Cottage Cheese Pancakes

by Brenda Score on January 10, 2024

Protein-packed Cottage Cheese Pancakes are so easy to make! The pancakes are dense yet fluffy, absolutely delightful with melty pockets of cottage cheese and buttery crispy edges. Subtly flavored with cozy cinnamon and vanilla – welcome to your new favorite pancake recipe!

A tall stack of cottage cheese pancakes on a plate is topped with sliced fresh peaches and maple syrup.

Easy Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Inspired by our family’s favorite buttermilk pancakes and cottage cheese egg bake, this Cottage Cheese Pancakes recipe is now on regular repeat! Cottage cheese packs in protein and flavor, plus melty little pockets of goodness throughout. Buttermilk adds rich texture and tang, while cinnamon and vanilla give you a cozy hug. But the best part? Ohhhhh, those buttery, crispy edges!

Why You’ll Love This Cottage Cheese Pancakes Recipe

I’m always on the hunt for new pancake recipes – our family likes to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And we purposefully seek out flavorful, protein-rich meals – so this new recipe is a perfect fit. Here’s why you’ll love this cottage cheese pancakes recipe:

Classic pancake flavor. This recipe gives you the classic buttermilk pancakes we all love, with an irresistibly moist and fluffy texture, thanks to the addition of cottage cheese in the batter.
Loaded with protein. Pancakes aren’t traditionally known for their high protein content, but due to the cottage cheese and eggs in this recipe, each serving has about 15 grams!
Versatile. When I’m feeling fancy, I make these into blueberry cottage cheese pancakes and I never say no to topping them with fruit. You can throw in your favorite pancake add-ins, or simply make this solid recipe as written.

The ingredients for cottage cheese pancakes are shown portioned out: flour, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, cottage cheese, baking powder and baking soda, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon.

What You’ll Need

Here’s a list of all of the ingredients in this cottage cheese pancakes recipe. Check the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.

Flour – All-purpose flour gives the pancakes structure.
Sugar – A little bit of granulated sugar sweetens the pancakes slightly.
Baking powder & baking soda – Baking powder and baking soda is what makes pancakes fluffy and light.
Salt
Cinnamon – This adds a touch of warm flavor.
Buttermilk – Buttermilk adds moisture and flavorful tang, plus it activates the baking soda.
Eggs – Eggs add moisture and rich flavor. But more importantly, they hold the pancake batter together, as this batter has a wet, heavy consistency.
Butter – Butter adds richness and delicious flavor, plus it gives wonderfully crispy edges!
Vanilla extract – Be sure to use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
Cottage cheese – It’s important to use small curd cottage cheese so it blends more smoothly into the pancake batter. I also highly recommend using 4% whole milk cottage cheese, for the richest flavor and texture.

A hand drizzles maple syrup from a small white pitcher over a stack of cottage cheese pancakes.

How to Make Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Cottage cheese pancakes are easy to make – I’ve outlined my method below. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card lower down.

The dry mix for cottage cheese pancakes is shown in a white bowl.

A whisk in a white bow, of cottage cheese pancake batter.

Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Mix wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract.

Cottage cheese pancake batter is slightly lumpy in a white bowl.

Two cottage cheese pancakes cook in a skillet.

Combine wet + dry + cottage cheese. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Then gently fold in the cottage cheese and let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes.
Cook. Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat, then grease the skillet with butter. Add a few ¼-cup mounds of batter and cook the pancakes until bubbles form on the surface and the edges look set, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side.

Peach slices and whipped cream top cottage cheese pancakes with more seen in the background.

Tips & Variations

Rest the batter. If you can, let the batter sit for 10 minutes before cooking. This allows the ingredients to fully hydrate and the leavening agents to activate, giving you a smoother, more consistent batter with pancakes that are more tender and fluffy.
Keep them warm. You can keep cooked pancakes warm in a 200°F oven for up to 30 minutes, so you can get a head start on breakfast. This allows everyone to eat at the same time.
Use small curd cottage cheese. Smaller curds make the batter easier to mix, plus they offer a smoother texture and more pleasant mouthfeel to the pancakes.
Use whole milk cottage cheese. If you’ve never compared whole milk cottage cheese to regular, low-fat, or fat-free cottage cheese, I beg you to do so. The whole milk variety (sometimes called 4% whole milk) has much more flavor and a creamier texture.
Cook on medium-low heat. Resist cranking up the heat to cook your pancakes faster. Medium-low heat ensures they will be perfectly cooked on the inside, with crispy, golden-brown edges.
Keep it chunky or blend it up. We love the little pockets of melty, cottage cheese in these pancakes. However, if you want the same taste and added protein without the chunks, feel free to blend the cottage cheese before adding it to the batter.
Add-ins: This cottage cheese pancakes recipe is a great base. Feel free to stir in fresh or frozen blueberries or chopped strawberries. Or toss in some chocolate chips. Toasted coconut flakes or toasted, chopped nuts are also nice additions.

Two bites of cottage cheese pancake are picked up with a fork, with the stack topped with whipped cream and peaches below.

Serving Suggestions

A warm stack of pancakes makes my family so very happy. Add some fruit, crispy bacon, or scrambled eggs on the side, or serve these cottage cheese pancakes at brunch with other savory and sweet dishes.

With brunch. Serve cottage cheese pancakes at your next brunch gathering! Add our favorite cheesy hashbrown casserole, an overnight egg bake, some , and more breakfast favorites alongside.
Fruit. Top pancakes with fresh fruit such as berries, peaches, or nectarines. Or make a fruit salad – try my mojito fruit salad or pineapple fruit salad.
Breakfast sweets. Serve a warm basket of banana muffins, my grandma’s blueberry muffins, or Mom’s cozy apple bread.
Add toppings. Butter and maple syrup is the classic way to serve pancakes, but you can branch out and try other sauces. Try homemade strawberry sauce, raspberry sauce, or caramel buttermilk syrup.
Flavored butters. These are always a favorite! Try my light and fluffy cinnamon honey butter, blueberry butter, or lemon-vanilla bean butter.

How to Store & Reheat Leftovers

Pancakes keep well, making them an ideal quick meal later in the week. Here’s how to store leftover cottage cheese pancakes:

Fridge – Leftover pancakes will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just make sure they’re completely cooled so there’s no excess moisture, and place them in a ziploc bag or airtight container.
Freezer – Cool pancakes, then layer them between pieces of parchment paper, place in a freezer-safe ziploc or freezer container, and freeze for up to 3 months.
To Reheat – Reheat pancakes from the fridge or freezer in the microwave or toaster for an easy, delicious breakfast in seconds!

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