With crispy golden tops and pockets of melty gruyere cheese and salty ham in every bite, these Popovers with ham and cheese are always a hit at the table. They’re the perfect dinner roll upgrade for a special occasion like Mother’s Day brunch or Easter dinner, but once you perfect the process, you’ll want to make them all year round. While simple themselves, popovers can make a weeknight salad or soup feel like a special occasion.
With just five ingredients, including eggs, milk, flour, salt, ham, and cheese, the method is really what makes popovers special. Getting the perfect “pop” and flaky texture takes some practice, but we’ve got step-by-step directions and plenty of tips and tricks to help you make perfectly puffed popovers every time.
What are Popovers?
If you’ve ever had Yorkshire pudding, you’ve essentially had a popover. The only difference is that Yorkshire pudding traditionally uses beef fat, while popovers are made with melted butter. They have a custard-like taste similar to a Dutch baby, as it’s made with many of the same ingredients, but the texture is a bit different because of the rise popovers get in their special tins.
The specialized tin look sort of like a muffin tin, but they’re taller and a bit narrower, which allows the steam to really build for a light and airy center and puffed up tops. Our savory recipe works well as a side dish, but it can also be made sweet with additions like cinnamon and sugar, fruit, jam, sweet cream, and powdered sugar, replacing the ham and gruyere.
How to Make Popovers?
Ingredients
Process
- Preheat oven to 450˚F. Place pan onto a rimmed sheet pan and place in oven.
- Milk, butter, and eggs into the well of a blender (or in a mixing bowl) and blend until smooth (or whisk together until frothy).
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
- Pour flour mixture into liquid mixture and whisk together until smooth.
- Remove pan from oven and spray each cavity with cooking spray. Fill each cavity 2/3 full with batter and top with an even sprinkle of cheese and 1/2 tablespoon diced ham.
- Place popover pan into oven and bake for 16 to 20 minutes, until popovers have “puffed”. Reduce oven temperature to 350˚F and continue baking for an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until popovers have browned.
- Remove from oven, transfer to a platter, and serve immediately.
Important Tips for the BEST Popovers
Getting the perfect “pop” is a delicate process, with a high risk of flat, deflated, or broken popovers if not made and handled carefully.
Follow these tried-and-true tips for perfect popovers every time.
- Use room temperature milk and eggs. Temperature consistency before adding them to the oven will help them build steam quickly.
- Preheat your pan. Starting with a hot pan helps the batter start cooking immediately, producing more steam.
- Wait for your popovers to “pop” before lowering the temperature. You want to start cooking the wells of batter at a high temperature so they start creating steam as soon as possible.
- Do not open the oven door while baking. If you need to peek, turn on the light and look in the oven window. Opening the door will cause the temperature to drop, and the popovers could deflate.
- Don’t overdo it with the mix-ins. We use just 2 ounces each of shredded cheese and diced ham. Too much will interfere with the steam and rise, leading to deflated or flat popovers.
Flavor Variations
Try these easy variations to change the flavor of this popover recipe. Whatever you change or add for the mix-ins, just make sure to keep the total addition to four ounces or less to allow for the highest rise.
- Smoked Gouda and herbs (minced fresh herbs like parsley, chives, and thyme)
- Sharp white cheddar and crispy bacon
- Swiss and diced turkey
- Sharp cheddar cheese popovers served with apple butter
Can Popovers Be Made Ahead of Time?
Popovers are best made just before serving. If you make them too far ahead of time, they run the risk of deflating. They’ll still taste good, but the texture and appearance won’t be nearly as impressive.
If needed, you can make the batter up to a day ahead of time, letting it come to room temperature before baking. There is a higher chance that they won’t puff up as well when you make the batter ahead of time, but it’s an option if you’re short on time.
What to Serve with Popovers?
These savory popovers are the perfect side for brunch, lunch, or dinner; you really can’t go wrong! Here are some of our favorite foods to serve with them:
- Scrambled eggs or baked eggs
- Honeyed yogurt with blood orange and beet salad
- Spring quiche
- Broccoli cheddar soup
- Tomato soup
- Roast beef
- Rack of lamb
- Spatchcock chicken
- Citrus and herb-roasted turkey
More Delicious Recipes You Will Love!
Popovers (with ham and cheese)
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk (room temperature)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons diced ham (about 2 ounces)
- 2 ounces shredded gruyere cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 450˚F. Place popover pan onto a rimmed sheet pan and place in oven.
- In a liquid measuring cup combine milk and eggs and whisk together.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
- Pour flour mixture into milk mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Remove popover pan from oven and spray each cavity with cooking spray.
- Fill each popover pan 1/2 full with batter and top with an even sprinkle of cheese and 1/2 tablespoon diced ham.
- Place popover pan into oven and bake for 16 to 20 minutes, until popovers have "puffed". Reduce oven temperature to 350˚F and continue baking for an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until popovers have browned.
- Remove from oven and turn out onto a cooling rack.
- Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.
NOTES
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- Use room temperature milk and eggs. Temperature consistency before adding them to the oven will help them build steam quickly.
- Preheat your pan. Starting with a hot pan helps the batter start cooking immediately, producing more steam.
- Wait for your popovers to “pop” before lowering the temperature. You want to start cooking the wells of batter at a high temperature so they start creating steam as soon as possible.
- Do not open the oven door while baking. If you need to peek, turn on the light and look in the oven window. Opening the door will cause the temperature to drop, and the popovers could deflate.
- Don’t overdo it with the mix-ins. We use just 2 ounces each of shredded cheese and diced ham. Too much will interfere with the steam and rise, leading to deflated or flat popovers.
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These are so easy to make and they taste great! I didn’t have ham so I used crumbled bacon & sharp cheddar sprinkled with some chives. Fabulous!!!
I made them in a muffin tin and added chopped spinach to this recipe. I also added, which may not be to some people’s liking, a bit of sugar to the batter to give it a little sweet with the savory. I did this because we love the flavor of crepes. They are absolutely delicious and they actually are fine microwaved, 2 for about 30 seconds. We are busy and it’s nice to have another recipe we can make ahead and reheat before leaving for work. Love these!
I made this with my Christmas ham bone today and have to thank you for sharing! I haven’t had split pea soup in years. So glad I made this, it is delicious!!!!
These we good, even reheated. However, for my taste they were a bit bland. I will be making them again but will be adding onion powder and mustard powder with the batter. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Can these be reheated? I feel like they would be tasty for breakfast.
These can be reheated, but they won’t be quite as fluffy and custardy. You can warm them in a 350˚F oven just until they’e heated through, 6 to 8 minutes.
MMMM Great recipe!
I’ve made this recipe 4 times now. I’ve used different pans (nonstick included) and used different things to grease the pans, but every time they stick to the pan. Any tips?
Try heating the pan in the oven while it preheats
Do you need to use a popover pan? Can these be made in a muffin pan?
These can definitely be made in a muffin tin
Amazing! I only got muffin trays so thanks for this info 😍
Hi, I will check this recipe this week – am at home for the next 3 weeks, so I have time enough. yours looking good.
Got a popover pan for Christmas as I’ve been wanting to do the popovers I remember as a kid. First time out they didn’t ‘pop’ as much as I’d hoped but 5 out of 6 were well above the rim. Added finely diced ham and a T of grated cheese… maybe that made a difference. Flavor is really good, but will refine my next batch!
i tried these and, while they tasted great, i think the recipe only has half the amount of batter needed to make 12 popovers. when i made these as directed, they did not rise and “pop” – they were simply small ham & cheese muffins, haha! i looked at other recipes and realized that the amount of batter in this recipe was half what it is in others, so I next time i’ll double the batter to be able to make 12 :) thanks for a yummy recipe otherwise!
totally agree with you! I was expecting a “dome”
The recipe used a smaller size popover pans. My popover pans were 1 cup capacity each (6 cups in one pan – total of 6 cups). II was only able to make 6 popovers.
CORRECTION: My popover pan byChicago Metallic and is a 6 cup Popover Pan, each cup measuring 3″ x 2-1/4″ (7.6 cm x 5.7 cm). For this recipe, I yield 6 popovers, adding 9g finely diced ham and 14g grated gruyere cheese in each cup. Baked for 25 mins.
Regardless, these popovers turned out great! Crispy exterior, soft and airy interior loaded with ham and cheese throughout. This recipe is good.