Why? What’s wrong with plain pancakes drizzled with syrup? I don’t like syrup on my pancakes. I never did. If I have to have my pancakes with something sweet, let it be honey or fruit jam. Even then, I get tired of them easily. Not enough contrast in flavor and texture.
So, I thought about savory pancakes. We’ve made a few versions, actually. My daughter, Alex, even transformed a traditional Filipino breakfast into a pancake version. But this one, with bacon and cheese sauce, remains my absolute favorite.
Start by cooking bacon in a pan until fat has been rendered. Add chopped bell pepper and thinly sliced scallions and cook just until the vegetables are done. Scoop out the mixture and spread on a plate to cool.
Make your pancake batter and stir in the bacon, bell pepper and scallion mixture. If you’re part of the school of thought that believes in the added benefit of resting pancake batter for an hour before cooking, you may do that too before stirring in the bacon mixture.
Despite the addition of bacon and vegetables to the pancake batter, the procedure for cooking the pancakes is the same as though you were cooking regular pancakes. Use a ladle or a measuring cup to pour into a heated pan, cook until the edges are bubbly, flip and cook the opposite side.
And the cheese sauce? How do you make it? Oh, that’s really easy. Just microwave grated cheese with a little milk, stir until smooth and it’s ready to be poured over your savory pancakes.
Full recipe below
Bacon pepper pancakes with cheese sauce
Ingredients
- 75 grams bacon - julienned
- ¼ cup chopped bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
- 1 cup all-purpose flour - do not press into the measuring cup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
For the cheese sauce
- 1 cup grated cheese - any soft cheese should melt well but mozzarella is NOT recommended for this recipe
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Cook the bacon, peppers and scallions
- Heat a non-stick pan. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat until a little fat has been rendered.
- Add the chopped bell pepper and scallions. Cook, stirring for about a minute. Transfer the mixture to a plate and cool.
Make the pancake batter
- Stir together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.
- In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg and milk.
- Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended.
- Fold in the melted butter.
- Add the bacon mixture to the batter. Stir lightly to combine.
- Reheat the pan (where some bacon fat goodness still covers the bottom) and start cooking the pancakes.
- You should be able to make about eight pancakes with the ingredients given above.
Make the cheese sauce
- Stir together the grated cheese and milk in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave on HIGH for about two minutes or just until the cheese is soft enough to be stirred into a thick, smooth sauce.
Serve the bacon pepper pancakes with cheese sauce
- Stack the pancakes and pour some cheese sauce over them.
- If you want added depth of flavor, color and texture, sprinkle in more sliced scallions and a little cayenne.
