Thanks to their light and fluffy texture and low-carb appeal, even those who don't care for cottage cheese adore Kathleen's Cottage Pancakes! Save

Thanks to their light and fluffy texture and low-carb appeal, even those who don’t care for cottage cheese adore Kathleen’s Cottage Pancakes! 

 

 

High protein and low carb are typically not the words I associate with pancakes, but this recipe shakes things up a bit!  

A friend of The Fountain Avenue Kitchen passed this novel pancake recipe along to me, saying that it is something she makes for her husband almost every morning.

The ingredients are quirky–for pancakes, anyway–but so very healthy.  I simply could not pass this recipe by.

The cottage cheese lends a lightness to the batter while the eggs provide exceptional protein and flavor.  I loved the underlying egg flavor.

Note, there’s not a speck of sugar in this recipe–and just a small amount of flour.  I think next time I will try whole wheat flour, or perhaps my gluten-free blend.  My dad would like these.

By the way, my sons both declared this a “make-again” recipe.  My picky eater did not so much as notice there was a “funny” ingredient in there: )

Thanks to their light and fluffy texture and low-carb appeal, even those who don't care for cottage cheese adore Kathleen's Cottage Pancakes! Save

Note:  I have been asked several times if I have tried these pancakes with my gluten-free flour blend, and I wanted to provide an update. In addition to making them with that blend, I have also tried them with oats, as one friend shared that she had successfully done. That time, I used quick oats and added 1/2 teaspoon each baking soda and baking powder in lieu of the 1/4 teaspoon baking soda called for in the original recipe.  

While they tasted fine, the resulting pancakes lacked the fluffiness present in the original recipe.  The gluten-free blend fares very well, resulting in an end result similar to the original version.  I use the 1/2 teaspoon each of baking soda and powder here, too.  Both times, I polled my husband and kids and they gave both versions their stamp of approval although did notice a difference with the oat version, mainly because those pancakes appeared flatter than usual.

Update 4/4/18: Recently, I’ve had several readers ask about making these with almond flour.  Although I have not yet tried it, my suspicion is that it would work but that the pancakes would be somewhat flatter. If you try, please feel free to comment!

Thanks to their light and fluffy texture and low-carb appeal, even those who don't care for cottage cheese adore Kathleen's Cottage Pancakes! Save

Thanks to their light and fluffy texture and low-carb appeal, even those who don't care for cottage cheese adore Kathleen's Cottage Pancakes! Save

Kathleen’s Cottage Pancakes

5 from 5 votes
Thanks to their light and fluffy texture and low-carb appeal, even those who don't care for cottage cheese adore Kathleen's Cottage Pancakes! 

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs
  • cups cottage cheese
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt*
  • ½ cup flour (see comments above regarding gluten-free options)
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

  1. Beat eggs until light. Mash cottage cheese (Kathleen uses a food processor, I used my mini chopper to really get it smooth). Add to eggs along with the remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a lightly-greased griddle (I like to use my cast iron skillet) and cook over medium heat until browned on both sides and cooked through. Top with maple syrup or fresh fruit, as desired.
  2. Makes about 2 dozen small pancakes. I made mine a bit bigger and got 17 or 18.

Notes

*If using regular table salt, you may wish to start with ⅛ teaspoon. Also, sodium contents vary among cottage cheese brands. If your brand contains a high level of sodium, I recommend using less (or even skipping it) when making these pancakes for the first time.
For a healthy, aromatic option with a high smoke point, try cooking the pancakes in coconut oil.
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Recipe Rating




385 responses to “Kathleen’s Low-Carb Cottage Pancakes”

  1. I look forward to trying your Cottage Pancakes soon since I must increase my protein in my diet. Thanks!

    1. My pleasure, Patricia. Hope you enjoy them!

  2. Be quite good to see a macro and calorie breakdown?

    1. Hi James,
      There’s a nutritional calculator linked below as well as some reasons why I don’t typically provide that info at this point. Some readers, however, have left their calculations within the comments. I hope that helps!

      https://staging-fountainavenuekitchen.kinsta.cloud/helpful_tips/recipe-calculator-2/

  3. use oatmeal instead of flour

  4. Do you know if this would work with ‘fromage blanc’. We cannot get cottage cheese here but if you mash/beat the cottage cheese I guess it would be OK. What consistency is the cheese when you beaten it? Anything like thick yogurt?

    1. Hi Pam,
      Thick yogurt or fromage blanc might work, although there would likely be a slightly tangier flavor. Your best substitution would probably be ricotta cheese. If you do try with another substitute, I’d love to know how you make out.

  5. Can you use coconut flour in these?

    1. Hi Shelleen,
      Coconut flour works very differently from other flour, so I don’t recommend it in this recipe. If you really wanted to experiment, however, I would start with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of coconut flour instead of the 1/2 cup of flour since the coconut flour is so absorbent and requires a greater ratio of wet to dry ingredients. Again, I haven’t tried this, so I can’t guarantee the results. If you do happen to test it out, I’d love to know how you make out!

  6. What a surprise seeing this recipe today! I had not thought about my recipe for these that was tucked away and forgotten about. My Grandmother made this–with a few unimportant differences (circa 1950’s). I loved these–although smothering them with maple syrup probably negated the healthfulness of the recipe! Thanks for the step back in time and the nudge to make them again.

    1. What a wonderful memory. Thanks for sharing it, Denise, and enjoy them…maple syrup and all!

  7. Forgot to mention that this ^ is the nutritional value in 3 pancakes

  8. My batch made 11 pancakes, I used about 4 tablespoons of batter per pancake, and I used the exact recipe. (2% cottage cheese though)

    Calories: 248
    Fat: 10.2 g
    Cholesterol: 315 mg
    Sodium: 627.3 mg
    Potassium: 114.5 mg
    Carbs: 16.1 g
    Fiber: 0.3 g
    Sugars: 4.4 g
    Protein: 20.2 g

    1. Thank you for sharing the stats, Abbey!

  9. Dina Barzilai Avatar
    Dina Barzilai

    any particular brand or blend of gluten-free flour you used? Before going gluten free, i used to make an amazing cottage cheese pancake from a mix I found at Trader Joe’s specifically for cottage cheese pancakes. I don’t miss a lot of bread, etc but those are one food I’d like to re-create! I ate them plain, with powdered sugar, or strawberry preserves–sort of like a crepe like another commenter mentioned. Thanks for posting!

    1. I really like this blend which I mix myself and keep on hand, Dina: https://staging-fountainavenuekitchen.kinsta.cloud/all-purpose-gluten-free-flour-blend/. It’s my favorite so far. I make everything from muffins and quick breads to the chocolate cake recipe on this site with it. Two other mixes that I’ve tested (although not with this recipe specifically) are Bob’s Red Mill’s one-to-one blend and Cup-4-Cup’s whole grain option. (I actually think Cup-4-Cup’s whole grain version worked better than their original blend.) Good luck and I hope these turn out like the pancakes you used to enjoy!

  10. I made these this morning with 1/2 cup of oat bran and 1/2 cup of multi grain flour ( just the oat bran was way too liquidy) no salt. added another 1/4 tsp baking soda and they were amazing!! Fluffy inside, crispy outside.
    Best pancakes ever! Thanks for the recipe Ann.

    1. Thanks for the great feedback, France!

  11. Loved these pancakes. Shared it on my facebook page!

    1. I’m so glad, Jenna, and thank you!

  12. Is it possible to use oat bran instead of flour? I do not eat bread and do of consume any kind of flour (might use whole wheat flour if it is much needed) ? Badly, want to try this recipe.

    1. I have made this recipe with a gluten-free flour blend but not with oat bran. My guess is that it would work but the pancakes would be flatter than if using wheat flour. If you happen to try, I’d love to know how you make out.

  13. 1 pancake
    40 calories
    1.66 g fat
    2.36 g carb
    3.53 g protein

    1. Thanks so much for sharing, Donna!

  14. Can I use egg substitute instead of eggs?

    1. I haven’t used egg substitute in this recipe, Deanna, but I think it would work. If you try, please report back!

  15. christina Avatar
    christina

    This recipe has very good intentions, however, the result is an entirely too salty, flavorless pancake. I will NOT be making this recipe again. Cottage cheese, by nature, is high in sodium. The 1/2 tsp salt is not needed. The saltiness was so severe, I feel slightly nauseous eating them, the few bites I could stand to consume.

    1. I’m sorry you had such a bad result, Christina. If using table salt instead of the indicated kosher or sea salt, that can make a difference. Also, sodium contents do vary widely among cottage cheese brands, and I try to look for one that’s not exceedingly high. I appreciate your feedback and wish your results were similar to many of the others who have tried and enjoyed this recipe.

  16. Carolina Segura Boone Avatar
    Carolina Segura Boone

    They look delicious I will make them on sunday breakfast thanks

    1. You are welcome…enjoy!

  17. These turned out great. Such an awesome recipe.

    1. Yay! Thanks for letting me know!

  18. hirapheri Avatar
    hirapheri

    please how do I make cottage cheese or where do I get it from?
    thanks you for replying

    1. Cottage cheese is available in the dairy aisle of most grocery stores. If you cannot find it, you could substitute ricotta cheese.

  19. This recipe looks amazing and I’m so happy my sister shared it with me. As a gastric bypass patient, regular pancakes have too many carbs for me but this looks great and I have been crazing pancakes. Thank you!

    1. Thanks for the great comment, Lisa. I hope you find these very satisfying!

  20. Marymarycontrary Avatar
    Marymarycontrary

    I made this recipe with a few tweaks.
    3 eggs
    1 cup cottage cheese
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    1 tbsp sugar free almond Jordan’s Skinny Syrup®
    1 tbsp coconut oil

    3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill® gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour
    1tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp salt
    2 tsp stevia type sweetener
    1 tsp cinnamon

    I mixed all this as directed. I did use my immersion blender on the wet ingredients first to smooth it out. Put coconut oil on a hot griddle pan, and dropped 2 heaping tbsp per pancake for medium size pancakes.
    Cooked till golden on each side.
    I ended up with 6 medium size cakes.
    Enjoyed with nothing but creamy butter on top.

    Very good! Excellent texture. Great taste. Very satisfying with all that protein. My SO ate a couple and went back for more! So 2 thumbs up. :-*

    1. Thank you for your wonderful comments, Mary, and for sharing your tweaks. I’m so glad these were a success!