These rich, crêpe-like GF Cottage Cheese Pancakes practically melt in your mouth and are always tender and delicious. Thinner and more delicate than traditional pancakes, these have a lovely delicate texture that tastes amazing with a touch of butter and pure maple syrup.
My favorite rendition of this GF Cottage Cheese Pancake Recipe includes a sprinkling of chopped pecans and a drizzle of maple syrup. But my kids love to add chocolate chips and whipped cream. Either way, the stack of these will disappear quickly, so get them while they’re hot!
Why you will love this Cottage Cheese Pancake Recipe
The beauty of this recipe is that you can adapt your favorite pancake mix or pancake recipe by adding cottage cheese, extra eggs, and extra milk. This will give the desired creamy, crepe-like texture to your pancakes. They are fluffy, but not thick like traditional pancakes.
If I don’t feel like starting from scratch, I like to use Pamela’s Gluten Free Pancake and Baking Mix. I like that the almond flour adds a lot of protein and a fair amount of fiber.
Flour Substitutions
If you want to make the pancakes from scratch, you can substitute whatever flour or pancake mix you prefer. And although we make them gluten free at our house, you don’t have to. You can absolutely make these Cottage Cheese Pancake Recipe with whole wheat flour, or whatever type you prefer. Over the years, prior to going gluten-free, I’ve made this recipe with all types of flours and mixes. They always turn out 100% delicious.
Which type of cottage cheese to use in this recipe?
As for cottage cheese, I use 1% low fat cottage cheese, but you can use 4% milk fat cottage cheese if you prefer. It will create a more rich pancake. I always look for small curd cottage cheese because it blends more easily.
Note: If you don’t have cottage cheese, you can substitute ricotta cheese in this recipe. It will give a comparable texture and flavor and tastes delicious with fresh berries!
Blender Recommended for this Recipe
Cottage cheese adds a lot of protein and gives a slight but deliciously tangy flavor to the pancakes. However, it is pretty lumpy. So after adding the cottage cheese, I recommend that you use an immersion blender or food processor to mix it all up.
I have made these without blending the cottage cheese in, but when it cooks, the cheese melts irregularly throughout the pancake resulting in jagged pancake edges and little pockets of the cottage cheese flavor. It isn’t bad, and adds a more savory element to the pancakes, but I prefer the smoother consistency.
Mixing Methods for Cottage Cheese Pancakes
I like to mix the batter in my large Pyrex measuring cup to make pouring onto the griddle easier. And if I’m feeling particularly lazy or rushed, I mix everything in the one measuring cup and blend it all together.
If my kids are making these, they use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the pan. Or, despite my dislike of single use cooking items (which is a story for another day:), they like to use this pancake pourer. It’s a gadget that gets used pretty often for this Cottage Cheese Pancake Recipe.
Make Ahead Batter
You can actually make this recipe ahead of time and use it the next day. My mom frequently did this when we were growing up. She’d prep the batter the night before and then make the pancakes in the morning. Note that you will need to add a little more milk to thin the batter if you do make it ahead.
Storage Tips
These pancakes keep very well for, actually, I have no idea! They never last long in our house. If we do have leftovers, one of my kids always claims them for their lunch the next day or they get eaten as an after school snack (if I don’t eat them first!). My guess is they’d last about 5 days, but you won’t need to worry about that. Promise.
Freezing Cottage Cheese Cheese Pancakes
These do freeze well! Wrap them in waxed paper and place them in a ziplock or airtight container for up to one month. Be sure to freeze them in individual portions (3-4 pancakes) because you will not be able to separate the pancakes without destroying them until after they are re-warmed. I made a batch for my daughter to take to sleep away camp and they did great! Warm them in the microwave for 30 second intervals for best results.
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Cottage Cheese Pancake Recipe
Description
Tender, crepe-like Cottage Cheese Pancakes are quick and easy to prepare using your favorite pancake mix or recipe. Delicious on their own or sprinkled with chopped pecans or chocolate chips.
Ingredients
2 cups traditional pancake mix (in a hurry, I use Pamela’s)
1 cup cottage cheese
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans or chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
To Prepare the Batter
- In a large mixing bowl or large 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup, measure the pancake mix.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 cup of milk.
- Then add the melted butter and cottage cheese.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry pancake mix and stir to combine.
- Then blend until smooth using an immersion blender.
- Add 1/2 more milk to thin the batter.
- The batter will still be fairly thick when poured, but as the pancakes cook, they will be thin and more crepe-like.
To Cook the Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt a pat of butter on the skillet to coat.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet for each pancake.
- Sprinkle with the chopped pecans or chocolate chips (optional).
- Allow the pancakes to set for about 15-30 seconds, then flip them over to cook on the other side.
- Then cook them for an additional 14-30 seconds on the second side.
- Remove the cooked pancakes to a plate and stack them up to keep them warm as you cook the remaining batter.
- If desired, you can place the plate in a 200° F oven to keep them warm until serving.
Drizzle the pancakes with pure maple syrup, a pat of butter, or whipped cream if you like.
Notes
*If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can make this easily in a traditional blender or Ninja. If you do, first blend all the wet ingredients, and then add the dry mix to the wet ingredients.
*The batter may be made the day before and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You will need to add more milk to thin the batter after storage.
