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High Protein Pancakes: DIY power cakes mix
Keep this high protein pancakes mix on hand and you’ll only be a couple steps away from a filling nourishing breakfast!
I might be breaking ALL the recipe creation rules with this one.
There’s the “list all ingredients in order of use” rule…. I ALWAYS follow that one. It’s a big pet peeve of mine when I’m making someone else’s recipe and I’m scrambling to find how much to add of the ingredient that comes next. Making a recipe isn’t some kind of treasure hunt. Just give it to me straight!
Then there’s the “list ingredients added at the same time in descending order” rule. I love this one! It makes recipes look so neat and tidy!
Oh no, I follow all the organizational type of recipe rules. But with this one (ssshhh, don’t tell anyone!) I actually made a copycat recipe for a food I’ve never even tasted!
So to all those people who called me a goodie two shoes in elementary school: ha! There you have it; I do have a rebel streak in me!
High Protein Pancakes Craze
I kept seeing all these Dietitians posting about Kodiak Power Cakes in their #costcofinds Instagram photos. A million Dietitians couldn’t be wrong so I picked up a box the next time I was at Costco. One reason everyone was raving about this pancake mix was that it was made with simple, whole food ingredients. I flipped the box over to read the ingredient list and the first thing I thought was “I have all these ingredients at home; I could just make this myself!” Then I put the box down and went home with a mission to re-create it.
Being a nutrition nerd and proud of it, I used the nutrition facts to guide my recipe creation. My first attempt was nearly right on the money! Ka-ching! A few tweaks and I had a recipe that lined up with the nutritional breakdown of the boxed stuff.
| Boxed | DIY | |
| Calories | 190 | 195 |
| Fat (g) | 2 | 1.5 |
| Sodium (mg) | 400 | 375 |
| Carbs (g) | 30 | 31 |
| Fibre (g) | 5 | 4 |
| Sugar (g) | 3 | 3 |
| Protein (g) | 14 |
14 |
The power cakes instructions say you can make the pancakes one of three ways:
- Just add water (left in photo)
- Just add milk (middle)
- Add milk and an egg (right)
For these photos I added 3/4 liquid for each cup of dry mix. As you can see in the photo the egg clearly made a “runnier” thinner pancake. I thought I would like the thicker ones but they weren’t as fluffy as I had expected. The milk and egg version proved to be a clear winner in our family.
Why These High Protein Pancakes are a Smart Choice
Compared to a regular box of pancake mix, this high protein pancake mix has
- more than DOUBLE the protein
- 1/3 the sugar
- nearly THREE times the fibre!
So what does that mean for you? Protein and fibre are two very important, key nutrients at breakfast. They pack a mean punch in keeping hunger at bay. When you start your day with a meal high in protein and fibre, you are going to feel full for hours. No need for a morning pick-me-up!
I have a free e-book that will teach you all about optimizing protein, fibre, and so much more for the BEST breakfast that will fuel you all morning long. Sign up here:
This recipe uses whey protein isolate. I prefer this choice for a protein powder because that’s all that’s in it: no sweeteners or flavours or other fillers or sketchy performance enhancers. It’s also much more versatile; you can add it to anything because it has a very mild flavour on its own.
Don’t know where to get it? I order mine online. Check out this one from Amazon (affiliate link):
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations!
high protein pancakes: DIY power cakes mix
Save money and make your own high protein pancake mix!
Ingredients
For the dry mix:
- 1 cup oats
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 75 g 1 cup whey protein isolate (NOT concentrate)
- 4 1/2 tsp buttermilk powder optional
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For making the pancakes:
- milk
- eggs
Instructions
To make the dry mix:
- In a blender or food processor, pulse the oats until you get a rough flour texture.
- Whisk together the oat flour with the rest of the dry ingredients.
To make the pancakes:
- Whisk together 1 cup of dry mix with 1/2 cup of milk and 1 egg.
- To use ALL the dry mix, add 3 eggs and 1 3/4 cups milk.
Calories:
Nutrition info for 1/2 cup dry mix.
Calories: 195 | Fat: 1.5g | Carbs: 31g | Fibre: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Protein: 14g
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Hi! Are these nutrition facts for just the mix or for the pancakes made with the milk and egg?
Also, I made them for breakfast this morning. Delicious! Even my husband (who does not like “health food” and usually would rather just have the real thing) enjoyed these!
Oh, I just saw that you already put the nutrition facts are for 1/2 cup of dry mix, never mind! Thank you!
You’re welcome! So glad you and your husband enjoyed them!
oh… I believe the nutrition info is for just the mix and water!
What is a good brand of whey protein isolate to use?
Aso, What alternatives can I use instead of whey?
Anything that’s unsweetened!
The Kodiak Cakes box has a variation for making muffins with their mix by adding mashed bananas, eggs, milk, and butter/oil to their mix. Could the same be done with your recipe? Anything you would change to do muffins – i.e. maybe omit the buttermilk?
Hmm, muffins sound like a great idea! You could omit the buttermilk but the kodiak mix does have it in so it should still work for muffins if they have a recipe for it 🙂
I LOVE these pancakes! We just made box mix par cakes and then I mixed a double batch of these and these win! So fluffy! And hearty. Thank you!!
So glad they were a hit!
I would like this recipe but without the sugar using yeast instead of baking powder. I don’t know how to go about substituting the yeast for the baking powder but I will certainly make 2 variations:
1. your recipe, as is
2. less sugar, I’m looking for a like bread flavor
3. figure out how to use yeast instead of baking powder (maybe)
Thanks so much !!
I’ve never made pancakes with yeast before. Maybe look for a belgian waffle recipe?
Can you make this vegan with a plant based protein powder? Would it work the same?
I am sure that would work just fine, though I haven’t tested it. Let us know how it goes!
I followed the recipe but exchanged a coconut/pea protein powder blend for the whey. I’m going to need to tweak this recipe a bit and try again. Plowing the recipe I used the 1+3/4 c oat milk and 3 eggs for the whole batch and it was way too dry. The mix ended up being 4 c total so I added an extra egg and about 4 cups total of milk (well over twice what the recipe recommends) and the mixture was still very thick. Perhaps this is because of the bulk of coconut/pea protein compared to whey. Once I thinned it out further we finally achieved a less mealy pancake. Will be trying this again with further tweaks.
Coconut flour is VERY thirsty so I’m guessing coconut protein powder might be acting in the same way!
You mentioned that your recipe is sweetened with dates. How many and how/when are they added to the recipe?
I think I made a mistake when responding to a previous comment. I thought the comment had been about my chocolate peanut butter protein bars: http://smartnutrition.ca/recipes/no-bake-chocolate-peanut-butter-protein-bars/
I’m so excited to make this! I love Kodiak cakes, but want to have a mix in hand when I need it and pay less! I am curious before I make it though, once all mixed together how long can I keep the mix? I am not sure if packaged mixes have something added to keep them good, so I just thought I’d ask! Thank you!!
Hi Danae, good question! If you keep the mix in the fridge or freezer, it will last for several months.
Will this recipe work with the following ingredients (how much is needed for 3 four inch cakes):
– Ardent Mills whole wheat flour
– Quaker Oats old fashioned oatmeal(grinded into flour)
– ON Gold Standard 100% Whey Vanilla
– Alta Dena Lowfat Cultured Buttermilk
– Cage Free 100% Liquid Egg Whites
– Double acting baking powder
– Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, 1 packet
Working to determine if this is more cost efficient vs buying the 4.5lbs box at my local Costco for 11.49
Thank you
The protein powder mentioned will probably have some additional sweetness to it, which would alter the end result.
I making waffles with the Kodak mix – there’s instructions on the box for conversion to waffle mix. Have you tried making waffles with this mix yet?
You know, I haven’t actually tried waffles with this mix yet! But if you follow the instructions on the box, it should work out with this mix as well. I tried my best to make a really authentic replication!
Has anyone experimented with a non Whey protein? I am lactose intolerant and I love Kodiak Cakes, but they don’t love me. I’d love to know if anyone has had success with substituting another protein. Thanks!
Looking forward to trying this! Thank you. Are you able to put the cups measurements in to weight measurements next time you do these?
Thanks,
Danielle
Thank you for the suggestion! I’ll try to add that info in 🙂
Do you know how it would work to sub an egg white powder for the whey? One of my kiddos is allergic to dairy protein so we can’t buy the Costco box anymore. But he loves pancakes and I’d love to have a good mix on hand!
Hmm, I”m not sure! I’ve never actually worked with egg white powder. I looked into buying it once but got scared off by the price!
Rachel – did you try this? I have Jay Robb Egg White Protein powder and wondering if you tried it yet with your children’s allergy.
Thank you for crafting a protein pancake recipe I can actually eat (can’t have the original Kodiak cakes due to a nut allergy) can’t wait to try it
Oh, it’s tough with food allergies when you have to make most things from scratch!
HI! Thanks SO much for this recipe! I typically use the Dark Chocolate flavored Kodiak Cakes mix. Could I simply use a chocolate whey isolate and maybe some cocoa powder for that flavor?
For sure! Just be aware that your chocolate protein powder MAY have added sweetener to it. So taste your pancakes before adding a sweet topping!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! I love being able to recreate something at home that saves some dough. I have all these ingredients as well and you did all the work of putting in the nutrition information. That takes some time and I appreciate that very much.
And thank YOU for your feedback! You’re too kind. Glad you’re happy with the recipe!
Hi. I just made yogurt in my instant pot and have whey protein in a jar. Can I use that in this mix as a substitute for the whey protein isolate? How/when would I add it?
Oh that’s a good idea for using the whey protein! I would use it in place of the milk then. If you try it out, please let me know how it tastes!
By the time you have purchased the ingredients including $25 for whey protien isolate are you really saving any money making this pancake mix yourself?
Good question! If you’re going to make them a lot then the whey protein will pay for itself. I’d recommend going to a bulk food store and buying a small amount of the whey protein isolate to try the recipe out first. Then you’ll know if you want to “invest” in the whole container of whey protein isolate!
How many 1/2 c servings does the batch of dry mixture make?
I’m sorry, I should have recorded the full amount! I’ll need to make the recipe again and measure it out.
What protein powder did you use? I’m looking to buy some and am finding sweetened mixes, not straight isolate.
Ideas?
Thanks!
Are you in Canada? I know you can get whey protein isolate from Bulk Barn. If not, Amazon is a great source!
Looks intriguing, but I have 2 questions. Would HempPro work for those of us who are allergic to whey protein? Also, when you say “oats” do you mean whole or steelcut or rolled oats?
Thanks”
Maxine in Canada
Rolled oats! As for the HempPro, is it sweetened? This recipe is sweetened with dates so if your protein powder is already sweet the bars might end up being TOO sweet!