My kids absolutely love pancakes for breakfast. I make them most weekends. Given the amount of pancakes that they consume, I wanted a way to still give them what they love, but pack in a nutritional punch to get their little bodies off to a strong start. They love these Protein Pancakes (they actually didn’t even notice that they were any different than the normal pancakes I make). Protein Pancakes have become our new go-to for weekend breakfasts. I make a big batch on Sundays and then we reheat in the toaster in the early part of the week before school. Look how fluffy these pancakes are! I’m in love. Light, fluffy, and a protein boost.

The trick to making these is that I first combine the sour cream and chia seeds and let it sit for about 10 minutes to start to soften the seeds. Then I add that mixture to my blender and blend until the chia seeds are very fine. I add the chia sour cream mixture to the rest of the liquid ingredients before mixing in with the dry ingredients.

To cook them, I heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp butter. Once the butter has melted, I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour batter into the pan. Let the pancakes cook for a couple minutes, until the top starts to bubble, then flip and cook a couple minutes more. Yum!


Protein Pancakes
- Yield: 18 pancakes 1x
Ingredients
1 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp chia seeds
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp melted butter
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
In a bowl, stir together the sour cream and chia seeds. Let sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime, melt the butter. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter, while whisking to combine. Set aside. In a medium bowl, with a dry whisk, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Set aside.
Transfer the sour cream and chia mixture to a blender and blend on high speed for about 1 minute, until the chia is finely ground into the sour cream. Whisk into the liquid mixture. Add the dry mixture to the liquid mixture and stir with a fork to combine. If the mixture is too dry, add buttermilk, 1 Tbsp at a time, until it reaches pancake consistency.
Heat a griddle or pan over medium heat. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in the skillet and using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure pancake batter into the skillet. Cook until bubbly on top, then flip and cook for another minute or two until cooked through.
Notes
Tip: I keep air-tight containers of the dry ingredients pre-mixed in my pantry to save time.
Tip: This recipe makes about 18 pancakes. I store the leftovers in the fridge, in a Ziploc bag with a paper towel in it to absorb moisture. Reheat in the toaster for a protein-packed breakfast!