Cottage Cheese Pumpkin Pancakes (20g Protein)

Recipe

These pumpkin cottage cheese pancakes are thick, fluffy, and warmly spiced with 20g of protein per serving. Everything mixes in the blender for an easy high-protein breakfast.

These pumpkin pancakes are thick, fluffy, warmly spiced, and packed with 20g of protein per serving. The blender turns the cottage cheese smooth in the batter so it cooks seamlessly into a delicious high-protein breakfast.

tall fluffy stack of pumpkin pancakes made with cottage cheese on a plate topped with a little whipped cream and pancake syrup

High-Protein Cottage Cheese Pumpkin Pancakes

Laura fuentes holding a skillet of food standing in front of a blue door

During marathon training, I make a lot of variations of my popular protein pancakes to keep breakfast interesting. This is my pumpkin-season version: 20g of protein per serving (about 3-4 pancakes), which is filling enough to fuel my morning. Since I’m a year-round pumpkin kind of gal, I make these long after fall is over.

Ingredients

The exact amounts for these are in the recipe card below, but before swapping anything, here's what I've tested and why it works.

Old-fashioned oats: Give the pancakes their hearty, fluffy texture. Quick oats also work.
Cottage cheese: Adds protein and moisture. Any curd size works since it gets blended.
Pumpkin: Use plain, unsweetened canned pumpkin.
Eggs: Bind the batter so don’t omit them. Use a substitute like a commercial egg replacer or flax eggs instead.
Vanilla extract: Adds flavor but can be omitted.
Baking powder: Helps the pancakes rise and stay fluffy.
Pumpkin spice: Adds the warm pumpkin flavor. Cinnamon

How to Make Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Make the batter in a blender.
Add the ingredients in the order listed (from wet to dry) and blend until the batter is smooth. This eliminates the cottage cheese curds and gives your pancakes the best texture.

side by side image with a blender jar on left with oats, eggs, pumpkin, cottage cheese and on the right, blended to a thick cottage cheese pumpkin batter

Cook the pancakes.
The batter is thick, so use the back of the scoop to spread it on a greased non-stick surface. They’ll need to cook about 2 minutes per side.
Serve and add toppings.
Serve them warm, topped with pancake syrup, or use your delicious stack as the foundation for nut butters, chopped walnuts, or vanilla Greek yogurt for extra protein.

What the Batter Looks Like

With both pumpkin and cottage cheese, you’d think the batter would be runny, but the oats make it surprisingly thick. The blender gets it nice and smooth, so the finished pancakes still look and feel like the pancakes you’re used to.

Success Tips for Perfect Protein Pumpkin Pancakes

Can I use quick oats instead of old-fashioned oats?

Yes, but old-fashioned rolled oats give these pancakes the best texture. If using quick oats, add 3 additional tablespoons to the blender to get the same thick batter.

Why is my pumpkin cottage cheese pancake batter so thick?

The oats absorb a lot of moisture, so this batter should be very thick and won’t pour like traditional pancake batter. Use the back of a measuring scoop to spread it on the pan so the pancakes cook through. Don’t add liquid to thin it out.

Why are my pumpkin pancakes dense?

To avoid dense pancakes, don’t press down on them with your spatula after flipping, because that pushes the air out of the pockets that form during cooking and make them fluffy.

Why are my pancakes wet in the middle or undercooked?

The batter is thick and needs to be spread out in the pan so the centers can cook through. Keep the heat at medium and give them the full 2 minutes per side. If the heat is too low, they will take a while, and you won’t have golden edges. If it’s too high, you’ll flip them too soon because the outsides brown quickly. In that case, reduce the heat and rinse the pan between batches. rinsing a hot pan under water to cool it down between pancake batches

How do I store and reheat pumpkin protein pancakes?

This recipe yields 2 servings, about 6 to 8 pancakes. Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the microwave or toaster. The texture changes slightly once they’re refrigerated, so I think they’re best freshly cooked or within a day or two.

tall fluffy stack of pumpkin pancakes made with cottage cheese on a plate topped with pancake syrup

More Protein Pancakes

Cottage Cheese Pumpkin Pancakes (20g protein)

Servings: 2

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 15

These pumpkin cottage cheese pancakes are thick, fluffy, and warmly spiced with 20g of protein per serving. Everything mixes in the blender for an easy high-protein breakfast.

4.95 from 17 votes

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Watch how it’s made:

Ingredients

½ cup cottage cheese
½ cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla, optional
2 teaspoons baking powder, aluminum free
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1 cup old-fashioned oats

Instructions

Prep:

Add the following ingredients to a blender in the order listed: cottage cheese, pumpkin, egg, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon, and oats. Blend for a full minute on high speed, until the batter is smooth. This is a very thick batter, don't try to add liquid.

Cook:

Heat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, grease, spray, or melt butter on the hot surface. Immediately, pour ¼ cup of batter per pancake onto the greased pan. I've found that using a measuring scoop or soup spoon works best, then using the back of it to spread it out on the pan.
Cook the pancakes for 2 minutes until the edges begin to look defined and some bubbles form. Flip them over and cook for two more minutes on the other side. Flip them only once, and don't use the spatula to press them down; you'll end up with dense pancakes.