Pancakes are one of life’s little gifts in the morning. They’re fluffy and fun and delicious but more often than not, after eating them, I initially feel overly stuffed only to feel hungry less than 2 hours later. I know this is likely because of a lack of fiber, protein and fat in traditional pancakes and while regular pancakes are wonderful and fantastic to eat when a craving hits, when it comes to pancakes I consume in my day-to-day life, I’d prefer them to pack a little more of a nutritional punch. And that’s where these bad boys come in.
Helloooo banana bread protein pancakes!
These banana bread protein pancakes are a delicious, healthy and filling breakfast that feels like a special treat, especially if you take the time (it’s not much!) to make them on a busy weekday morning. And a big-time bonus: They were baby and toddler-approved in our house and one of all of our boys’ first favorite foods. I cannot tell you how many batches of these banana bread protein pancakes I made for our boys when they were younger. Thankfully the pancakes continue to be a recipe our boys request now that they’re (almost) all technically big kids and have stronger opinions about what they do and do not like. Banana bread protein pancakes = Like!
If you’d like to give this recipe a try, here’s everything you need to make a batch of banana bread protein pancakes in your house:
- Old Fashioned Oats: These essentially become your “flour” but with more fiber and staying power.
- Banana: The perfect touch of natural sweetness.
- Egg: The nutrient-dense powerhouse that also serves to keep this recipe together
- Cottage Cheese: The ingredient we can thank for the protein in this recipe! And if you hate cottage cheese, you cannot tell it’s in these pancakes, I promise!
- Cinnamon: Adds flavor and makes the pancakes smell amazing!
As written, the below recipe makes a single serving of banana bread protein pancakes but it’s easy enough to double or triple to feed more people.
If you decide to give these banana bread protein pancakes a try, I really hope you enjoy them as much as we do in our house!
Banana Bread Protein Pancakes
PrintBanana Bread Protein Pancakes
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Description
Made with banana, oats, cottage cheese, egg and cinnamon, banana bread protein pancakes are an easy, kid-friendly recipe packed with protein — no protein powder required!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 banana, mashed
- 1/4 cup cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Spray pan with cooking spray and heat to a medium heat
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend with an immersion blender until batter is relatively smooth and all ingredients are fully mixed
- Pour batter onto the warm pan to form four medium-sized pancakes
- Allow to cook until edges start to harden, about three minutes
- Flip pancakes and allow to cook until batter is no longer runny, about two more minutes
- Top with syrup and enjoy
Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance says
Haha I’m guilty of occasionally using the word “annihilated” when eating certain foods. Can you blame me?
Julie @ Shining From Within says
Just wanted to stop in and say I recently started reading your blog and love it! You keep is so real 🙂
peanutbutterfingers says
thanks so much to a fellow julie! 😀
Khushboo says
Yummm I love cottage cheese pancakes sans the banana so can only imagine how epic these taste! Something about dairy (yogurt/cottage cheese) that makes pancakes so fluffy!
Chelsea says
Weve had leather couches almost as long as we have had our dog and he jumps all over them and nothing has happened yet!
peanutbutterfingers says
phew! that’s great to hear!
Sweet and Savvy says
Wow! I need to give these a shot..sounds great!
Jordan @ food, sweat, and beers says
PREPARE FOR TOTAL PROTEIN PANCAKE ANNIHILATION!!
But for realzies: now that the beau (who’s deathly allergic to bananas… I know, right?!) is off to school, I’ve been going bananas for…. well…. bananas. Thanks for addressing my paralyzing fear of the cottage cheese, though.
(ps that last picture of Sadie looks like she’s ready to annihilate SOMETHING!)
peanutbutterfingers says
was that a reference to bring it on? because if it was, i may love you.
Jordan @ food, sweat, and beers says
Duh (I can see Sparky Polastri eating these pancakes with his spirit fingers.)
Briana says
Hey Julie! I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and this is the first time I’ve commented (I’ve always been a little intimidated). Just wanted to say I LOVE your blog! Your exercises and recipes are an inspiration to me, and somehow you read my mind because pancakes sound PERFECT right now, haha!
Michelle says
Our vizsla is the same way! We just bought a new leather couch a couple of weeks ago. When we were shopping I used my nail to scratch as hard as I could to test the couches out. It was actually a sales guy that told me to do that, so I didn’t feel TOO bad when I left scratch marks on a couple of the couches. Oops!
Meredith @ food, shoes, and booze says
I always love the Sadie pictures 🙂 that workout looks awesome… i’m pretty sure my arms would have no feeling at the end. or half way through it.
Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife says
Oh WOW-this does sound amazing! I think I have a must-try recipe for this weekend now–thanks 🙂
I am such a fan of push-ups at the end of a workout, makes me feel so strong!
Jill K says
You read my breakfast mind this morning! I was wanting an easy recipie for banana pancakes, and I am terrified of cottage cheese, but it seems that shouldn’t be a problem! Thanks!!
Allie Q (Fit Geek) says
I’m a fan of cottage cheese too! I didn’t realize that it was common for people to not like it.
Allie Q (Fit Geek) says
errr. This was supposed to be for the comment below. Sorry lol.
Claire @ Live and Love to Eat says
I love cottage cheese – I haven’t added it to pancakes yet since I ate it all on it’s own and ran out!
Lindsay @ biking before bed says
Another delicious looking protein pancake recipe. I’m not a cottage cheese lover… But I’m going to try these out! I’m sure Sadie not letting the delivery guy pet her was her way of protesting him showing up late:)
Michelle Hunt (PeachyPalate) says
They look amazing! I will have to try and make a veganified version! 🙂
Kelly says
Our couch is a distressed leather couch so any scratches that may accidently get on it blend right in. But we actually have a leather oil that we use on it and it buffs a lot of stuff out…you’d be surprised.
Glad Sadie (oh and you and Ryan) now have a place to chill and relax. 🙂
Becky @ Fit Chick on the Fly says
YAY for new furniture!
&
YAY for new funny Sadie pictures!
Amy says
Julie, I would love to see what your house looks like when you are done decorating all of the rooms. Maybe a house tour on the blog? lol Good for a blog post!
peanutbutterfingers says
yes, definitely! we have a long way to go until the whole house is ready to be unveiled, but i may do room-by-room posts!
Hope says
Haha! I love the captions on Sadie’s pictures! She is so cute. My family dog is like that. He loves to sit on the sofa especially if a blanket or pillow is near. He will plant himself either next to it or right on top of it. Spoiled dog he is! 😉
Those pancakes look amazing! I’m going to have to try them this weekend since I have all the ingredients!
Lindsey says
those look/sound amazzzzing!!!
Ali @ Ali Runs says
Sadie sounds exactly like my dog. She tries to climb up on everything but she does it in a sneaky manner so she doesn’t get caught. It’s too funny! 🙂
LizAshlee says
The pancakes sound delicious..perfect for a Friday morning!:)
Tina says
Hi!
i will be making these pancakes this weekend:) Also, wanted to say that I love how you post your strength training workouts on here. I followed the upper body one from earlier this week this morning and my arms are so fatigued!! I could hardly lift them up to put my mascara on this am!! I love the strength train, but have been slacking for the past few months and you are helping me get back into it! Thanks!!
peanutbutterfingers says
hooray for strength training!!
Anna @ Food Fitness and Frolicking says
How do you come up with such great recipes all the time? 🙂
This is amazing! And for a college student like me, it’s just as fast as box mix and the ingredients are super cheap. Thanks!
peanutbutterfingers says
i do a LOT of experimenting with many, many failures. 🙂
Holly @ The Runny Egg says
The pancakes look delicious — too bad they just do not fill me up!
Nicole says
The blanket on the couch is familiar! Every week, I wash the blanket and the dog gets very upset until the blanket is back where it belongs. Our furniture is microfiber and has stood up well. Your leather will be fine!
The Kidless Kronicles
Wag More, Bark….
Taylor @ Crumbs Don't Count says
Those pancakes look phenomenal!
We actually have a leather couch, and a dog that runs at a dead sprint and LEAPS up on the couch while doing “hyper laps”…so far no scratches…**knock on wood**
Kristin says
Oh my gosh, I cannot wait to try these! Going to the store now to get cottage cheese…YUM!
Liz says
Hey Julie! I cant wait to try these! Do you know of another good substitute for the cottage cheese? Thanks!
peanutbutterfingers says
i think greek yogurt might also work well!
April says
1) We have leather couches and a dog who likes to jump and play on them and they have stayed in tact for years now, so I think that your couches will be fine 🙂
2) I’ve tried making pancakes before with a similar recipe that used cottage cheese and oatmeal but mine looked nothing like yours – they looked like blobs of mush 🙁 Any advice?
peanutbutterfingers says
up the amount of oats!
Gen says
Those pancakes look amazing!
Kelly says
I’m not a usual commenter but I just had to comment today to say I loved this post! This was a great way to start my day by giggling to myself about Sadie’s musings… 🙂
Emmarie @ BananasAnd Beer says
Does the immersion blender break down the oats? Or do they stay in tact?
peanutbutterfingers says
it breaks them down. not completely, but the batter is relatively smooth.
Jessy (squeezetheday) says
You can start by blending cottage cheese first and then add the rest of the ingredients. That’s how I do it, so there are no lumps. 🙂
Jessy (squeezetheday) says
Oh, but I forgot to add that I always use a regular blender, not the imersion one.
whitney says
Sadie!!! I love the dog photo’s. And pancakes!
Whitney
Kaycee says
lol @ the bring it on reference!! loves me some sparky polastri 🙂 so glad you posted up this recipe cuz i just so happen to have one disgustingly ripe banana begging to be used!
Jenny @ Fitness Health and Food says
YUM! I try to limit dairy so I’m going to try this with protein powder instead of cottage cheese 🙂
Cat @Breakfast to Bed says
Why do I want to slather those puppies in nutella so bad? Annnnnnd this is why I’m fat.
peanutbutterfingers says
that sounds amazing to me, too!
Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie says
Now I don’t know which pancakes to make for my boyfriend tomorrow morning! I guess I’ll go with the banana bread, I have months and months to make the pumpkin ones! ;p
Jessica @ Sushi and Sit-Ups says
Ugh I started doing push-ups again last night and today my arms are screaming! We bought a new leather couch at the beginning of this year and my dog will crawl up on it during the day when we’re not home, and we haven’t seen a scuff yet!
Elizabeth says
julie–how do you think yogurt would sub in for cottage cheese? I’m thinking of trying with plain yogurt. Also were the pork chops lean/boneless? e
peanutbutterfingers says
i think GREEK yogurt might work as a substitute b/c it’s thicker and the pork chops were both lean and boneless, but you can use the recipe for any kind of pork chops!
Mallory @ It's Only Life says
those pancakes look amazing, and definitely something I’ll be trying out tomorrow morning for saturday breakfast 🙂 Thanks, Julie!
Quick question- once I tried making pancakes without a thickening agent, like baking soda/powder, and it did not go well. Do you think I should add some or were these fairly easy to flip?
peanutbutterfingers says
these flipped really easily! you can always add a tsp. or so if you think it would help though!
Amy says
great workout! I love protein pancakes..i definitely need to incorporate cottage cheese in mine!
Caree @ Fit-Mama says
good to know about not being able to taste the cottage cheese, before I read that part I was wondering what other cheese I could substitute since the thought of cottage cheese grosses me out!
Morgan says
I wonder if I could use my magic bullet instead of an immersion blender…anyone tried it? Thoughts?
peanutbutterfingers says
someone said they made my pumpkin pancakes in a real blender this week! they said they just needed to add a little more liquid. it’s worth a shot!
Amber K says
I always use my magic bullet to blend, works well! Especially if you want to use yogurt instead of cottage cheese.
peanutbutterfingers says
thanks for the insight, amber! great to know!
Lee @ Fit Foodie Finds says
solid morning. workout followed by pancakes…it’s gonne be a good weekend!
Faith @ For the Health of It says
I think the couch will be okay – mine is leather and Haley refuses to lay on the floor while I’m gone, so she crawls all over that poor thing and after 6 months there’s not a scratch in sight!
Kim says
I’m in your camp. Leather with dogs!! My next couch,hopefully sooner than later, will for sure be leather!!!
Ash @ Good Taste Healthy Me says
What a great workout! Those push-ups would whoop my ass!
Karen says
A few weeks ago, I made biscuits and sausage gravy, and because I didn’t have whole milk, only skim, I beefed the gravy up with cottage cheese (blended first), and it did a great job. So I can see how it would work for pancakes. They look delicious.
Jessy (squeezetheday) says
These sound perfect! I use the same basic recipe for pancakes (got it through Susan @ TGBA) and with the addition of banana they are probably to die for! <3
Lauren @ What Lauren Likes says
Yum! looks fab 🙂