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.
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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:
- 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.
Serving and storage
Serve warm topped with maple syrup. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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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 and set aside.
Crumb topping:
- In a medium bowl combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and stir until fully incorporated. Cover and 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 over the top. Remove the crumb topping from the fridge and crumble over the top of the blueberries and 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
Nutrition
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!
Amanda
I know, I know. I shouldn’t be taking the easy way out but do you think you can use store bought pancake mix instead?
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Amanda. Good question. I can’t say for sure, but I would guess that it should work. Maybe swap the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 2 1/2 cups of pancake mix, then add the sugar and wet ingredients as instructed. If you try it let me know if it works. Best of luck! Enjoy!
Sam
I cut recipe on half and used 2 cup of pancake mix and 1.5 cups of water and baked in square baking dish. Kept amount of crumb topping the same! Turned out perfect!
Celebrating Sweets
Great! Thanks for stopping by. Happy holidays!
Julie
Can you substitute anything for buttermilk? I would love to do this tomorrow but do not have any.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Julie. You can try one of these substitutions. http://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/substitute-buttermilk-baking-article
Maria
Wait….. if you put the PANcake back in the baking dish, didn’t you just turn it back into a cake???? ? Casserole sound more acceptable for breakfast…. we’ll stick with that.
Celebrating Sweets
It’s being called a “pancake” because it’s made with similar ingredients to a pancake batter and it’s served with maple syrup. Whatever you choose to call it it’s delicious! Ha! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Jean
I made this for a brunch today. FABULOUS! I will definitely make again.
Celebrating Sweets
Yay! So happy to hear that. Thanks for stopping by!
Brandi Crawford
I’ve never had pancake casserole. This looks incredible. Perfect breakfast.
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite
Pancake casserole is my kind of pancake! I love pancakes but despise making them. I slave all morning, with barely anything left to show for it as my family devours every last one! This way, I can finally get a bite. YUM!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
Oh, Lord – this is totally pulling me off of my diet… shame on you!
Angela
I’ve never heard of anything like this. It looks really tasty, I would love to have this for breakfast.
Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
Looks like a delicious brunch idea! How delicious!
Rhonda
Can this be prepared ahead, refrigerated & baked the next morning.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Rhonda. I haven’t done that before, but I would guess that you should be able to. I recommend preparing and refrigerating the batter, then right before baking pour it into the greased casserole dish and add the blueberries and crumb topping. Just don’t store it with the blueberries and crumb topping on the batter. Enjoy!