These Savory Cheese Pancakes make a delicious and original dish to serve with your favourite toppings for breakfast, brunch or even lunch. The fluffy Cheese Savory Pancakes made with Sour Cream are super easy and quick to make - and they are not just reserved for the weekend!
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Why we love this recipe
I love taking a traditionally sweet baked goods like pancakes and turn them savoury, just like for my Savoury Cheese Scones. Because who said Pancakes had to be a sweet dish? I say: load them with Cheese and eat them for lunch!
These Savory Pancakes seriously make an awesome breakfast, brunch or lunch idea. Extremely light, fluffy, these pancakes can be served with any of your favourite savoury toppings, sauces and spreads.
And many many ingredients like veggies, meat or herbs can also be added to this basic savory cheese pancake recipe to make them your own. The possibilities are infinite!
Ingredients
This recipe is made with a few ingredients only, but can easily be customised to suit your taste as well. Different types of cheese, extra fillings or toppings, you can easily make this recipe your own. Take these pancakes as a base to create your ideal meal!
To make these Savoury Cheese Pancakes, you will need (scroll down to recipe card for all quantities):
- Eggs: at room temperature
- Olive Oil: a good quality Olive Oil with a mild flavour will be best here.
- Full Cream Milk: can us a Dairy-Free Milk if preferred
- Sour Cream: needs to be at room temperature to mix easily with the rest of the ingredients
- Self-Rising Flour: see below for ratios to use Plain / AP Flour instead
- Salt
- Grated Cheese: I used Cheddar Cheese but you can use any type of grated hard cheese.
Optional: you can also add any of your preferred Spices to this mix with the Salt as well. For example, you could add Garlic or Onion Powder, Chilli Powder, Mustard Powder, Cumin,... it is completely up to you!
Just like for my 3 ingredients Banana Pancakes, I used Self-Rising Flour instead of regular flour. Because cutting down some ingredients like baking powder makes this recipe even easier and quicker! But you can absolutely use Plain Flour instead - see the ratios below.
Ingredient Substitution
- Olive Oil: can be replaced with any neutral flavoured Oil (like Canola Oil) or Melted Butter
- Sour Cream: you can use Greek Yogurt or Natural Yogurt instead.
- Self Rising Flour: Plain / AP Flour can absolutely be used instead, but you will need to add extra Baking Powder and Baking Soda to it. Scroll down to the FAQ section below for the ratios.
How to make Cheese Pancakes
These pancakes are extremely simple to make - and just as quick. It almost took me longer to grate the cheese than it took me to prepare the pancake batter!
There are basically only three steps to follow to prepare the batter: mix the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients and fold in the cheese. Easy peasy!
Here is how to make savory pancakes:
- Place the Eggs, Olive Oil, Milk and Sour Cream in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth (*).
- Add the Self-Rising Flour and Salt, preferably sifted to avoid creating any lumps. Whisk well until smooth. At this point, you could also add any of your favourite Spice you'd like.
(*) You might need to slightly heat up or whisk the sour cream on its own if it is very stiff when it comes out of the fridge. It should be relatively smooth and runny when you add it, otherwise it will not blend well with the rest of the ingredients.
- The last step is to add the Grated Cheese. Simply mix it into the batter with a whisk, making sure it is fully mixed in to avoid pockets of cheese. Note that if you grate the cheese yourself, I recommend grating it before starting to make this recipe.
At this point, your basic pancake batter is ready and you can add any other fillings you would like. Make sure to mix them in well so that they are evenly incorporated into the batter! The toppings can also be added over the cooking pancakes in the pan.
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The last step is the cooking of the Pancakes. And this one is no different that cooking any sweet pancakes - you will just need a Pan!
I used my Cast Iron Crêpe Pan that is just as perfect for cooking pancakes. But you could also use a Non-Stick Skillet or regular Cast Iron Pan - or any utensil you usually use for pancakes.
- Lightly grease a large Pan heated up on medium high. Pour some pancake batter in and leave it to cook for about 2 minutes (more or less depending on the heat) or until you see bubbles appear on the surface. Flip the pancake and cook for an additional 2 minutes or so - or until golden.
To get regular and even pancakes, use an Ice Cream Scoop or Ladle so that you add the same amount of batter every time.
These pancakes are best served straight away and warm, but you can also make them ahead if needed and simply re-heat them up in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.
Tips to make this recipe
- If the Sour Cream is too cold or seems rather hard, place it in the microwave for a few seconds or whisk it to smooth it out. It will create lumps in the batter if the sour cream is too hard when mixed in with the rest of the wet ingredients.
- If the Wet Ingredients seem lumpy after mixing them together (usually because the Sour Cream is too cold or hard), you can use an Immersion Blender to smooth it out for a few seconds.
- Make sure to sift the Flour before adding it to the batter to avoid creating lumps
- The Cheese can be grated very finely or more coarsely, depending on the texture of pancakes you want. The more coarsely grated, the more "pockets" of cheese you will find in the pancakes
- Depending on the type of Pan you use, you might need to grease it slightly between cooking each pancakes.
- Adjust the temperature of the stove while cooking pancakes if they seem to brown very quickly or take a long time to cook.
- To get round and even pancakes, use a large round cookie cutter or pastry ring when pouring the batter in the pan
- Flip the pancakes once you start seeing some bubbles on the surface.
Recipe FAQs
For this recipe, I used Cheddar Cheese. I have also tried it with Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese, but my personal preference goes for a cheese that is stronger in taste. But that it completely up to you! You can basically use any type of Grated Cheese in these Pancakes you'd like. But the type of cheese you pick will affect the texture of the pancakes.
A grated hard cheese like Cheddar, Parmesan or Gruyère will blend very well within the pancake batter. In comparison, a cheese that tends to melt with heat like Mozzarella will create pockets of melted cheese inside the pancakes. Both options are equally delicious!
You can also use multiple cheese if you want to vary both taste and texture! Mozzarella and Cheddar will work very well together for example.
You can very easily make your own blend of Self-Rising Flour at home from mixing Plain/AP Flour with Baking Powder and Salt. The blend can be kept for months in a sealed jar or container like any flour!
To make this recipe with Plain or All-Purpose Flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder and 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda.
Fillings & Toppings Ideas
Ideas of Filling
Like explained above, this savoury pancake recipe is very much just a base that can be customised with your favourite ingredients (although I personally love them plain!).
Many ingredients like Veggies, Meat or fresh Herbs can be added directly into the batter - or over the pancakes while they cook in the pan.
For example, you could add:
- Veggies: Corn, Mushroom, Chopped Onions, Tomatoes
- Meat: Ham, Bacon, Bresaola or Salami
- Herbs: Basil, Coriander, Parsley
Pancake Toppings
To go with this dish, I simply topped the pancakes with a little bit of Sour Cream, chopped Spring Onions (Scallions), Salt and Pepper. But the possibilities are infinite!
Savoury Jams, Sauces or Spread, as well as cooked veggies like Mushroom or Caramelised Onions will be delicious too. Or go all in with the cheese with some Cream Cheese or Cottage Cheese.
Here are a few savoury toppings ideas:
- A simple Poached, Fried or Scrambled Egg
- Smoked Salmond and Cream Cheese - bagel style!
- Sautéed Mushrooms with Onions or Garlic
- Caramelized Onion Chutney from Milk and Pop
- Bacon Jam from House of Nash Eats
I am so excited to share that my debut cookbook
"Bite-Sized French Pastries for the Beginner Baker"
was released in December 2023!
Recipe
Savory Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 large Eggs
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) Olive Oil
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) Full Cream Milk
- 125 gr (1/2 cup) Sour Cream
- 225 gr (1 1/2 cup) Self-Rising Flour - (*)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 50 gr (1 cup) Grated Cheddar Cheese - or your preferred type of grated cheese
- Optional: your choice of Spices
Disclaimer
I highly recommend using the measurements in grams & ml (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
- Thinly Grate the Cheddar Cheese (or your preferred cheese) and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Eggs, Olive Oil, Milk and Sour Cream until smooth (1).
- Sift in the Self-Rising Flour and Salt (2) and whisk until smooth and no lumps remain.Optional: any of your favourite spices can be added with the rest of the dry ingredients too.
- Add the Grated Cheese and mix it in the batter. It should be evenly distributed to avoid pockets of cheese.
- Heat up a Pan (Crepe Pan, Skillet or Non-Stick Pan) on medium high and lightly grease it with Oil or Butter. Pour some Pancake Batter and leave to cook for about 2 minutes, or until you see bubbles appear on the surface. Flip the pancake and leave to cool for another 2 minutes (approx), or until golden (3). Repeat until you have cooked all the batter.
- Top with your choice of toppings and eat straight away while still warm.
Tried this recipe? Make sure to leave a comment and star rating below!
Notes
- If the Sour Cream seems hard or stiff when it comes out the fridge, I recommend heating it up for a few seconds or whisking it to loosen it. If too hard when added to the rest of the wet ingredients, it will create lumps.
- It is important to sift the Dry Ingredients to avoid creating any lumps in the batter.
- The time it will take for your pancakes to cook will depend on the temperature of your pan, and the type of pan you use. Simply check the colour if you are unsure - they should look golden.
Nutrition
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