Pumpkin Protein Pancakes are easy, made in a blender, and need no protein powder or mixes. Plus, they are full of protein and vitamins for a nutritious breakfast. Great for Fall and Winter meal prep, Halloween, or Thanksgiving.
About Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
Whenever a pumpkin craving strikes, you'll want these protein-packed pumpkin oat pancakes.
They're easy to make and need no special powders or mixes.
Plus, they're great to make ahead of time for breakfast meal prep during the fall and winter seasons or whenever you find pumpkin puree on the shelves.
Out of over 20 pumpkin recipes on my blog, these Pumpkin Protein Pancakes are the ones I make the most.
(I also really love the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie and Pumpkin Chili.)
These pancakes can be frozen so you always have a nutritious, filling, and satisfying breakfast.
I like to make a batch or two on a Sunday and enjoy a leisurely weekend breakfast; then I keep a few in the fridge for the week and store the rest in the freezer.
Quick note these pumpkin-spiced protein pancakes have no added sugar, so they are not sweet.
Simply top with syrup, peanut butter, almond butter, pumpkin butter, or your preferred pancake topping.
Ingredients
Oats: The base of these pumpkin pumpkin pancakes is oats. Use old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats; do not use flavored, instant oats or steel-cut oats.
Cottage cheese: Cottage cheese adds the majority of the protein and holds the batter together. Either full-fat (4%) or 2% fat cottage cheese is ideal. Fat-free cottage cheese is not recommended because it might not hold up as well when cooking.
Eggs: This pumpkin oat pancake recipe was tested with large eggs. If you only have medium eggs, subtract 1 tablespoon of oats. For extra large eggs, add an extra tablespoon of oats.
Baking powder: Baking powder helps the pancakes to rise. Without it, your pancakes will be pretty flat. Double-check that your baking powder has not expired.
Pumpkin: Pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix, is added to make these pumpkin oat pancakes. Canned pumpkin was used for recipe testing, so that is recommended. Fresh pumpkin puree usually has more liquid, so drain before adding.
Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract adds sweetness without added sugar. However, it can be omitted if needed.
Spices: To make these pumpkin spiced pancakes, you'll add cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg and/or allspice. I like to add five spices, yet you can skip the nutmeg, allspice, or cloves if needed.
I recommend having at least 3 or 4 out of the 5 spices, especially cinnamon.
Recipe Cost
- Oats 1 ¼ cup: $0.70
- Eggs 4 large: $0.56
- Cottage cheese 8 ounces: $0.86
- Baking powder 1 teaspoon: $0.06
- Pumpkin puree ⅔ cup: $0.53
- Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon: $0.59
- Cinnamon 1 teaspoon: $0.07
- Ground ginger ¼ teaspoon: $0.03
- Ground cloves ¼ teaspoon: $0.04
- Ground nutmeg ¼ teaspoon: $0.04
- Ground allspice ¼ teaspoon: $0.04
TOTAL COST: $3.52 or $0.88/serving (Based on San Diego grocery stores 2023)
Note that this is not the recipe; it's simply to show the cost breakdown of ingredients. Scroll down to the full recipe to see the specific ingredients and directions.
How to Make Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
Time needed: 35 minutes
Easy, delicious, and gluten-free pumpkin oat pancakes made in a blender or food processor.
- Add oats to a food processor or blender.
- Pulse for about 30 seconds.
It doesn't need to be powder-like similar to oat flour, but you want the oats to be smaller and chopped.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Blend.
- Cook pancakes.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
*The first few pancakes are often uglier, but they'll still taste great.
Be sure to preheat the skillet or griddle, and flip whenever you see the tiny bubbles forming in the pancake.
Also, remember that it doesn't matter if your pancakes aren't perfect or pretty. What matters is how they taste, and these are tasty.
See here for my ugly, messed-up pancakes:
Variations
Ingredient Options
Spices: You don't need to use all 5 of the spices - cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. You can use 3 or 4 of them, but I recommend making sure you add cinnamon.
Pumpkin pie spice can be used in place of the combo of ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. Simply add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice + ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon to season the pumpkin spice protein pancakes.
Alternative Prep & Cooking
You can prepare these in a baking dish for a pumpkin version of sheet pan protein pancakes.
Use these measurements to make Sheet Pan Pumpkin Protein Pancakes in the oven:
- 1 ½ cups oats old-fashioned or quick
- 6 large eggs
- 1 ½ cup cottage cheese
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice
Follow the instructions on this post, adding the pumpkin puree and spices with the other ingredients as instructed.
How to Make Allergy-Friendly
These oat pumpkin pancakes are naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free.
Be sure you use certified gluten-free oats if needed.
I haven't found a suitable egg substitute, so they likely cannot be made without eggs.
How to Fix a Mistake
Not sweet enough: These will not be sweet because there is no added sugar. Add sweetness with peanut butter, syrup, pumpkin butter, or other preferred sweetener.
Too much spice: Add whipped cream or yogurt. This can help tone down the flavors.
Make-Ahead Ideas
You can easily make these pumpkin protein pancakes in advance and reheat them when you're ready to enjoy.
Simply follow the instructions, let cool, and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Storage Suggestions
Keep these in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 days or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
To reheat:
- In the microwave: Place pancakes on a microwave-safe plate, and heat for 45 seconds at 100% power. Flip and microwave for another 30-45 seconds until warm.
- In a skillet: In a dry skillet over medium heat, place one or two pancakes and cook for about 3 minutes per side until warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Instead of using individual spices like ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves, you can use pumpkin pie spice.
Because too much pumpkin pie spice can be overwhelming, use 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice + ½ teaspoon of cinnamon in place of the spices & measurements listed in the recipe.
Yes, you can easily make pumpkin protein pancakes with oats, cottage cheese, eggs, and spices.
Nutrition Benefits
One serving of pumpkin protein pancakes offers 17 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, 133% RDA of Vitamin A, 17% RDA of iron, 14% RDA of calcium, and 11% RDA of potassium.
What to Serve with Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
These no added sugar pumpkin pancakes are great served with maple syrup, peanut butter, pumpkin butter, or whatever you like on your pancakes.
If you want to add even more pumpkin to your breakfast, serve with a pumpkin chai latte or a pumpkin spice cold brew.
Final thoughts:
Every year that the weather turns chillier, I get excited to make these pancakes.
I have made multiple flavors of protein pancakes without protein powder, and these are some of my favorites.
Because they aren't sweet, I add a little maple syrup and sometimes peanut butter for a delightful pumpkin breakfast.
MORE PUMPKIN RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE:
Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup oats old-fashioned or quick
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice
Instructions
- Add the oats to a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds to chop the oats.
- Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until completely combined.
- Preheat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add about ¼ cup batter to the griddle per pancake.Note: the batter will be pretty thick. Just stir before transferring to a griddle or skillet.
- Let cook on one side until tiny bubbles form. Carefully flip and cook on the other side until done - about 2 to 4 minutes per side.
- Repeat with remaining batter until done.
- Enjoy! Great with butter, peanut butter, or maple syrup. Refrigerate leftovers and keep up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 weeks.
Notes
What to Use in This Recipe
Meme
This post was originally published on October 30, 2014. Text, recipe, and photos have been updated.
Pumpkin Oats Pancakes Nutrition Facts
How many calories are in pumpkin spice pancakes?
There are 228 calories in pumpkin spice pancakes.
Katie (The Muffin Myth)
This is a great recipe, AND I happen to have all of the ingredients on hand! Yay! I love that the protein comes from cottage cheese and eggs, not protein powder like so many protein pancakes do these days. I love making big batches of pancakes or waffles and freezing them for busy days. In fact, I've got a recipe for freezer waffles coming up on my blog! Normally I don't have much of a fancy breakfast during the week, but I'm working from home today AND I have all the ingredients AND it's Halloween, so I pretty much have to, right? Thanks for the recipe!
Meme
Thanks so much Katie!!! And yes, if you have the ingredients - you must try the recipe. They are my favorite way to start my day.
Freezer breakfasts are seriously the best thing to happen to mornings 🙂
Lisa
Do you have the nutrition information for this recipe? Thanks!
Meme
Yes! Under the recipe, click the link that says "Click here for Nutrition Facts" and you can see them 🙂
xo!
Mary Ann
Any idea how much pumpkin pie spice I would use instead of individual spices?
Meme
I am actually testing this these week, so I will try it out and give you a definitive answer once I know. But I would guess around 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and an additional 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon if you love cinnamon like me 🙂