Cottage Cheese Pancakes are to-die-for! They have wonderfully crispy edges and a melty center that will have you HOOKED.
Cottage Cheese Pancakes are one of the best quick breakfasts to keep in your toolbelt. You might not have the best impression of cottage cheese, but trust me, this recipe is going to change your mind about these yummy curds forever!
Cooking with cottage cheese is a habit in our home. It ups the protein content and makes for perfect dessert fillings. If you enjoy this recipe, try your hand at making our amazing cottage cheese buns.
Tips for Making Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Keep reapplying oil. Use canola oil, light olive oil or even coconut oil to fry up your pancakes. Just make sure to keep reapplying between pancakes to prevent sticking.
- Not all curds are created equal. You can use non-fat, low-fat or full-fat cottage cheese. Just make sure to purchase a cottage cheese with small curds. This style makes for the most consistent pancake batter and is the easiest to mix.
- Flour, flour, flour. Whole wheat, all-purpose or oatmeal flour will work great.
- Use a non-Stick Pan. Even though you are going to be sure to reapply cooking oil in between adding pancake batter, it is best to also use a non-stick pan.
- Cook on medium heat. Resist cranking up the heat to cook your pancakes faster! Medium-heat ensures they won’t burn and come out a perfect brown color.
- Keep it consistent. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to measure out the same sized pancakes. About ⅓ cup of batter per pancake will do.
- Keep it chunky or blend it up. It’s super tasty to hand mix your batter and get pockets of melty, cottage cheese. However, if you want the cheesy taste without the chunks, feel free to blend up the batter for a smoother texture.
How to Serve Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Serve Cottage Cheese Pancakes the way you would regular. A nice drizzle of maple syrup or warmed honey is welcome. You can also top your pancakes with fresh or stewed fruits. Just make sure you have a cup of warm coffee to wash your pancakes down with!
Make Cottage Cheese Pancake Dough in Advance
The best thing about these pancakes is the crispy edges! Make them right before serving for the best texture and results. However, if you want to prepare the batter early, go right on ahead! Refrigerate the dough in a bowl and keep the bowl covered to prevent the top from drying up.
Storing Cottage Cheese Pancakes
If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, here is how to store and reheat them:
- Refrigerating: Refrigerate leftovers for up to three days stored in an airtight container. Reheat them in the microwave or with a bit of oil in a skillet.
- Freezing: Layer pancakes in between layers of wax paper in an airtight container. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat them in a skillet with a bit of oil until crispy on the outside and melty on the inside.
Other Breakfast Recipes
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Here are some Momsdish favorites:
- Egg Bites – These low-carb breakfast bites can be customized with any filling you like and are perfect for a quick weekday breakfast.
- Donut Recipe – Because homemade is always better!
- Breakfast Quiche – Quiche is sure to impress at your next brunch gathering.
- Crazy Easy Sourdough Pancakes – Classic pancakes with a sourdough kick
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup canola oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the following order – cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, sugar, baking powder and flour. Mix in each time you add an ingredient.
- Preheat a skillet with canola oil on a medium heat. Fry the cottage cheese pancakes on each side until golden brown.
- Serve with maple syrup or jam, while they are still hot and the cheese inside is melted.
I tweaked the recipe a bit. I added rum extract instead. I also added a ¼ cup of corn meal. I didn't have baking powder. They turned out amazing.
Hi Sheri, I am impressed with your skills! Thank you so much for sharing! I am delighted to hear the recipe was a hit! Enjoy!
Great pancakes! My 1 and 4 year old gobbled them up. Added some cinnamon on top.
Question - can I freeze these?
I am so glad to hear that Lauren, Yes you can absolutely freeze them! Here's how, Layer pancakes in between layers of wax paper in an airtight container. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat them in a skillet with a bit of oil until crispy on the outside and melty on the inside.
Ended up turning these into waffles in a mini waffle iron and it turned out great. I made a few substitutes and only did half the recipe because of the amount of cottage I had left. I also mixed it in a blender and switched up the order I added the ingredients.
I replaced the flour with 60 g of quick oats (again, I halved the recipe) and started by blending the oats with the cottage cheese. I then added the eggs, vanilla and safflower oil in the place of canola oil. I blended the mixture again. Lastly, I added the baking powder and a sugar substitute made from erythritol and stevia.
I liberally prayed my non-stick waffle iron with canola oil and pulled the waffles off the iron once they had turned golden brown, but were still very soft. The last time I made cottage cheese pancakes they burned on the bottom while the top hadn't cooked at all, so I was cautious to avoid burning.
They turned out great!
Hey there! I love how you were really able to make the recipe your own! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback! Enjoy!
I originally posted a negative review, since while I was cooking them, they really weren’t turning out. But then I attempted several more and left them to fry for longer before flipping and although mine turned out a bit floppy and dense, the taste is very good and my 1 yr old and 3 yr old loved them.
Thank you so much for letting me know they ended up turning around for you, Lauren! I appreciate the honesty! Have a great day!
These didn’t turn out for me at all and I followed the recipe to a tee - but I did use avocado oil instead of canola oil. I found it took a long time for the centres of the pancakes to cook through. And if you try to check the bottoms before they’re ready, it falls apart. I was so looking forward to these because they look amazing and high protein, but I’ll never make again.
Hi Lauren, I am sorry to hear the pancakes didn't work out for you. The oil should not have had that much of an effect on them. I hope you give them another go in the future. I know it's frustrating when a recipe doesn't work out on the first try. Sometimes it takes a little work to get it just right. I appreciate your feedback.
For the nutritional information you used, what kind of cottage cheese did you use? Fat free, low fat or full fat? Also, I'm wanting to try fat free cottage cheese. Has anyone tried using FF cottage cheese and with what results? Thanks.
Hi Kevin, Thanks for the inquiry! You can use fat free cottage cheese no problem, just make sure the curds are small. That's a very important step. The results should be great no matter the fat content you decide to use in the cottage cheese.
These are soooo good! I will never go back to the pancake mix way. I used gluten free flour and I t’s perfect. The protein is an excellent way to keep everyone fuller longer. If no one likes cottage cheese than use one of the immersion blenders, they will never know…so fluffy
So glad to hear that Erica! Thank you for your feedback! Enjoy!
Hi!! These are delicious! This makes 8 servings. What is a serving 1 pancake or 2?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Monica, The amount of pancakes really depends on how big you make your pancakes. If you make them medium size then the serving will be 2 pancakes. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
I'm not sure what my issue is but I always feel like I have too much flour. Also there us a strong flour taste when done, u used whole wheat flour. May that be the reason?
Hi Irina, You may be right with using too much flour. Whole wheat flour definitely does have a more distinct taste and with that flour, you need way less than white all purpose flour.
These are delicious! I added a grated zucchini (that I squeezed the water out of) to sneak in some extra veggies. A perfect breakfast!
Hi Rebecca, That's super sneaky and smart of you! I love how you were able to make the recipe your own! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy!
These were delicious! The best gluten-free (I'm allergic to wheat), higher protein pancakes I've ever had. Mine didn't puff up as much as your photo but I blended them and they were probably a little larger. A couple puffed up when cooking but flattened when served. They were much lighter than expected - my new go-to-recipe!
Did you use gluten free flour on these? My partner has coeliac disease so I’m wondering how these will turn out with GF flour 😊
I used gluten-free all purpose flour and they turned out great.
Hi Judy, That's wonderful to hear they turned out well! Thank you so much for sharing. Enjoy!
I love these !!! I make them weekly for myself. I add a touch of milk, substitute sugar for 1 tbsp of monk fruit sugar(so much sweeter with no calories) and cinnamon. Yummmm! Husband is tempted by smell but hesitant of cottage cheese. Good. More for me! Thank you!!!!
Hi Sophie. I love that! Thank you so much for sharing. I love how you were able to really make the recipe your own. Enjoy!
I have gestational diabetes and was looking for high protein pancake recipes that satisfy carb cravings without spiking my blood sugar. I don’t prefer almond flour or whey protein (typical flour substitutes in the GD community). This recipe totally does it for me! I almost cried when I took my measurements 1-2 hours after eating (all within range). Normally I’m out of range if I even look at a pancake. Tastes amazing too. Thank you!!!
Pranita, this made my day! With restricted diets it's hard to find yummy food, so happy that you found this recipe. Thanks for your feedback!
Order of ingredient in list must be order of incorporation ffs fix this.
Hi John, great tip! Fixed it. Have a great day!
What a great recipe! Turned out fluffy and delicious. Threw in some golden raisins in there for good measure!
Hi Len- golden raisins sound like a great addition. Thank you for sharing!
Do these freeze well?
Hi Sohaila- Yes, they do. To freeze, layer pancakes in between layers of wax paper in an airtight container. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat them in a skillet with a bit of oil until crispy on the outside and melty on the inside.
Can’t remember if i already reviewed but i love these! Just made them again this morning with some leftover cottage cheese. the recipe is very forgiving if you don’t have exactly enough cottage cheese!
I do them in the blender and serve with macerated blueberries. Everyone loves them!
Hello Judy- serving them with blueberries sounds delicious. Thank you for taking a moment to leave feedback!
So good! I was just googling cottage cheese pancakes to try and use a leftover container and found this recipe. I made these pancakes and my 10 month old loved them! I also enjoyed them as well and the dog did too lol. For the human batch, I added lemon zest and a 1/4 tspn lemon extract. The dogs batch, I left them plain. It’s nice to find a recipe that the whole family enjoyed.
Hi Veronica- thank you for giving our recipe a try, lemon zest is such a yummy addition. Thank you for the feedback 🙂
So delicious! I made some adjustments based on my needs, but your recipe made the perfect base. I divided the whole recipe in half and used 3 eggs. I mixed the cheese, eggs, flour, baking powder and some salt, then divided the batter in half. For breakfast this morning, I added a tablespoon of sugar, a splash of vanilla, and 2 fat tablespoons of cornmeal to the first half aof the batter and ate those with maple syrup. For later tonight, I added black pepper, garlic powder, some grated parmesan, and 3 tablespoons of potato flakes to the other half, and I'm going to eat those with sour cream and applesauce. Oh and all of these I'm cooking in bacon grease because bacon LOL. I am already looking forward to making these again soon. Thank you!
Hello- I love how you are making these your own to suit your needs! Those sound like delicious modifications. Thank you for commenting 🙂
Update: I changed my mind and ate the second savory potatoey batch tonight with some sauteed cabbage and baby bells I needed to use up, and they were Fabulous. I might like them better than the sweet ones. Thanks again for a great recipe for my first try at cottage cheese pancakes. I am definitely hooked, as promised.
I love it! Sounds like you found a new favorite recipe 😀
Best not use canola oil at all it is highly processed using solvents to extract the oils in addition when over heated it smells like fish. and has a strong flavour.
Hey Simon- you can use coconut or avocado oil as an alternative! Enjoy!
Natalya
Is this your version of “Syrniki”, but with cottage cheese instead of farmers cheese? Just found your website and I could not find any syrniki recipe but this seems pretty close. Great website, brings back many fond memories of growing up in a Russian household with many homemade meals 🙂
Hi George- yes, this is the closest recipe to syrniki! I hope you give it a try and love it. They are a family favorite for us!
I have a young son on the football team. He loves them a d will eat a 1/2 batch in his own. What a great way to get protein into him!
I love that, Melissa! This is a great, healthy meal for kids and teens alike! My boys used to request these every single day when they were toddlers 😀
Do you think I could substitute 4 chia eggs instead? Love your content. This recipe looks lush!
Hi there- I haven't tried this substitution before so I can't advise. Please do let us know if you try, I'm sure the feedback would be helpful to others as well!
Delicious! I tried them as described, and then I did a batch adding lemon zest and lemon juice. Served with powdered sugar and a dollop of seedless raspberry spread, YUM!
Ooh that sounds delightful! Love the additions of lemon zest/juice and serving with jam. Thanks for sharing, Jennifer!
Had cottage cheese that I needed to use. This was a great way to use it... awesome pancakes. It will be a hard choice next time between pancakes or Alfredo sauce from cottage cheese.
Hello, thank you for the feedback, Visteo! I'm thrilled you found this recipe and enjoyed it. It's loved by so many people! I haven't tried alfredo sauce from cottage cheese, sounds interesting! 😀
Made these this morning and I have to say this is my new pancake recipe. Super easy and real fluffy. Next time I’ll try the savory suggestion. Thanks for the yummy recipe
You're welcome, Mindy! So glad you found this recipe and tried it out 🙂
I liked the texture. I think next time I will use Ricotta cheese for a sweeter flavor. Thanks!
Thank you for the feedback, Laura! I'm glad you have these pancakes a try!
I liked the texture. I think next time I will use Ricotta cheese to give it a sweet flavor.
These are amazing! Love the taste and texture and the power packed nutrition in every bite. Used oat flour, coconut oil, and 1/4 cup ricotta as I only had 1 1/4 cottage cheese. They are my new favorite pancake.
Jojo, thats a great combo. I need to try your version. When our boys were babies, this was my go to daily. It would be fun to switch it up!
I actually made these a bit more savory, omitting the vanilla and sugar and adding ba bit of salt, garlic powder, and chopped green onions. My family loved them with bacon and some fresh tomatoes from the garden as a super easy summer dinner. Thank you for the inspiration!
Wow, I love the savory variation you came up with, Emile! Thanks for sharing 🙂