Fluffy Blended Cottage Cheese Pancakes
These high-protein blended cottage cheese pancakes are creamy, fluffy, and incredibly delicious! The batter is so easy to make in a blender. This has become one of our all-time favorite breakfasts!
I am making these pancakes on repeat with zero complaints. In fact, just the other morning, my husband told me he prefers these pancakes above all others!
Why You’ll Love This Pancake Recipe
- The batter is quickly made start-to-finish in a blender; no advance prep required.
- The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled (or halved!).
- Thanks to the cottage cheese and eggs, the pancakes are high-protein (without tasting like you’re choking down mouthfuls of protein powder – no protein powder at all in this recipe!).
- Because the cottage cheese is completely blended, this recipe is perfect for those who don’t like cottage cheese.
- There is no added oil or sugar to the pancake batter.
- The texture of the pancakes is creamy and fluffy – nearly souffle-like.
There is seriously so much to love about these easy blended cottage cheese pancakes. We keep coming back to them as a go-to breakfast because they are filling and so tasty.
Ingredients You Need
This recipe calls for only SIX simple ingredients!
- Cottage cheese: I use 2% cottage cheese, but any brand or type of cottage cheese should work well in this recipe because it is blended with the other ingredients. If the cottage cheese you are using has a lot of excess liquid, drain off some (not all) of it before using.
- Eggs: Use large eggs for this recipe.
- All-purpose flour: I use unbleached all-purpose flour. I haven’t tried this recipe with whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour. If using whole wheat flour, start with half whole wheat/half all-purpose and use a white wheat variety that is lighter in color and heartiness. I think these pancakes stand a good chance of working with 1:1 gluten-free flour.
- Baking powder: This is necessary for leavening, so don’t leave it out (trust me, I did that on accident and the pancakes were decidedly not as delicious).
- Salt: Every day table salt works here – and like the baking powder, it’s necessary to balance the flavor.
- Butter: I use salted butter. The butter isn’t used in the batter – it is used for cooking the pancakes. ⬇️
Cooking the pancakes in sizzling butter is key to their deliciousness. It creates a buttery golden exterior and a creamy, fluffy interior. Don’t skip it!
A Few Additional Tips
This recipe is very straightforward – no need to complicate it!
The only additional cooking tip I’ll suggest is that these pancakes are best served hot off the griddle. We eat the leftovers, of course, and they are still tasty, but they flatten a bit as they cool. And there is just something exceptional about the taste and texture right as they’re made.
Serve these pancakes with maple syrup, jam, fresh fruit, and/or whatever pancake toppings you enjoy.
Not only do these blended cottage cheese pancakes make the easiest breakfast, but they have just enough of a fancy taste and texture to warrant serving them on birthday mornings or to company. They are totally worthy of special occasions!
Fluffy Blended Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cottage cheese
- 6 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Butter, for cooking
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients in the order listed in a blender. Process on medium or medium-high speed until fully blended and smooth.
- Preheat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Brush or rub liberally with butter. Heat until the butter is sizzling (but not burning).
- Pour 1/4 cup batter (more or less) in rounds on the hot griddle. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the pancakes are set and small bubbles appear on the edges. Flip and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until cooked through.
- Serve immediately with maple syrup, jam, or other desired pancake toppings.
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (inspired by a single-serve pancake on Pinch of Yum)
These were amazing. I have made tons of pancake recipes over the years and these were as good as any if not better, but healthier with the protein. I think this will be my new go to recipe! Thanks so much!!
Yay, Melissa! Glad you loved them! They really have topped our pancakes favorites list, too.
Super easy, very yummy! These will definitely be going into our pancake rotation. Love the extra protein in them, and even if you don’t like cottage cheese, you can’t taste it. Definitely cook them in butter! Makes them so good! Thank you, Mel! Rock star, again!
We call these latkes. Often made for Hanukkah. The protein fills up bellies without having to eat 12! When you have a big family traditional pancakes mean you’re at the griddle a long time!
Love that!
My picky high school football player loved them! Thank you!
Yay, yay!!
My family has been making a very similar blender pancake for years, but you blend in whole wheat berries instead of flour. Delicious.
I wonder if cottage cheese brand makes a difference – I made them with Aldi cottage cheese and thought they were a bit salty. I also think I might have underdid the flour because they were a bit flat! But the kids still loved them and I will definitely try again with a bit more flour (and perhaps less salt if I’m using Aldi cottage cheese) since pancakes with more protein definitely seem worth pursuing!
Hi Jo – that’s a valid note about the salt aspect. You are probably right that some brands of cottage cheese have more salt added. Thanks for chiming in!
Are these good with blueberries baked in? Or does it change the texture?
That’s a great question – and I’m sorry that I haven’t tried it yet to say for sure whether it would work. Definitely worth a try though. My gut feeling is it should work just fine – I’d probably just sprinkle the blueberries on the top of the pancakes while they cook vs stirring the blueberries into the batter.
I made them with frozen blueberries and they were delicious. I just sprinkled them on top of the batter instead of mixing in with batter.
Good to know!!
These were good. Better than Kodiak cakes 🥴 I used half whole wheat flour and they were still fluffy.
Good to know!!
Yum! Very light & fluffy! I am always looking for good ways to sneak more protein into my picky eaters. Pancakes are always a go-to meal, so this was a perfect recipe! Bye bye, pancake mixes!
Thanks, Mel. 🤗
Glad to hear it – thanks, Kimmy!
Definitely a winner! My husband always complains when we have pancakes that there isn’t protein, which means I have to also make eggs and/or meat. These pancakes satisfied his protein requirement AND my two teen girls’ sweet tooth AND my don’t-make-my-Saturday-mornings-hard requirement! Wow!!! Congratulations!!!
Haha, glad they checked all the boxes!
Delicious!!! I added a splash of vanilla. Everyone loved them. You hit it out of the park, again!!!
Thanks, Jen!
These are sooooooooooo delicious! I served them with hash browns as “brinner” and my kids said it was the best meal ever and best pancakes ever tasted!
That is fantastic, Renee! Sounds like such a yummy dinner…so glad it was a hit with the family!
Another winning recipe Mel!! Thank you! I decided to sub in oat flour and it worked beautifully. (I did 1.25 cups of oat flour and 1/4 cup regular flour)
Thanks for including your variation of using oat flour and how it worked out!
Finally protein pancakes that are great!! Not dry or brittle like many protein pancake recipes tend to be. Thank you!
You are so welcome – glad you loved them!
Just made these. Absolutely the best I don’t feel sick after eating pancakes. Will definitely make again. Will try next time with gf flour. Hope it will work. Thank you.
I’m glad you liked them! Several people have commented below that gluten free adjustments have worked really well!
Made these yummy pancakes today for my family’s breakfast and it got rave reviews all around!! I love that they are still tender, which is uncommon in a higher protein pancake. Thank you for keeping my family fed, and nourished all these years! We appreciate you so much! You are like one of our family and most of my kids will try anything if it’s your recipe.
What a sweet comment, Jen. That seriously meant so much to me. Thank YOU for still being here and making the recipes!
really want to make this only have self rising flour. can I use this and eliminate the baking powder?
Thanks for your great recipes.
Hi Dee – that should *probably* work…you might want to add just a touch of baking powder as well (and eliminate the salt if your self-rising flour has salt added).
Ha – have to share this interaction with my 9 year old tonight:
Kiddo: What’s for dinner?
Me: Pancakes
Kiddo: Hm. (Sad, disappointed face)
Me: Special Mel’s Kitchen Cafe Pancakes!
Kiddo: Yay!! (Happily skipping away) :)
Thanks for all you create and share!
Hahaha, ok, this put a HUGE smile on my face. Thanks for sharing, Debbie!!
We loved them and nobody knows about the little secret!
Ha! No need to tell them. 🙂
These are amazing!! My 11 year old didn’t want to try them when he saw me scooping cottage cheese, but everyone else was raving about them so he finally caved and loved them!! Thanks, Mel!
Yay!!
These were amazing!!! I made them for my family this morning, which they all thought was super special since hot breakfasts don’t happen often on school mornings. I made sure to not let them see me put cottage cheese in or they all would have refused to try them. Every single one of us loved them! Thank you once again Mel for an amazing recipe!
Thanks for the review, Shauna!! So happy your family loved them. I agree on the cottage cheese – neither of my kids will eat cottage cheese plain, but they love it blended up in these pancakes!
So delicious Mel! My picky son said these are “by far the best pancakes he’s ever had!”
That’s awesome, Cindy! Your son and my husband are very like-minded about these pancakes! 🙂
Can I make the batter and keep it in the fridge?
That should work fine…the batter will thicken up a bit. Just stir vigorously or thin with a tiny bit of milk before using.
I never leave comments, but these deserve a 5 star review! I have tried several pancake recipes with cottage cheese over the years and they all get a big fat thumbs down from my kids and husband. I tried these this morning and they all agreed that they were the best! Thank you so much for sharing all of your amazing recipes!!
Oh, yay, Janel!! So, so happy to read this! Thrilled they were such a great success. Thanks for letting me know!
These remind me a lot of your rollup blender pancakes! We make those at least once a week at our house (smothered with nutella, jam, and whipped cream 🙂 ) I’m excited to try these!
Yes, agreed! We make the rollup pancakes very often, too. These are a bit thicker (obviously, since they aren’t rolled crepe-style) and don’t have oil or sugar in the batter. I hope you like them if you try them!
These were a huge hit for dinner tonight—everyone loved them. I plan to make more and freeze them for easy breakfasts.
Thanks, Meridith!
Question. Could these be made in a waffle iron? A couple of pancake recipes I have tried worked well as waffles, but this one is different enough I don’t want to try and end up with a disaster. I very much want to try this recipe, but my husband prefers waffles to pancakes.
I haven’t tried it, but I think this may be a pancake waffle that might not work quite as well in a waffle iron…always worth a try, but I can’t say with surety that it would work ok.
These look great and I plan to make these soon, I wondering though if the batter could be done as an in-the-oven sheet pan pancake? I did read that you thought the mix might be too dense for regular sized muffins, but your thoughts on a sheet pan please? Thanks so much
Hi there! I haven’t tried it so I can’t say with 100% certainty how it will work, but it’s definitely worth a try. I think baking in a flat pan with a wide surface area is probably better than baking this particular batter in a thick pan (like a full-size muffin tin).
Would I be able to make these into pancake muffins? Looking for an easy go-to breakfast for my kids on school mornings, and something like this with protein would be great.
That’s a good question, Becky – I think the batter is a bit too dense for muffins…but if you try it, I’d recommend doing mini muffins. That might work!
I’ve used a very similar recipe for years, but use whole wheat flour or oats instead of all purpose flour. It’s our family’s favorite pancake/waffle recipe too!
Awesome!
Made these this morning and we loved them. I am still full hours later, so this will be our go to pancake recipe. I may sift the flour next time to see if they will be slightly fluffier but they were tender. Another winner from my favorite food blogger.
Appreciate you, Sheila! So much. Thank you for letting me know you loved these!
Have you ever cooked up half the batch one morning and the rest the next day? It’s just my husband and me at home.
As a cottage cheese hater, these were perfect. I couldn’t detect any cottage cheese curds in the pancakes. They were so good!
We are always looking for ways to add protein in our meals and use up that huge container of Costco cottage cheese.
You’re the best, Mel! My whole family loved them!
So happy to read this, Christine! The blending is the brilliant key for anyone who hates cottage cheese. Thanks for making them so quickly and letting me know!
We love these type of pancakes! We’ve made them for years. For a gluten free option, and less refined option, just use oats in place of flour. They blend in just as well, as create even more nutrients! A splash of vanilla extract and cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice- delicious!
Thanks, Bambi!
Could these be frozen? If not, do you have a recipe for pancakes that can be frozen so you can pull out a few a day as needed?
Hi Lindsay, yes, they can definitely be frozen! They tend to be a bit better hot off the griddle because they lose a bit of their puffiness as they sit, but they are still delicious as leftovers.
Hey Mel! Your recipes make my family and I SO happy, thank you for the joy you put out into the world! <3
As a gluten-free eater and baker, I just wanted to share with you and everyone else the BEST tip I have ever learned about using 1:1 or cup-for-cup GF flour in a recipe NOT ORIGINALLY created to be Gluten-Free.
10% LESS GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR THAN THE RECIPE CALLS FOR. Yes, this means measuring by weight instead of volume, but believe me it is MAGIC! Everything I have baked using that information (including some of your recipes) has come out SO good. Even my gluten-loving husband has commented on the improvement in my recent baking!
Love to all my fellow GF peeps! Credit for this scientific and gastronomic breakthrough goes to Kat at theloopywhisk.com
Amy, that is such great feedback on how to use gluten free flour 1:1 in recipes. I, for one, am grateful to know that since I cook and bake for my MIL (who eats GF) when she comes to visit. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this! I’m always experimenting with the 1:1 flour and this is a great tip!