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.
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 were amazing! Simply delish and protein packed.
Thanks for the feedback, Debra 🙂
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!