Sourdough Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes

Packed with 20g of protein per serving, these Sourdough Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes are so easy and delicious to make in just two steps!

These soft and fluffy pancakes come together in no time by using a blender or food processor. Just blend all of the ingredients together, fry, and you’ve got a quick high-protein breakfast in less than 15 minutes.

The recipe uses cottage cheese and eggs for protein and it’s only lightly sweetened with honey, maple syrup, or another liquid sweetener. Sourdough discard adds a slight tang so they taste similar to sourdough buttermilk pancakes.

Be sure to follow my detailed instructions and tips for frying the pancakes so you always get crispy edges! I also include substitutions and variations so you can make with other delicious additions like blueberries, chocolate chips, or nuts.

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This easy and quick recipe comes together in two steps.
• Make in a blender
  • Mix everything in a blender or food processor.
• High Protein
  • Made with cottage cheese and eggs, the pancakes have over 20g of protein per serving.
• Fluffy, soft texture
  • Cottage cheese keeps the inside of these pancakes soft, moist, and fluffy.
• Crispy edges
  • The crispy edges come from frying the pancakes in coconut oil (or another neutral oil) in a cast-iron skillet.
• Not too sweet
  • The sourdough discard protein pancakes are only sweetened with honey.

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🔍 Tips for Making Sourdough Protein Pancakes

• Can rest the batter overnight
  • Since pancakes come together so quickly, I make them right before cooking, but you can mix everything the night before and refrigerate the batter if you want to save a few minutes in the morning!
• Make gluten-free sourdough pancakes using gluten-free flour (like buckwheat or cup-for-cup) and gluten-free sourdough starter.
• Use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter
  • You can use active sourdough starter or unfed sourdough discard in this recipe. Cold starter is perfectly fine to use straight from the refrigerator.
• Fry in coconut oil or another high smoke point neutral oil
  • Frying pancakes in butter can result in burnt pancakes due to butter’s low smoke point (350ºF). Instead, I recommend adding the butter to the batter so you get the flavor and richness. Then, use refined coconut oil or another neutral frying oil with a higher smoke point (vegetable, canola, grapeseed, avocado) to cook them!
• Use a cast-iron skillet for crispy edges
  • Cast-iron skillets are my favorite for recipes like my Sourdough Honey Cornbread and Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting because it cooks evenly and is non-stick when seasoned properly.
  • Cooking pancakes in cast iron retains heat well and gives them the best even color and texture.

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🛠 Tools Needed:

You only need a couple of basic tools to make these sourdough protein pancakes.

• Baking scale: Flour and sourdough starter can weigh differently from person to person, so weighing your ingredients is the best option! Weighing your ingredients by weight will make your baking more consistent and accurate.
• Blender or Food processor: I use a Vitamix blender or food processor to mix this pancake batter together. If you’re using a blender, you can pour the batter straight into the hot pan when frying.
• Cast-iron skillet (optional): You can use a non-stick pan or electric griddle if you’re cooking many at one time, but a cast-iron skillet works best for crispy edges and even cooking.
• Spatula or fish spatula: for flipping the pancakes.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed:

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions. There are only 7 ingredients in this recipe, not including the frying oil.

• All-purpose flour:
  • Substitute some or all of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or gluten-free if you’re looking for an even heartier pancake.
  • Check out my recipe for Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes if you’re looking for gluten-free pancakes.
• Baking Powder: The mechanical leavening agent assist with rise and the fluffy texture.
• Honey: I lightly sweeten with honey, but you can use maple syrup, agave, or another liquid sweetener.
• Sourdough Discard
  • If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips.
• Cottage Cheese:
  • Instead of buttermilk, I use full-fat cottage cheese in this recipe for richness and protein. The blender will smooth out lumps.
  • Cottage cheese is already salted, so no need to add salt in this recipe.
• Eggs: Adds structure to help bind the ingredients together and rise.
• Vanilla extract
• Coconut oil or another neutral oil, for frying: Butter can burn quickly due to its low smoke point, so I prefer frying pancakes in refined coconut oil or another higher smoke point oil, such as vegetable, grapeseed, or avocado oil. Ghee (or clarified butter) is also fantastic for even more buttery flavor!

Sourdough Protein Pancake Variations and Toppings

Maple syrup and butter are always welcome on top of these protein pancakes, but there are lots of other variations and toppings you can easily add to the versatile recipe as well.

• Chocolate chips: Fold in ½ cup of mini chocolate chips after mixing the batter.
• Nuts: Add ½ cup of chopped toasted pecans, walnuts, or other nuts to the batter after mixing.
  • See my Sourdough Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes if you’re a fan of nuts!
• Whipped cream
• Spices: Add 1 tsp of cinnamon or other spices.
• Protein powder: For even more protein, add a scoop or two of any-flavored protein powder.
• Fruit: Add fresh blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas, or lemon zest.

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🥞 How to Make Sourdough Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes

Follow this detailed recipe guide as you make the best sourdough protein pancakes. It’s only two steps!

This recipe makes about 7-8 pancakes, but it’s easy to double the recipe so you have more.

1. Blend the Ingredients

Add all of the pancakes ingredients to a blender or food processor.

Blend until smooth. This batter is relatively thick. If you think it seems too thick, add a tablespoon of milk.

Alternatively, mix everything in a large bowl with a whisk. Just know there will be lumps from the cottage cheese.

2. Cook

For pancakes with crispy edges and a fluffy interior, it all comes down to technique and the type of pan you use.

I use 2-3 TBS of refined coconut oil, during frying, which may be more oil than you’re accustomed to. Place the oil in the pan and heat it over medium heat until it’s hot. Then, turn the pan down to medium-low.

There should be a layer of hot oil so that the pancakes will immediately start to fry when you put the batter in it.

Pour ¼ cup of batter into your pan with hot oil and cook one or two at a time in the pan. This can be faster if you have a larger pan or make smaller pancakes.

Cook the pancake for 2-3 minutes until visible bubbles appear in the center. Lift up one side with a spatula (I like a flat fish spatula) to make sure the pancake looks dark brown with a crispy ring around the edge.

Then, quickly slide the spatula underneath the pancakes and flip over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side until it’s evenly browned. Remove the pancakes from the pan to serve immediately or store warm until you’ve finished frying the rest of the batter.

Replenish the oil in the pan as necessary in between pancakes, as the pancakes will soak up some of the frying oil.

Finally, repeat the process with the remaining batter.

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How to Store Pancakes

I recommend cooking and serving these delicious sourdough discard protein pancakes while warm and crispy. However, you can freeze them for your convenience.

To freeze, let the pancakes cool completely and then place them in a freezer-safe airtight bag. They can stick together, so you may want to put a piece of parchment paper in between each pancake. Freeze for up to two months.

Before cooking frozen pancakes, wrap them individually in aluminum foil and cook them in the oven at 350ºF for 10 minutes. The aluminum foil will help them not go dry when you reheat them. This will help keep them more crispy without getting too limp.

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❓ FAQs:

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