Pancake Casserole

Pancake casserole is a popular oven baked Italian dish which is prepared in numerous ways, for e.g. it can be prepared in a layered way, where ingredients like cheese, beef, etc. are layered on top of baked pancakes; it can also be prepared by stirring in other ingredients like sausages into pancake batter (which usually consists of eggs, milk, salt, and flour), and then baking the dish. Other ingredients such as pecans, walnuts, and maple syrup can be added to the pancake batter to enhance the flavor of the casserole.

Commonly Used Ingredients and Preparation Overview of Pancake Casseroles

The basic Italian pancake casserole recipe suggests the use of eggs, milk, flour, salt, ground beef, tomato paste, minced onions, basil, garlic salt, oregano, salt, pepper, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and grated parmesan as the essential ingredients.

The pancakes are prepared by combining together eggs, milk, salt, and flour; pouring a portion of the mix in a greased frying pan; baking it until light brown; turning it over; and baking it from the other side. The process is repeated with the remaining mix to prepare a few more pancakes. In order to prepare the casserole, the pancake is placed at the bottom of the baking dish, and layered with some cottage cheese, meat mix (a mixture of browned ground beef, minced onions, garlic salt, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and tomato paste), mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. The casserole is baked in oven and served hot.

Pancake Casserole Recipe Variations

Some of the popular recipe variations of pancake based casseroles are discussed below:

• Pancake and sausage casserole- this casserole is prepared by adding cooked sausage in a mix of flour, grown sugar, white sugar, salt, baking powder, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla, and milk, and baking it in oven for a few minutes before cutting it down into slices to serve. It pairs very well along with syrup.  

• Apple pancake casserole- the recipe for this casserole suggests pouring pancake batter over prepared apples (peeled and sliced apples are added to melted butter along with sugar, and cooked for some time until soft), and baking the dish until puffy and brown. It can be served both cold and hot. A recipe variation of this casserole suggests addition of cinnamon and apple sauce to the pancake batter. Other variations suggest the addition of pecans, maple syrup, chocolate chips, walnuts, or raisins to the pancake batter.

• Mexican pancake casserole- this oven baked casserole is prepared by pouring a mix of pancake batter, taco mix, and cheese over meat mix (ground beef, beans, tomato soup, and seasonings); garnishing it with parsley; and then baking it until brown.  

• Baked blueberry pancake casserole- the recipe for this casserole suggests spreading blueberries onto a baking dish (coated with melted butter); pouring over pancake batter; and baking the casserole in oven. This casserole can be served with syrup (as per the choice of an individual) and melted butter.