These no-frills protein pancakes pack a hefty protein punch. With a combination of eggs and protein powder (working to a 20g protein per serve supplement), a finished stack serves up over 30g protein – similar to a small chicken breast!
As a nutritionist, I’m often asked for quick, easy protein-packed breakfast ideas. High protein foods are slow to be digested, making a decent serve at brekkie a great nutritional strategy to keep satisfied into the morning (1). These pancakes fit the protein brief and can be whipped up in around 10 minutes!
Free of grains, they’re ideal for those gluten-free too. Instead, a banana is used to provide energy (carbohydrates) and natural sweetness.
Ingredients
Simple does it for these protein pancakes – only three ingredients are required:
- Protein powder. This recipe is suitable for flavoured or plain whey or pea protein powder. There will be subtle differences in the end dish, depending on what you use – the whey batter blends thicker and creamier, leading to a slightly fluffier pancake! I’ve tried collagen protein here and found it didn’t work well – this might be due to how collagen dissolves.
- Eggs provide structure, leavening (that little rise as it cooks!), flavour and richness from the nutritious yolk fat. Two eggs definitely pull their protein weight, offering up 10g of the good stuff! #gains.
- Banana is used for nature sweetness, a yummy banana flavour and glorious carbs aka energy. Go for a ripe yellow fruit – more of the starches will have converted to sugars, meaning it’ll be sweeter.
Feel free to play beyond these base ingredients – try blending in spices (like cinnamon), spinach (for green goodness) or cocoa powder (for a chocolatey boost). If you find something that works, leave a comment below!🙏
Kitchen Tips
I’ve found the below tricks helpful when making these protein pancakes:
- Blend ingredients together to save time and ensure a uniform batter. Otherwise, you can whisk in a bowl by hand, just make sure to really mash the banana prior so it’s not clumpy.
- Pour batter mixture into a small milk jug. Once the frying pan is greased and hot, pour batter direct from the jug into the pan. This will help ensure perfect pancake rounds!👌
- Look out for signs that your pancakes are ready to flip, like a golden brown colour and edges that slightly pull away. The pancake should lift easily off the griddle or frying pan when ready to flip. If not, cook for a bit longer.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy for breakfast or a post-workout meal. While totally ace by themselves, pancakes are always infinitely better with toppings (and the extra goodies add nutritional diversity and bulk out the meal!). You could try:
- An extra protein boost by adding a dollop of Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, chopped nuts or sprinkle of hemp seeds.
- Bumping up the sweetness by scattering over chopped seasonal fresh fruit, stewed fruit, fruit compote or a drizzle of maple syrup.
- Adding texture with a sprinkle of crunchy granola or muesli, your favourite chopped nuts, a drizzle of tahini, shredded coconut or an assortment of seeds.
- Or for just an insanely good time drizzle peanut butter overtop and a sprinkle of chopped dark chocolate. Yum!
Thanks for reading!🥞 After more protein-packed breakfast ideas? Try this vegetable and cheddar loaf or this Greek yoghurt berry smoothie.
Flourless Banana & Protein Powder Pancakes
Prep Time: 2 mins
Cook Time: 8 mins
- 3 Tbsp* pea or whey protein powder or more to reach a thick pourable consistency
- 1 ripe banana or around ⅓ cup mashed
- 2 eggs
Heat a fry-pan over a medium to low heat. Grease well with oil or butter – so they don't stick!
Blend together banana, eggs and protein powder. The mixture should be a thick pourable batter, that’s not too runny or stiff. If it’s too stiff, add a splash of water. If it’s too runny, add a sprinkle of protein powder. You’re after a thickness where you can pour it into the pan and it spreads out just a little.
Pour batter into a milk jug. Hot tip: the pouring spout will help you get perfect pancake circles!
Pour pancake mixture into pan. Depending on your fry-pan size, you may need to do a few batches. Leave to cook until golden in colour or you can easily flip with a spatula. Repeat on the other side.
* Protein powders can come in different total weight measurements per serve (e.g. 24g, 40g…), depending on ingredients, which can impact the viscosity and thickness of the batter – this is why a range of 3 Tbsp or more has been given. Start at 3 Tbsp, blend and check thickness. If the batter looks to thin (quite jiggly when you give it a wiggle) then add more protein powder. You’re after a thickness where you can pour it into the pan and it spreads out just a little.
Avoid turning the heat up high – this will cook (or burn!) the outside of the pancake before the middle has a chance to cook through.
Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe
If you enjoyed this dish, please consider giving it a star rating when you post a comment. Star ratings help others discover my recipes online (and your reviews make my day! 🙂 ). Happy cooking and baking. Danijela x
28 Comments
Simple and delicious! Consistency was good, was a bit hard to flip but other than that a very easy recipe.
Would be yummy with a bit of cinnamon added into the batter.
Thank you so much for the feedback and kind star rating Katie! So stoked you liked them 🙂 I’m definitely going to try cinnamon next time! x
These are so good! I use chocolate protein powder and a bit of vegan pancake mix and they come out great! I top with peanut butter and dark chocolate buttons 😋
That’s awesome Sophie! Thanks for sharing your tip too, sounds great re vegan pancake mix! xx
Best pancake recipe out there. Beats *regular* pancakes to be honest. I used a vanilla falovred powder from myprotein and it’s just awesome.
Aw that’s so good to hear Ronnie! 🙂 Thanks for your comment x
Absolutely love this recipe!! Can’t believe something so yum only has a few ingredients… I added a vanilla protein powder to my mix! Highly recommend this recipe.
Yum, vanilla protein powder would be a great addition! Thanks for your comment 🙂 x
These were delicious! I added some cinnamon and organic greens powder—so yummy! I will for sure be making these again 🙂
Thanks for your comment Aliyah – love the tips, I’ll have to try them with those additions! x
Tried these this morning with vanilla protein powder and a pinch of allspice. They are amazing def a new go to breakfast.
Thanks for your lovely comment Nikki! Love the tip on the pinch of all spice – bet that’s delicious with your vanilla protein powder (chai vibes?!) xx
It was so good! you don’t even need a blender. Tastes great with a little bit of syrup or fresh fruit!
Thanks so much for your feedback and comment Liz. You’re right too, I have made them before without a blender and they work really well.
Amazing recipe! The pancakes came out so fluffy and sweet without any added sugars. Stewed berries and coconut flakes is the move 🙂 Thanks for the healthy recommendation.
Pleasure Jimmy! Thank you for the kind review x
Loved the taste, comfort. And ease.
Added sime cinnamin as a suggested.
I attempt to get some oats in as gluten free and know they are heart healthy and dtick to your ribs. I added 1/4
Cup of rolled oats that i previously blended into oat flour. And some water just to kerp nice and thin
Thank you for your kind comment and rating Regina! Loved your tips, cinnamon is a great idea xx
Loved this recipe! Since I just needed a single serving, I used 1 banana, 1 egg, 2 tbs. of Inspire Whey Protein Isolate Banana Nut Bread Protein Powder, 1/3 c. fresh blueberries and a dash of cinnamon. Breakfast was phenomenal…didn’t need butter or syrup. Thanks for sharing and putting me on the right path!
Hi Terra! So glad you enjoyed it – blueberries and cinnamon sounds ace! Thanks for your kind rating xx
Pelase confirm serving size? If 1 is selected is that physically just 1 pancake?
Hey Chantelle, thanks for your question. Serving size is for one person. You can make the pancakes as big or little as you like – this will impact how many pancakes you get. I recommend not making them too big as they’ll be hard to flip. I hope that helps xx
We made these this morning. I made a X2 recipe did add about 1/2 tsp of baking powder and a teaspoon of lemon juice. The family was impressed with the texture and flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
Pleasure, glad the family enjoyed them!
I made these this morning with vanilla protein powder and a pinch of cinnamon. Fantastic, especially since I need to stay off grains for a while. I indulged and had a bit of heavy cream on them.
Thanks for your comment Jenny! So glad you enjoyed them. Cream sounds like a delicious addition.
These are really good. I mixed in a tbsp of PB2 Chocolate Peanut Butter powder and it was very good. I topped it with a little bit of sugar free cool whip, that I mixed with the same PB2 powder, and some sliced strawberries and blueberries. This is definitely making a staple in our weekend breakfast for my husband and I.
Thanks for the kind feedback Kim – love your tip off adding the choc PB…YUM! xx