169 8069

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

October 5, 2010

If you know me or weelicious, you know I am not a fan of tricking kids into eating their vegetables. There has been a trend in children's cooking over the last few years which advocates hiding or disguising the foods our kids should be eating. For example, if you have a kid who doesn't like spinach, you can just bake a batch of brownies incorporating spinach into the recipe and your child will never know he's eating his greens. Aside from being a time consuming way to feed your children, I simply don't like the idea of deceiving kids, especially when it comes to food and establishing good lifelong eating habits. Inspiring kids to love fruits and vegetables is a much more fun, rewarding and easy (yes, I said easy) than you think.

Still, even when you are as committed to nutrition as I am, kids will be kids and not easily swayed from what they do and don't like. For instance, Kenya does not like cottage cheese and, trust me, I've tried (and repeatedly failed) to make it taste yummy to him. I've topped it with Raspberr-Wee sauce, let him squeeze honey on it, mixed it with diced pineapple (one of my childhood favorites) and attempted many other variations, but each time he takes a bite he refuses to eat any more. I embrace and respect the fact that every kid has his own unique palate and that Kenya may just not like cottage cheese, but I still wasn't ready to give up on it. After all, cottage cheese is packed with protein and is such an inexpensive and nutritious food that it became a personal mission of mine to devise a recipe using it that Kenya would enjoy.

These pancakes were my final try and I was excited to see how they would go over with Kenya. Six pancakes into his breakfast (no exaggeration, SIX), he asked, "what kind of pancakes are these mommy?" It was as if I gotten caught. I stopped in my tracks and hesitantly mumbled, "cottage cheese pancakes". He just looked at me and said "they're really good," and he's viewed cottage cheese differently ever since. Just goes to show you when it comes to food, don't give up on something you believe your kids will ultimately love and remember, honesty is always the best policy!

Cottage Cheese Pancakes  (Makes 20-25 pancakes)

  • Prep Time:5 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes,
  • Total Time: 20 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons honey or agave
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • butter, oil or oil spray

Preparation

  1. 1. Place the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and whisk.
  2. 2. In a separate bowl whisk the dry ingredients.
  3. 3. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir until just combined.
  4. 4. Heat a large sauté pan or griddle over medium heat, lightly coat with oil or butter and pour about 1 tbsp of the mixture onto the griddle for each pancake.
  5. 5. Cook for 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are set and golden.
  6. 6. Serve.
  7. *To Freeze: Let pancakes come to room temperature, place in a ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 3 months.

Accompaniments: Maple Syrup or honey

Related Recipes

Comments






  1. Shari

    December 30, 2012 at 2:27 pm

    I just made these for my mother-in-law this morning after church. They turned out delicious and I will be making them again many times. So flavorful and fluffy. I used 3/4 cup whole wheat flour instead of white flour, fat free cottage cheese and maple syrup. NO SALT.

  2. debra

    December 6, 2012 at 8:16 am

    can i make these with egg yolks and without honey – want to make them for my 9 month old who cant have honey or egg whites yet?

    • catherine

      December 6, 2012 at 1:23 pm

      The honey adds sweetness, so you can leave it out if you don’t mind the resulting flavor. If you want sweetness then use agave instead or another liquid sweetener. I’m not sure about the egg yolks, but I’m thinking that would be okay. You might need to add one more to help the dough come together. Let me know how it comes out with your changes! If the batter seems too thick try adding a little water.

  3. kristie

    December 4, 2012 at 9:27 am

    I can’t get theses to cook all the way thru. Even when they are burnt on the outside, they are not done on the inside???!!!

    • catherine

      December 4, 2012 at 2:20 pm

      Cook them over lower heat! What type of pan are you using?

  4. Megan

    November 12, 2012 at 5:38 am

    I’m curious about adding fruit to these, such as mashed banana or grated apple. Is this overkill? Does it work?

  5. Natascia

    November 3, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    My boys devoured these pancakes!

  6. Haley

    October 23, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    My daughter is in a really picky stage and is stubborn at trying new things. She loved these pancakes! The best part is she doesn’t like cottage cheese, never has! This is the second Weelicious recipe that I have braved at trying and succeeded with! I went right out and bought your cookbook this afternoon :) Thank you so much for a delicious and nutritious recipe!!

  7. Jill

    October 3, 2012 at 11:15 am

    These are tasty and they smell divine. They’re a little too savory by themselves (I like sweeter pancakes), but they are AMAZING if you serve them with fresh strawberries. They’d probably be good with fresh raspberries or blackberries or anything sweet and tart. I tried to put chopped strawberries in the batter and cook them that way, but I found I like the cold strawberry flavor and texture better.

    Also, I added a spoonful more flour after the first two turned out too flat (for my tastes). Stick to the Tablespoon size (medallion size) pancakes to be sure they get cooked all the way through. I tried to make them a little bigger at first, and they didn’t turn out quite right.

    All in all very delicious and a great way to use cottage cheese (for those of us who can’t palate the stuff by itself).

  8. Ruth

    October 1, 2012 at 7:56 am

    These were good, but seemed a little too salty – next time I make them, I’ll cut down on the salt. I also used 1.5 times the flour called for, based on other readers comments, and they cooked perfectly. My 5-yr old ate several, and didn’t even notice any difference from “normal” pancakes.

  9. Lindsey L.

    September 28, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    I I GI made these today my three kids Loved them. They couldn’t get enough . I don’t like them though.they tasted like sour dough. I doubled checked my cottage cheese and eggs to make sure they were not bad. Are they suppose to take like sour dough or did I do something wrong.

  10. karen

    September 16, 2012 at 9:05 am

    Just made these and the family loved them! I substituted gf pancake mix for the flour:-)

  11. Pingback: Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes | Fit Minded Mom

  12. lizaibel

    July 19, 2012 at 8:45 pm

    These are insanely good. I made them three times in one week. Thank you!

  13. RobinV.

    July 11, 2012 at 11:35 am

    Wow! My kids loved these! I couldnt cook them fast enough ;-) Thanks for all the amazing ideas!

  14. Caroles

    May 20, 2012 at 10:00 am

    Made this today, but used Fresca Avena. Which is oat in a flour type used for beverages. This came out soooo good!

  15. Joann

    May 19, 2012 at 7:26 am

    I’ve been using this recipe for a while now & have to say… it’s AWESOME! my kids love it… Thanks Catherine! You’re the best!

  16. catherine

    May 10, 2012 at 11:11 am

    I have done that with other pancake mixes. I say give it a try! Let me know how it comes out! :)

  17. Lindsay

    May 10, 2012 at 8:15 am

    I have made these several times and both myself and my twins find them DELICIOUS!!! I was just wondering if I could pour the batter into a muffin tin and bake these? I have made pancake muffins before but never with a cottage cheese based batter so I’m not sure whether it would work. Has anyone done this?

  18. jaime

    April 10, 2012 at 9:36 pm

    can I substitute 1/2 cup almond flour for the wheat flour? I can’t do grains.

    • catherine

      April 11, 2012 at 12:01 pm

      Yes, almond flour is a great substitute! Just remember that the taste and texture will be a bit different.

  19. Pingback: No more boxed pancake & waffle mix | My Family Blog

  20. Esther

    March 3, 2012 at 7:38 pm

    came out perfect and IIII love them! =D (so does my husband and 2 year old son =P) but I’m the one with the cottage cheese problem – so thank you! =D

    for those with soupy consistencies…
    I used 2 % cottage cheese, and 3 extra large eggs…
    I used a LITTLE bit more flour but not too much and it came out perfectly… hope it works out for you because they’re great!

  21. Isla

    February 24, 2012 at 11:37 am

    Made these this morning for a 5-year boy who wont normally eat cottage cheese and a 2-year girl who wont eat eggs…they both ate 4 of them! SO DELICIOUS! Thank you, thank you! This will be a weekly item in my house now. And I took your advice, and told them what was in them…after they ate them of course, and they didnt seem to mind. yay!

  22. Lucy

    February 23, 2012 at 9:17 pm

    Having a nightmare of a time with this recipe! They keep sticking to the pan & a very soupy texture. I used 1% cottage cheese because that’s what I had on hand. This may be the problem but the recipe didn’t specify a type. Tried to add more flour with no luck. Will attempt again another time would really like to try them!

    • mel

      December 12, 2012 at 12:24 pm

      The batter gets thinner the longer it sits. Also, mixing dry ingredients into wet just enough to moisten the flour (it will seem a bit under-mixed) helps keep it from getting soupy. Hope this helps!

  23. Pingback: Meal Plan – February | Jolly Green Mommy

  24. Hillary

    February 3, 2012 at 11:01 am

    I made these for my 11 month old this morning (sans honey) and they were a hit. She ate THREE! These are going on my rotation for sure. I am a huge weelicious fan (I made the lentil veggie soup last night and blended it for my daughter and she gobbled it up). Thanks for another wonderful recipe!

  25. Christiane

    January 27, 2012 at 12:45 pm

    Just read a blueberry addition comment! Thanks!