Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes

These Strawberry Pancakes are a strawberry lover's dream come true. Creamy, fluffy cheesecake pancakes are topped with a homemade fresh strawberry sauce that is out of this world.

If you really want to take these Strawberry Pancakes over the top, add a dollop of sweetened sour cream and crushed graham crackers for a breakfast that tastes like strawberry cheesecake in pancake form! 

The Best Strawberry Pancake Recipe

We love pancakes of all shapes and sizes at our house, but Strawberry Pancakes are hands down my husband's favorite.

But not just any old recipe for Strawberry Pancakes--he loves Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes.

From the fluffy pancakes made with cottage cheese for the tang to the homemade strawberry pancake syrup to the sweet cream topping to the crumbled graham crackers, these Strawberry Pancakes have all the components of cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries. And they are truly the best!

While there are several steps involved in making these Cheesecake Pancakes, you will quickly see these steps are EASY and worth the extra effort.

Notes On Ingredients

• Cottage Cheese: The magic in these cheesecake pancakes is cottage cheese. The cottage cheese melts into the pancake batter and gives the pancakes an amazing texture and tang.
• Flour: Use all-purpose flour or whole white wheat flour for tender results.
• Sweetener: I use both sugar and maple syrup to sweeten up the components of these strawberry pancakes. Feel free to use granulated sugar in place of maple syrup or maple syrup in place of granulated sugar.
• Butter: Melted butter adds richness to the pancake batter, but feel free to use melted coconut oil or canola oil in place of the butter.
• Lemon: Don't overlook the lemon zest and lemon juice. The freshness of the lemon adds such a bright flavor to these pancakes. But be sure to zest the lemon before juicing.
• Strawberries: Because the strawberry sauce is cooked, you can use fresh or frozen strawberries to prepare the sauce.
• Sweetened Sour Cream (optional): To add a bit more "cheesecake" flavor to these pancakes, I love topping them with a dollop of sweetened sour cream. In place of sour cream, feel free to use plain yogurt.
• Graham Crackers (optional): For a bit of crunch and for that "cheesecake" flair, I also love to add toasted graham crackers as a topping to the pancakes. Totally optional, but a really nice touch.

How to Make Strawberry Pancakes

While you only need to prepare the strawberry topping, I highly recommend making the sweetened sour cream and toasted graham crackers as well if you have the ingredients on hand and you enjoy the flavors of strawberry cheesecake.

Prepare Toppings

Before preparing the batter for the pancakes, prep the topping for the pancakes so that everything comes together at once for serving.

• For the strawberry sauce, combine the strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until thickened and strawberries have broken down. I just let the strawberry sauce simmer, stirring occasionally while preparing the pancakes.
• For the sweetened sour cream, combine the sour cream and sugar in a small bowl and set aside for serving.
• For the toasted graham crackers, melt a bit of butter in a small skillet. Add in the crushed graham crackers and toss to coat. Toast for 2-3 minutes, or until just golden.

Prepare Pancakes

• While the strawberries are simmering, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder until well combined in a large mixing bowl.
• In a separate smaller mixing bowl, combine the milk, cottage cheese, melted butter, egg, maple syrup, lemon zest, and vanilla together.
• Fold the wet ingredients into the flour and mix until just incorporated. This will be a much thicker pancake batter than traditional pancakes. If too thick to scoop, add in an additional tablespoon of milk at a time to thin.

• Heat a non-stick griddle to medium-high heat and grease well with butter or coconut oil.
• Pour ⅓ cup batter into the skillet and cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until bubbles form on the surface and the edges are set.
• Flip the pancake and cook for 2-3 minutes more.

Serving Suggestions

These tender cottage cheese pancakes can be served with simply the strawberry sauce, for delicious Strawberry Pancakes, OR with the strawberry sauce, graham crackers, and sweetened sour cream for Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes.

Recipe Modifications

• Fresh Strawberry Sauce: Instead of cooking the strawberries into a sauce, you can simply toss the strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice and let them sit to macerate. Serve the fresh, sweetened strawberries and the juice over the pancakes.
• Short-Cut Strawberry Sauce: Warm strawberry jam, strawberry chia jam, or preserves in a heat-safe bowl for 60 seconds until warm.
• Extra Strawberry Flavor: Fold up to ½ cup of diced fresh strawberries into the pancake batter for a burst of strawberry flavor throughout the pancake.
• Substitute for Cottage Cheese: Use sour cream or plain yogurt in place of cottage cheese for similar results.

Storage & Reheating

Store any leftover cooled pancakes stacked between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Leftover strawberry sauce and sweetened sour cream in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The toasted graham crackers can be stored in a sandwich bag for up to 4 days.

To reheat, place the pancakes on a heat-safe plate, cover them with a moist paper towel, and heat in the microwave for 45-60 seconds, or until warmed through. To warm up the strawberry sauce, place it in a heat-safe bowl, cover it with a wet paper towel, and heat for 60 in the microwave.

More Favorite Pancake Recipes

• Sweet Potato Pancakes
• Blueberry Egg-Free Pancakes
• Whole Wheat Pancakes
• Dutch Baby Pancake
• Banana Oat Pancakes

If you tried these Cheesecake Pancakes, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.

This recipe was originally published in 2017 but updated in 2022 with new process shots.