Easy Maple Dutch Baby with Breakfast Sausage Recipe (2024)

This tasty maple Dutch baby pancake is a fun twist on a traditional oven pancake or German pancake recipe. The recipe switches up this brunch classic by adding maple syrup into the batter and by switching out fresh fruit for breakfast sausage. Adding these sweet and savory ingredients really makes this recipe stand out. The batter of this marvelous pancake is puffy and sweet with a beautiful golden brown top and crispy edges. This recipe is an impressive (but easy) breakfast to make for guests because it requires just a few minutes of prep time and comes out of the oven with an impressive rise.

My first time trying a Dutch baby was at a sleep over when I was in middle school. The beautiful golden brown pancake that emerged from the oven was spectacular, and although my mother made great breakfasts I had never seen anything like. I couldn’t believe how puffy the edges of the pancake were or how tasty it was served with a simple squeeze of lemon juice and dusting of powdered sugar. I’ve been making variations of oven pancakes ever since, experimenting with different fruit and flavor combinations. We started making this particular maple Dutch baby back in the fall and it instantly became one of our most popular weekend breakfast meals.

What is a Dutch baby?

A Dutch baby is similar to a giant popover or Yorkshire pudding recipe crossed with a traditional pancake or crepe. It uses a simple thin batter made of eggs, milk and flour. There is no need to add any leavening agent as the rise if created by the egg batter hitting the hot preheated skillet. Dutch babies can be made plain but are often served with sweet toppings. When we aren’t making this maple sausage version, a few of our favorite toppings to use are cinnamon apples, lemon curd, or powdered sugar and lemon juice.

Ingredients (and substitutes)

This maple Dutch baby only needs 8 ingredients to make and nearly all of them can be found in your pantry.

• Eggs –use large eggs for this recipe to ensure the recipe is the correct texture. For best results use room temperature eggs, when possible.
• Flour –this recipe calls for 1 cup flour, for the best results we recommend using all purpose flour to allow it to thicken properly.
• Milk –we find that whole milk provides the best flavor and overall texture. For best results use room temperature milk. You can substitute most non-dairy milk at a 1:1 ratio, but it will change the overall flavor of the pancake.
• Maple Syrup –we strongly recommend using pure maple syrup to ensure the flavor comes through. Please avoid using “pancake syrup” that is made with corn syrup, these are just too sweet for this recipe.
• Sugar –for this recipe we’ve sprinkled white sugar over the top as we find this produces the best golden brown color. You could substitute brown sugar or cane sugar, these will deliver good flavor but the texture isn’t quiet as good.
• Sausage –smallporkbreakfast sausage or maple breakfast sausage are the best options. You could easily substitute chicken or turkey breakfast sausage. We would recommend avoiding larger sausages that may impact the rise and bake time of the pancakes.
• Butter –for this sweet and savory pancakes we use salted butter as the salty edges are delicious. However, unsalted butter will also work perfectly fine.

Equipment– it is essential that you have a good heavy bottomed heat resistant baking dish or 10-inch cast iron skillet.

How to make maple Dutch baby (with pictures)

This easy maple Dutch baby recipe only has a few simple prep steps before it is popped into the oven. The full recipe is below on the recipe card.

To start, place heat resistant skillet in oven and preheat to425F

Crack eggs into a large bowl and whisk hard for 30 seconds to 1 minute (or use a blender)

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Add milk, maple syrup, and pinch of salt and whisk again

Sift flour into the bowl and mix again. Let batter rest 10 minutes, while oven comes up to temperature.

Remove skillet from hot oven and add butter. Push butter around pan and over sides.

Pour batter into the hot skillet and arrange cooked sausages in batter. Sprinkle sugar over everything.

Place in hot oven for and cook for 20-25 minutes. Serve with drizzle of maple syrup.

Why isn’t my Dutch baby rising?

To get the best rise out of your oven pancake, there are a few tricks and tips that you can follow:

1. ​Use room temperature ingredients, especially the milk and eggs. Room temperature ingredients bind together better and make a smoother batter.
2. Ensure that your heat resistant skillet or cast iron pan is really hot before you pour the batter in. The mixture should start to cook as sizzle as soon as it hits the hot pan. It make take your oven a extra couple of minutes to preheat fully, but the payoff is worth it.
3. To get the best rise it is best to let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes, some methods suggest up to an hour. Letting the batter rest allows the glutens and proteins to form before the cooking process starts and ensures the rise will hold longer once it leaves the oven.
4. Finally, keep the oven door closed! Yes we know this one is difficult, but keeping the oven door closed throughout cooking ensures that the oven is hot enough to allow the pancake to fully rise.