Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Pumpkin

Are Cottage Cheese Pancakes Healthy?

This cottage cheese pancake recipe is particularly healthy as there's no sugar added, they're low in fat and high in protein.

• High in Protein - with its main ingredient already containing 22 grams of protein (that's 43% daily value), these pumpkin pancakes are an easy way to enjoy a high protein breakfast or brunch. What's more, with added egg (see my egg yolk recipes), they're already a good source of protein, magnesium and vitamin D). Add protein powder for even more of a boost.
• Extra vitamins and fibre - added pumpkin purée adds beta-carotene, is anti-inflammatory and rich in antioxidants. Also works with mashed banana.
• Oat bran - although optional, add just a tablespoon to up the fibre quantity.

According to Healthline, healthy foods to eat in the morning for breakfast are eggs, cottage cheese, oats, fruit, nuts, coffee and green tea. So, this recipe includes most of them in one!

OK - now that we've established that protein pumpkin pancakes are healthy, don't forget it's all dependant on what you put on them afterwards!

Cottage Cheese Pancakes - 3 Main Ingredients Plus Pumpkin Purée

This healthy pancake recipe is straightforward with only 3 main ingredients: cottage cheese, egg and flour.

To up their flavour, however, add pumpkin purée, spice, and all things nice including a little baking powder to fluff them up. As we're not into huge, high and fluffy in France, adding the pumpkin purée makes them flatter, so add more baking powder and a little bicarbonate of soda if you prefer a thicker appearance.

• Cottage cheese - makes the pancakes' texture more moist and incredibly light. We're excited to finally see it in France!
• Eggs - 2 organic eggs (large in the USA; medium in Europe - see FAQ).
• Flour - We use plain all-purpose flour with a little added oat bran. Looking for gluten free with no flour? Then replace with oat flour or old-fashioned, rolled porridge oats.
• Pumpkin purée - either use from a can (not pie filling), defrost from frozen or make your own as in the recipe below. Otherwise 2 mashed bananas work well too.

How to Make Cottage Cheese Pumpkin Pancakes

These are made in only 10 minutes if using ready-prepared pumpkin purée.

Simply place all ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Blend or no blend if you don't mind the cottage cheese curds. Frankly we don't bother, as, once they're cooked, they disappear.

If making your own purée: Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and oat bran, if using). In a food processor or another mixing bowl, place the wet ingredients: cottage cheese, egg and chopped roasted pumpkin and blend until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients.

Heat the oil (or butter) in the frying pan over medium heat and add to the batter.

Using about ¼ ladle or 2 tablespoons, spoon the batter into the hot pan and space them well apart.

Just like these Scotch pancakes (or drop scones), it's time to turn them (after about 3 minutes) when the mixture bubbles and bursts into holes. Turn them over and cook for a further couple of minutes until golden brown.

Serving for One

The quantity in this recipe is ideal as it uses a little 180g carton of cottage cheese. However, if you prefer to make just for one serving, it's easy to halve the quantities.

How do I Make them Gluten Free Without Flour?

Prefer no flour? To make pumpkin pancakes gluten free, replace the regular, all-purpose flour with oats. As a result, this makes these cottage cheese pancakes low carb. That's why I've marked them under low-gluten recipes, so it's easy to switch out.

Use old fashioned rolled oats or oat flour, as they're easier to absorb into the batter.

You could also replace flour with buckwheat flour, as we do in the classic French savoury thin buckwheat pancakes (galettes de sarrasin).

What do Cottage Cheese Pancakes Taste Like?

They don't taste cheesy at all. As cottage cheese is rather mild and creamy (read bland), plain pancakes don't have much flavour. So that's why I added the pumpkin and the spices to liven them up.

Frankly, I find this addition makes them taste better. Either use pumpkin purée or mash a couple of bananas for a little sweetness. The resulting taste is lighter and more moist than regular fluffy pancakes - that's what we love about them.

Do I Need to Blend Cottage Cheese for the Batter?

Many people like to blend it but I prefer no blender for the cottage cheese. It's not needed as, although the curds show in the batter, once they cook, they are no longer noticeable.
Here I blended this batch, simply as I needed to purée the pumpkin and it was easier to blitz with all the ingredients together.

How Can I Make them More Fluffy?

We are so used to our thin French pancakes (crêpes), that we don't always make them that fluffy. However, to make them fluffy, add more baking powder and a little baking soda (bicarbonate of soda).

Can I Freeze Cottage Cheese Pancakes?

The good news is cottage cheese pancakes can be frozen if you've any leftovers. Just wait for them to cool and freeze for up to 3 months in a well sealed container. However, never refreeze if using frozen purée. They will keep in the fridge for 2 days, but best served fresh.

How to Serve

As the pancakes don't contain sugar, they can be served with either savoury or sweet toppings. We love them with bacon, for example. Here are some more serving ideas:

• drizzle with maple syrup, blueberries and toasted walnuts
• orange curd or a dollop of Greek yogurt
• For extra protein, spread on little peanut butter or almond butter. 
• lemon juice, a squeeze of clementine oranges or apple sauce
• enjoy with coffee or green tea for an extra healthy morning boost.

Another healthy protein breakfast food to add to this list is chia seeds. Make a batch of this delicious chocolate chia pudding with coconut and almond milk.