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Oddly enough, until a few years ago, I’d never had a popover, despite having seen them in cookbooks for years.
One night I decided to give them a try, to serve with soup, and as it turns out, my family really likes popovers.
When I posted a photo of these on Instagram (I’m thefrugalgirl over there), there was some discussion about whether the popovers are the same as Yorkshire puddings, and from what I read on the internet, they are, at least, very similar.
Except that we never eat our popovers with gravy/meat. We put butter and sometimes honey on them.
At any rate, every American cookbook I’ve ever seen refers to these as popovers, so for the purposes of this blog, popovers they will be.
You can buy a dedicated popover pan, but since my kitchen isn’t particularly enormous, I really, really try not to have unitasker pans.
So I’ve always made my popovers in a muffin tin and it works out just fine.
Almost every popover recipe I’ve ever seen has exactly the same egg/milk/flour proportions; the only differences are in the greasing/baking methods. I opt for the pan prep method recommended by Cook’s Illustrated in their Baking Illustrated book.
Basically, instead of greasing the pan, you put oil into the muffin cups and then heat the pan before adding the batter.
(Sort of similar to the way you make Apple Pfannekuchen. Or a Dutch Baby.)
To start, grab a muffin tin and place 1/4 teaspoon oil into the 10 outer cups, leaving the middle two empty.
Place the pan into the oven and heat it to 400 ° F. While the pan heats, make the batter.
Whisk two eggs.
Next, whisk in the flour and salt.
And then whisk in the melted butter.
The order of these steps vary in recipes, but I’m not sure it matters a whole lot, honestly.
Pour the batter into a measuring cup so that it’ll be simple to fill the muffin cups.
By now, the pan should be piping hot, so carefully take it out of the oven and evenly pour the batter into the 10 greased cups.
Place the pan back into the oven (Don’t forget to use potholders! The pan is super hot.) and bake for 30-40 minutes.
Do NOT open the oven door during the baking process. Opening the oven door causes eggy things like popovers, Dutch babies, and souffles to fall.
During the baking process, the popovers should sort of slide up into a puffy, lopsided shape, and they’ll end up being far larger than you’d think they could possibly be.
Remove them from the pan right away. Just use a butter knife to help get them out of the pan if they stick a bit.
Serve them while they’re still hot, because they’re awfully delicious that way and also because then the butter you put on them will melt.
Melted butter is marvy-fab. Obviously.
Oh, one last thing! One of the recipes I’ve tried in the last few years called for half whole wheat flour, and the whole wheat was surprisingly not-noticeable. So, go for it!
You don't need a popover pan to make these; a muffin tin works just fine! Don't open the oven door while these are baking, or they may fall.
Muffin Tin Popovers
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1 popover
Amount Per ServingCalories 82 Total Fat 3g Saturated Fat 1g Trans Fat 0g Unsaturated Fat 1g Cholesterol 42mg Sodium 89mg Carbohydrates 11g Fiber 0g Sugar 0g Protein 3g
Rb says
As well as a muffin pan works, if u love popovers a popovr pan gets them to rise about twice as high. And they get super dark and crispy on the outside. I am not a big fan of unitaskers, but sometimes they really do make a better product.
Kristen says
Yeah, that’s what I’ve read! But since we’ve never had the type from a popover pan, my family is quite satisfied with the muffin tin variety.
Maybe if I get a kitchen with more storage space one day….(a girl can dream!)
Gail says
Yes, that is what I was about to say. I dislike having unitaskers as well, but my husband loves popovers, so we bought a specialized pan, and he is happy.
Just butter, Kristen, is the traditional way to eat them. We use lots!
Kristen says
Well, yay! We’re doing it right, then.
Sabrina | Frugal Italian Family says
I never made popovers. I will try your recipe using my muffin pan for the moment. Thank you!
Laura says
I’m making now. Hope they rise. I’ve had bad luck with other recipes
stacy says
Oooooh……I’m super excited to try these! I’ve had these at an awesome restaurant in DC and had no idea it would be such an easy recipe! Can’t wait…
WilliamB says
The challenge is in the technique rather than in the ingredients or instructions. It’s like a proper omelette in that sense.
Diane says
Popovers remind me of my father who used to make them every Sunday night for supper during my 1950s childhood. We all loved them slathered in butter than oozed and melted down the inside of each one. He had a dedicated popover pan, cast iron, I believe.
So good! Thanks for bringing back that memory.
Lillian says
That is so neat! Sweet memories. I would like to try cast iron cooking, anyone have any tips?
Amy says
But a pan at Walmart (lodge brand I believe)! Watch a video of how to “season” it!! Trisha Yearwood showed how to on her show! And go to town! I rarely use anything else on the stove! I love it! I feel like such a pro in my kitchen! Advice: get it screamin’ hot, then turn way low….it retains heat so well!
Dawn says
The recipe I use for popovers came from a church cookbook decades ago. Same basic recipe, but you put everything in the blender to mix, which is awesome because then you can pour the batter right from the blender pitcher into the muffin tins. The recipe didn’t tell you to preheat your pans though, and for years I rarely made popovers because they were SO hard to get out of the pan. Then I saw a recipe for a dutch baby, and thought, hey, if preheating the pan works for that, maybe it would work with popovers. What a difference! I started preheating my pans and then spraying them with nonstick spray right before putting the batter in. Now all I have to do is flip my pan over when the popovers are done and they “pop” right out of the pan.
Lisa S says
What is the purpose of leaving the middle ones empty? Just room for expansion? My muffin tins only do 6 per pan. I wonder if that would still work ok.
Dawn says
I have a muffin tin with six cups, too. I don’t have any problems when I use all six for popovers.
Kristen says
Well, I’m not sure, except that the amount of batter the recipe makes only fills 10 cups. At least, that’s what I’ve assumed!
Kris says
I tend to forget about popovers–we like them and I should make them more. Thanks for the info about using whole wheat flour–I would have thought that would make them too heavy. Good to know.
Linda says
Back in the dark ages (1960s) when I took Jr. Hi Home Ec. class, popovers was the first recipe we were taught. Probably for the simple ingredient list and the WOW factor. We used muffin tins. I’ve never made them since.
Not knowing what a popover pan looks like I did an image search. Apparently not many people have kitchens large enough to store dedicated popover pans. I’ve seen lots of them at thrift stores (not knowing what they were).
Frugal Paragon says
My Aunt B. calls these Yorkshire puddings and makes them for our “Christmas Eve-Eve” (Dec. 23) dinner every year. She uses drippings from the roast, which makes them taste like “meat muffins” (as we have nicknamed them).
We know they’re done when the smoke alarm goes off. The beef fat has a tendency to, well, set the oven on fire. Mr. FP finds the whole tradition to be rather unsettling, and also he finds the Yorkshire puddings to be gross. (I find them to be an interesting once-a-year novelty). I can see how they would be delicious cooked in a neutral oil! I might have to try it. I don’t keep vegetable oil on hand–I wonder if I could use olive oil.
WilliamB says
You can use olive oil but they’ll taste a little, er, different. If you don’t want the faint olivy taste that olive oil imparts, try an animal fat instead – tallow, suet or lard – since those work for Yorkshire Puddings. I bet butter would taste heavenly but I don’t know what the different fat/water ratio would do to the product. Might make it even lighter as the water turns to steam. Hmmm, I shall have to try it.
FYI, the different shape and volume/edge dimensions of a roasting pan vs popover tins, means Yorkshire Puddings are more different from popovers than one would expect. Without the necessary amount of edge compared to volume, YPs don’t rise as much or “pop” like popovers do, and so some out rather heavier than popovers. The different fat yields a different taste, too.
Kristen says
I wondered about butter too, but I have enough trouble with the oil smoking when I heat the pan, and I imagine butter would be even worse.
Butter might work if you use a method that doesn’t have you preheat the pan, maybe?
WilliamB says
I was thinking oil in the tin and melted butter in the batter.
Kristen says
Yup, that’s what I do. Because butter is awesome.
Heather Murray-Herlocher says
Butter does just fine. I take a stick of butter and run it around the sides of the preheated popover pan just before I pour the batter in. Yum!
Ingrid says
Just made them with butter in the pan and it worked fine! It turned into ghee… They were very tasty, too! First time popover baker. I served them with beef stew. May have eaten a few too many…
Bruce says
It’s the butter fat in the butter that’s causing all of the smoke. In lieu of butter, use clarified butter (AKA ghee) in the batter and in the tins). It has a much higher smoke point after the butter fat is eliminated and will render a more decadent buttery flavor. Bon Appetite!
Gina says
We’ve been making drop biscuits lately, but these look like a nice change of pace. You can never go wrong on something that helps you get more butter into your mouth…
Aria says
I love popovers! The recipe I use is very similar to this. Great idea above in the comments to mix in the blender for easy pouring.
I do have a popover pan, but it only makes 6 at a time. Next time we have guests I’ll try the muffin pan instead so no one has to argue over them
Dede says
I never made popovers, but it looks like the recipe I’ve used to make puffy pancakes. Yum! How fun!
rachel says
So, I just made this according to the directions, and they came out … poorly, would be a nice way of putting it.
When you put 1\4 teaspoon oil in the cups, is it PER cup, or do you spread that oil out between all the cups?
This is probably clear to bakers, but I am not one, so I think I killed them by drowning them in oil. I also used a half whole wheat half white flour mix. Not sure what I did wrong to ruin these poor things.
Kristen says
Oh dear! I wonder what happened. Yep, I do put 1/4 teaspoon in each cup. It’s a fair amount of oil…the batter sort of fries a bit when you first pour it in.
What went wrong with these? Did they not puff up?
rachel says
Yeah, they look more like hockey pucks! I did mess up the order of the mixing… I took the eggs, then added flour and salt, then added the milk.
If the oil amount was correct, then I only mixed in the wrong order and used the half and half flour mixture, but they all came out less than 2 inches tall.
I want to try again right now, but they are still edible, so maybe after we eat these I will try again with just white flour and mix in the right order!
Kristen says
I wonder if maybe the flour got mixed too long, then? That might have developed too much gluten, and that could affect things. I don’t do a super thorough mixing once the flour is added…you don’t want to develop a bunch of gluten for popovers, according to what I understand.
Do let us know how a second batch comes out!
rachel says
That would make sense, actually. Since I added things in the wrong order, I had to mix a long time to get it all mixed properly. I will try again soon!
Rachel says
That could totally be the case… I know my recipe specifically warns against over-mixing the batter. It also tells you to rest the batter while you preheat the oven, then just stir it a little teeny bit before you pour it into the tin. Not sure what difference that makes, if any
Felicia says
I’m so glad you asked the question about the oil because I was wondering the same thing as well. I can’t wait to make these sometime in the next week. I’ve always seen them but have never been brave enough to try them.
Kate says
These are the same as yorkshire puddings, except that for yorkshire puddings you use roast beef drippings instead of oil in the pan (top up with oil if you don’t have quite enough beef fat). They are traditionally served hot with roast beef and gravy, and they are delicious!! Artery-clogging, though. Apparently they used to be served as a first course to farming families at lunchtime in Yorkshire, to fill people up inexpensively before the meat was served. Less healthy if you are not working in the fields all day.
holly says
So no leavening agents?!? Such a simple use of ingredients. I am all over this tonight!
Kristen says
Yep, no leavening is needed. The heat and the eggs puff nicely all on their own. Kind of like how a Dutch baby puffs up on its own.
Lisa Aberle says
I made these for supper tonight – so good! We may have fought over the extras ;). In other words, they were a huge hit with my family!
Kristen says
Yay! So glad to hear they turned out well.
Debrah Wood says
Love popovers! Thanks for your tips! Cannot wait to make some for the kids
MM says
I remember one time my aunt made these, and they were heavenly. I’ve never made them personally, but now – I’ve just got to try them! Have printed out the recipe, and will try to remember to come back and let you know what we thought
Thanks for all the helpful hints, and I never knew before what a popover pan was, but after a quick search on google, now I do!
Denise says
Maybe I’m missing something here, but couldn’t you just mix this up IN your measuring cup to begin with?
I don’t enjoy doing dishes and I’m sure you don’t either.
Kristen says
If you used a 4-cup measuring cup, I suppose it would be possible. But I do find it easier to beat eggs in a bowl rather than a measuring cup, where the bottom edge angle is sharper.
If you have a large measuring cup that’s friendly to egg-beating, though, go for it!
Suzan says
I have to agree with Kate’s comments. Yorkshire pudding was served as a first course to fill empty bellies. My mother grew up in Yorkshire and occassionally we make them. Mum always wants one huge effort while my children and I prefer individual ones. I tend to use a flavourless oil, eg sunflower oil, to grease the pans. I must try this recipe as it looks good.
Rachel says
I looooove popovers! I grew up eating them made in a muffin tin, so that’s what I do now too. Seriously one of my favorite foods. Also funny is that growing up I read a lot of British children’s books that mentioned Yorkshire puddings, but it wasn’t until within the last few years that I learned what those actually are, and that they’re basically like popovers! Haha!
Rachel says
Oh and I never thought to try whole wheat flour, I’m definitely going to now though!
Hazel says
Yep, I agree, almost identical to Yorkshire pudding, especially the heating of the oil before adding the batter. Beef dripping might be traditional but I’d bet most British YP’s are cooked in (non-EV)olive oil or vegetable oils nowadays.
My husband’s mother was from the north of England and they’d often eat them for pudding, with golden syrup and maybe cream and a handful of raisins cooked in the batter.
To make mini Toad in the Holes, add a hot, cooked sausage to the hot oil before adding the batter. I don’t think you have the same kind of sausages in the US as here in the UK, but a meatball-type piece of cooked sausage pattie would work.
Do try them at least once with a meat-and -gravy type meal, they work really well.
Judy says
I did a little search and this is exactly what I was looking for to go with our lentil soup. Thank you!
http://benandbirdy.blogspot.com/2013/10/lentil-soup-with-garlicky-vinaigrette.html
bev says
I haven’t made popovers in years! Tonight the grand babies are having popovers at nana’s and papa’s for their first time. Thanks for the recipe and yes, butter is AWESOME!
Lisa says
Wow, mine turned out like hockey pucks. I live at over 4000 feet. Could that be the problem? Any suggestions for high altitude modifications?
Kristen says
I’ve got no experience with high-altitude baking, but I’m positive someone out there on the internet has a recipe for high-altitude popovers. Definitely do some googling!
Laura L says
Popovers are well known in Maine, especially at the Jordon Pond House on Mt. Desert Island. They are made in a regular popover pan, and served with butter and strawberry jam for tea. Delicious!
Lizzy says
Yes I just paid $5 each for them this past weekend at Jordon Pond House-very delicious but quite expensive given the ingredients and ease! I can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend! Oh in June it’s strawberry season here in Maine…we’ll have to make some homemade strawberry jam to accompany them!
Paula Foster says
There is a charity on MT. Dessert Island that does breakfast of oatmeal and poppers during tourist season. The charity feeds elderly during the winter, especially vegetables. The poppers are or at least were since it has been several years, better at Jordan Pond House.
Sue says
I see, according to you, the popovers are baked at the same temperature and the same time whether using popover pan or muffin pans. I’m confused.
Kristen says
As far as I know, there wouldn’t need to be a temperature difference. I don’t own a popover pan, so I have no experience with one, but all the recipes I’ve seen do not specify a different temperature.
Lee says
So I have a question about putting the tin in the oven. It says to preheat the oven to 400 degrees, but would I put the tin in before the oven preheats or after the oven preheats?
I originally thought I was supposed to preheat the tin after the oven was preheated for about 5 minutes. Every time I make them, they don’t turn out bad, but they never turn out puffy like in the picture. So am I supposed to put the tin in the oven before the oven even preheats?
‘Cause I have that same direction on the recipe I have printed out, but that part always confused me.
Kristen says
Yup, you put the tin in the cold oven and let it sit in there as the oven preheats. That way it’s piping hot when you add the batter!
Lee says
Thank you!
rocky says
These to me are simply Yorkshire Puddings why call them Popovers and think they’re American ? they’re YORKSHIRE puddings from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.
Kristen says
I’m just calling them what my cookbook called them.
Sandra Thibault says
How high do you fill the muffin tin? Half or 3/4? I haven’t tried them yet. I’m still comparing recipes. Also, one recipe said too let it sit for 1 hour before fill the tins. Is that maybe a little too long? Thanks for your post. I’m excited to try these and don’t want to invest in a popover tin that may end up in the “appliance graveyard” in my basement!
Kristen says
I just divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. I’d say they end up being about half full.
I don’t let my batter sit at all; I just preheat the pan with the oiled cups, pour the batter in, and bake them.
Totally agree about the popover tin! I’d much rather just use the muffin tin I already own.
Mona Stanton says
I have to add my comments. I also made popovers in home ec when very young. I got a yen for them so looked up recipes. I found quite a few different ways. So I purchased a 6 cup popover pan. I had bacon fat, so put about 1/2 tsp in each cup., put in cold oven to preheat to 450. Added batter to smoking hot cups . I lower my temperature after about 20 minutes to 350 for15 – 20 min. Do Not Open Door! Had beautifully tall, brown popovers. I did not rest the batter. My recipe was 2 eggs, 1 Cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tbs. butter. I hope this might help.some with questions.
Barbara Ann Tarleton says
These are best with butter but to save WW points I use a tiny bit of powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon. 2 popovers = 5 SPs
Rima featherstonehaugh says
The difference is that Yorkshire puddings are made with melted beef fat not oil, and is usually made in one big pan. This is served with the Sunday roast. Traditionally kids got a big piece of pudding topped with gravy, and, if they were lucky, a slice or two of meat. The adults enjoyed the roast. More economical that way, and beef FLAVOUR for all. Now everyone enjoys everything.
Susan says
These look Great! Your family is so lucky. You are very wise to cut down on number of pans and multi task them……says someone with a billion pans and no room to cook
jackie says
Thank you for including your post on Apple baked pancake. I used to order this in a New England chain restaurant that has been closed for at least 15 years now, it was always my favorite. I’ll be making this tomorrow for breakfast, I never realized it could be so simple.
Effie says
I completely recommend trying these with meat and gravy; Yorkshire’s are the best part of a roast dinner. We use sunflower oil and preheat the oil with pan until it’s s smoking hot. My mum will actually put the pan on the hot plate of the Aga (type of country style oven in the UK) as she adds the batter (which she always leaves to stand for an hour before cooking). Yum
Kris says
A wonderful variation is the Herbed Spelt Popovers from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook (you can find the recipe online). My family hates everything whole grain except these spelt popovers; I usually skip the herbs and make them plain.
I bought a popover pan at a thrift store and it make lovely popovers, but it only makes 6. We have 4 in our family and there would be a fight for the 2 leftovers, so I prefer to use the muffin tin and let everyone have seconds of the smaller popovers.