I’ve grown up eating savory-sweet food all my life. I thought it was just a quirk of my mother’s to add sugar to everything until I looked up Shanghainese cuisine on Wikipedia a few years ago and found that, evidently, it’s a Shanghai thing. Nowadays, I follow exactly in my mom’s footsteps and add a bit (or a lot) of sugar to almost everything I make — pasta sauces, soy sauce glazes, stews, whatever. I drench my sausage links in maple syrup. (One of my earliest memories is dunking sausage links in maple syrup at Bob Evans. What an underrated restaurant. Did anyone else have family dinners there?)
But the advent of adding savory to sweet only came upon me recently — mainly in the addition of bacon. To everything. Most recently, chocolate chip cookies and pancakes. I can understand feeling squeamish about bacon in chocolate chip cookies — but in pancakes? The bacon’s usually right next to them anyway. It’s only right. It just makes life easier. And infinitely more delicious.
For these, I just used the same go-to “buttermilk” pancake base that I got from Joy the Baker. I’ve never looked back since trying it — it’s fluffy, pillowy-soft but substantial, and it gives your local diner’s version a run for its money. I put buttermilk in quotes because I’ve never actually used buttermilk in it — I always use a mix of half Greek yogurt and half milk (any kind, almond, soy, or regular) and it’s never steered me wrong. I don’t think you’d ever guess it wasn’t buttermilk pancakes straight from IHOP or your favorite diner.
And then I added bacon!
So. Good. (Oh yeah, and that’s me deciding that ramekin of maple syrup wasn’t enough and getting serious with the Aunt Jemima.) Edit: Since a lot of you don’t like savory and sweet together — totally understandable — I just wanted to add that this pancake base is phenomenal with pretty much anything. Slices of banana, blueberries, Reese’s Pieces (!), or, if you’re feeling super decadent, instant espresso, chocolate chips, and Nutella. My personal favorite after bacon might be Reese’s Pieces — seriously awesome. And I never find I need syrup with those, so it might balance out to be better for you?! Relatively.
This is what we’re having for Christmas morning this year — hope you have something equally comforting and cozy lined up, too. And if not, try this. 😉 Merry Christmas, friends!
Bacon buttermilk (Greek yogurt) pancakes.
based on Joy the Baker’s buttermilk pancakes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 pancakes (serves 2). 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg (optionally, you can separate the egg for a fluffier pancake, see Notes below)
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk (alternatively, use 1 cup buttermilk and omit the Greek yogurt)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled, plus more for the pan
- 2 oz bacon (about 3 rashers), roughly chopped
Instructions
- Place bacon in a cold skillet and turn to medium heat. Panfry until crispy and fat is rendered. Drain fat and reserve for pancakes (Did I mention we’re going to be cooking these pancakes in bacon fat? Oh yes. Mhmmm.) Set bacon aside to cool.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg, yogurt, milk, vanilla extract, and melted butter until well-blended. Add the dry mixture to the wet and mix gently until mostly incorporated. As always, a few lumps are okay and good. Let batter rest for a few minutes. In the meantime, chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and grease lightly with the bacon grease. When skillet is hot enough that a water droplet will dance when dropped onto the surface, pour about 3 tablespoons of batter onto the skillet. I used a 1/4 cup scoop (which I filled partially). It has the added benefit of keeping the counter fairly drip-free. Sprinkle the chopped bacon evenly across the pancake. When bubbles form in the batter and leave a brief hole when they pop, flip the pancake and let brown on the other side for about 2-3 more minutes, or until golden-brown, then remove to a plate. I keep the pancakes that are done in the oven on its lowest heat setting, on an oven-safe plate.
- Repeat until all the batter is gone, and serve with the fixings.
Notes
The batter will be quite thick. If you want it to be pourable, add one or two more tablespoons of milk — otherwise, simply press the batter with your measuring cup right after pouring into the pan to form a circle shape.
Also, you can separate the egg and whisk the egg white to medium peaks for a fluffier pancake (as per this cornmeal pancake recipe). If you do, simply separate the egg and reserve the egg white until just before the step where you let the batter rest. Whip the egg white using an electric beater or a balloon whisk until it reaches medium peaks, then fold into the pancake batter just until partially incorporated and small wisps of egg white remain. Then proceed to cook as normal.
Jessica's Dinner Party
I love sweet and savory! Pancakes with bacon seems like a natural step.
tworedbowls
Right? I like the way you think. 🙂
Milk and Honey
I love it when you get serious with the Aunt Jemima! This looks glorious. Have an awesome Christmas.
tworedbowls
Hahaha, she means business! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas too. 🙂
Susan P. (@littleredkitchn)
I still need a good go to pancake recipe and since after today I’ll be home for a week and half making real breakfast everyday I’m going to have to give yours a try. Plus I always have greek yogurt and milk at home, never butter milk. p.s. gorgeous photos. p.p.s. I always drenched my breakfast sausages in maple syrup.
tworedbowls
Ooooh, yes!!!! If it came from Joy the Baker you know it’s legit girl. I don’t think I’ll ever order pancakes out again after her recipe. Let me know how you like it with the Greek yogurt! 🙂 I’m the same — I never have buttermilk on hand but I always have a tub of Fage. P.S. Thanks! and P.P.S. YES! HIGH-FIVE!
Janine
I’ve always been on the fence with sweet and savoury foods, but these look and sound really good!
tworedbowls
You know, it’s a mixed bag — I’m actually not a fan of straight-up salty and sweet foods (like chocolate-covered pretzels, which are just so-so in my book) but I love savory with a touch of sweet and the other way around. I like mixing up my food in general, though, and I know people who’d eat out of those separated trays for every meal if they could! Maybe bacon pancakes are a good gateway sweet-and-savory combo 🙂 Save the chocolate-covered bacon for another day… haha.
Janine
Very true! Yes, salty with a hint of sweet is good.
addalittle
Oooohh man! This looks so delicious!! I LOVE the combo of pancakes and maple syrup and bacon – you should try putting an egg on top too. It’s a taste explosion in your mouth!
tworedbowls
Haha you are so right! Have you ever had a McDonald’s McGriddle? (I am so not a food snob.) It’d be just like that … but better.
addalittle
No – we don’t have them in London! But I’ve heard about them!! 😛
Cate @ Chez CateyLou
Bacon in pancakes is always a good thing! Yours look amazing – so light and fluffy! And the pix look so good!!
tworedbowls
Thanks so much, Cate! 🙂 Joy’s pancake base is tops. Hope you have a fantastic Christmas. 🙂
Jessica (Coco/Mingo)
Oh gosh, these look delicious! My self 10 years ago would have gobbled these up as is! But now since I’ve a vegetarian, I’ll leave out the bacon, but I’m pretty sure they’ll still be just as delicious!! Thanks for this recipe!
tworedbowls
Oh no! Yes, good thing they’d be fantastic plain too 🙂 My other (vegetarian) favorite way to enjoy these pancakes is with chocolate chips, a tablespoon of instant espresso powder, and a dollop of Nutella. Or any kind of fruit. Oh man. I just love pancakes. Thanks so much for stopping by, Jessica! 🙂
Johnny Hepburn
Love the lead-in photo! Wow, haven’t had pancakes in a while.
tworedbowls
Thank you!! Oh gosh, I can never go too long without pancakes, I feel… haha!
Jasline @ Foodie Baker
Love your photos! The pancakes look superb, but I will most probably omit the bacon as I’m not a fan of combining sweet and savoury together… oops! Hope you had a great Christmas and happy new year!
tworedbowls
Aw, thank you so much, Jasline! Haha, yes, I totally understand it’s not for everyone. I love these pancakes on their own, too — before bacon, I also loved Reese’s pieces scattered over them, or pieces of fruit. Or chocolate chips… or Nutella… or instant espresso… Haha the list goes on and on. They really work with anything, I feel like! Hope you did likewise, Jasline!!
Jasline @ Foodie Baker
Love the idea of Reese’s and instant espresso! Coffee pancakes to wake me up? Definitely a yes! 😉
Anonymous
Really like the cover photo!!!
tworedbowls
Thank you so much!!! 🙂 That was a fun one to shoot.
Eggton
The vertical picture of the stack of pancakes cut into like a cake is my absolute favorite. Love.
tworedbowls
Oh man! So excited to see you round these parts, Katherine!! 🙂 That was one of my favorite shots too ………. because it meant I got to eat some. hehehe.