Banana cottage cheese pancakes are an easy way to turn an ordinary breakfast into something a bit more special without adding extra steps. The banana does double duty here: it brings natural sweetness, so you can get away with very little added sugar or none at all, and it keeps the inside of each pancake moist and tender.

Unlike classic buttermilk or milk-based pancake batter, this recipe is built around cottage cheese, which packs in more protein per serving and gives a thicker batter that doesn’t spread thin in the pan. Medium-fat cottage cheese works best. Ripeness matters for the banana too — an overripe one with dark spots on the peel mashes easily and adds more sweetness, which is why the sugar here is optional.

Cook the pancakes over medium rather than high heat, since the banana and cottage cheese make this batter more sensitive to hot pans than standard batter. Wait for bubbles to appear on the surface before flipping — that’s the sign the bottom side is set. Swapping part of the flour for oat flour makes the pancakes a touch denser, and a pinch of cinnamon or vanilla plays up the banana’s sweetness nicely.

These pancakes are good plain, but a spoonful of yogurt, a drizzle of honey, or a handful of fresh berries turns them into a proper weekend breakfast.