Delicate, tasty cream cheese pancakes are keto, low carb, and gluten-free. They are made with only four ingredients!
These delicious keto pancakes are made with just four ingredients. They are REALLY good! In fact, I think they are better than flour-based pancakes. They have this wonderfully delicate cheesecake-like texture that I really like. 🥞
And don’t just take my word for it. My carb-loving kids adore these pancakes and always ask for seconds. There truly isn’t a better compliment for a keto cook!
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need four simple ingredients to make these keto cream cheese pancakes. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Cream cheese: Make sure you use full-fat cream cheese in this recipe. It’s possible that reduced-fat cream cheese will work, but I haven’t tested it.
Eggs: I use large eggs in most of my recipes, this one included.
Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract adds great flavor to these pancakes. Try to use the real thing and not the artificially flavored vanilla.
Butter: Use unsalted butter – the cream cheese adds enough saltiness. I like to use European butter because it’s so creamy and delicious, but any butter will be great.
How to make keto cream cheese pancakes
The detailed instructions for making this recipe are listed in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:
1. Your first step is to soften the cream cheese. This is easily done in the microwave.
2. Next, you whisk the eggs, the cream cheese, and the vanilla extract until very smooth. This will take some time, so try to be patient!
3. Now cook the pancakes in butter over medium heat until golden, about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 more minute on the second side.
What frying pan to use
This an easy recipe, with one caveat: The batter is very thin. So you can’t just pour three mounds of the batter into a large skillet and fry three pancakes at a time, as you would with regular pancakes. The batter will spread.
So you could either use two mini frying pans and cook one pancake at a time in each. Or do like I do and use a special pancake pan.
I like to use this egg cooker pan, which makes perfect round eggs (great for keto breakfast sandwich) and also works great for thin-batter pancakes.
Whatever pan you use, make sure it’s a nonstick pan.
How to serve keto cream cheese pancakes?
The pancakes are delicious with no toppings. But obviously, you can top them with butter, maple syrup or honey (if you don’t mind the carbs), or sugar-free syrup.
If you’d like, you can also add 2 tablespoons of a sugar-free sweetener to the batter (or the equivalent in stevia), and then you won’t need a sweet topping at all.
Can I keep the leftovers?
Yes. Once completely cool, you can keep these pancakes in the fridge for 2-3 days, in a sealed container, separated by wax paper squares.
You can also successfully freeze them. Separate them with wax paper strips and place them in a freezer bag.
More keto pancakes that you might enjoy
I really like these almond flour pancakes. They are tasty and fluffy, and the batter is really easy to work with – easier than these keto cream cheese pancakes.
Another favorite of mine is these deliciously chocolatey keto chocolate pancakes.
Never miss a recipe!
I typically publish a new recipe once or twice per week. Want the new recipes in your inbox? Subscribe!
Keto Cream Cheese Pancakes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
INSTRUCTIONS
- Microwave the cream cheese for 10 seconds to soften it.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs well with a hand whisk.
- Add the cream cheese and the vanilla. Whisk until well-incorporated and smooth. This will require some elbow grease, so be patient.
- Heat half the butter in two mini nonstick skillets over medium heat. Add 1/4 of the batter to each skillet. Cook until golden brown and set on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook 1 more minute. Transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil.
- Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the pans.
- The pancakes are delicious with no toppings, but obviously you can top them with butter, maple syrup, honey, or low-carb maple/honey.
NOTES
More Recipes to Try:
Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.