Making popovers couldn’t be simpler: the 5-ingredient batter comes together in seconds, and 30 minutes later, they’re done! Read on to learn the tips for making foolproof popovers every time.

A tray of popovers in the oven.

There is nothing more festive than pulling a pan of lofty popovers (also known as Yorkshire pudding*) from the oven just as everyone is gathering around the table to eat. Piping hot and light as air with custardy centers begging for pats of butter, popovers are a treat to behold. 

Having made many batches of popovers over the years, I’ve learned how to achieve lofty popovers every time: room temperature ingredients + a hot oven = popover success. This is because popovers rely on steam — as opposed to baking powder, baking soda, or yeast — to rise. This King Arthur Flour article says it best: “The warmer your batter going into the oven, the more quickly it’ll produce steam: simple as that.”

Final tip? Use the right flour. For especially lofty popovers, bread flour is your gal! I achieve great loft with all-purpose flour as well, but I achieve the greatest heights when I use bread flour.

How to Make Lofty Popovers, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients: eggs, milk, melted butter, flour, and salt. You want your eggs and milk at room temperature — see the recipe box for tips if you forget to leave them out before getting started.

Ingredients to make popovers.

Combine the eggs (room temperature), milk (room temperature or slightly warmed), salt, and flour in a blender. Blend for 30 seconds until combined. Alternatively, whisk the ingredients together by hand. I find using the blender ensures a smooth batter, which is what you want here.

Ingredients to make popovers in a blender.

Add the melted butter and blend again for 15 to 20 seconds.

Butter added to the popover batter in a blender.

The batter should be smooth:

Popover batter in a blender.

Transfer the batter to a buttered muffin tin, then place in the oven and bake at 425ºF for 20 minutes and 350ºF for 10 minutes:

Popover batter in a muffin tin.

Ta-da! How fun are they?

A tray of popovers in the oven.
A tray of popovers in the oven.

Remove from the oven and admire your work…

Popovers just baked still in their muffin tin.

… briefly! I’m not even sure why I turned these out onto a cooling rack because…

Popovers cooling on a cooling rack.

… the one rule of popovers is: Eat Immediately! Transfer them to a bowl and pass around the table.

A bowl of popovers.
A popover on a plate.

Serve with butter on the side.

A popover on a plate.

Heaven.

A halved popover on a plate.
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A tray of popovers in the oven.

Lofty Popovers (Yorkshire Pudding)

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Description

Making popovers couldn’t be simpler: the 5-ingredient batter comes together in seconds, and 30 minutes later, they’re done! Read on to learn the tips for making foolproof popovers every time.

Notes: 

Most popover recipes are basically the same — if you compare recipes, you’ll find they differ slightly in the number of eggs and quantities of milk and flour, but you’ll also see that the basic ratio of flour to milk to eggs is roughly the same. 

*Another name for popovers is Yorkshire pudding, the only difference being the baking method. Yorkshire pudding calls for preheating the pan with meat drippings before pouring the batter over the top.

This is essentially 1.5 times my mother’s recipe, with influences from both King Arthur Flour and America’s Test Kitchen, both of which emphasize using room-temperature or slightly warmed ingredients. In sum, the keys to success here are: 

  • Use a scale to measure — it’s the only way to measure accurately.
  • Use room-temperature eggs. If you forget to bring your eggs to room temperature, you can plunge them into a bowl of hot tap water for 10 minutes. Truly: I don’t think I’ve ever used room-temperature eggs when a recipe has called for it, and I’ve never noticed a difference. With popovers, I have.
  • Use room-temperature milk. If you forget to bring your milk to room temperature, you can heat it briefly in the microwave or on the stovetop — just until it’s warm to the touch, 75ºF or so.
  • Hot oven. You’ll want to start with your oven at 425ºF at a minimum. Some recipes call for 450ºF, but I find in my oven that temperature browns the popovers a little too much for my liking. Every oven is different, however, so you may find 450ºF works better for you.
  • Bread flour: for especially loft popovers, bread flour is your gal! I have achieved great loft with all-purpose flour as well, but I did achieve the greatest heights when I used bread flour. 

A note on salt: If you are using Morton kosher salt or fine sea salt use 1/2 teaspoon. 

The pan: I love this USA muffin pan. You can use a traditional 6-well popover pan, too, but I prefer the results when the batter is spread among 12 wells. My batter stuck in my popover pan, too, which made for mangled popovers upon removing them. I highly recommend simply using a metal muffin pan for best results here. 

Ingredients

  • softened butter, for greasing, plus more for serving
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature (see recipe if you forget to take your eggs out ahead of time)
  • 1 1/2 cups (375 grams) room-temperature milk — I’ve been using 2% (see recipe if you forget to leave your milk out ahead of time)
  • 1 1/2 cups (192 grams) bread flour or all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt, I use Diamond Crystal brand, see notes above
  • 3 tablespoons (43 grams) melted butter — I use salted, but unsalted is fine

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF with a rack in the center. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with the softened butter.
  2. If your eggs are not at room temperature, place them in a bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let stand for 10 minutes, then remove. 
  3. Place your milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Remove. It should be roughly 75ºF, but slightly warmer is fine, too. I have also used milk that I’ve left at room temperature for several hours, and that has worked great, but I think you’ll find you’ll get even more loft if you warm the milk slightly. You can do this on the stovetop, too — just heat it until it is warm to the touch. 
  4. Place the eggs, milk, flour, and salt in a blender and blend to combine, roughly 30 seconds. I use my Vitamix, and I blend at speed 5. You want a smooth batter here, and using a blender ensures your batter will be smooth. 
  5. Add the melted butter and blend for another 15 to 20 seconds. (Alternatively, whisk by hand: whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt first; add the flour and whisk until combined and smooth; add the butter and whisk again until smooth.) 
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, aiming to fill each well halfway with the batter. Once you’ve filled each well, divide any remaining batter as evenly as possible among the wells.
  7. Transfer to the oven immediately and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 350ºF and bake for 10 minutes more. 
  8. Remove, transfer to a serving bowl, and eat immediately! Serve with softened butter on the side. 
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: Amerian