Pancakes are fluffy, delicious and a breakfast food I do not want to give up while watching or trying to maintain my weight.
Protein Pancakes
I always try to add protein to my pancakes. In my opinion, protein helps keep me full all morning long instead of overeating and feeling hungry an hour later. So, I did some research and found some crafty ways to add protein to my smoothies. These methods may add calories to your pancakes so portion control is super important. I find weighing my food on a scale to be very helpful in preventing myself from overdoing it.
- Adding peanut butter or really any type of nut butter such as almond butter, pistacio butter. sunflower butter and hazelnut butter, not chocolate hazelnut but like nutella that is just like adding straight sugar. There are other nut butters, but I like these becasue they contain the protein I am aiming for. I love most nut butters especially peanut butter and can definitely go overboard so try really hard to watch my portions. Read more at: The 9 Best Healthy Nut Butters To Spread On Everything, According to Nutritionists from Women’s Health
- Adding protein powder into your pancake mix.
- Cottage cheese. Try this Recipe: 3-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Add in seeds such as chia seeds or hemp seeds. I find the seeds are an easy addition to any of the recipes I listed below.
Read more: How Do I Add Protein To My Smoothie Without Using Protein Powder?
Low-Calorie Breakfast
A low-calorie breakfast can be the best part of your day. Try these delicious low-calorie pancakes and enjoy!
Low-Calorie Pancakes
Blueberry Pancakes from Healthy One-Bowl Blueberry Pancakes
- 1 tsp unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) plain white vinegar
- ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk
- ¼ cup (60mL) water
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (135g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 cup (140g) fresh blueberries (see Notes!)
Low-Calorie Banana Pancakes from The Big Man’s World.
Ingredients / Calories
- 1 cup flour I used white wholewheat flour * See notes
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice
- 2 medium bananas mashed
- 1/2 cup egg whites approximately 4 egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk of choice I used unsweetened almond milk
148 calories per serving / 2 pancakes per serving
Low Calorie Pancakes Recipe from Health Beet.
Ingredients / Calories
- 1 cup oats dry, rolled oats
- 1 cup egg whites Or 6 egg whites
- 1 cup fat free cottage cheese
- 1/4 tsp vanilla optional
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 2 tsp Monkfruit Sweetener optional
45 calories per pancake according to the author.
Raspberry Low Calorie Pancake from Hurry The Food Up
Ingredients / Calories
- ⅓ cup raspberries (can be substituted with blueberries or strawberries, ⅓ cup = 50g)
- 1 egg (large)
- ½ cup rolled oats (+1 extra tbsp) (½ cup + 1 tbsp = 50g)
- ¼ cup low fat natural yogurt (¼ cup = 65g)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp whole grain flour
- 1 tbsp water
Toppings
- 1 tbsp honey
- ¼ cup low fat natural yogurt (¼ cup = 65g)
- 12 almonds (sliced)
262 calories in 2 medium pancakes.
Protein-Packed Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Recipe from Eat This Not That
Ingredients / Calories
2 cups frozen wild blueberries
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄4 cup sugar
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese or ricotta
3 eggs
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup white whole wheat flour (we like King Arthur’s, but these can be just as easily made with white flour—you’ll just sacrifice a few grams of fiber.)
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
310 Calories per serving / recipe serves 4 according to the author.
Skinny Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes from Inside Bru Crew Life.
Ingredients / Calories
- 4 eggs
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1/4 cup PB powder
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
106 calories per serving and the recipe yields 8-10 servings according to the recipe link above.
Low-Calorie Whole-Wheat Pancakes from SparkRecipes.
Ingredients / Calories
- 1.25 c whole wheat flour
- 2.25 tsp baking powder
- .25 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1.25 c skim milk
- nonstick spray
Less than 70 calories per pancake according to the recipe above. Yields 10 pancakes per recipe.
Old Fashioned Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes from Pinch of Yum
I found these Old Fashioned Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes from Pinch of Yum. With sugar and maple syrup, these do not seem like low-calorie pancakes. But, this recipe looks so good, I put it on here because when I keep it to one serving and leave out the suggested toppings, it feels like I am having a cheat meal, but staying within the bounds of my low-calorie diet. The apple in the pancake is just to amazing to pass up.
Ingredients / Calories
For the pancakes:
- 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 egg
For the apples:
- 2 apples
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For toppings:
- maple syrup, chopped pecans, powdered sugar, vanilla yogurt, honey
210 calories per serving according to the recipe linked above. 8 servings per recipe.
For more delicious Protein Pancake Recipes, try: Read more at 7 Smart Ways To Add Protein To Pancakes. All of these recipes look fantastic.
How Do I Make Pancakes Low-Calorie?
Sometimes I find recipes that are not low in calories, but I have learned some fun tricks to help cut the calories to some pancake recipes especially the protein pancake recipes I find
- No added butter or oil – replace with ingredients such as nonfat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or bananas help eliminate the need for any extra fat
- Less flour – by using the banana, you can reduce the flour. The thick mashed banana helps make up for some of the lost flour.
- Unsweetened vanilla almond milk – it tastes delicious and is much lower in calories than whole milk!
- Egg white – I read in “How Many Calories Are in an Egg?” from Healthline that there are about 55 calories in a small egg, but only 17 calories in a egg white. So definitely worth trying it out and see if you like your pancakes this way.
.