Oatmeal Protein Pancakes

Oatmeal Protein Pancakes are full of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and protein for a balanced breakfast. Delicious enough for weekend breakfasts and healthy enough for enjoying daily.

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know pancakes are a household staple. 

Both my husband and I will make a big batch of pancakes every week and enjoy them for meals throughout the week.

We tailor them to be a good ratio of carbs, fats, and protein, because what can I say? We’re biohacking junkies.

These simple Oatmeal Protein Pancakes are everything I look for in a meal.

They are full of slow-burning complex carbohydrates from the whole grains (from the whole oats), contain a decent amount of dietary fiber, and we’re infusing them with protein from egg whites and protein powder for a balanced meal.

Plus, slathering the pancakes with delicious toppings like butter (or nut butter), pure maple syrup (or honey), and fruit is a guaranteed great time.

The way I see it, these pancakes are tasty enough for a delicious family breakfast on Sunday mornings, yet mindful enough for everyday eating.

Let’s discuss the simple ingredients needed to make these delicious oatmeal pancakes!

Ingredients for Oatmeal Protein Pancakes:

Rolled Oats: Old fashioned rolled oats get blended up in a blender to take the place of all purpose flour for these oatmeal pancakes. Quick oats or instant oats work too, but steel cut oats won’t have the right texture or consistency. 

I use sprouted gluten free oats, which are also glyphosate-free to get the most out of the pancakes.

Protein Powder: In order to give the pancakes a boost of protein, we add protein powder. I use Goat Whey Protein Powder, which is unsweetened and unflavored, but a delicious vanilla protein powder would work great.

My top recommendations for plant-based protein powder are hemp protein or pea protein.

If you don’t have protein powder on hand, replace it with ¼ cup of additional oats.

Eggs and Egg Whites: Both whole eggs and egg whites are used to make fluffy pancakes that are higher in protein. I always have a carton of egg whites on hand for these types of recipes so that I don’t have to waste the yolks. The fluffy texture is due to the egg whites.

If you’d like to use plain Greek yogurt instead of egg whites, feel free to make the swap.

Milk of Choice: Use any dairy or non-dairy milk you like. I use oat milk, but almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk and coconut milk all work. Use whole milk if you do dairy, as the fat content will make for tender pancakes.

Pure Maple Syrup: To sweeten the batter a bit, add a little pure maple syrup or regular cane sugar or brown sugar. 

Baking Powder: Used as the leavening agent to ensure these pancakes have plenty of rise and hold together nicely, we use baking powder.

Cinnamon: Adding a one teaspoon ground cinnamon brings warm flavor to these healthy pancakes.

Sea Salt: A pinch of kosher salt enhances the flavors of the pancakes.

Optional Additions:

• Make chocolate chip oatmeal pancakes by sprinkling chocolate chips on the pancake batter as soon as it hits the skillet.
• Sprinkle chopped raw walnuts or pecans on the pancake batter while it’s cooking in the skillet for nutty oatmeal pancakes.

Recipe Adaptations:

• Replace the egg whites with Greek yogurt if you’d like.
• For tender pancakes, add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil or olive oil to the pancake batter for moist pancakes. If you aren’t trying to make these low-fat, I recommend adding the oil because it will add moisture to the pancakes to make them taste like regular pancakes.
• Because I haven’t tested the recipe using a flax egg replacement, I can’t be sure how they would turn out without the eggs. If you’ve made a recipe similar to this in the past using flax eggs and it worked out for you, replace the egg whites with yogurt and replace the eggs with two flax eggs.
• If you have vanilla extract on hand, add 1 teaspoon to the batter.

Now that we’re familiar with the ingredients list for this oatmeal pancake recipe, let’s make some delicious pancakes!

How to Make Oatmeal Pancakes:

Transfer the rolled oats to a high-powered blender or a food processor and blend on high speed for 30 seconds, or until a flour forms.

Add the protein powder, baking powder, ground cinnamon and sea salt and blend to combine (dry ingredients).

Transfer the rest of the wet ingredients (eggs, egg whites and milk of choice) to the blender and blend until everything is combined.

Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes. It will thicken substantially during this time.

Heat a large nonstick skillet (or electric griddle) over medium heat and add enough avocado oil (or melted butter or coconut oil) to generously coat the surface. Once the skillet has heated up for a few minutes, pour batter onto the hot surface, making any size pancakes you like.

If you’d like, sprinkle chocolate chips, blueberries and/or chopped nuts on top of the batter.

Cook the pancakes until it appears as though the sides have firmed up, about 2-3 minutes, then flip and continue cooking another 1 to 3 minutes or until the pancakes are cooked through.

The pancakes should be slightly golden brown on each side. If they are too light in color, increase the heat to medium-high heat. If you find the pancakes are getting too dark too quickly, decrease to medium-low heat.

Repeat for the remaining batter. If you’d like, you can keep the finished pancakes on a baking sheet in the oven (set it to its lowest temperature setting) until you’re ready to serve the whole family.

Serve pancakes with your favorite toppings such as butter, pure maple syrup, almond butter (or nut or seed butter of choice), fresh fruit such as bananas, fresh berries, etc. My favorite way of eating these is spreading both butter and Nuttzo on the pancakes and adding a small drizzle of maple syrup or honey.

Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.

There we have it, folks! A tasty balanced breakfast complete with complex carbohydrates, protein and fiber.

Nutrition Facts:

If you make 14 small pancakes, each pancake contains 82 calories, 2 grams of fat, 12 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of protein.

In this sense, these pancakes are a surprisingly good source of protein, as I would say 4 pancakes would be a standard serving, giving you 20 grams of protein.

For me, 4 pancakes plus another source of protein like a veggies scramble or sauteed vegetables and sardines is a normal meal.

So long as you aren’t adding a tremendous amount of syrup or high sugar toppings to these pancakes, they are a great source of carbohydrates without spiking blood sugar.

Make them to share with the whole family for any weekend breakfast, or enjoy them for a great post workout meal or snack. 

Whip these oatmeal pancakes up for meal prep for an easy meal throughout the week! 

If you love these oat pancakes and healthy pancake recipes, also try my Sweet Potato Rolled Oat Protein Pancakes and my Flourless Oatmeal Banana Pancakes.

Try out my other healthy pancake recipes!

More Healthy Pancake Recipes:

• Keto Pancakes (Made with Coconut Flour)
• Almond Flour Pancakes 
• Flourless Protein Pumpkin Pancakes
• Grain-Free Almond Butter Protein Pancakes
• Fluffy Gluten-Free Sourdough Pancakes

Healthy breakfast of champions, here we go!

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