Table of Contents
High-Protein Japanese Soufflé Pancakes Recipe
Pancakes are a whole thing in my house. We rotate them into our breakfasts every week and love keeping them in the freezer for whenever we want a hearty, high-protein start to the day!
Inspired by my five-star cottage cheese pancakes, and after lots and lots of testing, I tweaked traditional Japanese soufflé pancake recipes, infusing cottage cheese into the batter. Not only does it make the pancakes even fluffier, but it also adds lots of protein, and once blended, no one ever realizes it’s there! With an almost cake-like consistency, these pancakes feel like a treat, and my littles love getting to pick and choose their own toppings. They’re seriously SO good!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 23 Grams Protein – I love that these pancakes are nutritious and filling while still tasting like a sweet breakfast treat!
- 35 Minutes Total – All you need is 15 minutes of prep time and a little patience while cooking. All the steps are SO easy!
- Family-Friendly – As written, this recipe makes enough for 6 pancakes, which is plenty for several servings. Plus, the batter can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd.
- Texture – Soufflé pancakes are truly unlike anything else! Becoming tall and puffy as they cook, they’re soft, airy, light, and truly addicting.
RELATED: Cottage Cheese Pancake Bars
Ingredients
- Eggs – Separate the egg yolks and egg whites, making sure no yolks get into the whites. This is key to creating the fluffy batter!
- Cottage Cheese – Whole milk cottage cheese works best for a fluffy texture and softer batter. Either small curd or large curd is totally fine, because we’re blending it up anyway.
- Vanilla
- Sugar – Cane sugar sweetens the pancakes and helps give the whipped egg whites structure so they don’t deflate right away.
- Flour – I use all-purpose flour for the base of the batter, but you can use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour if you need to keep your soufflé pancakes gluten-free.
- Baking Powder – Make sure it’s fresh, or your pancakes won’t rise properly!
- Salt
- Water
How to Make Protein Soufflé Pancakes
If you’ve never made them, these pancakes might look intimidating, but don’t worry. I promise the process is super easy! You’ll feel like you got brunch at a fancy restaurant. All you need is a blender, a whisk or electric mixer, a large bowl, a frying pan, and a wire rack. Here’s how to make High-Protein Soufflé Pancakes:
- Blend – Pulse the egg yolks, cottage cheese, and vanilla in a blender until smooth. Stop and scrape the sides of the blender as needed to ensure there are no clumps!
- Beat the egg whites – Combine the egg whites and sugar in a bowl, whisking until medium-stiff peaks form. I like to use an electric mixer to speed the process up!
- Combine – Working slowly, gently fold the blended egg yolk mixture into the whipped egg whites just until combined. Be careful not to deflate the egg whites!
- Add the dry ingredients – Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl, and fold the mixture into the liquid batter just until no streaks remain.
- Cook – Working in batches, scoop the batter onto a greased frying pan over medium-low heat, spooning scoops of the batter on top of each other. Add water to the pan, being careful to avoid the batter. Then, cover and cook.
- Repeat – Add more batter to the top of each pancake, cover again, and continue to cook until set. Don’t add more water! Flip the pancakes, and cook uncovered until lightly golden.
- Cool and repeat – Transfer the soufflé pancakes to a wire rack to cool. Then, wipe the pan with a clean paper towel, and repeat, cooking all the batter. Enjoy warm!
Tips
- Whip the egg whites to medium-stiff peaks. You want them glossy and able to hold their shape, but not dry or crumbly, or your pancakes will fall apart.
- Fold gently, don’t stir. Use a spatula and a light hand when folding both the yolk mixture and the dry ingredients into the egg whites. Overmixing will deflate the batter and lead to flatter pancakes.
- Cook low and slow. Medium-low heat is key to creating the fluffy consistency. Too high heat will brown the outside of the pancakes before the center has time to set.
- Add steam only once. The initial tablespoon of water helps the pancakes rise, but adding more will cause excess moisture and make them collapse.
- Use a wire rack after cooking. Transferring the pancakes to a cooling rack instead of stacking them helps release steam and prevents soggy bottoms or excessive deflation.
- Serve immediately. These pancakes are best enjoyed fresh off the pan while they’re at their tallest and fluffiest!
- Some deflation is absolutely normal. So don’t panic if you see them drop a bit as they cool! I’ve tested this recipe SO many times and have discovered that this just happens to some extent.
RELATED: Cinnamon Roll Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Variations
Blueberry Pancakes – Gently press a few fresh blueberries into the batter after spooning it into the pan (avoid folding them into the batter to prevent deflating).
Chocolate Chip Pancakes – Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the pancakes once they’re in the pan.
Lemon Vanilla Pancakes – Add 1 teaspoon of lemon zest to the yolk mixture for a bright, refreshing flavor.
Cinnamon Swirl – Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients for a warm, comforting flavor.
Topping Ideas and Serving Suggestions
Toppings are a must! Of course, maple syrup is a classic choice, but the options are endless. Some of my favorite toppings include:
- Powdered Sugar
- Greek Yogurt – I love adding a dollop on top with a little drizzle of syrup!
- Strawberries & Blueberries
- Bananas
- Chopped Nuts
- Chocolate Chips
- Coconut Flakes
- Whipped Cream
Most of the time, I serve soufflé pancakes on their own. However, if hosting a brunch, I like to add a few savory options, too, to round out the meal. Some of my go-to options are cottage cheese egg bites, Whole30 breakfast casserole, and pesto eggs. Don’t forget to add a cup of iced high-protein coffee or collagen coffee, too!
How to Store
I recommend serving your soufflé pancakes right away while they’re still warm and fluffy. However, if needed, you can transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. I don’t recommend freezing this recipe, because the pancakes tend to deflate and become soggy once thawed.
To serve, reheat leftovers over low heat or in the microwave in 30-second intervals just until warmed through. They won’t be quite as fluffy as if served fresh, but they’ll still taste delicious!
More Ways to Use Cottage Cheese
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Cottage Cheese Waffles
- Cottage Cheese Brownies
- Cottage Cheese Muffins
- Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Waffles
Looking for more? Find 35+ cottage cheese recipes!
Healthy Pancake Recipes You’ll Love
- Pecan Pie Pancakes
- 10-Minute Healthy Banana Pancakes
- Mocha Protein Peanut Butter Pancakes
- Apple Pie Protein Pancakes
- Carrot Cake Pancakes
- Protein Pancakes with Greek Yogurt
Want to save this recipe? Enter your email below and I’ll send the recipe to your inbox. Plus you’ll get new healthy recipes every week!
Soufflé Pancakes
Equipment
- 1 Blender
- 1 Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs (whites and yolks separated)
- 3/4 cup 4% cottage cheese
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons cane sugar
- 3/4 cup +1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons water
- Avocado oil spray (as needed)
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the egg yolks, cottage cheese and vanilla and blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with sugar until medium-stiff peaks form (can take 6-8 minutes). Use an electric mixer to speed up the process.
- Slowly and gently, fold the blended yolk mixture into the whipped egg whites, just until combined.
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Fold the flour mixture into the liquid batter just until combined. Don’t overmix otherwise the batter will deflate!
- Heat a non-stick fry pan over medium-low heat. Lightly grease with avocado oil cooking spray.
- Scoop 2 heaping tablespoons of batter (each tablespoon on top of the other) into the skillet. Repeat two more times so there are 3 pancakes in the pan total. Use the back of the measuring spoon to slightly nudge the batter into a round shape (so it resembles a pancake).
- Pour 1 tbsp of water into your skillet, avoiding the pancake batter, cover the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
- Uncover the pan, repeat one more time with a second dollop (2 tbsp per pancake) of batter on top of each pancake, cover again, and cook for 3 more minutes. Do NOT add any more water.
- Uncover the pan, flip the pancakes and cook uncovered for 4 more minutes.
- Carefully transfer pancakes to a wire rack to cool (to prevent them from deflating).
- Wipe out the pan with a paper towel (otherwise the next batch of pancakes may look burnt from old oil) and repeat the cooking process (steps 7 through 11) to make 3 more pancakes.
- Serve right away with your favorite pancake toppings and enjoy!
Stephanie Dutcher says:
Can you take out the cane sugar or substitute?
JOL Team replied:
I haven’t tried it personally, but you should be able to use maple syrup in the batter portion and omit the sugar from the whipped egg whites. Enjoy!
Anita Zadora says:
These look delicious. Would they work with gluten free flour?
JOL Team replied:
Yes, a 1:1 gluten-free flour will swap well in this. Enjoy!