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, baking powder, butter or oil for the pan.
Step by Step Directions
- Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, sweetener, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Whisk to combine and break up any clumps.
- Blend the wet ingredients: Combine the cottage cheese and eggs in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the lemon zest and lemon extract and blend briefly again.
- Finish the batter: Add the flour mixture and blend until well combined. Then add just enough liquid (lemon juice, almond milk, or water) to thin that batter so it’s easily scooped onto the griddle.
- Prep the griddle: Preheat a griddle to medium or set a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Brush lightly with butter or oil.
- Make the pancakes: Use about 3 tablespoons of batter for each pancake and spread into a 3 or 4 inch circle. Cook the pancakes until bubbles begin to appear on the tops and the edges are set and dry, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Flip and finish: Carefully flip the pancakes and continue to cook until golden brown on the second side, another 2 to 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter or oil to the pan as needed.
Tips for Success
You really can adjust these pancakes to your favorite flavor profile. Leave out the lemon and make them with vanilla extract. Banana extract or maple extract would also be nice. Feel free to add some chocolate chips or blueberries to the batter.
I recommend a blender for mixing up the batter, to get it nice and smooth. Whisking the dry ingredients together helps break up any clumps in the almond flour and protein powder before you begin.
Keep the pancakes on the small side so that they are easier to flip. Don’t make them any bigger than 4 inches in diameter. I recommend using a very thin-bladed flippers and wiggling it underneath one edge, then flipping quickly.
Remember to look for dry, set edges and some bubbles in the top before you attempt to flip them!
Frequently Asked Questions
Cottage cheese is a wonderful addition to pancakes. It adds wonderful flavor, plenty of protein, and gives them an almost creamy consistency on the inside. Make sure you blend it until smooth first, as you don’t want chunky curds in the pancakes.
Yes, these pancakes freeze very well. I recommend flash freezing them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet until they are solid before placing them in a freezer safe container. This way, they don’t stick together as they freeze. They should last for up to 4 months in the freezer.
This keto cottage cheese pancake recipe has 6.6g of carbs and 2.0g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.6g net carbs for 3 pancakes.
Serving suggestions
- Powdered sweetener with fresh berries
- Keto Blueberry Syrup
- Homemade Keto Maple Syrup (pair with non-lemon pancakes!)
- Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce
- Keto Nutella (pair with non-lemon pancakes!)
Cottage Cheese Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (112 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (54 g) unflavored whey protein powder
- 3 tbsp (30.43 g) granular sweetener
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 cup (210 g) cottage cheese
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract, or vanilla extract
- 2 to 4 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice, (or almond milk or water)
- Butter or oil for the pan
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, sweetener, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Whisk to combine and break up any clumps.
- Combine the cottage cheese and eggs in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the lemon zest and lemon extract and blend briefly again.
- Add the flour mixture and blend until well combined. Then add just enough liquid (lemon juice, almond milk, or water) to thin that batter so it's easily scooped onto the griddle.
- Preheat a griddle to medium or set a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Brush lightly with butter or oil.
- Use about 3 tablespoons of batter for each pancake and spread into a 3 or 4 inch circle. Cook the pancakes until bubbles begin to appear on the tops and the edges are set and dry, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Carefully flip the pancakes and continue to cook until golden brown on the second side, another 2 to 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter or oil to the pan as needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Pancakes without natural maple sugar, what could I substitute…3 blueberries will not do it for me.
Sorry, but I have no idea what you are asking. This recipe doesn’t take maple sugar, or blueberries.
Outstanding recipe! I have to avoid nut/seed flour, so I substituted the same amount of a GF flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill). A few more carbs, but that’s okay for me. I’m really enjoying your high protein recipes! Thanks Carolyn!
Glad it worked out!
Could I put these in my Dash waffle iron?
I haven’t tried so you may need to experiment.
This would be a great recipe to do for a video 🙂 I’m not a very intuitive cook, so I’d love to see the thickness/consistency of your batter. I also think the temp matters….which is kind of an issue since my stove/oven seems to be on it’s last legs….I wonder if this would be bake-able (is that a word?)
These are INCREDIBLY delicious! I just have to work out how to cook them properly. I like the idea of making waffles!
You have the BEST recipes!I refer people to you ALLLL of the time.
Just made these! I used my homemade Cottage Cheese made with local organic whole milk since I can’t find “clean” cottage cheese here in Canada anywhere. . . These pancakes turned out so good! I cooked them in my waffle machine – so it made 8 large square waffles. I cut one in half and had some salmon egg salad on it . . . high protein yumminess!!! Thanks Carolyn! You’re a wizard!
Very, very good! My whole family loved them.
These pancakes were so good!! My husband couldn’t stop talking about them. I also liked that the serving was 3 pancakes. They were so filling!!
I totally love these, usually with 3 blueberries each. Thanks again for inventing such delicious low carb recipes!
Absolutely delicious! This will definitely become a favorite !
Loved these fluffy, nutritious pancakes. Didn’t want a lemon flavor so used vanilla and some cinnamon. Really important to use a Medium Low heat as these burn easily with a higher heat. I did end up using several additional tablespoons of almond milk (besides the 4 in the recipe) because my batter was very thick without it so the insides didn’t cook through with thicker pancakes.
These are perfect! Love the satiating aspect as well as great texture and nice flavour. I’ll definitely keep making them!
Best tasting keto pancakes I have tried. They taste like the real thing!
I am so glad!
Ii made these for breakfast this morning. They were wonderful! Soft and fluffy
Do you think Beef protein isolate powder would work? That’s all I really keep around because I don’t do well with whey and I have an egg white intolerance.
Great flavor but I’m a lousy flipper so I made waffles.