These fluffy high protein pancakes with protein powder are packed with 21 grams of protein per serving! Made with 10 simple ingredients, these protein pancakes come together quickly and easily. These pancakes are perfect for starting your day off with extra protein!
Perfect for making ahead of time as they reheat wonderfully and are freezer friendly, these meal prep friendly high protein pancakes are the ultimate easy breakfast!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Light and fluffy, these protein pancakes look just like regular pancakes but have way more protein in them! Thanks to the protein powder and Greek yogurt, each serving (3 pancakes) has 21 grams of protein!
- These high protein pancakes have no added sugar. I find that the pancakes have a nice light sweetness to them from the vanilla extract and vanilla protein powder, so I don’t add any sugar to them. Plus, I usually serve these protein powder pancakes with maple syrup, so there’s enough sweetness in the end for me.
- These pancakes are meal prep friendly! Make a batch of them and reheat them in the morning to make your busy mornings a little easier. You can also freeze these pancakes for another time.
Ingredients You’ll Need
flour — these pancakes use all-purpose flour, so you’re likely to have what you need on hand! I haven’t tested this recipe with a different flour, so unfortunately, I’m not sure how they’ll end up if you swap the flour.
vanilla protein powder — I use whey protein powder. I highly recommend using protein powder you actually like for this high protein pancakes recipe. The pancakes cannot mask the flavor of the protein powder if it’s not one you enjoy! A good-quality protein powder is ideal as there are less filler ingredients and I find some of the cheaper powders to have a chalky aftertaste.
baking soda & baking powder — make sure these aren’t expired! If you’re pulling an old box out of the back of the pantry, they might have lost their effectiveness in their leavening properties. You’ll need to use both to ensure your pancakes come out light and fluffy like mine!
salt — just a pinch of kosher salt to balance everything out.
Greek yogurt — make sure you’re using full-fat Greek yogurt for the best results. I’m also using plain Greek yogurt as there is less sugar than vanilla Greek yogurt. I’ve also noticed the plain Greek yogurt that I buy tend to be higher in protein, lower in calories, and in sugar compared to my vanilla version.
milk — I use regular dairy milk. You can even get high protein milk where you get 13 grams of protein per cup. Keep in mind that the type of milk you use will affect the protein count.
egg — just one egg!
vanilla extract — I always use real vanilla extract.
olive oil — adding oil to pancakes will help them become tender and moist.
extra oil or oil spray — to grease the non-stick skillet in so you get perfectly golden pancakes.
How to Make Protein Pancakes with Protein Powder
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, vanilla protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mix together the Greek yogurt, milk, egg, vanilla extract, and olive oil.
- Add the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk to combine, making sure to stop when just combined. Do not over mix the pancake batter. Some lumps in the batter is totally ok!
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat the skillet with a non-stick spray (or butter or oil).
- Working in batches, add ¼ cup of pancake batter to your skillet and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and tiny bubbles appear around the edges. You can gently lift a corner with a thin spatula to take a look.
- Using a spatula, flip them and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat with the rest of your batter and serve with your favorite pancake toppings.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Make sure you do not over mix your pancake batter. I mentioned it earlier but I’d like to mention it again! Over mixing will lead to tough and chewy pancakes which is not a pleasant experience. Some lumps in your batter is also totally ok and actually will make your pancakes fluffier and taller! The lumps in the batter holds onto air pockets and prevents the batter from spreading too much in the skillet, which results in taller, fluffier pancakes!
- I love add-ins. You can add some mini chocolate chips or blueberries to the batter after scooping them onto the skillet.
- Keep your pancakes warm! Place them on a baking sheet or oven-safe platter in a 200F oven until you’re ready to serve.
- Leave the batter in the skillet once you add them! I only touch the pancakes when the timer goes off for them to be flipped. If you try to move them too early, you won’t get a nice golden crust on them.
- I wipe my skillet down between batches of pancakes so the oil doesn’t burn in the skillet and leave an aftertaste.
- If your protein pancakes are browning too quickly, turn the heat down a bit and allow the pan to cool for a minute before the next batch of pancakes go in.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, store protein powder pancakes in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: allow the pancakes to cool before transferring them into an airtight container and storing them in the freezer. Freeze for up to three months.
- Reheat: you can reheat the pancakes in the microwave until they are reheated through. I’ve also reheated them in the air fryer.
I don’t recommend replacing more of the flour with protein powder as it’ll change the texture and density of the pancakes. You can try to add extra protein by using high protein milk where you get 13 grams of protein per cup. You can also try my cottage cheese pancakes instead where you get 24 grams of protein per serving.
Pancake Toppings
Need some ideas of what to serve with your pancakes? Try maple syrup, brown sugar syrup, apple brown sugar syrup, blueberry simple syrup, sugar cookie syrup, banana syrup, fresh fruit, whipped cream, applesauce, date caramel, toasted nuts, or fruit compote! The options are endless!
High Protein Pancakes with Protein Powder Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup vanilla protein powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, full fat
- 1¼ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, optional* see note
- non-stick spray
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, vanilla protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mix together the Greek yogurt, milk, egg, vanilla extract, and olive oil.
- Add the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk to combine, making sure to stop when just combined. Do not over mix the pancake batter.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat the skillet with a non-stick spray (or butter or oil).
- Working in batches, add ¼ cup of pancake batter to your skillet and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and tiny bubbles appear around the edges. You can gently lift a corner with a thin spatula to take a look.
- Using a spatula, flip them and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat with the rest of your batter and serve with your favorite pancake toppings.
Notes
- Recipe makes 12 pancakes.
- I don’t usually add maple syrup to my pancake batter as I serve the pancakes with maple syrup, so the sweetness is added afterwards for me. If you top your pancakes with less maple syrup, I would recommend adding a tablespoon of maple syrup to your batter.
Nutrition Per Serving
More Pancakes Recipes to Try
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Alana says
Turned out really good besides them tasting a lot like olive oil. Next time I make a batch I’ll make sure to only use 1 tbsp instead of 2. Unless the recipe go without olive oil completely? What is the purpose for the olive oil in the batter? Lastly, I like the way these turned out and will be making them again. :) Thank you for this yummy and healthy recipe.
Carmy says
Hi Alana! The olive oil helps keep the pancakes moist and fluffy!
marina says
If you are trying to take more protein and looking for a snack this are perfect. I use them for my kids they love them and have no sugar on it.
Lana says
This recipe was terrible. The only change I made was to use oat flour instead of regular flour, because I don’t eat gluten, which I’ve done plenty of times with no issue, but these stuck to the pan no matter what I did, cooked out thin as hell, and tasted awful. What a waste of ingredients. I’m pissed.
Carmy says
Hi Lana, I’m not sure if you’ll see this as you used a fake email address but I’m sorry to hear that this protein powder pancake did not work out for you. This recipe was only tested with all-purpose flour as I do not specialize in gluten-free recipes. Unfortunately, I cannot pin point for you exactly what when wrong but the gluten in all-purpose flour provides the structure give the pancakes their fluffy shape. I highly recommend following a gluten-free pancake recipe that specifically uses oat flour for the best results.
Stephanie says
Best protein pancakes using protein powder that I’ve ever made. They usually end up dry and almost gritty no matter what powder i have used. These turned out amazing! nice and fluffy!
Ida says
Saw this on Pinterest so I saved it for when I had the time. I just made this and they were fantastic!
spoonfulofcrumbs says
I have made this recipe a few times, and it is so good. I love including Greek yogurt in the batter.
Ash says
These were amazing! I’ve made them twice already! If you follow the recipe and use the right flour they turn out fluffy and delicious. Thank you!!
A hangry, disappointed user says
This has to be the most awful protein pancake recipe I’ve ever tried lmao. If only I could upload a photo to show you how disastrous these “pancakes” came out. Following the recipe exactly (with the only exception of subbing oil I’ve oil for avocado oil {bc olive oil is too strongly flavored idk why anyone thought that was a good idea}) I was left with a shaggy dough! DOUGH— not batter. I had to use 2-3x the amount of liquid to make it workable and by that point, they were the most thin and flimsy pancakes ever. Don’t waste your time or expensive ingredients on this recipe, go elsewhere.