Popovers
I am obsessed with popovers at the moment. After getting my new popover pans last week I have made many different versions. I’ve been testing different temperatures and methods to get them just right.
Honestly they are so easy to put together and come out perfect when you adhere to a few simple rules.
Popovers are the American version of Yorkshire Pudding and are named for their ability to “pop over” the tins in which they are baked. Popovers are light and airy and can be served with almost any meal.
They are perfect with all kinds of sweet or savory toppings or enjoyed just with butter. I love them with pot roast, using the popover to dip in the gravy. Or have them with tea with some jam…it’s a classic way to serve them.
These are the popover pans I use and they are fairly inexpensive. Each set makes six popovers.
However, I highly suggest having 2 sets of popover pans on hand. Popovers are very light and airy and most people will have more than one to enjoy with their meal. Since they must be served immediately you would not want to wait for another set to be baked and served.
The popovers come out of the pan easily and are served hot at the table. Be careful of the steam.
Tips and Tricks for the Best Classic Popovers
- Place popover pans on an 11 x 17 baking tray and place in the oven while you are preheating. The popover pan must be hot for best results.
- Warm milk before to roughly 125 degrees before mixing with the eggs and flour. The warmer batter helps get the popovers cooking right away. This makes for a larger and taller popover.
- Spray popover pans vigorously with cooking spray right before pouring batter into the cups.
- Mix batter only until lumps are gone, do not overmix.
- Start with a higher oven temperature and turn down after fifteen minutes.
- Never open the oven during the baking process.
- Serve Immediately
If you have never tried making these, you will be pleasantly surprised how easy they are to put together. It’s a fun and impressive dish.
The Best Classic Popovers with Tips and Tricks
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place popover pans on an 11 x 17 baking sheet and put in the bottom third of the oven during the preheat process.
- Warm or scald milk on the stove over medium heat until hot, about 125 degrees, do not boil. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs and salt until smooth. Slowly whisk in warm milk, about a half a cup at a time. Add flour and mix gently, just until lumps are gone.
- Remove popover pans from the oven and spray vigorously with cooking spray. Pour batter into a a large pitcher so it is easier to pour and fill each cup a little less than half full. Return to the oven immediately.
- Bake popovers for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Turn down oven to 350 degrees and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove popovers from the pan and serve immediately.
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DessertForTwo says
You make me want to bake popovers! I need a mini pan that only makes 6–how perfect!
Cathy says
You’re in luck, each pan only makes six.
Nora Zepeda says
Hola Cathy, Soy Nora amiga de Sandy, from Davis.
Where I can buy pooovers pans, they look very hummmy.
Gracias,
Cathy says
Hola Nora! Como esta? No se. Los compres en Amazon.com. Tratar de Walmart o Tartget. Adios!
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
I love the classic recipes and this is one of the absolute best! I’ll take a popover (or two) any time of day. And my favorite way to have them is with pot roast as well.
Jaime {sophistimom} says
This is great, Kathy. My popovers are usually hit and miss, but I’ve never made them with scalded milk. Maybe that is just the thing I need to make mine foolproof.
Thank you!!
Amy @ Club Narwhal says
These look absolutely fabulous! I would love to hear what other kinds of popover flavor combos you have made. I’ve always been a little intimidated to make these but you make it seem easy đŸ™‚
Sara Tetreault says
My MIL gave me a cast iron popover pan when we got married. It needs regular seasoning when using it. My family thinks I’m the best EVER when I make popovers. I may make some tonight! Thanks for the tips…I never spray mine (just re-seasoning that cast iron) but may give that a try. Thanks, Cathy!
Jo says
Don’t spray cast iron. Use crisco or lard to greast any cast iron pan. The spray builds up into a sticky mess! Ask me how I know….
Joan Monet says
So true Jo.. I even had some cookie pans destroyed by spray. It gets sticky and gummy. Someone said, it was because I may of used generic. I always make Yorkshire pudding with roast beef. Today will make pop overs. I have made them before. Yorkshire pudding so true is hit or miss. We eat it anyway, but love when light and airy. I will try this recipe using scalded milk. I think the milk can be warm though. If too hot do not want eggs cooking. I stopped spraying certain pans with spray. When using cast iron pan, I found the best is to use suet or fat from the beef. They charge for fat now. I use Crisco too. The only difference when using the fat, you may get the flavor from the beef. I saw other ones made on the Chew that they come out with a big indent in like a bowl. I of course came in and did not get the recipe. You can fill this with anything then. If remember will come back and tell you how this came out. When using suet and a cast iron pan for Yorkshire pudding, I heat the pan on top of the stove and melt the suet.
Kim says
I save my bacon grease it works awesome for popovers and nice flavor.
Nancy/SpicieFoodie says
Your popovers are so perfect! I have yet to make them because those pans aren’t available here in Europe. I do hope to give them a try sometime. Thanks for sharing!
Cathy says
You can get a decent result with regular muffin tins, they are just not as lofty.
Annie Wyatt says
I’m in Australia so might have to try ebay for tins… but I so want to try these.
I love your site. Thank You so much for your unique recipes. I sometimes feel like an
honorary Yank! đŸ™‚
Alyson says
I have great luck with regular muffin pans. I do add about 2 tab. melted butter to the batter, spray the pans with nonstick and add a dab of margarine (higher smoking point) or better yet bacon drippings (just a little pinch). Heat the pans until smoking then add batter almost to the top. I found it was not necessary to scald the milk, just make sure it was a little warm. (I heat in the microwave and whisk in cold eggs so that it is warm not hot) After many years of lead sinkers as long as the batter is warm they pop up as fluffy as can be, even little ones in mini muffin pans pop well! Also try add ing 3/4 tsp dry mustard and a couple of cubes of Gruyere for Cheesy Popovers. I also grate extra Gruyere just out of the oven!
jeri says
Beautiful popovers. Your never-open-the -oven-door tip is the most important thing. I just use regular cupcake tins and I’ve never heated my milk, and they’ve always turned out great. Except the one time I peeked…PLOPovers. I know it’s hard, but no peeking.
Doug Prather says
Good thing to do with leftovers in the morning:
1. Make more popovers ’cause there’s no such thing as leftover popovers.
2. Gently pull the fresh popovers open a bit and slip in a big spoon of a your favorite egg, cheese, sausage/ bacon scramble.
3. Serve. Eat. Repeat.
Easy breakfast for a group.
Cathy says
Do it all the time!
GG says
That would be sooo delicious.
Debbie H. says
Popovers look beautiful. Would you mind answering a couple of questions? You said to preheat popover tins on a baking sheet … Do they remain on baking sheet when Returned to oven for baking? Preheat in bottom third of oven … Bake in bottom third of oven? Thanks so much!
Cathy says
Yes…remain on sheet and bake in bottom third.
Jeremy Norton says
I am so excited to bake my own version of popover. I just received a set of pan last week.
Leslie Gaunt says
Yum! Made these last night, they are amazing. I found it nearly impossible to resist having “just popovers” for my dinner! I had been longing for a popover pan, and finally found one at Cost Plus World Market in the clearance section for $4.50!!! I got mine yesterday, who knows if they are at other locations!
PG says
Great tips! I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a popover pan. I always just use muffin tins. But, I am going to try this recipe because my recipe includes putting oil in the tin and then heating before adding the mixture. More often than not, I end up setting off the smoke alarm. Then, the popovers stick to the pan anyway.
So true about serving immediately. A part of me loses it when people are late for a dinner than includes popovers.
Happy Passover to you too!
Tracy Dane says
I’m English, living in France, and I love Yorkshire Puddings. Mum always used to use the fat produced by the Sunday roast ( usually beef) to cook the Yorkies. Another favourite is Toad-in-the-hole. The same batter, cooked in a large tin with sausages then served with onion gravy. A hearty family meal.
Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says
My family loves popovers and somehow mine never turn out as nice as yours. Thanks for the tips, especially about warming the milk.
I like Doug’s idea about stuffing them with cheesy eggs. The savory ones sound more appealing to me than what my family does, which is sweet with a pat of butter, a dusting of powder sugar, and a squeeze of lemon.
San
Jamie says
Wowee what stunning, perfect popovers! Thanks for the tips – I used to make popovers 30 years ago just out of college and they were great. Last time I tried to make them in France they were a miserable failure and I so want to make them again. And have them come out like yours! And now a popover pan (or 2) is on my wish list!
Dawn miller says
Don’t forget to poke a hole in the top of the popover right when they come out of the oven, I use a sharp knife. This keeps the popover from sinking in. I’m planning on trying your recipe next weekend in my new popover pans that I found at HomeGoods.
LuAnne Tonioli says
can this be done in a muffin pan?
Cathy says
I’ve never done it. I believe you can but they won’t be as lofty and the cooking time might change.
Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says
LuAnne,
I hope you don’t mind my jumping in, but my FIL used to use a black cast iron muffin pan for popovers back in the day. Cathy is right, they don’t rise as high as if you have a popover pan, but they tasted just like they were supposed to.
Sam
Kim says
Yes I do it all the time.
Kim says
Just wondering has anyone ever tried to make popovers with any other kind of flour like rice or coconut flour so they will be gluten free. I think I will try and let you know!
Martha Wolfe says
My popovers did not rise like yours, also sorta heavy. What am i doing wrong?
Lisa B. says
If you really want your popover/Yorkshire pudding mind blown, try making them with Wondra flour. I also learned while living in the UK that the batter should rest for 20-30 minutes before baking. Makes much higher lighter pudding/popover.
As children, we would poke a hole in the top of a fresh hot popover with our finger and smush some butter and jam through the hole and swirl it around inside the hot pop over. Delicious!
Augenette says
Hi so lovely to see these popovers! I live in South Africa and we do not get popover pans here. My niece lives in Texas & she’ll bring me 2 pans when she visits in April. I make Yorkshire pudding very successfully. My late mother in law taught me the tricks. The batter has to be left after mixing for at least an hour, preferably in the fridge, before being poured into the very hot pan or muffin tins. The standing lets the gluten in the flour develop. I also let my Dutch Baby batter stand for at least an hour. If I am very busy I will even make the batter the night before & leave it in the fridge. Just a quick whisk before baking then.
Janet Ma'ly says
Can one cut down on the salt without ruining the recipe? That’s a LOT of salt.
Cathy says
Stick with the amount called for.
Kim says
HI Cathy-
a couple of notes I have discovered with popovers. I add a tsp of sugar (from an old recipe). Also, I let the batter sit up to one hour. You can also cook them, take them out of the pan, place on a cookie sheet to cool, and heat for 5 minutes at 350 when needed (but not more that one hour of sitting time.) It works! I also freeze them in plastic baggies if there are leftovers, and microwave- not bad at all but I would not leave them in the freezer more than a few days.
Patty says
Oh I’m bummed! I tried these on a whim tonight but they turned out like little popover quiches. Very eggy, wet, let airy and bready. I used Lactose Free 2% milk because that is all I had. Did everything else as per the recipe. I have a popover pan that I’ve used for corn popovers in the past. Any ideas? Was it the milk?
Of course I ate a few anyway. I’m not stupid. =)
Cathy says
Yes…wrong milk!
Ginny says
Does it work to have the temperature at 375 degrees for whole baking time? My popovers seem to get very dark when I start at 450 degrees.
Cathy says
I always start with a hot oven…it’s key.
Peg says
I actually cook initially at 475° for 12 min then turn down to 375° for additional 3 minutes. You have to watch because yes they do burn in the span of a minute. I do this because popovers are the last thing I make and dinner is usually ready except for the Yorkies and no one wants to wait 25 minutes which is the original cooking time. This gets it done in 15 minutes for my impatient gang and works every time…I have adopted the tips on this recipe and now I never have failures. I’m grateful for that!
Elsa says
These were the best popovers I’ve ever had!
Kelb says
These popovers turned out great. Thanks for tips!