These 5-Ingredient Pumpkin Protein Pancakes are a healthy and delicious breakfast idea that can be frozen and reheated in the toaster.
Once fall hits, I'm obsessed with all things pumpkin flavoured! I love these pancakes because they're a healthy high protein breakfast way to satisfy my cravings. Add your favourite toppings and breakfast is served!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple ingredients: You only need five ingredients to make these delicious pumpkin pancakes.
- Healthy breakfast: They're high in protein thanks to the protein powder and gluten-free!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter – use margarine instead.
- Egg whites – try 4 whole eggs instead of 8 egg whites.
- Pumpkin puree – mashed bananas would also be good here.
- Whey protein powder – I use whey protein powder in this recipe; this is the only type of protein powder that can be used with this recipe. Here is the protein powder I use.
- Pumpkin spice – make your own using a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
- Baking powder – there’s no real substitute for baking powder and it’s pretty essential to the recipe.
Topping ideas
- Shredded coconut – unsweetened or sweetened would both be good.
- Almond butter – try another kind of nut butter like sunflower butter.
- Pumpkin seeds – swap out for some sunflower seeds instead.
- Chopped walnuts – chopped pecans or another nut of your choice would be good.
- Maple syrup – honey or jam are also great toppings!
How to make these pancakes
Step 1: Make the batter.
Mix all the pancake ingredients together.
Step 2: Stir the batter.
Stir until just combined.
Step 3: Fry the batter.
Fry the pancake batter in a pan.
Step 4: Flip the pancakes.
Flip once the bottom starts to form then add your toppings.
Recipe tips
There are a few tricks to ensure you get the yummiest, fluffiest pancakes every time:
- Only use whey protein powder: The pancakes won't cook if you use another kind of protein powder.
- Make your own pumpkin spice: Make your own using equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
- Add your fave toppings: Nut butter, maple syrup, whipped cream and chocolate chips would all be delicious.
- Flip at the right time: When the edges start to set and the surface bubbles, flip them over.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best protein powder to use?
You'll need to use whey protein powder for this recipe – no other kind of protein powder will work. Here is the protein powder I use if you're looking for a clean one.
Can you use pumpkin pie filling instead?
No, you need to use pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling will change the flavour, consistency and calorie count. If you don't have pumpkin puree, used mashed bananas instead.
Why does my batter have a weird consistency?
If you find that your batter is too thick or too runny, you likely used the wrong kind of protein powder. Make sure you're only using whey protein powder!
What do you do with the leftover pumpkin puree?
Since this recipe only uses 1 cup of pumpkin puree, you can use the leftovers to make pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spice protein bars or pumpkin alfredo.
Serving suggestions
These pumpkin pancakes are plenty filling on their own. You can serve them with:
- Fresh fruit or berries
- Iced coffee or cold brew
- A healthy smoothie or fresh juice
Storing and freezing
Storing: Store the cooked pancakes in airtight containers for 7 days.
Freezing: Freeze the pancakes flat in Ziploc bags for 2-3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheating: Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 mins or in the toaster for 1 min to make them crispy. Add your fresh toppings and dig in!
Meal prep tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to store these protein pancakes.
- They can also be stored in reusable freezer bags up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Here is the protein powder I use.
5-Ingredient Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter, for frying
- 8 egg whites
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 cups whey protein powder PLEASE NOTE: you DO have to use whey protein powder for this recipe. No other type will work.
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice (or a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)
- 1 tsp baking powder
Topping ideas
- Shredded coconut
- almond butter
- pumpkin seeds
- Chopped walnuts or pecans
- maple syrup
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients for pancakes together until just combined.
- Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add a small spoonful of pancake mixture to test, making sure skillet is hot enough to add pancake batter. Once bottom of tester pancake starts to form, flip and then remove from heat.
- Add pancake batter by large ladle scoop, cooking four pancakes at a time and flipping once a bottom starts to form, about 5 minutes.
- Freeze pancakes up to 2 months, reheating in microwave on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or reheating in the toaster. Top with optional toppings and serve!
Video
Comments & Reviews
Tess says
Oh my goodness! These were delicious! They will be going into regular rotation at my house! Even my 5 year old loved them and gave his highest rating, a big thumbs up! Thanks for the recipe! I can’t wait to explore your page and try more!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Kathleen says
I was really excited to try this but this turned out terribly. I can’t really say that it was the recipe, but I hope this comment may help somebody NOT use the protein powder I used.
I used MRE Lite by Redcon1 and it is a whey-free, low carb version of their MRE protein. MRE Lite has been the best protein for having real food ingredients, but it doesn’t work in this recipe.
When I followed the recipe, I got a heavy, thick batter which definitely did not resemble pancake batter in other recipes or in the recipe video. However, I figured I’d fry a test pancake in case I just needed to trust the process. Unfortunately, the batter was so thick the heat wasn’t penetrating the pancake so I got a lovely, fried outside with a raw inside.
I wasn’t ready to give up, so I added water and milk to try to thin the batter to a more “normal” batter consistency, but while those bubbles through the batter, they were too weak too turn (difficult to lift or turn without shearing).
All in all I couldn’t get it to work, and I ended up wasting previous (and costly) protein powder.
I highly recommend adding more details on the protein powder used.
I hope this comment helps someone avoid a similar experience where everything was wasted and we had to change meal plans.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Kathleen, we do say to use whey protein powder and that this recipe does not work with any other type of protein powder. We’ve mentioned it in a few different places in the blog post and in the recipe card itself, and I also link to the protein powder I use 2 different times in addition to that. I’ve also mentioned multiple times in the comments that whey protein powder is what needs to be used. I will add one more warning in the recipe card ingredient list so no one else misses all the other warnings.
Karen Enk says
delicious !!!! I topped with a spoonful or 2 of vanilla Greek yogurt , tablespoon of pecans and pure maple syrup. Will be making this on repeat ! delicious
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Heidi says
I’m also very curious about the protein powder ratio. My batter looked nothing like yours in the video. I added at lot of water to have it even be slightly runny. Help! Haha I was eager for this to be a great recipe! Hoping for advice on how to get it right
Taylor Stinson says
Wondering if you used a whey protein powder? All protein powders are slightly different and whey is what needs to be used with these.
Carolyn says
These were easy to make but the test pancake is essential! Mine cooked so, so fast. Way faster than 5 min. They also turned out quite dry, so I wonder if next time adding some applesauce or yogurt would help with that? Idk. Anyway, these will be good for those breakfasts when I need something super quick. I had some sugar free syrup mixed with pumpkin purée on top and that was super tasty. Off to store the rest in the freezer! Thanks for this recipe!
Lauren says
Quick question—Can I use unsweetened pea protein? If so, what modifications should I make? Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Lauren! I haven’t tried it with pea protein and unfortunately all protein powders differ so it’s hard to give an answer here :/ I wish I could be more helpful.
Donna Bramley says
These were horrible. I think the amount/proportion of protein powder in this is too high. I cut the recipe in half and still a full cup of protein powder is too much I think, wrong consistency and too sweet, and my protein powder is sugar free, sweetened with Stevia. They never cooked no matter how long I tried, they just stayed soft and mushy in the middle.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Donna – all protein powders are different and unfortunately it looks like yours with a stevia base caused the flavour and texture to be off. I use a whey protein powder and these turn out perfectly every time.
Kayla Momberger says
I’m using whey protein but two whole cups seems astronomical. Just want to verify that it’s not supposed to be two scoops of protein powder? For reference with my powder, one scoop is 49 g and contains 30 g of protein.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Kayla, it is indeed 2 cups of whey protein powder. I have made this recipe many times over the years (in fact, as recently as last week!) and it works every time. This recipe makes 8 servings, so it ends up being 20-30g of protein per 2 pancake serving depending of course on the protein powder you use. Doing some quick math, your one scoop is 49g so 2 cups ends up being 8 scoops, and because there are 8 servings in the recipe you will get 30g of protein with your particular powder. Hope that helps!
Aura says
I think this recipe is fail proof if you use a whey protein!
I make it all the time, don’t even measure ingredients, just eyeball it for the quantity I want. Always comes out great.
For topping I like to take greek yogurt and mix with Some pumpkin purée and stevia liquid.