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For years this has been my go-to popovers recipe. I make popovers at least once a week. That may sound fancy, but these are so easy to make that soon you’ll be doing it too!
There are some foods that just sound fancy. Soufflé is definitely one. Galettes for sure. And, in America at least, I’d wager popovers often make the list of “things you get at a fancy restaurant.” But I’m here to tell you that popovers are so EASY to make. Soon they’ll be one of your homemade favorites.
Why You’ll Love This Popovers Recipe
- Simple. I’m telling you, this recipe is so simple to make. Your blender does most of the work.I’m also sharing a few tricks I use to make my popovers are tall and airy.
- Satisfying. There is nothing quite like pulling a pan of golden popovers out of the oven. The crisp exterior is filled with steam, which makes opening them up fun too.
- Elegant. If you want to elevate even the simplest breakfast to “fancy,” serve popovers on the side. Even if you are just making scrambled eggs adding popovers to the mix makes everything feel extra.
So What Are Popovers Anyways?
A popover is a light and airy roll made with egg batter. It’s similar to a Yorkshire pudding and is usually baked in a specialized pan made specifically for popovers. These pans have extra deep tins with straight sides, which help your popovers achieve as much height as possible. The name “popover” comes from what way these delicious treats “pop” over the top of the tin while baking.
Ingredient Notes & Tools
You will only need 5 ingredients to make popovers. Here is a quick run down of what you’ll need with my notes. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.
- Large Eggs – I always use room temperature eggs. If you are using eggs that have been stored in the fridge, be sure to let them sit on the counter for a couple hours first.
- Milk – Use lukewarm milk. I just warm it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds before adding to the batter. It doesn’t matter if you use skim, part-skim or whole milk. (I use whole milk.)
- Kosher Salt – Try to avoid using regular table salt. The fine granules make it easy to over-salt the batter.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Unsalted Butter – The butter will be melted before it’s added to the batter. As with the milk, make sure it is warm, not hot. If you add hot butter or milk to your batter you risk your eggs cooking slightly.
Do I Need a Special Pan?
It is technically possible to make popovers in a regular muffin tin. However, if you go this route your popovers won’t be as tall as the ones shown in my photos. Why? Because a popover pan has deeper tins that allow your popover to really gain some height while baking. The cups where you pour the batter also have straight sides that help your popovers rise as much as possible.
I have two popover tins that I love. One is the Bellemain 6 Cup Popover Pan and the other is a Nordic Ware Popover Pan.
How to Make Popovers
Once all your ingredients are assembled and at room temperature, it’s time to make your popovers. Here’s how to do it:
- Preheat oven to 450F. Position rack on the lower half of your oven so that your popovers have room to rise. Place the un-greased popover pan in the oven to warm.
- Combine the eggs, milk and salt. In a food processor or blender, combine the eggs, milk and salt. Process for a few seconds until just combined. You should not see streaks of yolk.
- Add the flour and pulse until combined, about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of your blender or food processor bowl to get any flour off the sides. There should not be any big lumps in the batter.
- Add the melted butter and pulse until combined, about 20 seconds. The batter should be slightly frothy on top, as shown in the photo above.
- Grease heated popover pan. Carefully remove heated popover pan from oven and spray well with PAM or other cooking spray.
- Pour the batter into the popover molds. Fill each one about 3/4 high.
- Bake. Place pan on lower rack in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Do not open the oven door. Seriously, don’t do it.
- Reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 15 minutes or so. Do not open the oven door for first 10 minutes. After 10 min you can check periodically for doneness. Popovers are done when they are a deep golden brown.
Tips for the Tallest, Fluffiest Popovers
Making popovers is pretty easy, but there are definitely a few tricks I use for the best results. Any time I’ve skipped them my popovers are not as tall or fluffy.
- Preheat your popover pan. I always add my tin to the oven while it is pre-heating and leave the pan in there until I’m ready to add the batter. This step helps the batter start baking and rising immediately vs. slowly starting to bake as the popover tin heats up.
- Use a food processor or blender. I know that traditionally popovers were made by hand whisking the batter. But I find the batter comes together more evenly if I use a food processor or blender. Which one is better? The blender because you can get the batter mixing at higher speeds in less time.
- Do not open the oven door. It is so hard to resist peeking! However, when you open the door you let some of the heat escape, which means your popovers won’t rise as much.
Serving Suggestions
One of the best thing about popovers is that they go with any meal of the day!
- Breakfast: Slather them with butter and jam, then eat them alongside scrambled eggs, oatmeal or omelettes.
- Lunch and dinner: Popovers are the perfect side with a steaming bowl of soup or chili. Some of our favs are this White Bean Soup and this Sweet Potato Chili. Popovers also go with any recipe that has a rich gravy to soak up, like this Instant Pot Pot Roast recipe.
- Dessert! This may sound crazy but my kiddo likes to stuff these with scoops of ice cream, fresh fruit and then drizzle chocolate sauce all over them. You can have an ice cream taco this way lol.
And of course, it pretty much goes without saying that popovers are perfect for snacking. Just warm them up in the oven, add some butter and jam, then enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.
How Long Do Popovers Last?
Popovers are best the day they are made. So go ahead and use that as an excuse to indulge in as much popover goodness as you want!
If you must store leftovers, you can keep extras in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Warm them in the oven before serving. Popovers will get soggy if you microwave them.
More Bready Sides
Popovers Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs , at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups milk, lukewarm
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled so that it is warm not hot
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F. Position rack on the lower half of your oven so that your popovers have room to rise. Place the un-greased popover pan in the oven to warm.
- Combine the eggs, milk and salt. In a food processor or blender, combine the eggs, milk and salt. Process for a few seconds until just combined. You should not see streaks of yolk.
- Add the flour and pulse until combined, about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of your blender or food processor bowl to get any flour off the sides. There should not be any big lumps in the batter.
- Add the melted butter and pulse until combined, about 20 seconds. The batter should be slightly frothy on top, as shown in the photo above.
- Grease heated popover pan. Carefully remove heated popover pan from oven and spray well with PAM or other cooking spray.
- Pour the batter into the popover molds. Fill each mold about 3/4 high.
- Bake. Place pan on lower rack in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Do not open the oven door.
- Reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 15 minutes. Do not open the oven door for first 10 minutes. After 10 min you can check periodically for doneness. Popovers are done when they are a deep golden brown.
