Savory Sausage Dutch Baby is a puffy plate-sized pancake topped with scrambled eggs, pork sausage, and gravy for the ultimate satisfying breakfast experience. I used the recipe from my Dutch Baby Pancake but omitted the vanilla to better pair with the savory toppings.
What is a Dutch Baby?
A Dutch Baby Pancake is a large, fluffy, oven-baked pancake with a distinctive puffiness achieved by cooking in a hot, oven-safe skillet or pan. The batter for Dutch baby pancakes is often made in a blender or food processor to achieve a smooth texture. This method helps to incorporate air into the batter, which contributes to the pancake’s distinctive puffiness during baking. It is like a combination of a crepe, a pancake, and a popover, all in one.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Dutch Baby: Make sure the eggs and milk are at room temperature when blending the ingredients. The eggs, along with the milk, create steam to cause the pancake to rise. There is no leavening agent in the recipe. After you mix the batter, be sure to let it rest as you heat up the skillet for the best results.
Meat: I used ground pork sausage in the recipe. Ground pork sausage is usually already seasoned with a blend of herbs and spices. You could also use breakfast sausage, which is also usually seasoned. If you substitute ground turkey or ground chicken, you may need to season to taste.
Eggs: You will need three large eggs, scrambled, for the topping. You could halve my scrambled eggs recipe for fluffy and creamy scrambled eggs.
Gravy: The sausage gravy is made with the grease left in the pan after the sausage has been cooked. If preferred, you could leave the sausage in the skillet when making the gravy. (We separated the gravy from the sausage so we could better control how much gravy was added to the Dutch baby.)
Additional Toppings: You could certainly add your favorite kind of cheese and vegetables to the Dutch baby before topping it with eggs, sausage, and gravy.
Why Is My Dutch Baby Flat and Dense?
If your Dutch baby did not puff up, here are a few troubleshooting tips for making the perfect Dutch baby pancakes:
- Cold Pan: Be sure the pan is heating up in the oven while the oven is preheating. The pan should be hot when adding the batter.
- Not Enough Butter: Coat the hot pan with plenty of butter. That is crucial for a fluffy and puffy Dutch baby pancake.
- Overmixing the Batter: Blend the batter just until the ingredients are incorporated. Overmixing the batter can cause the gluten in the flour to overdevelop, leading to a dense pancake.
- Batter Not At Room Temperature: Ingredients that are not at room temperature can cause the batter to be too dense. Make sure all ingredients, including the eggs and milk, are at room temperature before making the batter.
- Pan Too Small: Using a pan that is too small for the amount of batter can result in a dense pancake. Make sure to use a 9-10 inch diameter pan for the best results.
Can Make This Ahead of Time?
You can certainly get a head start on this recipe in a couple of different ways. You could get the batter made and stored in the refrigerator. But, remember to let it come to room temperature before adding it to the hot pan. Another way to make this recipe ahead of time is to make the sausage gravy. To store the gravy, let it cool completely. Then, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Warm it up on the stove when ready to add it to the Dutch Baby Pancake. You could also freeze the gravy for up to three months.
Savory Sausage Dutch Baby
Ingredients
Dutch Baby
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (122.5 g) whole milk
- ½ cup (62.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 57 g) unsalted butter
Toppings
- ½ pound ground pork sausage
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (367.5 g) whole milk, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 large eggs, scrambled
- green onions, for garnish
Instructions
Dutch Baby
- In a blender, combine the eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Let the batter rest as you preheat the oven and heat up the skillet.
- Place a cold, 9-inch oven-safe skillet* into the oven. Preheat the oven, with the skillet, to 425°F.
- Once the oven is preheated, carefully remove the skillet from the oven and add butter.
- Once the butter has melted, pour the batter into the skillet and place it back into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
- While the Dutch baby is cooking, prepare the toppings.
Toppings
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown sausage. (Pork sausage is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 160°F.). Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage from the pan**, and set it aside, tenting to keep warm. Do not drain the grease.
- Reduce the skillet heat to medium-low. Sprinkle the flour into the pan with the grease and whisk to combine.
- Slowly drizzle in milk, stirring frequently until thickened (5-10 minutes). Add in the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir to combine. Set aside while you prepare the eggs.
Assembly
- Immediately after removing the Dutch baby from the oven, top it with scrambled eggs and crumbled pork sausage. Drizzle with the gravy. Garnish with green onion. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
What Type of Pan Is Best?*
The preferred pan for a Dutch baby pancake is an oven-safe skillet with a diameter of 9 to 10 inches. Cast iron skillets, stainless steel skillets, and oven-safe nonstick pans all work well. In a pinch, you can even use a round cake pan. The key is to choose a pan that is not too deep and has sloped sides which will help the pancake puff up evenly during cooking.Sausage Gravy**
The sausage gravy is made with the grease left in the pan after the sausage has been cooked. You could leave the sausage in the skillet when making the gravy. I separated the gravy from the sausage because it can get heavy and completely weigh down the pancake. You do not have to do this step.Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
Not very healthy. I make milk gravy with hamburger and white bread. Love it.
The recipe sounds delicious. Can it be cut in half, or if made as the ingredients call for, can it be reheated in a microwave for another day or two, as I live alone. If the recipe was able to be halved, what size pan could be used?
I don’t recommend cutting the dutch baby recipe in half, but you can make less of the gravy if you want.
What is the recipe for the sausage gravy? Sausage grease, and then?
It’s all in the recipe card.
OK I’m making this one tomorrow. Looks delish!!
Can’t wait to try this one.