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!
Alisa
I love this recipe! I have made it several times. I also substitute blackberries for the blueberries. Thank you for this recipe.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m happy to hear that! Thanks for stopping by!
Julia Stearns @ Healthirony
That blueberry buttermilk pancake casserole looks so zesty and tasty! Absolutely love your creative idea! Thanks for sharing!
RIMickie
I made this as directed, and it was delicious, I need to make one that is gluten free, would I be able to substitute almond flour and keep everything else the same?
Celebrating Sweets
I would recommend trying a cup-to-cup gluten free flour blend. I do not think it will work with straight almond flour. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!
Annette
I love this recipe and have made it fresh but wondering can you make it ahead of time and freeze it!
Celebrating Sweets
I have frozen individual slices and they reheat just fine in the microwave. I have never frozen the whole thing, so I’m not sure how that will turn out. If you’re trying to reheat the whole thing my concern is that the edges would dry out before the middle heats through. Thanks for stopping by!
Dhruva
Hello! I made this as a surprise for my kids this morning! It was really tasty, not sweet so adding maple syrup was nice since you could add however much sweetness you wanted. I did have a problem with it being dense though. I’m not sure where I went wrong. I ddi leave some lumps but used the spatula to mix it so i didn’t see any flour. Did I over mix it??
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Did you swap the all purpose flour for another type of flour? Whole wheat or gluten free flours could make it dense. Also, be sure not to overmeasure your flour. I like to fluff the flour with a measuring cup then scoop a heaping portion and level it off with the back of a knife.
This recipe is usually quite forgiving, so I’m not sure why it came out dense. It doesn’t sound like you over mixed it, although if you try again try mixing a little less and see if it comes out differently. Thanks for stopping by! -Allison
Teri
Once again I made this recipe for Father’s Day and it was a great hit!
Joanne
My husband and I both love this. Made it again today.
Question: If using dried lemon peel how much would you use? Thank you!!
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Joanne. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I have never used dried lemon peel, but this resource should be helpful: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/easy-lemon-zest-substitutes/
Thanks for stopping by!
Jo Beth
Made this for the office, the flavor was great! My crumb topping sunk into the batter so it did not look like the pictures posted… I’m probably the only one that knew it looked different… it was eaten within the hour! Will make this one again for sure.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Camille
Can this be mage dairy free with almond milk?
Celebrating Sweets
You can try it, but it won’t be as light and fluffy because you’ll be lacking the acid from the buttermilk. If there is a dairy free equivalent to buttermilk that might be a better bet.
Leanne
I have Celiac’s Disease and make this for brunch using Better Batter gluten-free flour blend. It’s delicious! I also always prepare it the night before, cover with foil, and place in the fridge overnight to pop in the oven in the morning. I must have missed the part where it says to not do that, but I’ve done it multiple times and it turns out great every time. Wonderful recipe!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad that worked. Thanks for sharing your changes and taking the time to comment. Happy New Year! -Allison