Best savoury pancake fillings and toppings with delicious inspiration from chefs
The perfect pancake requires precision and exact measurements - but there are no rules when it comes to fillings and toppings.
While most people will opt for sweet recipes, why not experiment with some savoury toppings in celebration of Pancake Day this year?
We have rounded up some of the most delicious ideas from some of the UK's top chefs to inspire you this Shrove Tuesday.
Jamie Oliver's one-cup brunch pancakes with corn, feta, avocado and bacon
Ingredients
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 1 cup milk
- Sea salt
- 1 large free-range egg
- 1 corn on the cob
- 20 g feta cheese
- 8 rashers higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
- 1 ripe avocado
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lime
- 6 tablespoons fat-free natural yoghurt
- hot chilli sauce
- a few sprigs of fresh coriander
Method
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Place the flour, milk and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Crack in the egg and whisk well to a smooth batter. Carefully slice the corn kernels off the cob, then stir into the batter. Crumble in the feta and give it a final stir.
Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the bacon and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until crisp, turning halfway. Meanwhile, halve and destone the avocado. Slice each half into four wedges and peel away the skin. Season with salt and pepper, grate over a little lime zest and squeeze some lime juice on top.
Transfer the bacon to a plate, then return the pan to a medium heat. Once hot, use a ladle to spoon the batter into the pan – each ladleful will make 1 pancake, so you can make about 2 at a time. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until little bubbles start to show on the top, then use a fish slice to flip them over and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden.
Divide the pancakes between 4 plates, top each with 2 pieces of avocado and 2 rashers of bacon. Drizzle over a little yoghurt and chilli sauce, grate over a little more lime zest and pick a few coriander leaves on top, then tuck in.
Tom Kerridge's spinach and mushroom pancakes
Ingredients
- For the pancakes:
- ½ mug of plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 mug of milk
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
For the filling
- 8 chestnut mushrooms
- 5 blocks of frozen spinach, defrosted
- 1 tsp curry powder
For the topping
- 1 sachet of white sauce
- 1 mug of semi-skimmed milk
- A handful of grated cheddar cheese
Method
1. Pop the oven on at 180C.
2. To make the pancakes, add the flour to a medium bowl. Make a well in the middle and crack in the eggs. Using a whisk or fork, mix it all together until smooth with no lumps, then gradually pour in the milk (using the same mug used to measure the flour) and whisk together to make the batter.
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3. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium non-stick frying pan. Once hot, ladle in some batter to make the first pancake (you will make 4), swirling and tilting the pan as you go so it thinly covers the base of the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes before flipping over and cooking for another 1-2 minutes until lightly golden. Repeat this process with the remaining batter to make 4 pancakes in total, and set aside.
4. Roughly chop the mushrooms, then put the frying pan back on the heat, add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes until nicely browned. Squeeze any excess water from the spinach and add the spinach to the mushrooms. Add the curry powder and cook for another minute, then set aside.
5. To make the white sauce, pour the milk into a pan and add the white sauce powder. Whisk together until the sauce thickens, according to the packet instructions.
6. Arrange the pancakes on a clean, flat surface. Scatter each evenly with the mushrooms and arrange the spinach on top. Roll each pancake up tightly and then place them all in an ovenproof dish, seam side down, so they sit snugly side by side. Pour over the white sauce, spreading it evenly to cover the pancakes and scatter over the grated cheese.
7. Cook in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Serve onto plates and tuck in.
What’s your favourite pancake topping? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
James Martin's dill pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Method
Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and baking powder in a large bowl and mix well.
Put the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter into another bowl and whisk to combine.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones until they are barely mixed. Avoid overmixing; a few lumps are acceptable.
Add the fresh dill, chopped, and gently mix.
In a medium-sized skillet or griddle, heat the oil until shimmering. Apply a thin layer of cooking spray or butter to coat.
Add a quarter cup of batter to the griddle for every pancake.
Turn the pancake over and heat until golden brown, or until bubbles appear on top.
Use up the rest of the batter in the same way.
Serve with smoked salmon and cream cheese, avocado salsa, grilled vegetables, lemon-dill butter, or cucumber yoghurt sauce.
Raymond Blanc's baked pancakes with Gruyère
Ingredients
- 50g (2oz) unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 200ml whole milk
- 100g (4oz) plain flour
- I tbsp snipped fresh chives
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil or other unscented oil, for cooking the pancakes
For the filling
- 40g (1 ½ oz) unsalted butter
- 300g (11 oz) spinach leaves - washed, stalks removed and dried
- 200g 7oz sliced button mushrooms
- 50g (2oz) Gruyère, finely grated
For the cream and cheese sauce
- 400ml (14 fl oz) whipping cream
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 50g (2oz) Gruyere
- You will need a gratin dish roughly 25–30cm (10–12in) long, and a blender.
Method
Heat the butter in a small pan until foaming and hazelnut brown. Allow to cool for 2 minutes. In a blender, liquidise the eggs, milk, flour, 4 pinches of salt and a pinch of black pepper for 1 minute, until smooth. Pour in the butter and liquidise for a further 30 seconds to incorporate it. Add the snipped chives and chopped parsley, transfer to a bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside.
Melt half the butter for the filling in a medium-sized frying pan on a high heat and add the spinach. Cook down at full heat, stirring all the time, for 2 minutes. Season with a pinch each of salt and white pepper. With the back of the spoon, squeeze the water out of the spinach. Set the spinach aside. Melt the remaining butter in the same frying pan, add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Season then mix the mushrooms with the spinach, stir in the finely grated Gruyère and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Heat a small frying pan or, better still, a pancake pan on a medium heat. Add a teaspoon of the oil and swirl it around. The oil must be hot enough to sear and cook the pancakes. Ladle just enough pancake batter into the hot pan to cover the surface when swirled. Cook for 15–20 seconds until browned underneath. Slide a spatula underneath and flip the pancake over. Cook for a further 15–20 seconds, then transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat, adding more oil as necessary, until all the batter has been used. You will need eight all together but you will probably end up with a few extra.
Spoon the spinach and mushroom filling along each pancake and roll up tightly. Arrange all the rolled pancakes in the gratin dish. To make the cheese sauce, bring the whipping cream to a rolling boil and add 8 gratings of nutmeg, 2 pinches of salt and a pinch of white pepper. Pour the cream over the pancakes and grate the Gruyère cheese finely over the top. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has a golden-brown crust. Serve the bubbling dish from oven to table.
Candice Brown's spinach, mushroom and blue cheese pancakes
Ingredients
For the pancake batter
- 60g plain flour
- 60g buckwheat flour
- 2 eggs
- 300ml whole milk
- Small bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped
- 30g unsalted butter, melted
- Salt and black pepper
For the filling
- Glug of olive oil
- Knob of butter
- 250g mixed mushrooms, sliced (chestnut, small portobello and button work well)
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 200g baby spinach
- 150g gorgonzola cheese
- 30g pine nuts
- 25 Parmesan cheese, grated
Method
Preheat the grill to medium-high
To make the batter for the pancakes, add both flours to a large bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs. Mix together using a whisk. Add the milk and chives and mix in, whisking energetically to remove any lumps. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and leave to sit for about 15 minutes while you get on with the filling.
Set a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter. Drop in the mushrooms and onion, stir and cook for 4-5 minutes until they start to colour.
Stir in the garlic and keep frying for 2-3 minutes until everything is slightly golden and cooked. Add the spinach and move about until wilted, then remove from the heat. Drop in the Gorgonzola and stir until melted together. Season to taste. Set aside
Wash out the frying pan, dry and set over a medium heat. Dip a piece of kitchen paper into the remaining melted butter and wipe around the pan. Add a ladleful of the batter and swirl to cover the base of the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes until bubbles start to form and the edges of the pancake lift. Flip over and cook the other side until golden. Slide the cooked pancake on to a baking tray and fry the next pancake. While you are doing this, add a good helping of the mushroom mix on to one half of the cooked pancake. Fold that in half, then into quarters. Repeat with the next cooked pancake and then the rest of the batter and mushroom mix, placing the filled pancakes on to the tray so that they are slightly overlapping each other.
Sprinkle over the pine nuts and Parmesan, then place under the grill until the Parmesan is melted and bubbling, the pancakes are crispy, and the pine nuts are golden. Serve hot and gooey.
Will you be giving these recipes a go? Let us know in the comments
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