You know my feelings about oats. They are far too modest to say so themselves, but how many other foods are wholegrain, low GI and more than usually endowed with cholesterol mopping soluble fibre? And so versatile in the kitchen too. I’m always pleased to find another excuse to include them in my week and hence my delight at having these spinach, cottage cheese and oat pancakes as a new savoury oaty option.
I know some people pooh-pooh cottage cheese but if you buy the normal stuff it’s actually rather nice and creamy. I think it was all the extra low fat cottage cheese (very watery and lumpy) and those strange additions like prawns and pineapple that did for its reputation. That, and all those flavour free, soul-destroying diets of the 1970s and 1980s. But if you’re still sceptical about the merits of cottage cheese then give this Baked cottage cheese french toast with a courgette and corn salsa a whirl as a stepping stone to moving on to these pancakes (honestly, I dare you not to like them).
Those savoury oat, spinach and cottage cheese pancakes combine both of these ingredients and are literally a case of blitz and cook. Credit where it’s due to the awesome Shauna for spotting the sheer simplicity of this recipe. We like these as brunch and making a savoury twist on the original fruity recipe makes it really easy to fit in some extra portions of fruit and veg alongside the pancakes (today a heap of salad leaves and some roast cherry tomatoes).
People with problems absorbing lactose be aware that cottage cheese has much more lactose in it than hard cheeses.
Many more ideas for including more oats in your diet over here, plus a whole host of cheese and egg recipes.
Recipe for Spinach, cottage cheese and oat pancakes
Serves 2 (makes 4 large pancakes)
50g rolled oats
100g cottage cheese
2 eggs
2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
3 large handfuls fresh Spinach
Black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil (to cook)
Wilt the spinach. I do this by putting the spinach in a lidded saucepan with a splash of hot water. Heat the spinach for one minute and remove from the heat, leaving the lid on. Leave the spinach for 5 minutes by which time it will have wilted fully.
Remove the spinach from the pan and give it a good squeeze to get rid of the excess water.
Put the spinach, oats, eggs, cottage cheese, parmesan and a good grinding of black pepper in a food processor and blitz to a smooth texture.
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a non stick pan over a medium heat. Put in 2 separate ladles of pancake mix to make the first two pancakes. Cook for about 2 minutes until golden on the bottom and puffing up a bit on top.
Flip the pancake over and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side.
Remove the first two pancakes and keep them warm while you cook the next two, adding the second tablespoon of olive oil if needed.
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Sophie Roberts is a registered dietitian based in Oxford, UK. She loves combining her nutrition know-how with a sustainable approach to buying and preparing food and shares her tips and recipes here at Mostly Eating. 
{ 25 comments }
Me ha gustado mucho tu RECETA… fácil, sana y deliciosa!!!
BUEN FIN DE SEMANA AMIGA :)
Conxita
I have to confess. I always *loved* those flavoured cottage cheeses. The one with tinned pineapple in was my favourite (what was I thinking?), but I also loved the gherkin one . . .
Anyway, this is a gorgeous looking recipe and I reckon we’ll be making this very soon.
I am shocked at you Kathryn – pineapple cottage cheese! I don’t think the gherkin one was as common over here but there was plenty of chive available too. Oh and weird florida one with sultanas and orange in it.
The flavoured cottage cheese phase of my life was in the UK. Gherkin one definitely available when I was growing up, and there was also an onion and chive which I was rather partial to. Never had the sultana and orange one.
Now my favourite cottage cheese combination, is with a bit of seeded mustard stirred through. Much more adult.
I did wonder when I wrote my earlier reply if your cottage cheese phase was in the UK. It sounded like a properly British selection.
I have the seeded mustard / cottage cheese combo too. I wonder if we picked it up from the same place (Nigel Slater I think?)
WOW! I never would have thought to do savoury pancakes. What a brilliant idea, and definitely sort of thing I could face on a weeknight. Will definitely be trying these :)
I think you have inadvertently come up with a great test for recipe straightforwardness there Shauna – “could you face cooking it on a weeknight”?. In our house there is always a balance between cooking something good and fitting in a bit of exercise on some nights but I think these pancakes are easy enough for an exercise night.
Thanks again for pointing me towards the recipe in the first place!
looks delicious – must try these – love cottage cheese in baking
If you have any other cottage cheese baking tips Johanna do pass them this way – I know that you manage to try out an impressive number of new recipes!
That looks like my lunch is sorted!
Cheers!
TOM
Happy to have helped :-)
Oh wow, this looks like an amazing recipe. One to try for me.
These sound very good and I’m going to try them with Lidl’s low-fat cottage cheese . Thankyou !
Oh, Sophie. As I compose this comment I can’t keep from scrolling back up the page to view the colourful, delicious-looking plate of food. It’s especially appealing on this chilly autumn day in late October. A brilliant and elegant recipe for sure. And I love a “blitz and cook” recipe for a work-day evening meal.
As an aside, this recipe takes me back to some long-ago childhood meals of potato pancakes cooked up by my mom. I think I’m going to get the recipe from her and perhaps update it with additional vegetables.
Thank you for this post :-).
Now there’s a bit more of a chill in the air your (Mum’s) potato pancakes sound really tempting Elaine! I will look out for the recipe appearing
This dish looks wonderfully fresh and delicious. Just what’s needed at this time of year. Can’t wait to try the combination of flavours.
Thanks Douglas!
Where does the cottage cheese go? Looks like a great recipe…..
Well spotted Poornima – the cottage cheese goes in when you blitz all the ingredients together. I have amended the recipe accordingly – thank you!
Just had these for lunch, Lovely. Seems like a nice healthy comfort food. I’m currently trying to improve my diet and this looks like a good addition to my repetoire. Quick question though, does passing the oats through the liquidiser raise the GI of the oats? Or shouldn’t I really care :)
Sean.
Glad you enjoyed them Sean! I wouldn’t worry overly about the GI. Whizzing up oats does increase their GI a little, but adding in the protein and fat from the other ingredients will decrease it, so hopefully it’s a good balance overall
Looks perfect. My children love pancakes, I prefer salty dishes thats why I choose your proposition. Fantastic blog. bests from Poland!! ;)
Is it possible to substitute the egg for a different ingredient?
Thank you
Hello, I haven’t tried making these without the eggs. You’d definitely need something that could give it a bit of lightness – we’ve had good luck making pancakes with sourdough bread starter in them so that might be worth a try
I am fascinated by this, we eat a lot of oats and I make quite a few veggie panackes/fritters but have never combined the two, what a great idea.