This post is sponsored by Breakstone’s. Find their creamy cottage cheese and smooth sour cream at a retailer near you.
It’s back to school season and these Cottage Cheese Blender Pancakes are the perfect high protein breakfast to prep ahead for busy mornings! Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese is thrown in the blender with all the other ingredients to make this recipe super simple. I love how tender the pancakes bake up, plus you can add whatever toppings you like – I used blueberries and raspberries for the ones you see here, but I’ve also tried banana slices and chocolate chips and they were amazing.
Cottage Cheese FTW
Cottage cheese may be having a multi-year moment right now, but I’ve loved it for many more years as an easy and versatile way to hit my protein goals. Breakstone’s is the perfect choice for all your cottage cheese creations – it’s made with high quality dairy and whips up into an ultra creamy consistency. As for the protein content, their 4% milk fat version boasts 12 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving.
Mix it up with more
Topping Ideas
The great thing about single serve pancakes is that you can mix up the toppings on each one! Here are some ideas for toppings:
- Fruit like berries, bananas, apples, or peaches
- Chocolate chips
- Nuts
- You could even make them sweet & savory with cooked sausage crumbles or bacon, shredded cheese, and green onions
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need to recreate these Cottage Cheese Blender Pancakes:
- Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese – I used a 4% cottage cheese, but 2% or fat free would work as well. I love that the cultured cottage cheese is a great stand-in for buttermilk, which is one of my favorite ingredients to guarantee fluffy, tender pancakes!
- Rolled oats – While I haven’t tested this recipe with quick oats, I think they’d probably work fine since everything’s going in the blender and you’re essentially just making oat flour anyway. Oat flour should also work.
- Protein powder – A mix of whey and casein is crucial to getting the right texture in these pancakes! Keep scrolling down for more info. If you don’t have or don’t want to use protein powder, sub it out with equal amounts of AP flour – you lose some flavor versus vanilla protein powder but the texture is very similar.
- Eggs – Eggs are the glue that hold the pancakes together. I don’t recommend subbing them out, though you could probably get away with skipping a yolk or two if you prefer.
- Maple syrup – Crucial for sweetness in these pancakes, but also moisture. You could use honey instead or brown sugar, but you may need to add a little milk if opting for the brown sugar to make up for less liquid.
- Baking powder – It may seem like a lot, but this is what makes the pancakes rise and get tender on the inside. If you want more browning on top, try two parts baking powder and 1 part baking soda instead.
- Cinnamon – Definitely don’t skip the cinnamon, it adds so much flavor!
- Vanilla – Another key to nailing the flavor, don’t skimp on the vanilla extract.
- Salt – Since the cottage cheese is already a little salty, you don’t need much, but a pinch of salt does help bring out the sweetness of these pancakes.
why it matters:
Whey vs Casein Protein
Whey and casein behave very differently in baked goods, and it’s important to use a blend of the two to get the best of both worlds for these pancake bowls. If you were to use all whey in this recipe, the pancakes would yield a rubbery texture and wouldn’t rise properly. Using casein all alone would thicken up the batter too much and dry them out. A 50/50 mix of the two brings the best of both worlds so you get a really tender baked pancake.
Some brands offer a pre-mixed whey and casein blend or even a protein powder meant specifically for baking, but I prefer to mix my own.
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Cottage Cheese Blender Pancake Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats, (120 grams)
- 1 cup Breakstone's 4% Cottage Cheese, (234 grams)
- 1 scoop vanilla whey protein, (32 grams)
- 1 scoop vanilla casein protein, (32 grams)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, (2 fl oz)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- Optional toppings: berries, bananas, chocolate chips
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Spray 4 oven-safe glass meal prep containers with non-stick cooking spray and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet (without lids). Set aside.
- Add all ingredients except toppings to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Divide evenly into the 4 prepared glass containers. Top with any desired optional toppings.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the pancakes are golden brown and do not collapse when gently pressed with your finger. Allow to cool before placing the lid on the containers.
Tips & Tricks
- Ingredient Substitutions: Read more here.
- Storage: Store with airtight lids on the containers for up to 6 days in the refrigerator.
- Reheating: Remove the lid and reheat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds before serving.
- Nutrition: Scan the barcode below or search for “Peanut Butter and Fitness Cottage Cheese Blender Pancake Bowls” to log this food in My Fitness Pal.
Nutrition Information
