Ah, breakfast. What a pain in the ass, right?

When I worked in an office (if that’s you, check out these office snacks), I had about 4 minutes every day to get dressed, put on my makeup, do my hair, eat breakfast, walk my dogs, and get myself out the door without forgetting anything (HA – NEVER).

Relatable, right?

So, those beautiful, elaborate breakfast spreads I see on Instagram (stacks of homemade pancakes, frittatas, quiche, skillets) – not happening. I mean, even bacon, probably not happening. Even on the weekends because I’m probably hungover (just kidding, Mom).

Often times I tell clients to just do a quick and easy “snack-style” breakfast (like, hard boiled eggs, grapes, avocado – something super easy that requires no prep). But sometimes, you just want BREAKFAST, ya know?

And sometimes you don’t want eggs. OMG am I the only one who gets so sick of eggs?

So, let’s make some pancakes, shall we?

But let’s add some protein because regular pancakes are major carb bombs and not in any way shape or form a solid way to start your day.

Protein = FAT BURNING. Say it with me. PROTEIN = FAT BURNING.

For real. When you eat at least 30 g of protein at once, it has a crazy thermic effect on your body and your metabolism can actually increase by up to 30% for a couple hours after eating. WILD. And I feel like breakfast is a tough spot to get a lot of protein in, so this these pancakes are an easy way to really set the tone for the day with lots of protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich carbs.

By the way – I went through a whole dozen eggs testing this stupid recipe. I was using oats, oat flour, baking powder, etc etc and finally, I was like, this is so not MM. Who the fuck is gonna make these?

So I started over. And I kept it to 5 ingredients. Voila.

These pancakes are super filling, totally kill my cravings for carbs (even though they’re loaded with protein) taste like peanut butter, contain 37 g of protein, 6 g of fiber, and take like 2 seconds to make. Yes, please.

Let’s also talk about the topping that is showed in these pictures – I’m OBSESSED with topping my pancakes with this stuff.

It’s just equal parts peanut butter, maple syrup (or honey), and almond milk. YUM. Less sugar, but still super sweet. You could even do 2 parts almond milk to stretch it more.

Here’s the thing, though – I wouldn’t make a bunch of these and eat them as leftovers because they will dry out in the fridge (like any pancake). But you can let the batter chill in the fridge and just make them real quick in the AM. The chia seeds will thicken it a lot, so you’ll wanna add more almond milk to get it to the right consistency.

I get tons of questions about what protein I use – I LOVE LOVE LOVE Designer’s Advanced Protein. It’s grass-fed, no artificial shit. And it tastes good. That’s the protein I used in this recipe. AND – you can get 20% off by using MEGAN20 (that’s not why I promote them – I promote them bc I love them).

K let’s get to the breakdown –

5-ingredient peanut butter protein pancakes

PHFF Stats:

PROTEIN: Protein powder + egg

HEALTHY FAT: Peanut butter + egg

FIBER-RICH CARBS: Banana

ALSO: Chia seeds have all of the above – love them so much

5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Protein Pancakes

Author: Megan Hansen, RDN, LD

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 3 mins

Total time: 8 mins

Serves: 1

With 5 ingredients (one being peanut butter!) and 37 g of protein (WHOA), you’ll want to make these babies asap.

Ingredients

• 1/2 large, ripe banana

• 1 egg

• 1 Tbsp peanut butter

• 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds

• 1 scoop Vanilla Cookies n’ Cream Designer Advanced Protein (or ~7 Tbsp/a scant 1/2 c of any protein powder)

• Coconut oil for coating the pan

• optional: vanilla extract, cinnamon, chocolate chips, etc

Instructions

1. Mash the banana really well with the back of a fork. It helps to heat it up the microwave a little to get it less lumpy.

2. Whisk in egg, peanut butter, and chia seeds.

3. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Grease the pan with coconut oil once it’s hot.

4. As the pan heats up, you’re letting the batter rest so that the chia seeds can thicken a bit.

5. Once the pan is ready, stir in protein powder and pour a generous 1/4 c of the batter for each pancake. Turn heat down to medium low.

6. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the pancake looks ready to flip (keep an eye on the bottom so it doesn’t burn), then flip and cook for about 30 seconds more.

7. Top with butter, syrup, or my favorite: equal parts maple syrup, almond milk, and peanut butter.

Serving size: 1

Fat: 17

Carbohydrates: 27

Fiber: 6

Protein: 37

Notes: Add chocolate chips, blueberries, coconut – whatever toppings you like before flipping the pancake.

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