These mini Dutch baby pancakes bake up perfectly in a hot muffin pan, so they are easier to make than regular pancakes, and you can serve everyone at once! Serve with warm blueberry sauce or the topping of your choice.
These mini Dutch baby pancakes bake in a hot muffin tin, so you can make 12 puffy Dutch babies at once with no standing at the stove flipping batches of pancakes. They are crisp around the edges, soft and custardy in the middle, and naturally form little cups for warm blueberry sauce, maple syrup, fruit, or other favourite toppings.
The batter comes together quickly in a blender, and the baked mini Dutch babies can be made ahead, frozen, and reheated for an easy breakfast, brunch, or breakfast-for-dinner.
Love Dutch baby pancakes? Browse all my Dutch Baby Recipes for more variations.
- Ingredients and substitutions
- How to make mini Dutch baby pancakes with blueberry sauce: step-by-step
- How to make mini Dutch baby pancakes with blueberry sauce: video
- Tips for perfect mini Dutch baby pancakes
- FAQ
- Mini Dutch baby topping ideas
- Making ahead, storing, reheating and freezing
- Get the Recipe: Mini Dutch Baby Pancakes
- More mini Dutch baby pancake recipes to love!
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Blueberries – You can start with either fresh or frozen blueberries for the blueberry sauce. You could also adapt this same recipe to make a strawberry or raspberry sauce, instead, if you prefer.
Lemon juice – No worries if you don’t have a lemon handy. Simply omit.
Milk – A fuller-fat milk, such as 2–3.5% milk, produces a richer-tasting Dutch baby. I have not tested non-dairy milk in this recipe.
All-purpose flour – Use regular all-purpose flour (not use self-rising flour). I have not tested gluten-free flour in this recipe.
How to make mini Dutch baby pancakes with blueberry sauce: step-by-step
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Scroll down to the Recipe Card below for the complete list of ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Melt the butter needed for the batter and the pan. Set aside to cool.
Step 2: Add the Dutch baby batter ingredients to a large measuring cup or bowl and blend with an immersion blender (or use a regular blender).
Step 3: Add the cooled melted butter and mix in well.
Step 4: Set aside the batter to rest while you make the blueberry sauce.
Step 5: Add the ingredients for the blueberry sauce to a small saucepan.
Step 6: Cook the blueberry sauce until thickened. Set aside.
Step 7: Brush the hot muffin tin with melted butter.
Step 8: Add the Dutch baby batter to the muffin cups.
Step 9: Fill all 12 cups about 1/2-2/3 full.
Step 10: Bake immediately. The Mini Dutch babies will puff up a lot while baking.
Step 11: Remove from the oven. The Dutch babies will immediately deflate. That’s normal!
Step 12: Serve warm with a spoonful of blueberry sauce and dusted with icing sugar.
How to make mini Dutch baby pancakes with blueberry sauce: video
Tips for perfect mini Dutch baby pancakes
- Use a metal or cast-iron muffin tin, not silicone, and preheat it in the oven. A hot pan gives the batter its best initial lift; silicone muffin pans are not recommended.
- Blend the batter until smooth and bubbly. Let it stand while you make the blueberry sauce, then briefly re-blend just before filling the hot cups.
- Work quickly once the tin is out of the oven. Butter the cups, fill them, and return the pan to the oven immediately.
- Do not open the oven door while they bake. The pancakes need uninterrupted heat to rise well.
- Expect them to deflate after baking. This is normal and creates the small centre pocket for fruit or sauce.
- Lift them from the muffin tin promptly. Leaving them in the hot cups traps steam and can make them soggy.
FAQ
A Dutch baby is not quite a pancake and not quite a popover. It’s somewhere in between, being richer than a popover and lighter than a pancake. And no, they aren’t Dutch. Dutch Babies are just another name for German Pancakes. It’s thought that the name may have come from the word “Deutsche” meaning German, that become “Dutch” somewhere along the way.
As Dutch baby pancakes need a hot pan to rise properly, any metal muffin tin (or cast-iron muffin tin) will work fine. Silicone muffin tins are not recommended. Don’t use a popover pan, as they are too deep for these.
I have not tested all of these variations myself. Readers have reported good results with gluten-free flour, dairy-free milk, vegan butter, and sugar substitutes, but results may vary. For the most dependable rise and texture, use the ingredients listed in the recipe.
They are supposed to deflate shortly after they leave the oven. The steam that creates their dramatic rise escapes as they cool, leaving a tender centre that is ideal for holding blueberry sauce or other toppings.
Mini Dutch baby topping ideas
- I’ve included a recipe for an optional warm blueberry sauce in the Recipe Card. I sometimes stir some maple syrup in with the warm blueberry sauce, too.
- You could also make a strawberry or raspberry sauce instead, simply by substituting different fruit into that base recipe. You may want to reduce the sugar just a tad for the sweeter berries.
- Spoon fresh fruit on them! Think fresh strawberries with a dollop of whipped cream, or maybe Nutella™!
- Try spooning a little lemon curd onto them, maybe with some fruit, too. This would be a perfect option for a special Spring or Easter brunch!
- For the Fall and Winter, try sautéeing some apple or banana with brown sugar and butter and spooning on top of warm pancakes. For an apple version, try my Individual Apple Dutch Baby Pancakes.
- And of course, these mini Dutch baby pancakes are also lovely enjoyed simply, with just butter and maple syrup!
- For a citrus variation, try these Mini Lemon Dutch Baby Pancakes.
Making ahead, storing, reheating and freezing
These mini Dutch babies can be made ahead and reheated. Cool completely, then refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 2–3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
To reheat refrigerated or frozen mini Dutch babies, place them on a baking sheet, loosely cover with foil, and warm in a 350°F oven for 8–12 minutes, or until heated through. Rewarm the blueberry sauce separately in a small saucepan or microwave.
Freeze these Dutch babies in an airtight container or freezer bag up to 2 months.
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Get the Recipe: Mini Dutch Baby Pancakes
Ingredients
Pancake Batter:
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or 1/8 tsp. fine salt
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to just warm
Warm Blueberry Sauce:
- 4 1/2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 1/2 Tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, optional
For the pan:
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
For garnish:
- Icing/confectioners' sugar, for garnish
Instructions
- Place a 12-cup (or two 6-cup) muffin pan(s) into a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 425F (regular bake setting/not convection or fan-assisted). Allow the oven to preheat with the muffin pan in the oven to get hot.
- Make the Dutch baby pancake batter: Melt the 2 Tablespoons butter (melted and cooled to just warm) and set aside to cool to just warm. Add 4 large eggs, 3/4 cup milk, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon white granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/8 tsp. fine salt) to a blender (or a bowl or large measuring cup with an immersion blender or a food processor) and blend until smooth and bubbly. Add the cooled 2 Tablespoons butter (melted and cooled to just warm) and mix in. *Make sure your butter isn't hot when adding to the blender, or it will cook the eggs! Leave the batter in the blender or bowl while you make the blueberry sauce.
- Make the blueberry sauce: In a small saucepan, combine 4 1/2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, 4 1/2 Tablespoons water, 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional). Place on the stovetop over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 3-5 minutes. Turn heat off and leave on the stove.
- When the oven has preheated, melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter (melted). Remove the hot muffin tin from the oven and quickly brush the bottoms and sides of muffin cups with melted butter. Turn the blender on for a few seconds to re-mix the batter, then quickly pour into the hot muffin cups, dividing equally between 12 cups and filling about 1/2-2/3 full.
- Place in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until puffy and deep golden brown in colour. Meanwhile, turn the heat back on under the blueberry sauce to re-warm, if needed.
- When the Dutch babies are cooked, remove from the oven. The pancakes will quickly deflate. Remove the pancakes to serving plates right after taking them from the oven and spoon warm blueberry sauce over. Garnish with powdered sugar.
- Store leftover Dutch babies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. These mini Dutch baby pancakes freeze well, as does the blueberry sauce. To reheat, simply place frozen (or refrigerated) Dutch babies on a baking sheet and loosely cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Place in a preheated 350F oven until warmed through, 8-12 minutes. The sauce can be reheated in a microwave or a small saucepan.
Notes
Watch how to make it
More mini Dutch baby pancake recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress-free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
These are fantastic. I also made with goat cheese w/dill and lemon (eliminated sugar and vanilla) which worked great. Question: the ‘pockets’ mine created were huge so muffins/pancakes themselves were extremely thin. What is the trick to making these denser?
So glad you enjoyed them, Kathy! Dutch babies are usually quite thin, but if you want them thicker, I’m thinking putting more batter in the cups might achieve what you’re looking for. Thanks!
Thank you!
I am going to the mountains next week and would like to make these
for my family while we are there. Do I need to adjust anything for the altitude change? Thank you!
Hi Tiffany, I have no idea how to approach baking at altitude, but from my very limited understanding, this one should be ok, as it doesn’t use any leavening agents (baking powder or yeast).
They were good with cheese and roast peppers too.
Yummy perfection! You really don’t need to include the freezing information in the recipe. Just eat them all, hot out of the oven with warm blueberry sauce. Mine don’t even get a chance to deflate.
Lol! So glad you’re enjoying them, Terilynn :) Thanks!
Can these be made in mini Dutch ovens?
Hi Amy, I haven’t tried it. I feel like it should work, but you would need a lot of mini Dutch ovens to make them in the really mini form. I feel like you’d need to maybe use the same batter in 6 mini Dutch ovens (depending on the size of the pan, of course).
This is a staple in my kitchen. My whole family loves mini dutch pancakes. I do it with fresh strawberries. My question is why they don’t puff up while baking? I have been making them for at least 3 years or so and the last 3 times my mini pancakes won’t rise up while baking? I tried changing the flour, but its not it. Do you have any recommendations or advice?
Thank you
Hi Inna and so glad you are enjoying them. Has anything else changed the last few times? Different pan? Are you filling the cups more than usual?
The eggs and milk at room temperature could help.
Hey, can these be made the night before/sit overnight?
Hi Lanci, are you asking about baking them the night before or just mixing the batter the night before?
I literally just made this recipe this morning. It’s absolutely delicious. I added a teaspoon of cinnamon, and maple syrup in the blender with my mixture and it was so good. The blueberry sauce makes the world of difference added to the Dutch Baby. Thanks for this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed them, Kyla :) Thanks so much!
Delicious and easy!! Added some raspberries with the blueberries and tasted delicious!
Sounds lovely, Elizabeth :) So glad you enjoyed them!
Delicious! I made them gluten and dairy free using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour, Miyoko vegan butter and cashew milk. Slightly denser, but not gritty.
So glad to hear, Andrea and happy you enjoyed them :) Thanks!
Tasty and delish! Added all the ingredients to a ninja blender and gave it a good swirl. It was perfect after 16 minutes in the oven. The only bad part is watching how quickly they deflate! But I couldn’t stop “taste testing” them. After finally prying myself away from these tasty little treats, my husband and son only had four left—to share between them. Yes, I ate 8 of them! They were perfect w a hefty squeeze of lemon and powdered sugar. Will definitely make more….tomorrow. Happy eating! Thanks for the recipe. Will happily test try other recipes.
So glad you enjoyed them, Bella :) Thanks so much!
For any diabetics out there, I made these and omitted the sugar from the batter. I used Swerve (monk fruit sweetener) in place of sugar in the blueberries and it was delicious. Next time, I will try them with 1/2 whole wheat flour, which I’m sure won’t be quite as light, but it will make them an even better option for a diabetic. I didn’t experience any spike in my blood sugar after eating three.
So glad to hear, Laurel and good to know :) Thanks!
Delicious. I used an immersion blender. A fast and easy dinner. Loved the blueberry sauce.
So glad you enjoyed them, Tracy :) Thanks so much!
Hi Lynne, it works fine for me. What browser/device are you using?
Google–I’ve never had trouble printing your recipes before. Maybe it’s just random glitch. Thanks for all your recipes!
Excellent!
The only modification that I made was to warm the eggs in a hot water bath and warm the milk in the microwave before blending.
Can’t wait to try a savoury version.
Glad you enjoyed them, Randy :) Thanks!
Hi Jennifer, my whole family loves these mini Dutch pancakes. I make them with strawberry sauce. They always turn out delicious. My question is why do they deflate? I can’t make them stay like a cup. When they come out from oven they look so perfect and once I transfer them to the plate they just “deflate”. What am I doing wrong? Is there a specific flour I should use? Or should I blend them longer in the blender? I would greatly appreciate any input from you. Thank you so much ☺️
Hi Inna and so glad you are enjoying them! Let me assure you that you aren’t doing anything wrong. Deflating is just what Dutch Babies do. I know it’s a little disappointing, as they are so grand straight from the oven, but despite their deflating, still delicious :)
This is the second time I have made this recipe and they are so good that I can’t help but write a review. I love these and highly recommend them to everyone! They are super easy to make and go perfectly with the blueberry sauce. 10/10
So glad you are enjoying them, Sarah! Thanks :)