Cottage Cheese Pancakes
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Crisp at the edges, tender in the middle, and with a boost of protein, these cottage cheese pancakes are delicious and satisfying way to start the day.
A cottage cheese pancake recipe might sound like a health-food workaround, but that’s not what these are. The cottage cheese does add a boost of protein, but it also does something genuinely interesting to the batter: it adds a subtle tang and richness you won’t get from your usual pancake recipe. It also helps give the pancakes their soft, almost custardy centers and crisp edges. Best of all, the batter comes together in one bowl without any fuss.
Serve them with maple syrup or blueberry maple syrup and a pat of butter, or pile on fresh berries if you’re feeling ambitious. Either way, don’t be surprised if they become your new weekend default.
What You’ll Need To Make Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Cottage Cheese: Full-fat or low-fat both work well. I prefer small-curd cottage cheese because it blends more evenly into the batter, giving the pancakes a smoother, more uniform texture. Large-curd will work, too, but the curds will be more noticeable in the finished pancakes.
- Milk: Loosens the batter and adds moisture so the pancakes cook up light and tender. Any kind of milk will work here.
- Eggs: Bind the batter together and provide structure while helping the pancakes puff as they cook.
- Sugar: Adds just enough sweetness to the batter and helps the pancakes brown nicely on the griddle.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds warmth and a hint of sweetness that makes these taste more like classic breakfast pancakes.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for the pancakes. For accuracy, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off.
- Baking Powder: Gives the pancakes lift, keeping them fluffy despite the moisture and weight of the cottage cheese.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the other flavors.
- Vegetable Oil: Helps prevent sticking and encourages even browning without burning as quickly as butter can.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds buttery flavor and helps give the pancakes beautifully golden edges.
- Maple Syrup: The classic finishing touch for serving.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Mix the batter: Whisk together the cottage cheese, milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, then stir in the dry ingredients just until combined. As with any pancake batter, don’t worry about getting it perfectly smooth—a few small lumps are fine, and overmixing can make the pancakes less tender.
Cook: Cook the pancakes in a lightly oiled and buttered skillet until golden underneath and set around the edges, then flip and cook on the second side. Keep an eye on the heat as you go—the cottage cheese makes these pancakes brown a little faster than traditional pancakes, so you may need to lower the heat to give the centers time to cook before the outsides get too dark. Wipe the pan clean between batches to keep any bits from burning.
Pro Tip: A combination of butter and vegetable oil works best for cooking the pancakes: the butter adds flavor, while the oil helps keep it from burning and the pancakes from getting too dark.
Serve warm: These are perfect straight from the skillet with plenty of maple syrup and a pat of butter. If you’re cooking for a crowd, you can make the pancakes up to an hour ahead and keep them warm; they also freeze well for longer storage.
A Few Things To Know
- The batter can vary a little. Cottage cheese brands differ in moisture, so if your batter seems unusually thick, stir in another tablespoon or two of milk. You want it thick enough to hold its shape on the skillet but still easy to scoop.
- Those little white flecks are normal. The cottage cheese mostly melts into the pancakes as they cook, but you may still see a few small flecks in the centers. That’s exactly as it should be; no need to keep mixing the batter trying to get rid of them.
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Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese (full-fat or low-fat; small curd preferred)
- ¼ cup milk, plus a bit more if needed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Vegetable oil and unsalted butter, for cooking
- Maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir until just combined. If the batter seems too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk, a little at a time.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil and a small pat of butter. Once the butter is melted and sizzling lightly, drop the batter by ¼-cup portions into the pan.
- Cook until the bottoms are golden and the edges look set, about 3 minutes. Flip carefully and cook for another minute or so, until golden and just cooked through in the center. Adjust the heat as needed to prevent over-browning. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel between batches. Serve warm with maple syrup.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Sounds really good and will work for a gf soft food diet.
Thank you!
Delicious! I normally don’t like to make substitutions, but did this time with oat flour instead of AP, maple syrup for sugar, and threw in 2tbsp sourdough discard. Needed a few minutes longer on cast iron skillet to make sure inside was cooked through. It was delicious! And a great way to use up leftover cottage cheese.
Hi Carol, for the best results, I’d stick with milk.
I have a similar recipe that uses rolled oats and almond milk making them gluten and lactose free!
Could these be made gluten free?
Hi Martha, I haven’t made this with gluten-free flour so I can’t say for sure, but I think it should work. If you don’t already have a favorite gluten-free flour for baking/pancakes, a number of readers have commented that they have good luck with King Arthur Measure for Measure and Cup4Cup gluten-free flour. Please LMK how the pancakes come out if you try them!
These were OUTSTANDINGLY DELICIOUS! 😋
I’ve had to substitute GF flour blend due to non-celiac-gluten sensitivity and because GF was highly encouraged for the myriad health issues that I’ve had now for eons. I learned to adapt recipes to GF, and this recipe lent itself BEAUTIFULLY to that.
Also made HALF the recipe, making 8 pancakes plus 4 tiny ones. (Great for eating cold when the hungries strike–hey, they have protein, so definitely counts!)
–Used King Arthur Measure for Measure gf flour blend. I’ll try Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 next time, just to test.
–Fat free Lactaid
–Real butter + walnut oil for the pan, but swirled it around to combine (not as recipe instructs)
–3/4 tsp real vanilla (just “because”)
–Friendship No Salt 1% Milk Fat Small curd cottage cheese
Prepped the dry and wet ingredients in separate small bowls.
Allowed wet ingredients to sit in fridge for about two hours, and next time will try overnight.
Added the WET to the DRY, combined with a small spatula.
Added about 3 TBS milk (mixture was not loose enough, in my opinion).
Prepped my large non-stick pancake stove top pan by adding:
— about 1/8 cup (2 TBS) Spectrum walnut oil (didn’t want to use evoo)
— and 1TBS unsalted butter
— swirled the pan to combine.
Spaced out dollops of the pancake mixture onto 5 areas on my pan. Waited for bubbles to form, carefully flipped over.
Lightly drizzled maple syrup over the top of yummy cakes placed on my plate.TOTALLY satisfying with my cafe con leche. 😊
The BEST recipe for pancakes EVER! And nutritious (just wink at the butter😉)
Mil gracias, Jenn. I’ve successfully made changes to several of your other recipes to that they met GF standards. You are definitely appreciated!👍🏼
YES, they can be made GF! Read my comments below, adapt to your preferences.
I made half the recipe, as noted within my post.
ENJOY!
I haven’t made these yet – I’m sure they’ll be super yummy!
can I make the batter the night before?
Maribeth
Hi Maribeth, I don’t recommend making the batter before, because the pancakes will come out flat. If you’d like to save time in the morning, you can combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients and store them separately until you’re ready to prepare them.
These look delicious! I like trying new pancake recipes, and my husband loves your ricotta pancakes. How do think these cottage cheese pancakes compare in taste and texture to the ricotta pancakes? Thanks!
Glad the ricotta pancakes are a hit with your husband! These are honestly quite similar.
Great! First time..,
Jennifer, my friend, you have done it again… great directions, and hints of suggestions… oh I did add a teaspoon of Ceylon cinnamon.
Thank you for your recipes,
Linda 🥰
Can you substitute almond flour?
Hi Susan, I’ve never made these with almond flour, so I can’t say for sure. You may be able to swap part of the all-purpose flour for almond flour, but I’m concerned the texture of the pancakes won’t be right with all almond flour.
Thank you! My granddaughter makes these almost daily to help meet her daily protein goal and she loves them! Now I’m going to give them a try.