Healthy Apple Pancakes
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Published Aug 16, 2023, Updated Sep 19, 2024
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There healthy apple pancakes are made with oats and cottage cheese. They’re packed with 18 grams of protein and great for meal prep!
To celebrate apple week I’m sharing an oldie, but such a goodie that recently got a much needed upgrade. These apple pancakes are the ultimate fall breakfast and sooo good! I can’t wait for you to try them.
They’re sweet, comforting and feel indulgent even though they are 100% healthy in my book…they’re loaded with protein and fiber. One serving (4 pancakes) has 5 grams of fiber and 18 grams of protein. Boom, the perfect way to start your day! Added bonus: The batter is made in the blender, which makes it super easy to whip up and easy to pour directly from your blender into the skillet for cooking.
If you’re as excited about apple season as I am, you should definitely check out my apple pie overnight oats or these delightful apple yogurt muffins. Both are perfect for adding more apple goodness to your mornings.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthy – Jam-packed with healthy ingredients and have 18 grams of protein per serving!
- Family-friendly – Both adults and kiddos will love these pancakes.
- Easy to make – Just add ingredients directly to your blender. Yay for less dishes!
- Delicious – The cinnamon apple topping is chef’s kiss! Don’t skip this step.
Ingredients Needed
- old fashioned rolled oats – rolled oats are the base of this recipe. Once blended, the oats turn into oat flour! Oats are naturally gluten-free but are often cross-contaminated, so make sure you grab certified gluten-free if needed! I like using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain Rolled Oats.
- egg whites – acts as a binding ingredient, keeps the pancakes light and fluffy and really amps up the protein! I usually use liquid egg whites (from a container) so I don’t have to crack eggs and waste the yolks.
- cottage cheese – another protein booster, cottage cheese also helps to keep these pancakes moist. I typically use full-fat cottage cheese, but 2% cottage cheese will also work.
- applesauce – make your own homemade applesauce or use store-bought. Just make sure it’s unsweetened if you go that route.
- baking powder – a leavening agent.
- cinnamon – a must for apple pancakes!
- apples – you’ll need about 1-2 apples for both the pancakes and the topping, peeled and finely chopped into pieces. I prefer to use Honeycrisp, Pink Lady or Fuji apples, but any variety will work.
- maple syrup – this is my favorite natural sweetener. We’re using maple syrup to make the cinnamon apples and for an additional drizzle on top.
- cinnamon apple topping – this is legit the best part of this recipe (in my opinion). It’s an extra step but 100% worth it! For the cinnamon apples, I use the same quick microwave method that I use for my apple overnight oats and it works like a charm. It makes instant baked apples!
Recipe Substitutions
- Oats: If you don’t have old-fashioned rolled oats, quick oats can be used in a pinch. They’ll create a slightly different texture but still work well.
- Cottage cheese: I haven’t tried it, but Greek yogurt would probably be a good substitute for cottage cheese. Cottage cheese typically has plenty of sodium, which is why we don’t need any added salt in this recipe, so if you do use Greek yogurt you might want to add a pinch of salt!
- Eggs: The egg whites really help with keeping these pancakes light and fluffy. If you prefer, you can also use 2 full eggs in place of the egg whites.
- Make it dairy-free: I haven’t tried this, but you could try swapping the cottage cheese with a dairy-free yogurt instead.
- Make it vegan: You could try using two flaxseed eggs or chia eggs as a substitute for the egg whites as a vegan option.
How to Make Apple Pancakes
Step 1: Add all ingredients, except diced apples, into a blender and process until the mixture is relatively smooth.
Step 2: Gently fold in the diced apples to the pancake batter and begin heating a pan over medium heat.
Step 3: Place a quarter cup of batter in a hot pan and cook until little bubbles form, then flip and cook for another minute or two.
Step 4: While pancakes are cooking, prep the cinnamon apples in a bowl and microwave for 30-60 seconds, or until apples are soft.
Brittany’s Recipe Tip!
If you really want light and fluffy pancakes, avoid over-mixing the batter. Stir the ingredients just until combined, even if there are a few lumps remaining. Over-mixing usually causes the batter to become dense and the pancakes to lose their airy texture.
What to Serve With Apple Pancakes
We often eat these pancakes on their own for breakfast, but if you’re hosting a brunch or want a more filling meal, here’s what I recommend serving with pancakes:
- Quiche – get your savory fix with this dairy-free spinach quiche or this kale and feta crustless quiche.
- Meat – some sort of breakfast sausage and/or bacon would be delish paired with these pancakes.
- Fruit salad – I love this fruit salad with mint or this simple fruit salad.
- Coffee – make this pumpkin spice latte for the ultimate fall experience.
- Fun drink – make these apple cider mimosas or keep it healthy with this apple pie apple cider vinegar drink.
How to Store Leftovers
These pancakes store super well which also makes them great for meal prep! If I make these pancakes on a Sunday, I like doubling the recipe so we have leftovers for the week. Let your pancakes cool before putting them in an airtight container or ziplock bag (I like using my Stasher bags). Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
To reheat, I like to pop them in the toaster oven so they get a little crispy, but you can also reheat them in the microwave. If serving with the apples, I’ll make more cinnamon apples the morning of. I also like eating the pancakes cold, straight out of the fridge. I’m weird like that!
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! If you don’t want to microwave your apples you can cook them on the stovetop. Just add your apples, cinnamon and maple syrup to a small saucepan over low-medium heat and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the apples have softened. Make sure to stir the apples occasionally to avoid them sticking or burning to the bottom of the pan.
I haven’t tested out a dairy-free recipe for these pancakes yet, but I’m sure you could replace the cottage cheese with a plant-based yogurt or a dairy-free cottage cheese alternative.
Yes! Feel free to add crushed walnuts, dried fruit, or even a handful of chocolate chips to the batter. Just be sure to fold them in gently to avoid over-mixing the batter.
Popular Apple Recipes to Try
- Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Apple Oatmeal Bars
- Apple Dutch Baby
- 30+ Healthy Apple Recipes
- Applesauce Cake
More Pancake Recipes
- Protein Pancakes
- Almond Flour Pancakes
- Greek Yogurt Pancakes
- Overnight Oatmeal Pancakes
- Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Be sure to check out all my full collection of healthy breakfast recipes!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Apple Pancakes
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup egg whites
- ½ cup full-fat cottage cheese
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup diced apples
- maple syrup, for topping
Cinnamon Apples
- ½ cup diced apples
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Add oats, egg whites, cottage cheese, applesauce, baking powder and cinnamon into a blender and process until the batter is relatively smooth with a thick consistency.
- Gently, fold in diced apples.
- Heat pan or griddle to low-medium heat and spray with non-stick spray. Once hot, scoop out about a quarter cup of batter at a time and pour onto pan. You should be able to make about 8 small pancakes. Cook until little bubbles form and the edges of the pancakes are solid enough to put a spatula underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook for one to two additional minutes.
- While pancakes are cooking, prep cinnamon apples by adding diced apples, maple syrup and cinnamon in a microwave safe bowl. Stir to combine and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until apples are soft and look similar to baked apples.
- For serving, place four pancakes on each plate, top with warm cinnamon apples and drizzle with maple syrup and/or nut butter.
Video
Notes
- Egg whites: You can use 2 whole eggs in place of the egg whites if needed.
- Cottage cheese: I haven’t tried it, but Greek yogurt would probably be a good substitute for the cottage cheese.
- For meal prep pancakes: Make pancakes as instructed in the recipe. You can also prep the cinnamon apples, but store those in a separate container. Let pancakes cool and place in a sealed storage container in the fridge for up to 5 days. When ready to eat, eat cold with toppings of choice OR reheat the pancakes until warm in the microwave (should only take 30 seconds or so), in a toaster oven or on the stovetop.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I must be doing something wrong. These just stick to the pan. Help!
Hi Courtenay. I am so sorry to hear they are sticking to the pan. Are you using a non-stick pan? Spraying it well with non-stick spray? and make sure you are not cooking them on high heat, medium-low should be perfect.
These are my family’s favorite pancakes! I make them on repeat – once I was out of apples and had to use bananas and they were still great!
YUM! I am so glad you and your family are loving these pancakes, Katie. Thanks so much for sharing your review & star rating, I appreciate it!
I just made these pancakes last night for todays breakfast and enjoyed it sooo much!! They’re moist and very filling, I didn’t have any apples to dice so I omitted that. The next time I make these I’ll add that
Thank you for sharing
YUM! So glad you’re loving these pancakes, Lynda. I love that you were able to make them the night before as well, perfect for meal prepping. Thank you for your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
I love these! I’m making them for the second time this weekend. Also perfect for my 9 month old baby who is learning how to feed himself. Great fall breakfast 🙂
My preference is to cook the topping down in a pot because I like a really soft texture. Otherwise I follow the recipe as is.
YAY! I am so happy that you and your little one are loving this recipe, Samantha! Great idea to cook the topping down. I appreciate you sharing your review + star rating, it means so much to me!
These were fast and delicious! We’ve been getting lots of apples in our CSA each week and looking for new ways to use them. The quick “baked” apples turned out great! I swapped ricotta for the cottage cheese because that’s what I had. Thank you for the recipe.
So happy to hear these pancakes were a success even with the ricotta, Sophie. Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it!
Delicious! I added 2 tsp of coconut sugar so they’re sweet enough for my 3 year old to take on the go without having to worry about any sticky toppings.
Yay! Happy to hear these apple pancakes were a hit, Janine. Thanks so much for the review and trying them out. I really appreciate it!
Hi. Would this recipe work for making waffles? Would I need to make any modifications? Thanks
I’ve never tried using it to make waffles but I love the idea and I think it would work just fine. Let me know if you try it!
Looks so yummy!! I’m a huge fan of oatmeal. Can I ask what you use for applesauce?
Hey Nicola – Do you mean what brand I use?
What kind of apples do you suggest?
Any types of apples will work, but I prefer Honeycrisp, Fuji or Pink Lady.
our whole family loved them, including my toddler! thank you 🙂 can’t wait to try the rest of your recipes!
YUM! I am happy to hear that you and the family are loving these pancakes, Carla. Thank you SO much for coming back and sharing your review & star rating, I truly appreciate it!