Classic Popovers - A Simple 4 Ingredient Recipe (2024)

Jump to Recipe

Classic popovers are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and are so easy to make. They’re delicious warm and slathered with honey butter.

Several years ago, my husband and I frequented a wonderful restaurant by our home that served the best popovers – and they were free! No matter what you ordered, you were each provided a hot popover with adelicious maple honeybutter. And, these weren’t little mini popovers, these were the real-deal.

At the time, I thought popovers were pretty fancy and likely difficult to make. I could make a mean dinner roll, but I thought homemade popovers might be a bit ambitious. I was so wrong!

4 Ingredient Popovers

After a little research, I found out I could make the perfect popovers with just four simple ingredients. I mean combining milk, eggs, flour and salt makes for a pretty easy popover recipe in my mind.

Start preheating the oven, mix up the batter, pour into your popover tin and “pop” them in the oven! In a little over 30 minutes you will have fresh, hot popovers.

Do I Have to Use a Popover Pan?

There is a special pan for making popovers. Known as a popover pan (also called a popover tin), it has deep wells and steep, straight sides which help force the popover batter upwards to create that puffy top and crispy sides.

If you don’t have a popover pan, you can use regular muffin tins. The only difference is that you won’t get large, fluffy popovers. They will be smaller due to the fact that a standard muffin tin isn’t as deep, nor are the sides as steep as a regular popover pan.

Fun Fact About Popovers and Yorkshire Pudding

While I was doing my classic popover recipe research, I kept coming across mentions of Yorkshire pudding. I thought this was a little odd until I learned that popovers are just an American version of Yorkshire pudding.

They basically use the same simple ingredients, but how you prepare the popover pan is where you see a difference. For popovers, you prepare the pan using a non-stick cooking spray or melted butter. For Yorkshire pudding, you use beef drippings or beef fat to prepare your pan.

Yorkshire pudding is typically served with dishes such as roast beef, pot roast or prime rib. If you plan on having a meal highlighting beef, Yorkshire pudding would be a fun addition.

Bake Your Popovers Today!

These easy popovers are great for abreakfast treatwith a little blueberry or apricot jam. They are also a great replacement for the classic dinner roll at your dinner parties or as part of a holiday meal. Serve them with some honey butter (or try this awesome Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter) and they will surely be a hit at your dinner table!

Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Classic Popovers

  • If you don’t have a 6-cup popover pan you can use a muffin pan. But, instead of making 6 popovers, you’ll divide the batter between 8 muffin cups. Once you reduce the temperature, watch them closely, they will probably be finished a couple minutes earlier.
  • Leftover popovers can be reheated in a 300 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
  • I use whole milk for this recipe, but any milk you have on hand will work just fine. However, I would not recommend using half and half or heavy cream.
  • Do not open the oven door while baking. This could cause the popovers to deflate. Just have patience!
  • Use room temperature ingredients to ensure the best popovers.

Ingredients Needed to Make Classic Popovers

Full instructions are found below in the printable recipe card

  • Milk
  • All-purpose flour
  • Salt
  • Eggs

How to Make Classic Popovers

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Spray a 6-cup popover pan with cooking spray.
  • Pour milk in a large bowl.
  • Add flour and salt.
  • Whisk together, just until flour is incorporated, do not overmix.
  • Whisk in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Again, don’t overmix or scrape the side of the bowl.
  • Divide popover batter equally between the popover cups. This will make six popovers.
  • Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until a deep golden brown.
  • Serve immediately.

More Quick Bread Recipes

Yield: 6 servings

Classic Popovers - A Simple 4 Ingredient Recipe (5)

Classic popovers are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and so easy to make. They're delicious warm and slathered with honey butter.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time40 minutes

Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 eggs

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
    2. Spray a 6-cup popover pan with cooking spray.
    3. Pour milk in a large bowl.
    4. Add flour and salt.
    5. Whisk together, just until flour is incorporated, do not overmix.
    6. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Again, don’t overmix or scrape the side of the bowl.
    7. Divide batter equally between popover cups. This will make six popovers.
    8. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
    9. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until a deep golden brown.
    10. Serve immediately.

Notes

If you don't have a popover pan you can use a muffin pan. But, instead of making 6 popovers, you'll divide the batter between 8 muffin cups. Once you reduce the temperature, watch them closely, as they will probably be finished a couple minutes earlier.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 168Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 128mgSodium: 268mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 9g

This recipe was originally posted on 04/20/15. It was updated to improve user experience and reposted on 05/13/20.

Classic Popovers - A Simple 4 Ingredient Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good popovers? ›

My biggest tip for creating perfect popovers is to use warm milk and room-temperature eggs with absolutely no chill on them. Do not take the milk and eggs from the fridge and use them. Cold ingredients will give you dense popovers. Warm ingredients will give you light, airy, and perfect popovers.

What is the biggest causes of popover failures? ›

Too cold and you won't get the popovers to steam internally quickly enough. But be aware that you shouldn't make it too hot. If your milk and/or butter is hot enough to cook the eggs while mixing, the batter won't rise. Best to use all warm ingredients in the 40-50 degrees celsius (100-120 fahrenheit) range.

What makes popovers pop up? ›

Steam is the engine that makes them rise — and rise, and rise! Thus it's important that your popover batter is very thin, signaling there's enough liquid to produce the requisite amount of steam necessary for perfect popping.

Should popover batter rest overnight? ›

There's just one thing that will make the popovers better, and that's time. The batter needs time to rest before baking so that it creates a more tender popover in the end. So, cover the batter and pop it into the refrigerator for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.

What are two reasons for failure of popovers to pop? ›

I was a Popover Failure.
  • Preheat your popover pan.
  • NEVER open the oven door while baking.
  • Use room temperature ingredients.
  • Use the freshest eggs possible.
Jun 22, 2016

Why don t my popovers puff up? ›

Preheat the oven to 425 with the pan preheating in the oven. When baking don't open it again until they're done. If you open the oven door the temperature inside can drop too quickly and the popovers will not rise properly. Whip the batter up really airy right before you add it to the pan they'll rise extra high.

Should popover batter be cold or room temp? ›

How to make popovers. Before we get started: all of your ingredients should be at warm room temperature. To warm ice-cold eggs from the fridge, place them in a cup of hot tap water for about 10 minutes.

What is the best grease for a popover pan? ›

Grease the cups of a nonstick (6-cup) popover pan very generously with softened butter or the cups of a cast-iron pan generously with vegetable shortening.

Can you save popover batter? ›

To make ahead: You can make the batter and refrigerate it for up to one day before baking. Just let the batter come to room temperature and whisk it well or whirl it in the blender for a few seconds before pouring it into the muffin tins. To store: Store baked and cooled popovers in a ziptop bag for up to a day.

What do the English call popovers? ›

Yorkshire Pudding/ Popovers

Yorkshire Puddings are a staple in England with a Roast Dinner. Here in the US we know them as Popovers which are the same thing as the modern Yorkshire Pudding, except using a different pan.

What happens to an undercooked popover? ›

If your popovers lose volume when they come out of the oven, they are probably underbaked. When these airy baked goods aren't cooked enough, too much steam stays trapped inside.

What country invented popovers? ›

The popover is an American version of Yorkshire pudding and similar batter puddings made in England since the 17th century, The oldest known reference to popovers dates to 1850. The first cookbook to print a recipe for popovers was in 1876.

Is it necessary to poke the popover when it comes out of the oven? ›

Popovers lose their crunch if they linger in the pan, so turn them out on a wire rack immediately and poke a small opening in the side of each with a paring knife to let the steam escape.

How do you know when a popover is done? ›

Finished popovers will be golden-brown, feel dry to the touch, and sound hollow when tapped. Prick with a Knife, Cool, and Eat!: Turn the popovers out onto a drying rack. Pierce the bottoms with a knife to allow steam to escape. Cool just enough so they can be handled and then eat immediately.

Should popover pans be greased? ›

And be sure to grease not only the cups, but the surface around them as well. The popovers are going to balloon up and over the edges of the wells. Fill the cups about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Put the pan in the oven, on a lower rack.

How do you keep popovers from deflating? ›

Popovers are best served immediately. They will, unfortunately, begin to collapse after a few minutes outside of the oven. One way to help prevent this is to puncture the top and/or side of the popover with the tip of a small, sharp knife to help release some of the steam trapped inside.

Are popovers supposed to be eggy? ›

Oh, the dilemma that so often stems from baking popovers — those hollowed rolls with a contrasting crunchy, flaky exterior and moist, eggy interior. They are the American relative to the British Yorkshire pudding, an evolution of the latter that disregards the use of beef drippings in the pan (and instead uses butter).

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Domingo Moore

Last Updated:

Views: 6231

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (53 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Domingo Moore

Birthday: 1997-05-20

Address: 6485 Kohler Route, Antonioton, VT 77375-0299

Phone: +3213869077934

Job: Sales Analyst

Hobby: Kayaking, Roller skating, Cabaret, Rugby, Homebrewing, Creative writing, amateur radio

Introduction: My name is Domingo Moore, I am a attractive, gorgeous, funny, jolly, spotless, nice, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.