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Pumpkin Protein Pancakes made in the blender! These gluten free pumpkin pancakes are an easy, healthy start to the day.

Why You’ll Love these Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
These pumpkin pancakes are made entirely with oats processed in a blender (that’s right, zero flour!), making them 100% whole grain and naturally gluten free.
Plus, they only call for 7 ingredients and come together in 15 minutes.
They’re perfect for easy weekday breakfasts or lazy Sunday brunch. Both kids and adults will love their pumpkin-y flavor and soft, fluffy texture.
And contrary to other protein pancake recipes, there’s no need for protein powders in this recipe.
Their quality protein comes from eggs and cottage cheese, which together create the creamiest, fluffiest texture.
Trust me, if you haven’t tried cottage cheese in pancakes, you’re in for a treat!
Make a batch ahead and store them in the fridge for healthy breakfasts or snacks on the fly.
For more healthy fall breakfast ideas, also check out my Baked Pumpkin Pie Oats, Chia Spice Baked Oatmeal, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.
The Ingredients
- Pumpkin Puree: It’s important to use pure pumpkin puree (such as Libby’s brand), as opposed to pumpkin pie filling. The latter is already heavily sweetened and flavored. Alternatively, you can use 2/3 cup of mashed ripe banana.
- Old Fashioned Oats: Packed with fiber and whole grain goodness, oats create the bulk of the base for these fluffy pancakes. This recipe calls for old fashioned rolled oats, however quick oats can also do the job. Just don’t use steel cut oats, which are too hard and tough to create the soft texture we’re going for.
- Cottage Cheese: That’s right, our MVP, protein-packed ingredient here is good ol’ cottage cheese. If you’re typically not a fan of cottage cheese, you won’t taste it at ALL once the pancakes are cooked. I do suggest using full-fat over reduced-fat here, which helps create a tender crumb. My favorite brand of cottage cheese is Good Culture, which also offers probiotic benefits.
- Eggs: A must to help bind the pancakes and create a fluffy texture.
- Maple Syrup: A touch of maple syrup adds sweetness and warmth to each stack. Alternatively, you can also use honey.
- Spices: I love using either pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice to get quintessential fall flavor. If you don’t have either on hand, use a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. (Ginger, too, if you’re feeling spicy!)
The Directions:
Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Leave the mixture in the blender while you preheat a large skillet or griddle.
Step 2: Cook Pancakes on a Griddle of Skillet, using about 1/3 cup of batter for each one.
Cook for about 2 to 4 minutes, until golden and dry at the edges and bubbles form on top.
Flip the pancakes, and cook until golden on the other side. Repeat these steps with the remaining batter.
Lastly, garnish your pancakes with your toppings of choice and drizzle maple syrup overtop!
Recipe Tips and Tricks:
- Don’t Omit the Eggs. The key to fluffiness is using eggs, which also help bind the batter. Please note: this recipe has NOT been tested with egg alternatives, such as flax or chia eggs.
- Let the Batter Sit. The blended oats will slightly expand to create an extra thick batter. You may even assume the batter is TOO thick compared to the norm, though trust in that it will perform!
- Add Liquid Ingredients First. If you have a finicky blender, you may need to lubricate the blender blade by adding the liquid ingredients first. (Such as the pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, maple syrup, and eggs.)
How to Store and Reheat:
- To Store: Place leftover pancakes in an airtight storage container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- To Reheat: Gently rewarm pancakes in the microwave until hot. Alternatively, you can reheat them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350ºF until warmed through, or in a toaster oven.
- To Freeze: First, allow your pancakes to fully cool. Then, place a piece of parchment or wax paper in between each pancake and stack them on top of one another. Transfer to a freezer-safe gallon zip-top bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, reheat pancakes directly from frozen as instructed.
If you give this recipe a try, snap a pic and tag #dishingouthealth so I can see your beautiful creations. Also, follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest recipe updates!
More Healthy Breakfast Ideas
Baked Pumpkin Pie Oats
Banana Bread Overnight Oats
The Best Vegan Blueberry Muffins
Protein Granola Breakfast Bowls
Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
Equipment
- Blender
- Large skillet or griddle
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (or mashed ripe banana)
- 1/2 cup full-fat cottage cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- Suggested toppings: Chopped pecans or walnuts, chocolate chips, maple butter, almond butter, and/or maple syrup.
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a high power blender; blend until mostly smooth (do not overblend). Let batter sit in the blender while you preheat a skillet (or griddle) over medium heat. Grease with oil or butter. *Note: If you have a finicky blender, you may want to add the wet ingredients first to help lubricate the blade (such as the pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, eggs, and maple syrup).
- Once the pan is hot, add 1/3 cup batter to the pan for each pancake.Use the back of a spoon to smooth out batter to create a rounded pancake. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until pancakes slightly puff up and bubbles form around the edges. Gently flip, and cook another 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the underside. (Note: if the pancakes start browning too quickly, reduce heat to medium-low to prevent burning.)Serve warm with toppings of choice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I calculate these values by hand to ensure accuracy, however expect up to a 10% variable depending on food brands.
These were delicious! Only 4 stars because i wouldn’t consider this a blender recipe as there isn’t really any liquid and I had to fight the blender. Next time I woulld blend the pumpkin, eggs and cottage cheese and just stir with some oat flour and other ingredients.
So, I subbed the oat flour for a mix of some paleo and AP flour pancake mixes I had on hand and following the rest of the ingredients my batter was crazy thick. It does seem like this holds true even for people using oat flour. I added probably 1/3 of a cup of soy milk and the batter was still a little thick but workable (I also didn’t use a blender, just mixed it together).
I also added a little vanilla and doubled the spice, my family devoured these pancakes. Maybe the little extra leavening ingredients from the pancake flour mixes helped too? Anyway, thanks for sharing the recipe!
Not light and fluffy, but I still liked them!
I did have to add a tablespoon of milk (to a half batch) which made it blend more smoothly, and it was still a fairly thick batter.
I could do with more spice. I used 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, and 1/4 tsp cloves to the half batch since I don’t keep pumpkin pie spice on hand.
This recipe would greatly benefit from some form of liquid… I added almond milk after the first three were so thick and sludge like we have to bake them through to cook them. The thinner pancakes came out much better so I will be adding almond milk to the batter from here on out.
This didn’t quite taste like a pancake to me. I think it was the texture. It was extremely thick, almost sludge-y, not like a light and fluffy pancake. Perhaps if I had used half whole wheat flour and half oats that might have made it better for me in terms of texture. I also would have liked the pumpkin pie flavor to be a bit more pronounced so I think I would use more pumpkin pie spice in the future.
I just tried these for the first time since I had some extra pumpkin puree to use up and WOW! I really was not expecting them to be this easy, fluffy, and delicious. I’ll definitely be making them again!
Forgot to leave a rating. 5/5!
Just made the pumpkin pancakes and they were delicious. Followed the recipe minus the pumpkin spice because I didn’t have it on hand. I added chocolate chips. Will do this again.
These look amazing but I would like to try them with a little bit more protein. Could I do a scoop of protein powder in place of some of the oats or just add the protein powder in and then a little more liquid? I am not an amazing cook I need all the direction I can get!
Hi Jennifer – I haven’t tried that method so I can’t say for sure, but I imagine you can add a scoop of protein and scale back on the oats a tad. Or maybe add an extra egg or egg white along with the protein powder?
Just tried these to kick off the fall season in New England. Amazing recipe!
Used GFflour instead of oatmeal and it turned out great!
I haven’t tried these yet but they look delicious! Question- how big are each pancake in diameter? Or how much batter is in each pancake? The nutrition facts says 3 pancakes but that didn’t tell me how big they are. Thanks in advance!
Even with the substitution of sugar free maple syrup and egg whites it still came out to 667 calories. Even 1.5 cups of oats alone is 450 calories. Something is very off.
I plugged the recipe into MyFitnessPal (MFP) using my brand of oats, etc. The recipe says it makes 3 servings, and each serving is 3 pancakes. So the one recipe makes 9 pancakes. Upon plugging everything into MFP each individual pancake would be 101 calories/ 3g Fat/ 15g Carbs/ 6g Protein. Or for a 3 pancake serving – 303 calories/ 9g fat/ 15g Carbs/ 18g Protein.