Light and fluffy German Pancakes are a breakfast staple and a family favorite! Our German Pancake Recipe takes only a few minutes to prepare – and you probably have everything on hand. Just five ingredients!
German Pancakes
Hey guys! It’s Lauren back from Tastes Better From Scratch. I’m really excited to share one of my all time favorite breakfasts with you today. German Pancakes! You might know them by the name Dutch Baby pancakes or puffy oven pancakes!
My mom made these all the time growing up (just like her famous cinnamon rolls, her delicious blueberry pancakes, and the world’s best breakfast casserole) and we all absolutely loved them! I love how they puff up in the pan when they bake and I love eating them with powdered sugar and syrup drizzled on top! YUM!
The best part about these German Pancakes is they only take about 5 seconds to prepare (you just throw everything in the blender) and the ingredients are items you typically have on hand or are cheap to purchase!
Fun Fact: German Pancakes do not actually come from Germany. They originated in America!
I would also add that these are perfect to make when you have company over, because of how quick and easy they are – and they will totally feed a crowd! You just might have to make two or three pans of them though, because they will disappear quickly! :)
How to make German Pancakes:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and add butter to a 9×13 pan. Place it in the oven to melt while your oven heats.
Add milk, eggs, flour, vanilla and a dash of salt to the blender, and blend until smooth. (Photos 1-4)
When the oven is preheated, pour the batter into the pan, and bake until puffy and golden brown.
Serve with maple syrup and powdered sugar, or top with fruit!
Pro Tips:
- To keep German Pancakes from sticking to the pan, make sure you let the butter completely melt in the pan before pouring the batter in.
- If you want to have more peaks in your pancakes, try swirling the batter when you pour so it mixes more with the butter! If you pour directly into the middle then the butter will push to the sides and that is where you will get your raised peaks.
- I always prepare my batter in a blender! It’s quicker and easier than a mixing bowl, and it combines the batter better as well.
Want some more fun breakfast ideas?
Try this Overnight Breakfast Casserole, Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup or The Best Crepe Recipe Ever. For even more, browse our whole archive of Breakfast recipes!
German Pancake Recipe
Are you making this recipe? Let us know what you think! Leave us a comment and rate it!
German Pancakes
Video
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. As oven preheats, place the butter in a 9x13 baking dish and put in oven for the butter to melt.
- Place the eggs, milk, flour, salt and vanilla in a blender; cover and process until smooth.
- Pour batter into the baking dish with the melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy
- Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with syrup and powdered sugar or fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar.
Notes
- To keep German Pancakes from sticking to the pan, make sure you let the butter completely melt in the pan before pouring the batter in.
- If you want to have more peaks in your pancakes, try swirling the batter when you pour so it mixes more with the butter! If you pour directly into the middle then the butter will push to the sides and that is where you will get your raised peaks!
- I always prepare my batter in a blender! It's so much quicker and easier to wash than a mixing bowl and it combines the batter better as well!
Nutrition
Recipe by Lauren Allen of Tastes Better From Scratch.
We hope you love these puffy oven pancakes as much as we do!
This post was originally published January 13th, 2014 and has been updated with better photos, a video, and more detailed information.
Super simple recipe that comes together quickly for mornings when you don’t have time to be hands on. Very tasty, my husband and son loved them! :) I will make these again for sure.
So glad you loved them!! Thanks Kim!
AFTER ITS DONE. ADD POWERED SUGAR AND LEMOM JUICE. REMEMBER TO ADD A LITTLE MORE BUTTER TOO. BUT THE PS AND LEMON MAKE IT OUTSTANDING!!
Unfortunately this recipe did not work out. First, it has no sweetener in the batter. All the other recipes I’ve pinned for dutch babys have had either sugar or maple syrup in the batter. Without it, it just tastes plain and too eggy. It’s frustrating to use so many of my eggs and not have it turn out. Also, the butter completely burned before preheat which was a mess to clean up and a delay in the process. I recommend you make some adjustments to the recipe or at least some notes about these two things in case others want to sweeten it and watch their butter closer so it won’t burn.
Hey Brittney, sorry you didn’t like the recipe! The batter for German pancakes is typically not meant to be sweet, but if you want to sweeten the batter you absolutely can. As far as the butter goes we have never had an issue. Does your oven usually run hot?
Hi Brittney – I’ve been making this type of pancake for decades – we call it “Pancake from the Oven”. Real original! Anyway, we just use the pancake for a base – after it’s baked, load it up with sweetened cooked apples or applesauce, cooked plums etc. and if I want savory, ham and cheese. Use whipped cream and maple syrup on the fruit ones. I use it on the ham and cheese too (my bad). It’s a weekend delight. Even if the butter burns, it just adds flavor! perhaps halve the recipe so you don’t waste too may eggs and give it another go – it’s such a handy recipe for a quick meal. PS: I use a heavy or cast iron fry pan – I have an old one that lost it’s wooden handle – it’s perfect :)
Thanks Robbie!
Super good and easy! I made some glaze with powdered sugar milk and vanilla then topped it with berry compote! It was so good!
Oh my gosh that sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try, thanks Amelia!
Ein gutes Rezept, hat aber mit deutschen Pfannkuchen wenig zu tun, die ich in Bayern kenne!
I’ve been using this recipe of yous for quite a while. I’ve tried others. Only thing I use is a cast iron pan. This is the best recipe out there. Thanks so much
You just made our day! Thanks so much!!
I’m going to make these for dinner tonight. I wondered if anyone had tried adding some blue berries and raspberries to the batter? Also, I’m going to have to substitute in Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free all purpose flour if there are any suggestions.
Great recipe! Made 2 pans of German Pancakes.
YUM YUM YUM! This recipe is absolutely delicious! I tried this super easy easy recipe a month ago, and everyone loved it! Guess what? I’m about to make it again. 🤩
YAY!!! You totally just made our day! Thank you Sylvie!
We also have cheese and salsa on it instead of the typical syrup (tho I still like it that way). It’s super yummy especially when you’re wanting a more savory flavor.
I’ve never heard of serving it that way but it sounds good!!
Both my parents are from Germany and I grew up with these pancakes. I make them for my children every Christmas. The pancake itself originated in Germany but in America they coined the name “Dutch baby” with was an incorrect spelling of the word Deutsch translates to German. So they are originally from Germany just the name is American.
Very interesting! Thanks Valerie.
Good. But a little too eggy.
The simpler this recipe, the better. Thanks for posting this! My favorite addition is to add lemon zest in the batter. Then when it’s done, drizzling lemon juice and dusted powdered sugar on top. Thanks for doing justice to this classic!
I’ve never tried that! Thanks for sharing and for the review! :)
How much do you add? The zest from a whole lemon?
Sarah, this recipe is soooo good. So easy to prepare and it’s something different and fun.
I halved the recipe and used an 8×8 pan, it came out perfect, just like your picture.
I plan to share it with my parents:)
Thanks Cindy!! We’re so glad you like it!
I didn’t think a German pancake could get easier but you did it! Awesome!
Yay! So glad you loved it!
Can it be frozen
I think it probably can but it’s best eaten fresh out of the oven! :)
We really enjoyed this recipe! Thank you! It was something different and fun and all three of my kids aked for seconds. :)
Yay! Thank you so much for letting us know. So glad y’all loved it.
Could I prepare the batter the night before and store it in the fridge?? I know it’s not difficult to put together and blend, but I am still trying to simplify for a large group…. thank you!
I’m not sure it would work the same if you did– it wouldn’t hurt you but they may not be the same consistency.
I just made this pancake this morning and my German Husband was pretty impressed how it turns out…And my 8 year old son enjoyed it as well…It was so good!!!!Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!
Yay!! That’s great to hear. It’s always a hit at our house.
Hello! I thought I would make this for myself and husband. I haven’t made it in about 10 years. So concentrated on reading the directions. Long story short, I never took the melted butter out of the oven until I poured the batter in. OOPS! A little more ‘melted’ than wanted.
I made these this morning and my kids devoured them! There was none left for my husband, who unfortunately was on a work call. Thanks for a great recipe!
Yay! Haha, oh well. Good thing they are so easy, you can make some for him soon!
I will be making these fo the grandkids on Friday morning. They look so yummy.
I’m sure they will love them!
I made these this morning and they were so good! Question though. Mine had about 3 big bubbles pockets in the middle that were thick. How do I get it to remain flat in the middle?
You can try swirling the batter around a little bit more, but ours usually have bubbles in them, it’s just different every time where the bubbles puff up!
Can I use a 9 x9 pan?
Sure, you can but you might want to do a little bit less batter in that size, or cook them for longer! If you do the whole amount, I’m guessing that they will come out thicker and denser.
I use a8 x 8 pan and cut the recipe in half.