Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes (Four Ways)
Soft, naturally sweet, protein-rich pancakes made with cottage cheese, ripe banana, and pasture-raised eggs. Make them flourless with just three ingredients, or add sprouted oats or almond flour for a sturdier, more classic pancake. Plus topping ideas for every season, and banana-free swaps for when you'd rather eat local.
Yield: About 10 small pancakes (serves 2–3) per version · Active: 15 min · Total: 20 min · Year-round (with seasonal swaps below) · Best eaten: morning
What to Expect
The flourless versions (Classic and Three-Ingredient) are soft and custardy in the center, more like a delicate crêpe-pancake than a fluffy diner stack. They're delicious, naturally sweet, and full of protein. For a sturdier pancake with a more traditional texture, make the Sprouted Oat or Almond Flour version.
Four Tricks That Matter
Use thick cottage cheese. Watery cottage cheese makes a loose batter that spreads and breaks. If yours has a lot of liquid, drain it in a fine-mesh strainer for 10 minutes first.
Keep them small, about 2½–3 inches across, and relatively thin, so the centers cook through before the outsides brown.
Cook them low and slow, over medium-low heat. These brown faster than regular pancakes.
Don't flip too early. Wait 3–5 minutes, until the edges are set, the top looks less glossy, and the bottom is golden. If a pancake bends or tears when you lift it, give it another minute.
About the pan: A well-seasoned cast iron or carbon steel skillet, or a ceramic pan, with plenty of butter or ghee, works best.
About baking powder: Most baking powders contain cornstarch, and some contain aluminum. These recipes use cream of tartar and baking soda instead, a simple grain-free, aluminum-free combination. Or use ½ tsp aluminum-free baking powder in their place.
1. Classic Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes
Grain-free and nut-free, with a little lift
1 cup thick cottage cheese
1 medium ripe banana
2 pasture-raised eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp cream of tartar plus ⅛ tsp baking soda (or ½ tsp aluminum-free baking powder)
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Optional: 1 tbsp coconut flour, for a little more structure
Grass-fed butter or ghee, for cooking
Blend everything until completely smooth.
Rest the batter 5 minutes while you heat a skillet over medium-low heat.
Cook. Melt a little butter in the pan, and pour in small pancakes, about 2½–3 inches wide. Cook 3–5 minutes, until the edges are set and the bottom is golden.
Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook 2–3 minutes more, until the center is set.
Rest them a minute before serving.
2. Sprouted Oat Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes
The sturdiest and most like a classic pancake
1 cup thick cottage cheese
1 medium ripe banana
2 pasture-raised eggs
¾ cup sprouted rolled oats
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp cream of tartar plus ¼ tsp baking soda (or 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder)
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Grass-fed butter or ghee, for cooking
Blend the oats first, until they're a fine flour, then add everything else and blend until smooth.
Rest the batter 10 minutes, so the oats can soak up the liquid and thicken it.
Cook over medium-low heat, about 3 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through. These can be a little larger, about 4 inches across.
3. Almond Flour Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes
Grain-free, tender, and nutty
1 cup thick cottage cheese
1 medium ripe banana
2 pasture-raised eggs
½ cup blanched almond flour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp cream of tartar plus ⅛ tsp baking soda (or ½ tsp aluminum-free baking powder)
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Grass-fed butter or ghee, for cooking
Blend everything until smooth, and let the batter rest 5 minutes.
Cook over medium-low heat, 3–4 minutes on the first side and 2–3 on the second. Almond flour browns quickly, so keep the heat gentle.
4. Three-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes
The simplest of all: no grains, no nuts, no leavening
1 cup thick cottage cheese
1 medium ripe banana
2 pasture-raised eggs
Grass-fed butter or ghee, for cooking
Blend until completely smooth, and let the batter rest 5 minutes.
Cook small, 3-inch pancakes over medium-low heat, slowly, for 3–5 minutes on the first side, until set. Flip carefully and cook 2–3 minutes more.
A Note on Bananas
Bananas grow in the tropics, so if you live in North America, Europe, or anywhere at a northern latitude, they're always shipped in from far away. In tropical places like Costa Rica, Hawaii, or Mexico, they're a wonderful local food. Further north, they're a convenient, everyday treat, but not a seasonal one.
To make these with local, seasonal produce, replace the banana with one of these. Each is a little wetter than banana, so add 1–2 tbsp coconut flour (or a little more oat or almond flour) to keep the batter thick, plus 1–2 tsp maple syrup for sweetness:
Fall and winter: ½ cup pumpkin or roasted winter squash purée, plus ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
Fall: ½ cup unsweetened applesauce or pear sauce, plus ½ tsp cinnamon
Fall and winter: ½ cup mashed roasted sweet potato, plus ½ tsp cinnamon
Summer: ½ cup mashed ripe peaches, plus a pinch of cardamom
Toppings for Every Season
Spring
Sliced strawberries and whipped raw cream
Lemon zest and a drizzle of raw honey
Yogurt with fresh mint
Summer
Fresh blueberries, raspberries, or sliced peaches
A spoonful of raw cream or kefir, and a sprinkle of bee pollen
Toasted coconut and a squeeze of lime
Fall
Stewed cinnamon apples or pears
Toasted pecans and maple syrup
Sliced Fuyu persimmon with a dusting of cinnamon
Winter
Orange or blood orange segments and pomegranate arils
Warm berry compote, made from frozen berries
Cacao nibs and a spoonful of almond butter
Any time
Grass-fed butter and maple syrup
A dollop of yogurt or kefir
A handful of Food Marshall Granola, for crunch
Storage
Refrigerate cooked pancakes up to 3 days, or freeze them in a single layer, then in a container, up to 2 months. Reheat them in a buttered skillet over low heat or in a toaster oven.
A note on honey: Raw honey shouldn't be given to babies under 12 months. Bee pollen can cause allergic reactions in people sensitive to pollen or bee stings, so start with a few granules.
Nourishment Notes
Cottage cheese — protein (mostly casein, which digests slowly for steady energy), calcium, B12, and phosphorus.
Pasture-raised eggs — choline, lutein, and vitamins A, D, E, and K2.
Banana — potassium, B6, and natural sweetness.
Sprouted oats — fiber, including beta-glucan, plus minerals that are easier to absorb, since sprouting begins to break down phytic acid.
Almond flour — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.
Ceylon cinnamon — polyphenols that help moderate blood sugar.
Grass-fed butter and ghee — vitamins A and K2.
As a circadian food, these pancakes belong to the morning, ideally eaten in natural daylight. With cottage cheese and eggs, they're rich in protein, which helps keep your energy steady through the morning.
Sourcing
Cottage cheese — organic, full-fat, and cultured, from grass-fed cows, with no gums or stabilizers; Kalona SuperNatural makes one. Or make your own.
Eggs — organic and pasture-raised, ideally from a local farm
Bananas — organic and ripe, with plenty of brown spots
Sprouted rolled oats — organic and certified gluten-free; One Degree Organic Foods makes them
Almond flour — organic, blanched, and finely ground (keep it in the fridge)
Coconut flour — organic
Cream of tartar and baking soda — aluminum-free baking soda
Pumpkin, squash, apples, pears, and sweet potatoes — organic, from a farmers' market in season
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract
Ceylon cinnamon — organic and non-irradiated
Grass-fed butter and ghee — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows; grass-fed ghee
Toppings — organic, seasonal fruit; raw or grass-fed cream, yogurt, and kefir; organic, local raw honey; organic Grade A dark maple syrup
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall