Homemade protein pancakes! Made with super simple ingredients, no added sugar or sweetener, protein-packed, gluten-free, and SO GOOD! Plus, they have a light and fluffy texture and totally hit the spot for a pancake craving. Can you tell I’m excited?
We are huge fans of pancakes in our house. I love them on the weekend or just as a post-workout breakfast. Let’s be honest, they are just a blank canvas for all your favorite toppings.
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My favorite thing about this recipe is that you can use whey protein powder or a plant-based protein powder. I took a poll on Instagram, and about 40% of people said they use whey, and 40% use plant-based.
I know how frustrating it is to try protein powder recipes and for them not to come out, as it’s a waste of food and expensive protein powder. So I tested them both ways, and you only have to tweak the liquid slightly due to their different consistencies. And both ways are equally delicious!
Why you’ll love this protein pancake recipe
- made with healthy and whole ingredients you probably already have at home
- 37 grams of protein! – when I say protein pancakes, I mean protein pancakes! The amount will vary depending on the protein you are using (I am using whey), but using a plant-based protein will give you 34 grams of protein.
- you can use whey protein or a plant-based protein powder!
- macro-friendly and balanced – a good ratio of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber for balanced blood sugar and to avoid those spikes and crashes that a sweet breakfast can do.
- perfect for post-workout – while I enjoy these on any day, I especially love them post-workout due to the almost 2:1 carb to protein ratio and with not too much fat, making them easy to digest and helping to maximize protein and glycogen synthesis.
Are protein pancakes healthy?
Yes, protein pancakes can be a great addition to anyone’s diet. Traditional pancakes can be high in carbs and sugar, spiking your blood sugar and leaving you hungry shortly after. Adding protein to pancakes will help fill you up, keep you full, and make sure it doesn’t spike your blood sugar for balanced energy levels.
High protein pancakes ingredients
- rolled oats
- protein powder – whey or plant-based works for this protein pancake recipe!
- banana – you can’t taste any banana flavor though
- egg
- milk
- coconut flour
- cinnamon
- baking powder
- salt
- oil or butter/ghee, for cooking
How to make protein pancakes
- Make the oat flour. Add rolled oats to your blender and blend for 10-15 seconds until it is broken down into a flour-like consistency.
- Combine your dry ingredients. Add oat flour, protein powder, coconut flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to a small bowl and mix well to combine.
- Mix your wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, mash your bananas until smooth. Add your egg and milk and mix well to combine. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and whisk until ingredients are combined. Try not to overmix. The batter consistency should be pretty thick. Let pancake batter sit for 5 minutes.
- Cook. Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Once hot, add cooking fat and let it warm up. Using a 1/4 cup as a scoop, form into equal-sized pancakes. I get about 5 (you may need to cook in batches depending on how big your pan is). Cook for 3-4 minutes until small bubbles start to form on the outside. There won’t be a lot of bubbles. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Enjoy! Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Can I make protein pancakes in the blender?
I tried this recipe in a blender, and while it does work, I find it overmixes the batter slightly and leaves you with a flatter and chewier pancake. Mixing it by hand until the wet and dry ingredients are combined will give you a light and fluffy pancake.
If you want to try them in the blender, blend your oats until flour forms. Then add everything else and blend until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Follow the rest of the instructions as written.
Make them gluten-free
Rolled oats are naturally gluten-free, but they can be one of the most cross-contaminated products. To ensure you make gluten-free pancakes, look for certified gluten-free oats.
Can I use another protein powder?
YES! I love this recipe so much because either whey protein powder or plant-based protein powder will work. You will have to adjust the recipe ever so slightly, but both outcomes are delicious.
- whey protein – use 1/4 cup protein powder (30 grams) and 1/4 cup milk. Using whey will give you a slightly dryer pancake. I used this whey protein.
- plant-based protein – use 3 tablespoons protein powder (30 grams) and 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon milk. This will be a little moister, but still a fluffy texture! I used this vegan protein powder.
- collagen – I have not tried this recipe with collagen, and I’m not sure it will work since collagen dissolves so easily. The protein powder helps absorb some of the liquid in the recipe.
All about the toppings
What are pancakes without some solid toppings?! Feel free to get creative, but here are some of my favorite toppings:
- maple syrup
- greek yogurt
- nut butter – I love peanut butter or cashew butter
- fresh fruit – strawberries, blueberries, or sliced bananas
- butter
- cinnamon
Storing and reheating
- refrigerator – store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Pancakes should stay fresh for 4 days.
- freezer – allow them to cool completely. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet in a single layer and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours until frozen. Then place in a storage bag for up to 3 months. Freezing them in a single layer allows them not to stick together when you place them in a bag/container.
- reheating – when you are ready to heat them, pop them in the microwave, toaster, or toaster oven.
Substitutions and additions
- rolled oats – if you don’t have a blender, you can use store-bought oat flour. I have not tried this, but it should work the same with using 50 grams. Make sure to use certified gluten-free oats if needed.
- protein powder – whey or plant-based works for this protein pancake recipe! See the section above for how to make tweaks when using one or the other. You can use any flavor of protein powder as well.
- coconut flour – this helps absorb a little of the liquid. If you don’t have it, you can add a tablespoon or two more oats (before you grind them).
- banana – if you can’t have bananas, mashed sweet potato or canned pumpkin should work. You can’t taste the banana in this recipe.
- egg – I have not tried this, but egg white should work instead of a whole egg. You will need 2 tablespoons of egg whites. I have not tried to use a flax egg, but it might work.
- milk – I used whole milk, but any kind of milk should work (dairy or dairy-free). Almond milk or cashew milk would be good substitutes. Having a little fat in your liquid helps keep the pancakes tender and moist.
Here are some additions and mix-ins you can add to your pancakes as well:
- chocolate chips
- vanilla extract
- sliced bananas for bananaprotein pancakes
- berries
- spices – nutmeg, cloves, or pumpkin pie spice
- cacao or cocoa powder – for extra chocolate!
More high-protein breakfast recipes
- chocolate protein smoothie
- protein french toast
- protein overnight oats
- cottage cheese bowls (2 ways)
- protein waffles
- yogurt bowl
If you love quick and easy meals and want to learn how to build a balanced plate, check out our FREE How to Build a Balanced Plate Guide!
Protein Pancakes
equipment
ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (50 grams)
- 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder (30 grams)* (see notes based on protein powder used)
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 small-medium ripe banana (50 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup milk * (see notes based on protein powder used)
- oil or butter for cooking
- toppings: maple syrup, banana, berries, chocolate chips, nut butter…
instructions
- Make the oat flour. Add rolled oats to your blender and blend for 10-15 seconds until it is broken down into a flour-like consistency.
- Combine your dry ingredients. Add oat flour, protein powder, coconut flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to a small bowl and mix well to combine.
- Mix your wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, mash your bananas until smooth. Add your egg and milk and mix well to combine. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and whisk until ingredients are combined. Try not to overmix. The batter consistency should be pretty thick. Let pancake batter sit for 5 minutes.
- Cook. Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Once hot, add cooking fat and let it warm up. Using a 1/4 cup as a scoop, form into equal-sized pancakes. I get about 5 (you may need to cook in batches depending on how big your pan is). Cook for 3-4 minutes until small bubbles start to form on the outside. There won't be a lot of bubbles. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Enjoy! Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
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video
notes
- whey protein – use 1/4 cup protein powder (30 grams) and 1/4 cup milk. Using whey will give you a slightly dryer pancake. I used this whey protein.
- plant-based protein – use 3 tablespoons protein powder (30 grams) and 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon milk. This will be a little moister, but still fluffy! I used this plant-based protein.
nutrition
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These were great! Lighter and fluffier than Kodiak cakes and healthier by far I’m sure. We topped with some Greek yogurt, sliced banana, pecans and raisins and my whole family thought they were delicious.
Those toppings sound so good! Happy to hear they were a hit with everyone. Thanks for trying them, Sirena!
Would you recommend a unflavored protiend power or a flavored one, I have chocolate protien power but most people I see use vanilla for cooking
I like using a flavored one as it adds a little sweetness to them. I have made them with chocolate protein before and they are delicious. I hope you enjoy, Connor!
This recipe is great to get some protein in. I compared to other recipes that used Oatmeal flour. You do really need to get the flour to be a nice fine consistency. I did one using my food processor to grind down the rolled oats and then I measure the ground oats – it comes to about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 for oat flour – so I used 1 3/4 oat flour that I bought from the store already ground for my second recipe which was using this recipe. It turned out great using some vanilla flavored whey isolate protein. One thing though, if you eat 3-4 pancakes, it may give you gas from a lot of protein being consumed. I also added a 1/4 TBSP of Erythritol mix for a little touch of sweetness (I made 4 servings, so it was 1 TBSP of Erythritol mix from Truvia which combines Erythritol and Stevia). Definitely will use this for pancakes from now on – maybe try plant protein next time. The people that got fed also thumbs up for the pancake.
Happy to hear everyone enjoyed them that tried them! The oat flour is a good tip too. Thanks, Momo!
Very good for protein pancakes! I used half casein/half whey and replaced the coconut flour with PB2 (essentially peanut flour) for more protein. Because of this I did end up needing a tad more milk but the pancakes came out nice and soft, not at all dry.
Banana flavor was barely there and I largely tasted the protein powder (which is good).
One more note: I added a packet of splenda and I found it was the perfect sweetness. If you prefer your pancakes very sweet like me, I would recommend adding a little bit of sweetner.
Overall a very good base recipe. Will be using again… next time I may add real peanut butter.
So glad they turned out so well Leah and love those suggestions for others! Thanks for trying them!
Hey, is it 37g for one pancake or the whole batch?
The whole batch! Hope that helps!
Great flavor, just really dense.
Glad you enjoyed the flavor! I’m not sure what protein powder you used, but that could come into play with the texture. Thanks, Debi!
These are great. I find that putting all dry ingredients into blender (oats first) and grinding til oats are coarse results in a smoother batter. I don’t use coconut flour but add 1T flaxseed meal for a nice texture.
So glad you enjoyed them, Sydnie! Thanks for trying them!
These are great nutritionally.
Would some fresh berries be ok added in just before frying?
Yes, you can add berries to the batter before you cook them! It would be delicious!