If You're Wanting a Cooking Challenge, Don't Make a Dutch Baby

4 Ingredients | 20 Minutes | Infinite Possibilities

You’re exhausted, the fridge is almost empty and you have no idea what to make for dinner. Made from ingredients I can almost guarantee you have in your kitchen - the Dutch Baby is your answer.

What Is It?

In short, a Dutch Baby is a crepe/popover/pancakey masterpiece with a very weird name that’s infinitely toppable. The ingredients of a crepe, blended to make it puff up super high up and out of the pan like a popover and typically categorized as a pancake at many breakfast spots, it is based on the recipe for Pfannkuchen or German style pancake. However, when a cafe owner in Seattle featured it as a Deutsch Pancake, his daughter mispronounced it “Dutch” and the Dutch baby was born. In our house, we’ve always called it the “big puffy pancake.”

What’s In It?

Eggs, butter, milk and flour - the ingredients that start so many delicious foods are really all you need. From there, you can basically clean out your fridge to top it. Whether you make an easy yet elegant and somewhat French version topped with ham and Gruyere (or whatever cheese bits you have hanging around), or an indulgent, sweet supper with fruit and a snowstorm of powdered sugar, a Dutch baby is great for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or even dessert. When it comes to topping it, you can go simple with butter and maple syrup, just like a pancake, one of the toppings suggested below.

What to Serve with a Dutch Baby

Depending on how you top it, you may not need anything with it. While the sweet versions can definitely be served as is for dessert, for breakfast, lunch or dinner, I usually like to make more of a complete meal. For example, if I make cooked apples and it’s for breakfast, I love serving it with sausage and an extra drizzle of maple syrup. If I’m serving a savory version that doesn’t have any veggies involved, I usually make a simple arugula salad with lemon juice and olive oil. Or I might add some fruit as a side.

“If you fail to plan dinner you plan to fail”

Ok, that’s not exactly the quote, but it’s definitely true. You will likely spend more money, time or both. Let’s fix that!

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The Many Ways to Make a Dutch Baby Awesome

Feeling crazy or don’t have any of the suggestions below, be adventurous and use whatever you find in your pantry, fridge or freezer!!

Psssttt…When you make this, will you take a photo and post on Facebook or Instagram and tag @realfoodsanity to show us how you topped it?

Savory

• Ham and Gruyere - We like this with a little strawberry jam , too.

• Bacon, Egg and Cheese

• Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms with Parmesan Cheese

• Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese with/without Capers, Red Onion and Tomato

• Bacon, Tomato and Lightly Sauteed Spinach

Sweet

• Fresh, seasonal fruit - perfectly in-season peaches are awesome, but you can do berries, bananas, or even thawed frozen fruit if it’s the dead of winter

• Nutella or melted chocolate chips

• Cooked apples - I just cook them with butter, coconut sugar and cinnamon

• Maple Syrup - this is the most basic

• Lemon juice and powdered sugar

• Whipped cream and berries

• Lemon curd with berries

How to Make It Allergan Friendly

I’ve always made it gluten free and in the last year, dairy free, too. You can definitely make this work with almost any lifestyle - Paleo, Keto, Vegetarian, etc. See Notes on Printable PDF.

Basic Dutch Baby Recipe

NOTE: Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tbsp sugar to make a sweet version.

10 eggs

1/2 cup gluten-free flour blend (can use regular)

1/2 cup cornstarch or potato starch

1 cup milk (I used almond milk)

3/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp melted butter

Assorted Toppings

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Liberally coat 2 9" cast iron skillets or glass pie plates with butter.

3. In a blender, whirl eggs for a couple of minutes until they are frothy.

4. Add flour blend, salt, milk, vanilla and butter to make a thin batter.

5. Divide evenly between the two prepared pans.

6. Place in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes or until it is very puffy.

7. Top as desired and serve hot.

8. Reheat leftovers in the air fryer for 3-5 minutes.

Printable PDF