This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.
Here, you’ll find my tested tips that ensure your pumpkin pancakes with cottage cheese cook through and become a delicious, high-protein breakfast.

High-Protein Cottage Cheese Pumpkin Pancakes
These pumpkin pancakes made with cottage cheese have a whopping 20g of protein per serving and have been fueling my breakfasts for a few months now -I’m a year-round pumpkin kind of gal.
After testing these and my cottage cheese banana pancakes, I was hooked on how easy they were to make in the blender. Now, I always cook a batch to enjoy and save the extras for later-and I'm pretty sure you will, too!
How Much Protein Per Serving
This recipe gives you 20g of protein per serving, which means you can stack 3-4 pancakes and have a satiating breakfast that also keeps you full.
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: old-fashioned rolled oats are heartier and yield a better pancake (IMO). If you use quick oats, add 3 additional tablespoons to the blender.
- Cottage cheese: I’ve tested this recipe with 4% and 1% milkfat. The size of the curd doesn’t matter because it will be blended.
- Pumpkin: canned pumpkin, unsweetened.
- Egg: I do not recommend omitting the eggs; instead, use a commercial egg replacer or flax egg if you need to make a swap.
- Vanilla extract: a little enhances the pancake batter flavor. Can be omitted if you’re out.
- Baking powder: helps give the pancakes a fluffier texture.
- Pumpkin spice: you can use cinnamon instead.
How to Make Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Pancakes
My biggest challenge was getting the texture just right-so here are some tips for making these great:
- Make the batter inside a blender by adding the ingredients in the order listed (from wet to dry). Blend for a full minute until it’s smooth and very thick.
- Cook the pancakes on a greased, non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat. The batter won’t pour easily, so I recommend using a spoon or measuring scoop to spread it on the pan. Cook the first side for 2 minutes.
- Flip them over and cook them for 2 full minutes on the other side. Avoid pressing them with a spatula after flipping; you’ll end up with dense pancakes.
- Serve them warm immediately with pancake syrup or your favorite toppings.
What the Batter Looks Like
With both pumpkin and cottage cheese in the pancake batter, you’d think it would be runny… but no. It’s actually very thick because of the oats.

Success Tips for Perfect Protein Pumpkin Pancakes
Here’s what you can do to avoid some pancake fails:
Use the back of the scoop or spoon to spread the batter onto the pan as much as you can. Once the pancakes start lifting up, stop.
These pancakes will take a full 2 minutes per side to cook; wait to flip until the sides are defined and bubbles form on top.
To avoid burning, cook these pancakes on medium heat. If the heat is too low, they will take a while, and you won’t have golden edges.

Best Toppings
You can keep it simple by adding a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of pancake syrup or use your delicious stack as the foundation for nut butters, chopped walnuts, or vanilla Greek yogurt for extra protein.
Storing & Reheating Leftovers
This recipe yields 2 servings, about 6 to 8 pancakes. Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, reheating them in the microwave or toaster. Their texture does change once they cool.
Cottage Cheese Pumpkin Pancakes (20g protein)

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.
Serve:
- Plate a few pancakes on a plate and top them with your favorite toppings and syrups.









Sonja says
Ich würde dieses Rezept gerne ausprobieren!
Laura Fuentes says
Danke Schön!
Kim says
the recipe says it makes two but the nutritional info is listed as if there are 4. Have to count carbs for a type 1 diabetic so just curious as to the accuracy. Thanks in advance
Laura says
Happy to clarify, this recipe makes 2 servings of about 4 pancakes each. So The nutrition information listed is for essentially half the batter, assuming you will get 8 smallish pancakes out of the batter. We used low-fat cottage cheese in the calculation.
Mcottone2@aol.com says
So yummy! My batter came out a bit thick so I did add a splash of milk. Did not have pumpkin spice so I made my own blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. I love the punch of protein in this recipe. Always looking for healthy recipes and this one fits the bill. The family loved them!
Laura Fuentes says
Thank you for sharing how much you enjoyed these!
Melissa says
So So Yummy! My batter was a bit think so I did add a splash of milk. I didn’t have pumpkin spice so I made my own blend of cloves, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Love the protein content in this recipe. The family loved them!
Laura Fuentes says
Thank you for sharing how much you enjoyed them!
Daisy says
adding cottage cheese to pancake butter is an amazing idea! These pancakes are tasty and fluffy, you don’t notice the cottage cheese at all.
Kelly says
These were so yummy. I see some people commented that the batter was really thick. I ended up adding 6 tablespoons of egg white for extra protein and worked out great! Thanks for this recipe!