Prep: 5 These Strawberry “Drop” Pancake Bites are light, fluffy, higher in protein, and so easy to make! I’ve been making these on repeat for my kids lately and they keep asking for more. These aren’t your average pancake bites – they’re SO much better! Made with cottage cheese, a serving has 10 grams of protein. And they’re so effortless – just blend, mix, drop the batter on to a baking sheet, and bake, all in under 25 minutes. And as a mom with a toddler that I’m always chasing around, I love that I don’t have to stand over a stove flipping pancakes the entire time! These easy pancake bites are truly amazing.
Strawberry Cottage Cheese Pancake Bites Recipe
When I first made these strawberry pancake bites, it was totally not what I was expecting. I started out wanting to recreate my Cottage Cheese Pancakes recipe with a fun strawberry twist, but because my kids LOVE mini pancakes, I thought I’d make a pancake bites version of it.
I was NOT feeling standing over the stove flipping pancakes on this particular day, so I literally decided to just scoop the pancake batter on to a baking sheet and baked them. And this fluffy, high-protein goodness is what came of it!
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These Strawberry Drop Pancake Bites are light and fluffy with the perfect amount of sweetness. I love serving these with a little bit of Greek yogurt and a good drizzle of maple syrup. This has truly been one of my favorite healthy high-protein breakfasts lately and my kids are so obsessed with it, too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 10 g Protein – If you’ve been searching for healthy, high protein breakfast ideas, then you’ll love these protein pancake bites! The cottage cheese adds the protein here, so no protein powder required.
- Light & Super Fluffy – These are truly the fluffiest pancakes!
- Meal-Prep Friendly – I like to make a double batch of these and freeze them for the weeks ahead.
- Kid-Friendly – My kids LOVE this recipe. They’re so fun and they can even help with the process!
- 25 Minutes – These pancake bites are incredibly easy to make. Maybe 5-7 minutes of hands-on time, then the rest is just hands-off baking time. So the best part is you don’t have to stand over a stove and flip pancakes!
You’ll Also Love: Cottage Cheese Waffles
Ingredients
- Cottage Cheese (opens in a new tab) – This is what adds protein and so much flavor to these pancakes! If you’ve never tried adding cottage cheese to pancakes before, trust me, it’ll change your life.
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Maple Syrup – Adds just a touch of sweetness to the batter. And then you’ll need some extra for topping the pancakes later! Honey works great, too.
- Milk – I like using regular 2% milk for a higher protein count. However, any type of milk would work great!
- Melted Butter (or Coconut Oil) – Just make sure it has cooled before adding it into the batter.
- All-Purpose Flour – You could also use a gluten-free 1-to-1 ratio flour, (opens in a new tab) but I would recommend adding a bit more milk since it can make the pancakes a tad dry.
- Baking Powder
- Finely Diced Strawberries (or Chocolate Chips) – Personally I love the fresh taste the strawberries add. You could also substitute with chocolate chips, blueberries, and other types of finely diced fruit!
How to Make Pancake Bites
No flipping required! I love how easy this recipe is and how it’s perfect for involving the kids. It’s been tested so many times, so you’ll get perfect little fluffy pancakes every single time! Here’s how to make the BEST pancake bites:
- Blend Wet Ingredients – In a blender, combine cottage cheese, eggs, vanilla, milk, and maple syrup. Blend until smooth, then blend in the cooled melted butter.
- Combine with Dry Ingredients – Pour the blended mixture into a bowl with flour and baking powder. Stir just until combined.
- Fold in Strawberries – Gently mix in your diced strawberries or chocolate chips.
- Scoop & Bake – Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to drop the batter onto the baking sheet (opens in a new tab) (about 18 bites total). Bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve & Enjoy – Drizzle with extra maple syrup and enjoy!
Tips
- Use an ice scream scoop to quickly “drop” the batter on to a baking sheet.
- Blend the cottage cheese well for a smoother batter.
- Let the melted butter cool slightly before adding it to the blender to prevent scrambling the eggs. This is important!
- Dice the strawberries small so they distribute evenly in the batter and don’t sink.
- If using chocolate chips, mini ones work best so they don’t overpower the bite-sized pancakes.
- Double the batch and freeze extra pancakes for the week ahead!
Variations
Chocolate Chip Pancake Bites – Swap strawberries for mini chocolate chips for a classic sweet twist.
Blueberry Pancake Bites – Use fresh or frozen blueberries instead of strawberries for the best flavor.
Cinnamon Sugar Pancake Bites – Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter and dust with cinnamon sugar after baking. Omit the strawberries for this flavor swap and add white chocolate chips instead!
Gluten-Free Pancake Bites – Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend (opens in a new tab) in place of all-purpose flour. Add a tad bit more milk as needed!
How to Store
- Refrigerator – Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer – Freeze in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months!
- To Reheat – Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds if refrigerated, or reheat from frozen for about 45 seconds to 1 minute instead!
More Protein Breakfast Recipes
- Cottage Cheese Muffins
- Strawberry Cheesecake Breakfast Parfait
- Cottage Cheese Egg Bites
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Overnight Oats
More Healthy Pancake Recipes
- Carrot Cake Pancakes Recipe
- Mocha Protein Peanut Butter Pancakes
- Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
- Apple Pie Protein Pancakes
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Strawberry Drop Pancake Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese (opens in a new tab)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (plus more for serving)
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter (or coconut oil)
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4-1/2 cup finely diced strawberries or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or lightly oil a non-stick baking sheet).
- Add the cottage cheese, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, and milk to the blender and blend until smooth.
- Add cooled melted butter (or oil) and blend.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk.
- Pour the blended ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
- Fold in the strawberries.
- Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to scoop the batter on to the baking sheet (makes about 18 pancake bites).
- Bake for 20 minutes, top with a drizzle of syrup, and enjoy!
Watch Me Make This
Notes
- Use an ice scream scoop to quickly “drop” the batter on to a baking sheet.
- Blend the cottage cheese well for a smoother batter.
- Let the melted butter cool slightly before adding it to the blender to prevent scrambling the eggs. This is important!
- Dice the strawberries small so they distribute evenly in the batter and don’t sink.
- If using chocolate chips, mini ones work best so they don’t overpower the bite-sized pancakes.
- Double the batch and freeze extra pancakes for the week ahead!
Nutrition
Did you make this? I’d love to see!
Tag me on socials at @JarOfLemons (opens in a new tab) or #JarOfLemons (opens in a new tab)
I followed the recipe, but missed adding the syrup to the batter because I had printed the recipe card (which is missing the part about adding the maple syrup) and then cooked them days later after reading the blog post. Anyways, mine fell completely flat! They still tasted good, but they ended up really thin and a little on the chewy side. I am wondering, do you measure your cottage cheese with a measuring scoop? Or by the ounces on the container?
Hey Regina, yes I measure the cottage cheese with a measuring cup. Sorry they fell flat for you! I had this happen before when my baking powder was old/expired. Glad they still tasted good!
I made these pancakes gluten-free today due to food allergies. Everything else in the recipe was the same except for GF flour. I noted the suggestion to add more milk due to the specialty flour but obviously made them too thin b/c they spread out rather than stay in drop form while baking. They were delicious and a big hit in our house but next time, I will start with the original amount of milk and add it sparingly to thin the batter.
Christine, we loved these pancake bites! They are easy, delicious and packed with protein. I used flax eggs and whole einkorn flour without a problem.
Thanks for letting me know how it turned out. I’m so glad you enjoyed this Pancake Bite recipe!
Love that these have cottage cheese in them for extra protein. The strawberries are a great touch too!
This strawberry drop pancake bites is so yummy perfect for kids breakfast. Mine liked it a lot.