This thick and fluffy pancake casserole is filled with blueberries and topped with a brown sugar crumble. This is a great way to make pancakes for a crowd, and it’s a great meal prep dish -it reheats beautifully!
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What sets this recipe apart
Flavor: The perfect combination of buttermilk pancakes with a touch of vanilla, lemon, and blueberries.
Texture: A thick and fluffy pancake filled with juicy blueberries and a crunchy crumb topping.
No flipping: You don’t have to stand over the stove flipping individual pancakes! This is a great way to make pancakes for a crowd.
Two recipe sizes: Choose from a large recipe (9×13) or a smaller recipe (8×8).
Visual recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Crumb topping
Stir together to the crumb topping and pop it in the fridge while you proceed with the pancake batter.
Pancake batter
Stir together the pancake batter. It will lumpy – that’s ok! Add to a greased pan.
Add topping and bake
Add crumb topping and blueberries over the top of the pancake batter. Bake!
Make ahead options
Can this be made ahead?
I highly recommend serving this right after baking but you can do most of the prep in advance. Note: individual leftovers reheat well in the microwave but I do not reheat the whole dish.
Use this method to prep ahead and you will only have a couple of “hands-on” minutes in the morning:
- Prepare the crumb topping and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 1 day in advance). It will firm up quite a bit as the butter chills in the fridge. Let it sit at room temp for an hour (if you have time), or just use your fingers to break the crumb topping into chunks as you scatter it over the pancake batter.
- Pancake batter: combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda) in a large bowl and tightly cover at room temp overnight.
- Pancake batter: in a large glass measuring cup or bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, milk, lemon zest and vanilla (all of the wet ingredients except the melted butter). Tightly cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning: Preheat the oven, whisk 4 tablespoons melted butter into the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stir well, pour into a prepared casserole dish. Top with blueberries and the refrigerated crumb topping and bake!
Can you use pancake mix?
I have tried swapping the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt and leaveners) in place of 2 ½ cups of pancake mix. It did work, but I found that the packaged pancake mix puffed up really high, which made the blueberries and crumb topping sink in. It tasted fine, but I prefer this recipe made the way it is written.
Can you use frozen blueberries?
YES! Swap the fresh blueberries for frozen blueberries (without thawing them). Note: You might need to increase the bake time by a couple minutes, and the blueberry color will bleed into the pancake batter a little more than it does with fresh blueberries. It will still taste fine.
Psst: If you absolutely LOVE blueberries (like my family does), you can top this Pancake Casserole with Blueberry Sauce.
Option for a smaller recipe
If you need a smaller size you can half the recipe and bake it in an 8×8 baking dish. See notes in the recipe card for details.
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Recipe
Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Casserole
Ingredients
Crumb topping:
- ½ cup flour
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pancake:
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, see note
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups buttermilk
- ½ cup milk, I used skim milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1-2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups blueberries
- maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Thoroughly grease a 9×13 baking dish (see notes for smaller size) and set aside.
Crumb topping:
- In a medium bowl combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and stir until fully incorporated (I use a fork). Refrigerate while you prepare the pancake batter.
Pancake:
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, milk, melted butter, lemon zest, and vanilla extract (the butter might clump from the chill of the cold ingredients- that’s ok). Whisk wet ingredients until well combined. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to stir until combined. The batter will be lumpy; do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the greased baking dish. Sprinkle the blueberries and the crumb topping over the pancake batter. Bake for about 35-45 minutes, until puffed and light golden brown (check the center for doneness). Serve warm with maple syrup.
Video
Notes
Flour:
Whisk the flour to fluff and lighten it. Lightly scoop a heaping portion and level it off with the back of a knife.Half recipe:
If you’d like a smaller size recipe you can half the recipe above and bake it in an 8×8 baking pan. Bake time will be 25-30 minutes.See the following in the post above:
Make ahead options, using frozen blueberries, using pancake mix.Storage:
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave. Recipe adapted from The KitchnNutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Kimberly Sapia says
I was wondering how this would freeze after baking. I’m thinking to cut into individual servings and freeze and I can take one out when I want one.
Allison says
Hi, Kimberly. That works! The topping softens a bit after freezing and thawing but it still tastes fine. Enjoy!
Annamarie Brandner says
Can this be made with gluten free flour? Thank you!
Allison says
You can try a gluten free flour baking blend. Enjoy!
Celeste says
Has anyone tried making this in a sheet pan, as opposed to the 9×13??
Alison says
wonderful!!! Have made once with lemon zest as directed, and once with orange zest, (didn’t have a lemon) and still great.
Allison says
Yum! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Megan says
Do you recommend baking before freezing or freezing before?
Thanks!
Allison says
I think this is best consumed when it is freshly baked. You can freeze individual slices after baking if necessary.
Lindsay says
Tried this recipe and it was amazing. Definitely wasn’t any leftovers from my family. Will be making this many more times!
Allison Mattina says
That’s great to hear! Thanks for sharing your experience with this recipe. 🙂
Jaycee says
This looks wonderful and I’d like to try it but would like to halve it for my trial run. I read through all the comments and didn’t see that anyone had tried or asked about making only half. What would you advise on this? Thanks in advance for your help!! 🙂
Allison Mattina says
Hi! It should work in an 8×8 or 9×9. I’d start checking it around the 30 minute mark. Enjoy!
Lou says
I’ve made this at least five times, and every single time, everyone loved it. I also like that it tastes great the next day, too
Allison Mattina says
Thanks for the kind review. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Carol Herneisey-Trump says
I gave it four stars instead of five just because my batter baked over my crumb topping so it wasn’t as crumbly on top but still delicious. Any suggestions on how to keep the crumb topping more crumbly and crispy on top?
Allison Mattina says
Hi! Sorry to hear that. Be sure not to over-mix the batter. You can also keep some of the crumb topping off and add it halfway through bake time to keep it from sinking.
Heather Garcia says
Can you use frozen berries?
Allison Mattina says
Yes. Swap the fresh blueberries for frozen blueberries (without thawing them). Note: You might need to increase the bake time by a couple minutes, and the blueberry color will bleed into the pancake batter a little more than it does with fresh blueberries. It will still taste fine.