One day during the pandemic I was craving pancakes. I’m searching for a word stronger than hankering but weaker than obsession. I was also in one of those toxic phases of overexercising and under-eating fueled by a too-long look in the mirror and a bad mood. So, I decided to adorn my kitchen magician cap and concoct a protein baked oats recipe. The one stipulation was that they had to be as good as the real thing. 

I started with a lumpy batter of random amounts of oats, banana, milk, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla protein powder. It tasted like a wet shoe. So, I thinned out the batter and blended it longer, adding more flavor with honey and peanut butter. This time, the texture was perfect, but it didn’t taste like pancakes. It couldn’t hide behind its healthy identity. After days of eating and testing and swapping ingredients and tweaking amounts, I had something that resembled a pancake. It tasted good, too.

I forgot to write the recipe down. I tried making it again from memory and the texture was completely different. After my craving subsided, I returned to my daily ritual of a peanut butter and banana smoothie and gave up on my protein baked oats recipe. I swapped them for mediocre healthy cookies, chewy healthy cakes, and sickly protein bars.

Amazing Protein Baked Oats

Then, the craving returned, so I threw a bunch of random things in a blender. This time we were out of bananas. I was surprised as I poured a crepe-like batter out of the blender cup into a pan, and as I attempted to contain the flowing batter into protein pancake orbs, I gave up and poured the entire thing into a cast iron skillet. Dutch babies seemed to be popping up all over the place on social media, and I imagined my batter puffing into a giant golden popover.

I cooked my protein baked oats somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes, and I pulled a glistening, golden, flat thing out of the oven. It smelled like a pancake, which peaked my excitement. I de-molded it by banging the pan over the plate, holding onto the handle with an old potholder. After I finished my cleaning in the sink, it was cool enough to eat, and miraculously resembled the texture of cake. So, I splurged and stole my mom’s real Maine maple syrup from the shelf and poured it all over. I’m sure I almost yelled with excitement with my first bite. It tasted…incredible. Like no one would ever know it wasn’t a fresh, thick, pancake from a French bakery. It was a protein pancake? It was healthy?

My favorite healthy breakfast

So, I’ve made it at least once a week since, and it never fails. I wrote the recipe down, too, thankfully. And over the past few months it’s evolved into something even greater, with small unhealthy tweaks that create a good balance between nutritious and decadent. Instead of cooking spray, I melt a tablespoon or two of butter and let it brown so the oven protein pancake develops a thick crust.

I now own a gallon jug of Passamaquoddy Maine maple syrup that probably weighs 20 pounds. I use local honey for sweetener and my favorite protein powder. Real vanilla, too. I would say it’s become my favorite thing to eat, and I’ve lost sight of the fact that it was created to be “healthy” in the first place. I haven’t eaten “real” pancakes since, and have no desire to. The trick is the peanut butter – with no banana in the recipe it adds a caramelized, earthy quality that tastes just like griddled pancakes. The brown butter probably helps, too.

I’ve made amazing strides lately with loving myself and not engaging in toxic diets or over-exercising. I owe a lot to my trusty oven protein pancake. So, while I won’t claim that this pancake is better than the real thing and magically heals any negative relationship with food, it did wonders for me. The reason I want to share it is not to help people lose weight, or to eat healthier, or to scold you for eating real pancakes, but to give you another option. An option if you are looking to lower your cholesterol, or learn more about fitness, or get more protein, or simply to enjoy a delicious meal with no need to check a nutrition label.

Everything in moderation

The key takeaways for the recipe are as follows: use real butter for the brown butter; use a well-seasoned skillet; invest in real maple syrup (it’s really good for you!); buy some local honey (it helps with allergies); and enjoy the ritual! It’s incredibly easy to make with minimal clean up, which is one of the reasons I make it so often. And, in addition to the amazing flavor, the cinnamon is an anti-inflammatory and the recipe is packed with protein. It’s seriously a life-changing dish for me, and something I crave all the time. I’m still not sick of it. And I haven’t craved real pancakes ever since.

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Print Pin

Brown Butter Protein Baked Oats with Maple

My favorite healthy-ish protein pancake, made in a cast iron pan

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword breakfast, healthy recipes, pancake recipes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 1/2 scoops vanilla protein powder I use the Orgain Vegan brand, which is the best I’ve tried
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Real Maine maple syrup for topping

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 475°F and heat a 10” cast iron skillet over medium-high.
• In a blender cup, measure the oats, vanilla protein powder, sea salt, cinnamon, and baking powder.
• Blitz dry ingredients until a powder is formed (10-15 seconds).
• Add butter to hot cast iron pan and swirl as it melts, coating the sides of the pan and bottom evenly.
• Keep an eye on it as it browns, being careful not to burn. If it starts to take on too much color, move it off the heat.
• On top of the dry ingredients, add eggs, almond milk, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. If the liquid is too high to screw on the lid, pre-mix everything together with a chopstick.
• Screw on the lid and blend batter for 10-20 seconds until combined.
• Pour batter into buttered cast iron skillet and immediately transfer to preheated oven.
• Bake for 20 minutes until golden and firm.
• Flip onto a plate and drizzle with real maple syrup.