Protein Pancakes
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These thick and fluffy protein pancakes make a healthy and wholesome breakfast. No flour, high fiber, and ready in minutes.
Protein-packed breakfasts are a staple in my household. They keep me fuller for longer and much more energized than a standard piece of toast or cereal.
Protein oatmeal, protein overnight oats, and protein bagels can get a little repetitive, so to change things up, I treat my family to a stack of fluffy, flourless protein pancakes.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Super easy. These pancakes are so easy to prepare. Without waiting and resting times or making buttermilk, you can make these pancakes in under 10 minutes.
- Over 46 grams of protein. Like protein waffles, oats, eggs, yogurt, and protein powder turn simple pancakes into protein-packed ones.
- Customizable. The pancake batter is a blank canvas for all your favorite fix-ins. Chocolate chips, nuts, fruit, or even chopped candy.
- Perfect texture. Protein pancakes get a bad rap for being dense and dry. But like my banana protein pancakes, these are ultra thick and fluffy.
Ingredients Needed
As mentioned earlier, oats, protein powder, and a few other high-protein staples make the base of this recipe. Here is what you’ll need:
- Oats. I prefer using old-fashioned or rolled oats for this recipe. Steel-cut oats have a slightly tough texture and won’t break down in the batter.
- Baking powder. To give the pancakes some rise and fluffiness.
- Protein powder. I prefer using whey protein powder or casein protein powder for these pancakes, but you can also use plant-based pea protein powders. In my experience, plant-based protein powder results in denser pancakes.
- Eggs. You’ll need three small room-temperature eggs. You can swap out one egg with two egg whites for an extra boost of protein. Not a fan of eggs? Try using an egg substitute instead.
- Greek yogurt. It moistens the pancakes, increases protein, and makes the batter richer. If you’d like to make these pancakes dairy-free, use any dairy-free yogurt.
- Vanilla extract. To flavor the batter.
- Maple syrup. To sweeten the pancakes and help keep the batter smooth.
- Coconut oil. A little added fat to the batter gives some stability and also prevents sticking.
How to make protein pancakes
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Make the batter. Blend oats in a blender for a minute until it turns into flour, and then blend again after adding baking powder, protein powder, Greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract, coconut oil, and maple syrup.
Step 2- cook the pancakes. Heat a nonstick skillet at medium heat, apply oil, or coat it with cooking spray. Pour approximately 1/4th cup of the batter on the oiled pan and cook it on one side till you see bubbles on the top. Then flip the pancakes and cook them on the other side for a minute
Recipe tips and variations
- Cover the pan. My #1 trick for ultra-fluffy pancakes. Covering the pan as the pancakes cook traps the heat in which results in them puffing up considerably.
- Taste the protein powder before using it. Because we aren’t adding any specific flavorings or mix-ins, you MUST like the flavor of your protein powder. If not, you’ll be disappointed.
- Avoid overmixing the batter. Once everything is combined, stop blending the batter. Like with any kind of batter, the more you mix, the more dense it will be.
- Adjust the consistency. If the batter appears too thick, feel free to add a few spoonfuls of milk for a pourable consistency.
- Add even more protein by doubling the protein powder used. You’ll need to make some adjustments with the liquid ingredients to compensate (I suggest adding an extra 1/4 cup of milk then more as needed).
- Don’t use high heat. I always recommend medium or medium-high heat for pancakes. It’s just slightly more time-consuming, but it prevents any chance of burning the base of them.
- Add mix-ins. This pancake batter is plain and simple but you can jazz it up with some fun additions like chocolate chips, sliced strawberries, raspberries, or any fresh berries of choice.
How to store leftovers
To store. These pancakes keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
To freeze. Place the pancakes in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to two months.
Reheat. Heat the pancakes in the microwave for 10-20 seconds or toaster oven and enjoy warm.
More recipes with protein powder
- Protein pudding– Just 3 ingredients and healthy enough for breakfast!
- Protein cheesecake– I LOVE this cheesecake because it’s high protein WITHOUT protein powder.
- Protein brownies– Flourless, fudgy, and ready in 20 minutes.
- Protein coffee– Get your protein and caffeine fix in one.
- Protein muffins– Bakery style and super fluffy.
- Protein cinnamon rolls– fluffy, gooey, and SO easy.
Easiest Protein Pancakes
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon rolled oats
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup protein powder
- 3 small eggs
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Blend the oats in a blender or food processor until it reaches a flour texture. Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Add some oil to a non-stick skillet and place it over medium-high heat.
- Drop ¼ cup portions of the batter onto the skillet. Cook the pancakes until the bubbles appear on the surface. Lift and flip the pancake and cook for another minute.
- Repeat the process until all the pancakes are cooked.
Excellent 👌🏼 tried a few different recipes but all just ‘meh’. These were so tasty……thanks 😊
I love to hear that, Louise- I’m so glad you were a fan of these ones 🙂
I had to add a little bit of milk to this as the batter was too thick to pour out of the blender.
Very tasty!
Thanks for the feedback, Cindy! Yes, that can sometimes happen depending on the protein powder or oats, but a splash of liquid does help 🙂
The best healthy protein pancakes! Thank you for this recipe!
You are so welcome, Debbie- thanks so much for making these pancakes 🙂
Hi Arman,
Appreciate you – This looks great (and the reviews are awesome). I plan. on giving them a try. I wondered if you’ve ever tried a non-fat Greek yogurt, such as FAGE non-fat Greek yogurt? I am also wondering if you’ve ever tired halving the recipe (maybe using half the batter and refrigeragting the rest for the next day)?
Thanks so much again for sharing this!
Aw, thanks so much Kelly! I LOVE FAGE non-fat Greek yogurt! In testing this recipe, I used Chobani non-fat plain flavored yogurt, so using Fage will be identical in terms of nutrition and protein content (and texture). I recommend using all the batter at once, but the leftover pancakes keep really well (my partner and I used to meal prep them). 🙂
Th this is a perfect pancake recipe. Love that it’s gluten-free love the texture and consistency and the fluffiness for a protein pancake. They’re 10 out of 10.
Thank you for your feedback, Marny!
Love this more than store bought mix and healthy! This is my new favorite!❤️
Thanks Jenne! So much easier to perfect a recipe when you control all the ingredients. Glad you liked them!
tastes good.
i find them to be a bit thin.
a little more dry mix and yogurt does the trick.
Also tried with substituting 1 egg with chia seeds in water which was good.
solid and simple. thanks.
Thanks for the feedback, Ryan! Did they turn out thin using the chia egg? I did test this with egg substitutes which worked okay, but unfortunately never got as fluffy 🙂
Very good!
One of my favorite recipes!
These are great. Mine don’t come out this fluffy but still taste great. I add Greek protein yoghurt , honey and cinnamon on top .
I’ve also made them without the coconut oil ( only because I forgot it) and they were still good .
These are my go-to protein pancakes that consistently turn out fluffy and taste delicious. Kids love them, too!
Thanks so much, Margo- I appreciate you taking the time to leave a lovely review and rating 🙂
These were amazing! Simply delish and protein packed.
Thanks for the feedback, Debra 🙂
Extremely please with these!! I actually added a portion of hemp seeds and cooked them with chocolate chips for the kids and strawberries for myself. Fluffy, flavorful and a hit with everyone. Thank you so much! These are officially my new go to pancakes 🙂
I love that you added hemp seeds for that added fiber boost and nothing beats chocolate chips- I’m so glad you all enjoyed them, Nicole- thank you for taking the time to leave a review and star rating 🙂
Anyone out there, do you think I could I use one duck egg for this recipe? I’m just learning to cook for myself with pre diabetes. In fact, I’m just learning to cook period. My chickens don’t lay small eggs and one duck egg supposedly equals 1 ½ chicken eggs. I want to try this and I don’t want to screw it up. What does anyone think?
Hi Bonnie- One of my kitchen hands has duck eggs and we found that for this particular recipe, it didn’t affect the texture too much. If the eggs are too large, you can add a sprinkling more of oats. 🙂
I just tried them and are delish!! I added a few thawed strawberries to blender but you could add whatever you like. They are great by themselves and I will add this to my breakfast meals. Maybe even for dinner. quick, easy and yummy. Thanks.
Quick and easy, thanks for sharing this.
This recipe doesn’t lie when it says fluffy they were so good and sweet I made some homemade whip cream and cut some strawberries probably one of the best breakfast meals I’ve made in a while! 💗🫶🏽✨
A flavorful protein pancake. Thank you.
We make these pancakes every saturday and sunday ,it is fabulous!
I didn’t have any protein powder so after powderizing the steel-cut oats. I added about a cup of Kodiak high protein pancake and waffle mix. I also added some quinoa flour, the baking powder, plus two bananas, four eggs, about a cup of 2 percent Fage Greek yogurt, a good 1/3 cup maple syrup, maybe a quarter cup of ground cinnamon, a half cup of Justin’s chocolate hazlenut almond butter and a little milk. This was the first time my pancakes turned out uniformly round rather than all crumpled up. I froze two plates full and today took the plates out. Now I can just grab a couple or three, nuke them on a plate for a minute and spread them with butter and jam, or Justin’s or chocolate chips or, like today, bacon and ice cream.
Really appreciate the recipe, which held up despite all my changes.
Thank you for sharing your changes, Donita- I’m thrilled it worked out well, especially with grinding up steel cut oats. Kodiak pancake mix works really well!
We are going to love this recipe. We thank you for it.
Delicious topped with blueberries and maple syrup. I omitted the vanilla, as I used vanilla protein powder and vanilla protein yoghurt. Will be making these in bulk and freezing them for quick breakfasts and lunches through the week!
The best protein pancakes, I make them almost every other morning. So easy!
This is a great recipe when you’re looking for a high protein, gluten free pancakes. It’s also pretty tasty. I did have to tweak the original recipe however. The first time I made it, I followed the original instructions and I found the batter to be way too thick even when I used large eggs. I omitted the extra tbsp of oats, used 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt instead, added 1/4 cup of oat milk and I don’t think “small eggs” are a thing in the US, so I am using large eggs instead. The longer the batter sits, the more it absorbs the liquid so the thicker it gets. Even when it sits as you’re cooking the pancakes. I like my batter to be the same consistency as a regular pancake batter so it cooks evenly. All in all, a solid recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Kryssie- it does sound like it comes down to the protein powder you used, which affects how thick the batter is. I’m glad made some smart tweaks. You are correct- this is why we don’t recommend making the batter ahead of time (oats are like sponges haha!).
help me pass my cooking class at emmaus colage
My husband and I polish these off, just the two of us!
Delicious!!! For the 2nd batch I added a little water so they’d be thinner.
Love to hear that, Gwen- glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
These are SO good and fluffy!! Wont search for another protein pancake recipe again 🙂
Love to hear that, Natasha!
These are such great pancakes and so fast. They also freeze really well.
Thanks for the feedback, Andie!
This is my go-to protein pancake recipe that never fails. They turn out fluffy and pleasantly sweet. No surprises with all the raving review.
Thanks for the kind feedback, Felicia- I appreciate you making the pancakes!
Excellent!
These are so SO good. I used Simple Truth Vanilla Protein Powder. LOVE omg
I used these ingredients but didn’t blend them and used my coconut protein powder. It was so good and sweet! I love how all of these ingredients are on the healthier side with a good amount of protein. I don’t feel like I’m forced to eat this only because it’s healthy. Delicious !
Amazingly easy and delicious recipe!! Followed steps exactly, including tips. They turned out beautifully and had great flavor. Thanks for sharing!
Can you make this in a large waffle iron?
You sure can!
Can you make these without the protein powder?
Yes, absolutely. Just leave it out and add an extra tablespoon of oats.
My teenager son who is into rugby and lifting weights, absolutely loves this recipe. I add dark chocolate chips to some of the pancakes as he’s given up any unhealthy snacks. Thanks for the recipe.
Excellent
Enjoy!!
Pre rugby breakfast for my sons. Super fast and yummy – we used Golden Syrop flavoured protein powder and omitted the maple Sirup and vanilla.
Recipe saved and we’ll definitely do it again soon.
golden syrup protein? Okay, I need to try that!!!!!
These were good but mine weren’t as fluffy as I expected and very sticky when tying to put them in the pan. What did I do wrong? Can I add protein milk?
Hi Kanderson- It sounds like its the protein powder you used. Some brands are super sticky (a good trick to know is that if the protein powder keeps smoothies thin, it’s very sticky), so it sounds like that is what prevented it from becoming as fluffy and also sticking to the pan. Protein milk should be fine!
My new favorite protein pancake recipe. I only used 2 eggs and a bit more vanilla and they were fluffy and delicious! Next time may add blueberries!
Fabulous, Laura! 🙂 I love adding wild blueberries (the small ones).
I like how fluffy the pancakes turn out. My protein powder is a little gritty so I added some extra milk. Thanks for emailing me back about other protein powders you use.
Hi Sammy- thanks for leaving a comment on here- I’m so glad the recommendations helped. Don’t hesitate to ever email anything. Glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
Love a stack of these with maple syrup. I used casein protein powder.
Only quarter of a cup of protein powder? Wow! Maybe too little for me hahaha
I think more protein powder would really alter the taste and texture. Remember there are eggs and yogurt that add protein.
My favorite protein pancakes recipe!!
What type and flavour of protein powder would be best to use please?
Unflavored or vanilla 🙂
I used plain unflavored protein powder, but added more vanilla.
My favorite protein pancakes recipe. These are super fluffy and thick 🙂
Best protein pancakes recipe. No wonder you have all these reviews, they are 100% justified!
I really like these. Today I’m making a big batch for the freezer. I ran out of eggs but flax eggs work just fine. Thank you for the recipe.
So welcome, Roberta!
I make this every weekend for my family. THANK you for the tip to cover the pan- my gosh they were so fluffy.
Can I use cottage cheese instead of yogurt?
Yes, if it is blended down: )
Delicious! I added 10g of ground flaxseed.
Easy to make, good and healthy
Really good and so easy and quick. I think I might make a bunch of these and freeze. Thank you!
I saw many recipes for making protein pancakes but this must be the best one!
Can you use oat flour instead of blending the oats? What amount do you think you would need?
You could try! Maybe 3/4 the amount of rolled oats
I also wondered this, did you try it in the end?
You used to have a recipe for protein pancake mix. But all the Pinterest links point to these pancakes. Do you still have the recipe posted? I’ve tried to find it but haven’t succeeded.
The absolute best protien pancakes I have ever had! I doubled the recipe and added a 1/2 cup of almond milk. 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. My son loves them too!
Thanks for the feedback, Dawn!
Love your protein pancakes, I make them as part of my meal prep!
Family request this every weekend and even hubby loves it.
Made these this morning and its the best protein pancake recipe I have found. My son loved them! I will say that the tip for covering the pan whilst cooking the pancakes is truly the key to making sure they turn out nice and fluffy.
ive made these twice now, the second time letting the finished batter rest for about 20 minutes, which in my opinion improved the texture. really customizable and easy to throw together!
I made these for breakfast and they were so tasty! I topped them with whipped cream while they were still warm.
Mmmm love those additions, Jaycee!
Easy as pie to put together and tasty with peanut butter on top!
Really delicious and they freeze-reheat so well!
Yes!! I love to freeze these up 🙂
Absolutely love! I get my pancake fix without feeling weighed down and sluggish. Hubs always says pancakes are too heavy and make him tired. Not these! I do the extra protein option and they still come out extremely light and FLOOOOFY! I like using coconut milk and vanilla protein powder with an added splash of vanilla extract – super duper delish!
What protein powder do you use?
Love using casein
Hi, is the coconut oil to fry up the pancakes or put into the batter?
Hi Leo- it goes into the batter. I’ll make the instructions clearer, apologies for that 🙂
Would this work as waffles as well?
Absolutely!
Loved the flavour of these pancakes. Came out as pictured. Would make them again. Made recipe exactly as printed.
These are the best protein pancakes I’ve ever tasted!
Loved
Thanks Kathy!
3/3 kids absolutely loved this recipe and I call that a win. I didn’t have coconut oil and subbed butter. They came out fantastic!
Love that!! Thanks, Brea!
Seriously, AMAZING protein pancakes that are super fluffy and kept my whole family full all morning.
Love to hear that, Sally!
I made a big batch of these and they are really delicious. They are filling but nice and fluffy at the same time. I added blueberries to some and chocolate chips to others at the request of family members and everyone loved them. They keep and reheat well also. Definitely a winner!
This is now my go to pancake recipe! Light and fluffy and so satisfying. Delicious!
This is a great recipe! Worth trying
Thanks, Laura!
Yummy! And I don’t even need the bacon.
Love this recipe! The pancakes are delicious and easy to make!
Thank you!
I don’t usually write reviews, but I’ve been cooking for better than 60 years, tried lots of recipes, and these are winners, hands down. I dropped some blueberries on top before turning. My grown sons loved them. Told 3 of my granddaughters to try them on their kiddielumpers.
Sounds delicious. Can’t wait to cook the pancakes for my husband. I know he will love them.
Very easy to make & delicious.
Thanks, Chris!
Sounds yummy, cant wait to try these this weekend
This is a great recipe. With casein protein, you have to add more liquid. I added an extra large egg and probably could have added some water. Otherwise, it’s a little too dense.
The best protein pancakes recipe I’ve found. So fluffy.
The best protein pancakes I have ever eaten.Thanks for sharing this recipe!
It worked, but I had to add 1/2 cup water to get the batter to adequate pancake consistency.
Absolutely delicious! Healthy and easy to make!
Can I use almond flour in place of rolled oats to reduce the carbs?
Suggestions for a grain free sub for the oats? Thank you!
Wonderful protein pancakes! Great macros and easy recipe.