Growing up in the Midwest meant my grandma was usually whipping up a big stack of pancakes before school every week (I know, I was super lucky). Her go-to recipe was similar to my oat milk pancakes which are made with all-purpose flour and an egg.
I wanted to keep the tradition alive so I’ve been experimenting with using better-for-you ingredients like I did with my chocolate protein pancakes. These fluffy protein pancakes are banana-free, refined sugar-free, high protein, super versatile, and of course, delicious!
Because this pancake recipe uses oats instead of flour, and unsweetened almond milk instead of dairy milk, it’s an accessible high-protein breakfast option for many diets. Depending on what protein powder is used, this recipe can easily be vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Let me show you how to make it. It’s one of my favorite sweet breakfast recipes!
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love this Easy Protein Pancakes Recipe
- Ingredients Needed
- Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Step-by-Step Instructions
- Pancake Toppings to Try
- Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Possible Dietary Restrictions?
- Expert Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
- 📖 Fluffy Protein Pancakes Without Banana
Why You’ll Love this Easy Protein Pancakes Recipe
A sweet breakfast that’s actually filling. You know these pancakes are a filling breakfast when my lumberjack of a husband only wants three of them in a sitting (when he’d be likely to enjoy 5+ regular pancakes)! This recipe is a great way to get some extra protein in and still enjoy a pancake breakfast too.
Easy to make. This recipe has you mixing everything together in your blender… it doesn’t get much easier than that!
Simple ingredients. We’re not using anything fancy in this recipe (unless protein powder isn’t a staple in your pantry). All ingredients used are easy to find at your local grocery store, Target, or Walmart.
Ingredients Needed
- Rolled Oats. Old fashioned rolled oats are blended into oat flour to make this easy pancake recipe. Oats are highly nutritious, being a good source of fiber (both soluble and insoluble fiber), a good source of plant-based protein, and rich in antioxidants. Oats are also known to be filling, which may reduce the number of calories you eat overall as you stay full for longer.
- Vanilla Protein Powder. I use whey protein powder, but you can also use a plant-based protein powder if desired to meet any dietary requirements you may have.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk. Both plain almond milk and vanilla almond milk work well in this recipe. If you use vanilla almond milk, just know that you’ll have a really big vanilla flavor in your pancakes due to also using vanilla protein powder.
- Unsweetened Applesauce. Unsweetened applesauce is often acts like a fat would in baking and plays the same role as butter or oil does in baked goods. It helps to keep the flour proteins from mixing completely with the wet ingredients to create a lovely texture. Unsweetened applesauce also contains naturally occurring sugars reducing the amount of other sugars or sweeteners needed in baking recipes.
- Baking Powder, Baking Soda, & Apple Cider Vinegar. We are using a combination of baking soda, baking powder, and apple cider vinegar for our leavening agents to make the very best protein pancakes! Baking soda is typically used in pancakes to help them rise (it will start acting once it mixes with the acidic ingredient in this recipe, which is the apple cider vinegar). Using baking powder contributes to a light and airy texture, helping to create the fluffy pancakes. Apple cider vinegar is a natural leavening agent that also contributes to the batter’s rise as it reacts with the baking soda and baking powder. Using all three of these together in this recipe results in perfect fluffy protein pancakes!
- Salt (optional). Salt is a flavor enhancer, and helps amplify the depth and complexity of the other flavors as they combine in the baking process. Adding in a pinch of salt to your batter is a great addition to this pancake recipe.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Use a different milk. You can use another non-dairy milk (like oat milk or unsweetened soy milk) if preferred. You can also make your protein pancake batter using dairy milk if you’d like!
- Make them into chocolate chip protein pancakes. I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate chip pancakes?! After the batter has been blended, gently stir in up to ½ cup of chocolate chips (or simply sprinkle a few onto the batter once scooped onto your pan for frying).
Step-by-Step Instructions
STEP 1: Place rolled oats into a blender and blend for 10-15 seconds to break down the oats into a fine texture (fun fact: you just made oat flour!).
STEP 2: Add the remaining dry ingredients into the blender.
STEP 3: Add the liquid ingredients on top of the dry ingredients.
STEP 4: Let the batter rest 8-10 minutes.
STEP 5: Pre-heat a non-stick pan (or griddle) over medium heat.
STEP 6: Spray the pan (or griddle) with cooking spray and scoop ¼ cup sized portions of batter into the pan, leaving room between the scoops of batter.
STEP 7: Cook for 1-2 minutes until the edges begin to form (they’ll look slightly raised/curved/dry), and then flip to cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
STEP 8: Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Pancake Toppings to Try
You can serve your fluffy protein pancakes without banana with any of your favorite pancake toppings. Below is a list of some of my favorite combinations…but be creative and have fun!
- Butter and pure maple syrup
- Plain or vanilla yogurt, pure maple syrup, and berries
- Peanut butter and banana
- Almond butter and pure maple syrup
- Cinnamon apples
- Nutella
- Pure maple syrup and toasted pecans or almonds
- Whipped cream and berries
- Banana and chocolate chips (or chocolate syrup)
- Fresh fruit compotes or syrups – we personally love using homemade blueberry syrup on these pancakes!
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Leftover protein powder pancakes can be enjoyed at a later date for a quick and easy breakfast!
Option 1 – Store In the Fridge. If you plan to enjoy your leftover pancakes soon, you can store the remaining protein pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-days. Reheat pancakes in the microwave, starting with 1-minute (adjust the time to heat your pancakes as needed to reheat to your desired temperature).
Option 2 – Freeze. The best way to do this takes a few steps, but they are worth it to make a future morning easy, filling, and delicious with your leftover protein pancakes! Reheat frozen pancakes (from frozen!) for 1-minute. Option to then pop them into the toaster to crisp them up a little too for the perfect protein pancake!
How to Freeze Pancakes
- STEP 1: Allow pancakes to cool completely to room-temperature on a cooling rack.
- STEP 2: Do an initial freeze of your pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet. This only needs to be for about 30-minutes, but this will help prevent your frozen pancakes from sticking together.
- STEP 3: Transfer pancakes to a ziplock bag labeled with the type of pancake and date made, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
This eggless pancakes recipe as written is a great high protein breakfast for vegetarians who don’t want eggs for breakfast, and can easily be modified to fit a variety of other special diets:
- To make these into vegan protein pancakes, select a vegan protein powder.
- Similarly, to make this into a dairy free protein pancakes recipe, select a protein powder that meets this requirement.
- This recipe is already written to be a gluten free protein pancakes recipe, however, if you are serving them to someone with celiac intolerance it is wise to ensure your rolled oats specifically note ‘gluten free’ on the package!
Expert Tips
Let the batter rest – don’t skip this step! This may seem strange, but this time allows the apple cider vinegar to activate the baking soda and baking powder to help create the fluffy texture! It also allows the batter to thicken a bit, creating a sturdier batter when flipping. If you put your pancakes on immediately after blending the batter, they tend to be a bit flat and break apart when trying to flip them (but still taste good).
Recipe FAQs
How do you know when to flip a pancake?
Pancakes are ready to flip after they begin to puff up and bubble. Signs that your pancakes are ready to turn include bubbles throughout the batter that are beginning to pop, and edges that have begun to firm up. The bottom of the pancake will be golden brown.
Generally it will take about 2 minutes to cook the first side of a pancake, and about 1 additional minute to cook the second side (however, this will depend on your heat).
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
📖 Fluffy Protein Pancakes Without Banana
Equipment
- Non-Stick Pan or Griddle
Ingredients
- 2 + ½ Cups rolled oats
- ½ Cup vanilla protein powder
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ Cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 + ½ Cups unsweetened almond milk (plain or vanilla)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- pinch of salt optional
- Toppings of choice
Instructions
- Place oats into a blender and blend for 10-15 seconds to break down the oats (fun fact: you just made oat flour!)
- Place remaining items into the blender and blend until a smooth batter is formed
- Let the batter rest 8-10 minutes
- Preheat non-stick pan (or griddle) over medium heat
- Spray pan with cooking spray and scoop ¼ cup sized portions of batter into the pan, leaving room between the scoops of batter
- Cook for 1-2 minutes until the edges begin to form (they’ll look slightly raised/curved/dry), and then flip to cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Mary says
Can the oats be 1 min quick oats?
Also can I use plant based protein powder or does it have to be Whey ?
ourlovelanguageisfood says
Hi Mary! You could use quick oats (but I would not recommend instant oats). Any type of protein powder should work in this recipe! If it seems a little runny, I would mix in additional oatmeal. Can’t wait to hear how they turn out!
Adelle White says
These pancakes are amaaaaazing! They don’t taste healthy, which is ideal! I also froze some and they reheat pretty well as long as you don’t syrup them before you freeze them! Make them super often on the weekends, along with the chocolate protein ones too!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these fresh and frozen too! Thank you for making my recipe!
Luci says
I don’t usually eat breakfast but I eat these…get out the butter and real Maple syrup too! Just so good.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
I’m glad these protein pancakes are worth eating breakfast for! Whoo!
David says
I’m a big guy, but these fill me right up after 2-3 pancakes!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
isn’t it amazing how filling these are?! so glad you enjoyed them!
Aunt Martha says
I love bananas – guess I’ll just have to slice them on top! 😊. These are pretty tasty either way!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
I’m glad you enjoyed these, and bananas on top is great option! Thanks for trying this recipe.
M. says
These are THE BEST protein pancakes. And THANK YOU for not using banana in the recipe!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
You are so welcome, I’m glad to hear you love them too!
Diana Hayes says
What constitutes a serving? 1 pancake? 2? Or is one serving all 12 pancakes?
ourlovelanguageisfood says
Hi Diana, the recipe will make 12 pancakes if you’re using a 1/4 C measure to pour your batter onto your pan. I usually eat 2-3, but they are SUPER filling. I hope that helps! Enjoy