4.67 from 15 votes

Popovers

Name: Popovers
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 6 large eggs; 2 cups whole milk; 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter (melted ); 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon salt

By Sam MerrittPublished Feb 05, 2024

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Servings: 12 popovers*

50 mins

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Light and airy popovers made with just 5 basic ingredients! These can be made in a popover pan or a regular muffin tin. This family-favorite recipe finishes in less than 40 minutes (which is much faster than most!) and includes a video tutorial.

(Relatively) Fast & Easy Popovers

There are few recipes on this blog of mine that I can take as little credit for as this popover recipe. This is really my mom’s recipe, adapted from half a dozen others, cobbled together from pages of family-favorite cookbooks and from simple recipes printed on the backs of her popover tin labels.

Over the years she has perfected this to be the best and easiest (and possibly the quickest) path to sky-high popovers, and I actually had her make the ones that you see in the photos here. I think you’re going to love how simple and reliable this recipe is.

Popovers on a cooling rack with a fuchsia towel underneath.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Shorter bake time: This popover recipe has a relatively short baking time of only 35 minutes compared with the hour-plus that many recipes usually require.
No fancy popover pan required! I link to my popover pan that I love (in the recipe card), but also include instructions for using a muffin tin in case that’s all you have on hand (it’s all I used for years).
Can be served sweet or savory. Pair your popovers with savory beef stew (they are great for sopping up the broth) or gravy, or serve them with butter and cinnamon sugar for a sweet snack (one that reminds me so much of French toast!).
Incredibly simple: just 5 basic ingredients and no fancy equipment needed. Anyone can make these popovers!

Ingredients

These popovers are incredibly simple with just five ingredients. And the great thing is, they should all already be in your pantry!

Eggs. We’ll need six whole eggs. Some popover recipes will have you use room temperature eggs and milk, but I don’t find that necessary here. In fact, colder batter tends to create popovers with a cup shape–perfect for adding butter and other toppings!
Milk. Whole milk is my preference and what I recommend for best results.
Butter. I use unsalted butter and add salt myself. If you plan to use salted butter, simply reduce the salt to a scant teaspoon.
Flour. All-purpose or “plain” flour works just fine in this popover recipe.

SAM’S TIP: You’ll notice we use two temperatures when baking our popovers. We’ll start with a higher temperature and then drop the temperature without opening the oven door. This initial period of baking on high heat is what helps give the popovers a nice rise and really makes them, well, pop over. This trick is also helpful for giving us nice tall muffin tops when making banana muffins and chocolate chip muffins

You may notice the ingredients are quite similar to what we use for the choux pastry base we use for cream puffs or even gougeres (minus the cheese, of course). Truly, they taste quite similar, too!

How to Make Popovers

Collage of four photos showing batter being prepared with a hand mixer.

Beat the eggs until frothy and pale. I do this with an electric mixer, but you could also do this by hand (it just takes longer).
Add the milk and beat/whisk to combine.
Stir in the melted butter until combined, then add the salt.
Stir in the flour until completely incorporated. Some lumps are okay (even if you see lots of tiny little lumps!)–don’t stress about working them into the batter.

Three photos showing batter being poured into a popover pan and baked.

The batter will be very thin and watery when you are done combining it. This is totally normal!
Divide the batter into a greased pan. I like to use an ice cream scoop to do this, but you could also use a liquid measuring cup.
Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat and bake for 15 minutes more. Do not open the oven when you reduce the heat–this could cause your popovers to collapse.

SAM’S TIP: I have found that sometimes as the popovers are rising, some of the butter tends to leak over the edge of the pan. To keep your oven from getting dirty and smoky, I recommend lining a large cookie sheet with foil and placing that underneath your pan as the popovers bake. This will catch any spills and make cleanup much easier!

Pan of popovers with a fuchsia towel underneath.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I reheat them?

The best way to reheat popovers is to toss them on a cookie sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes at 375F (190C). This will also help to make your popovers more firm if they’ve softened too much while sitting. At my house we like to make large batches and then reheat the leftovers over the next day or two.

What if I don’t have a popover pan?

You can just use a regular muffin tin. Keep in mind that you will get more popovers this way (about 18 as opposed to 12) simply because the muffin tin is more shallow and can hold less batter.

Are popovers the same as Yorkshire pudding?

Yes! Popovers are the American equivalent of the British Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire puddings are typically more of a savory treat though, while popovers are often served with sweeter toppings like jam or whipped cream.

Why did they shrink?

Popovers are made of a light batter expands quite a bit in the oven (which is why they “pop” over in the pan). Largely this is a result of steam expanding in the batter while they bake. As they come out of the oven, they’ll be huge and nicely puffed due to the steam, but as they meet the cooler air they tend to deflate. The cooler or draftier your kitchen, the faster they’ll shrink. This doesn’t affect the taste, but if it bothers you you can turn off the oven once they’re finished baking, crack the oven door a few inches, and let the popovers gradually cool in the oven for about 10 minutes or so before removing them. Personally we eat them so fast it never matters!

Honey butter would be a wonderful topping, too!

Enjoy!

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Close-up overhead shot of a popover in a popover pan.

4.67 from 15 votes

Popovers

These light and airy popovers require just 5 ingredients and can be made in either a popover pan or muffin tin. Unlike many others, my popover recipe finishes in less than 40 minutes!

Includes a how-to video!

Prep: 15

Cook: 35

Total: 50

Servings: popovers*

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Equipment

Popover pan or standard muffin tins
Mixing bowls

Ingredients

▢ 6 large eggs
▢ 2 cups (475 ml) whole milk
▢ 6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, melted
▢ 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
▢ 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F (230C) and lightly grease a 12-count popover pan or two 12 count muffin tin with butter. Place on a foil-lined cookie sheet (to catch any spills) and set aside.
Place eggs in a large bowl and, using an electric mixer, beat on low speed until eggs are frothy and pale yellow (you can do this by hand if you don’t have an electric mixer but it will take longer).
6 large eggs
With mixer on low, add milk and melted butter and beat until well-combined.
2 cups (475 ml) whole milk, 6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter
Sprinkle salt over the batter and stir.
1 teaspoon salt
Add flour, stirring on low-speed until batter is completely combined. Batter will be very thin and almost watery and may have small lumps in it.
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
Evenly divide batter into prepared tin (it's very thin, so I like to use an ice cream scoop to pour the batter, helps keep things less messy), filling each about ⅔-¾ of the way full and transfer to 450F (230C) oven (make sure to keep the foil-lined baking sheet beneath the pan, this will catch any spills!).
If using a popover pan: Bake on 450F (230C) for 20-25 minutes (I find I need 25 minutes if using a light-colored popover pan like the one I used in the video), then, without opening the oven door, reduce the heat to 325F (160C) and bake an additional 15 minutes
If using a muffin tin: Bake on 450F (230C) for 20 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce heat to 325F (160C) and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve as soon as they're cool enough to touch. Note that popovers will shrink/deflate as they cool, this is normal!

Notes

Pan options

If you use a popover pan you will get 12 popovers, if you use a muffin tin you will get at least 18 popovers.

Use a cookie sheet under your popover pan

Place a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil beneath your popover pan or muffin tin. The butter tends to spill over the sides as the batter bakes and will drip onto your oven, causing a lot of smoke and a messy oven. Avoid this and set yourself up for easy cleanup by placing a foil lined (for easy cleanup) pan underneath.

Toppings/serving

These are great topped with honey butter, regular salted butter, or butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. They also make a great savory side dish and some people love to use them for soaking up sauces or gravies!