Overnight Pancake Casserole
This Overnight Pancake Casserole makes having pancakes for breakfast even easier! With a crunchy crumb topping and easy overnight rest, all you have to do to get this on the table is wake up and pop them in the oven!
This post is sponsored by Ohio Eggs. As always, all opinions are my own.
Who loves waking up before the sun rises to prepare a special breakfast for your family? Any one? Any one? Ok, a few of you weirdos might get an odd thrill from waking up when it’s still dark out. I’m happy for you. Really, I am. Your early morning zeal is enviable.
For the rest of us, 5 AM is a number we’d like to avoid at all costs. We roll out of bed at the last possible second, fumble around trying to make a decent cup of coffee and ask ourselves (yet again) why we didn’t go to bed an hour earlier the night before.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t love making a delicious breakfast for our loved ones. It just means we’d prefer to do that without sacrificing that extra hour or two under the covers.
Overnight Pancake Casserole: A Breakfast for the Not-So Early Bird
That is where a make ahead recipe is going to be your biggest ally. My blog is full of overnight breakfast ideas like Overnight Breakfast Casserole with Bacon, Breakfast Pull Apart Bread, Crustless Quiche Lorraine, and Overnight Cinnamon Rolls, all of which can be prepped the night before.
Overnight breakfasts are ideal for company or any morning you want to serve up a little something special without the stress.
Enter: Overnight Pancake Casserole. For all of you who love sleep, but also love hosting brunch, this recipe is going to be your new best friend. Every little piece of this casserole is made in advance, from the pancakes themselves to the crunchy cinnamon streusel topping.
Here’s all the other reasons I love pancake casserole:
- It can be assembled weeks ahead and frozen (insert all the praise hands)!
- You get all the taste of fluffy pancakes without standing over a hot stove for a half hour.
- Everyone gets to eat at the same time. Hot pancakes for everyone!
- Since everything is prepped in advance, all you have to do in the morning is lift the casserole out of the fridge and pop it in the oven. Then you have 45 precious minutes to putz around the house, sip the coffee you somehow managed to prepare, brush your teeth, and maybe even take a shower…if you’re really feeling ambitious.
Tips for Making Overnight Pancake Casserole
- The best pancake casserole starts with the best pancakes, which I believe are my secret ingredient Perfect Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes. You can, of course, substitute your own favorite pancake recipe, but I really recommend you give these a try. They might just become your new favorites. I highly recommend an electric skillet to make short work of pancake making.
- This overnight pancake casserole requires about 2o medium size pancakes, so you’ll likely need to make a full batch, but if you happened to WAY overestimate how many pancakes you’d need for an event, or if you like to freeze extra pancakes, this is a great way to use up the leftovers!
- Halve the pancakes and place them cut side down in the casserole dish so they fit snugly together before drenching them in a mixture of milk, cream, eggs, and vanilla.
- You may recognize this technique from my Apple Overnight French Toast Casserole. Soaking the pancakes overnight in the egg mixture results in the rich, custardy texture these casseroles are known for! Once the milk mixture is added, the casserole is ready to go in the fridge.
- Prepare the buttery cinnamon oat streusel the night before and store it in the fridge, so all you have to do in the morning is sprinkle it on top and bake.
- Now, a slight disclaimer on the streusel: I LOVE a thick layer of crunchy crumb topping, but my husband prefers less crumbs on his. Feel free to make adjustments based on your own tastes, and if you’d like, you can halve the ingredients for the topping. If you’re also an absolute streusel addict, check out this Apple Crumb Cake and Banana Crumb Cake).
This Pancake Casserole would make for a lovely surprise on Valentine’s Day or Easter morning, and could also be an excellent breakfast-in-bed offering for Mother’s Day. Keep this one around for lazy weekend brunches. All of my fellow bleary-eyed sleepy heads will thank me.
Need more brunch recipes? Try my Amish Baked Oatmeal, Ricotta Pancakes, and Double Chocolate Waffles!
Did you know when you bake with eggs there’s a good chance you’re getting them from my home state of Ohio? Ohio is one of the largest egg farming states in the nation. Ohio’s egg farmers are proud to provide safe, healthy, and affordable eggs to consumers, while also protecting the environment for future generations. If you’d like to learn more about egg farming, visit OhioEggs.com, or get a virtual tour of the Lochtefeld family farm.
Overnight Pancake Casserole
This Overnight Pancake Casserole combines fluffy buttermilk pancakes with a rich egg custard and crispy cinnamon streusel topping.
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
- Canola oil
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 4 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 eggs, separated
- 8 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- 2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup milk
For the casserole:
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup oats
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 Tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
For the pancakes:
- Heat a griddle over medium heat and cover with a thin layer of neutral oil. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, soda, and baking powder.
- In another medium bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks, then whisk in the butter, buttermilk, and milk.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry mixture and stir gently until barely combined.
- Add lightly beaten egg whites to the mixture and gently stir until a thick, lumpy bumpy batter forms. Stop before the batter smooths out. Lumpy batter is good!
- Drop quarter cups of batter onto the preheated pan. Cook until bubbles start to appear on the exposed surface of the pancake. When bubbles appear, flip pancake and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until browned. Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.
For the casserole:
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Cut the pancakes in half (you should have around 20), and layer them cut side down in the pancake dish.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, and sugar. Pour evenly over the pancakes.
- Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate pancakes overnight.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the flour, oats, pecans (optional), brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Pour the melted butter over top and stir. Use your fingers to work the mixture until crumbs form. (Note: You can do this step the night before, and store it in a bowl in the refrigerator if you prefer.) Pour the crumbs evenly over the top and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the crumbs are browned and center is set.
Notes
You can use any pancakes for this recipe, though I’ve included my favorite recipe here. You’ll need about 20 pancakes for the casserole.
My husband prefers less crumb topping on this, but I prefer more. This recipe reflects my own tastes, but feel free to halve the crumb recipe if you prefer less.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
You mentioned to cut the 20 pancakes in half (40 pieces), you stated to put layered pancake ‘cut side down’. I wish you had a picture to see, because not sure what you mean by ‘cut side down’. If I have one round pancake, I would take my knife to cut the pancake in half, putting my knife in the middle of pancake and cut in half. I would layer in casserole dish, but again ‘cut side down’??? Each side of pancake is the same. Would I put all 40 pieces on bottom of casserole dish, as you stated to layer casserole cut side down. It doesn’t say to first layer with half of the pancake pieces, then layer with mixture, then add remaining pancake pieces. I’m sorry…I’m a very visual person. Can you please explain in more detail? I assume you would pour syrup over the casserole once out of oven.
Thank you!
Sure! If you cut the pancakes in half, they’ll be an “exposed” side down the middle. That’s the side you want to place down in the casserole dish, so the halved pancakes are standing up with the arched side on top. I put all of them side by side like that and then add the crumble on top. I hope this helps!
At what point would this be frozen? Immediately after assembly or after it has soaked overnight. When baking from the frozen state would you have to thaw first?
I haven’t frozen this before, but I think you could pour the egg mixture on top then freeze. (Don’t let it rest overnight first). You could also put the topping in a baggie in the freezer. I would thaw in the fridge overnight before baking.