Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Casserole

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).

This is one of my most popular recipes – and for good reason. This recipe is easy, delicious, and it’s always met with rave reviews. Think of it as a mashup between pancakes and coffee cake.

Why you’ll love this recipe

Flavor: Buttermilk pancakes with a touch of vanilla, lemon, blueberries, and maple syrup.

Texture: Imagine a super thick and fluffy pancake filled with juicy blueberries and a crunchy crumb topping.

Ease: Although this recipe has several steps, it is super easy. No special equipment or techniques needed.

Feed a crowd: If you don’t feel like standing over the stove flipping individual pancakes for a crowd this is a great alternative. I often make this dish for holiday breakfast/brunch.

Great leftover: Reheat individual servings in the microwave, this casserole reheats beautifully.

Pancake casserole recipe overview

*Full recipe below in recipe card*

Crumb topping:

Combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter. Pop the topping into the fridge while you proceed with the pancake batter.

Pancake batter:

• Combine dry ingredients in one bowl.
• Combine wet ingredients in another bowl.
• Combine wet and dry.
• Be careful not to overmix (it will be lumpy).

Add the batter to a greased 9×13 pan. Top with blueberries and crumb topping.

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 bake and reheat the whole dish.

Use this method to prep ahead and you will only have a couple of “hands-on” minutes in the morning:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Serving and storage

Serve warm topped with maple syrup. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

More breakfast ideas