Lately we’ve done a bunch of meal preps and quick desserts. Today, we’re going to keep the quick, make it somewhat of a meal prep, and give you choice! These Protein Pancake Muffins can be made sweet or savory, are great to make in bulk, and are macro-balanced. If you’re looking for something easy you can take with you in the morning, these are definitely worth a try!

Speaking of sweet or savory, what’s your preference? A nice steak or the best cake of your life? Drop it below.

The first step is to decide if you’re using cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. If you want to use cottage cheese instead of Greek yogurt, give 6 ounces of it a quick whip in a blender or food processor until smooth.

From here, take out a mixing bowl and add right into it, 6 ounces of Greek yogurt or your whipped cottage cheese, 2 large whole eggs, 4 ounces of milk or milk substitute, 2 tablespoons of melted butter or coconut oil, 2 scoops of protein powder, and the magic ingredient? A cup of a pancake mix!

Pro tip? Use a regular pancake mix, not a “high” protein one unless you want burnt tops!

No pancake mix? Make your own! You can easily scale this multiple times over and keep it stored in an airtight container so you always have some ready to go.

Homemade Pancake Mix

• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1-2 Tablespoons Sweetener
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Buttermilk Powder *Optional

Let’s talk about flavors. If you’re going savory, use plain Greek yogurt and unflavored protein powder. Add in things like cooked lean ground beef, turkey, or sausage, deli ham, bacon bits, shredded cheese, bell peppers, spinach, chives, garlic or onion powder, various seasonings, the list is endless. Here are some of my favorite savory combinations:

Savory Pancake Muffins

• Cheddar & Chive: 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese, 2 Tablespoons Chives, 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder or less (Optional)
• Bacon Jalapeño: 2-3 Tablespoons Bacon Bits (or cooked crumbled bacon), 1-2 diced Jalapeños, 1/2 Cup Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese, 1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• Everything: 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, 1/2 Cup chopped Spinach, 3 Ounces cooked crumbled Sausage, 1 Tablespoon Everything Seasoning

For sweet muffins, use a flavored Greek yogurt and protein powder that both complement each other. Add in a sweetener or some honey, vanilla extract, chopped up fruit, nuts, sugar free chocolate chips, and so on. Here are some of my favorite sweet combinations:

Sweet Pancake Muffins

• Banana Chocolate Chip: 1 mashed Banana (into the mix), 2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Chocolate Chips, 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon or less (Optional)
• PB & Strawberry: 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter, 1/3 Cup diced Strawberries
• Cinnamon Apple: 1/2 Cup diced Apple, 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon, 1-2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

Continue by mixing all your ingredients together right until smooth. Don’t over-mix, that’s the enemy of a good protein pancake muffin here! If you want a “filling” for them, you can lightly mix that in after or my preference? When you top them.

Evenly distribute your mix into a coated muffin pan or silicone cups and top them with anything you might want. Alternatively, as you’re topping them you can lightly “mix” the add-in into your muffin. Doing it this way will give you more ingredient distribution throughout the muffin versus everything sinking to the bottom of the mixing bowl.

Last, put them into the oven on 325F/162C for 15-18 minutes depending on the size protein pancake muffins you’re making. In silicone cups, that’s how long they take me. If you’re making mini or jumbo protein pancake muffins, they’ll obviously take less or more time.

Oven Calibration

Circling back to burnt tops. If that happens, throw them on the bottom rack for next time or turn your oven down a bit. If you’ve never checked your ovens calibration, it might run a bit hot. I usually check mine once a year and I’ve had the same oven calibration tool for over 10 years which I’ll link to below.

Store these protein pancake muffins in the fridge where they should last around 5-7 days depending on what you put inside them.

Ready for a High Protein Pasta Sauce recipe next!?