Yorkshire Pudding - A Classic British Side For Roast Beef

Name: Yorkshire Pudding
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 105 min
Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour; ¼ teaspoon salt; 3 large eggs; 1 cup whole milk; 6 teaspoons canola oil

January 21, 2012 by Irish American Mom 28 Comments

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Yorkshire pudding are roasted, risen, batter puddings usually served as a roast dinner side in Ireland and throughout the United Kingdom.

Traditional roast beef dinner was usually accompanied by Yorkshire pudding in our house.

Yorkshire pudding with beef and text banner — Yorkshire pudding

Origins of Yorkshire Pudding
Ingredients For Yorkshire Pudding
Step-by-step Photo Instructions For Yorkshire Pudding
Make the Batter
Tips for Oven Baking Yorkshire Puddings
Recipe Card for Homemade Yorkshire Puddings

Origins of Yorkshire Pudding

Some families serve them as a side for a traditional turkey Christmas dinner. They're also delicious with a pot roast or a prime rib roast.

Yorkshire pudding and Sunday roast are the perfect pairing, especially when served with a rich gravy.

It's made from batter and usually smothered in gravy, to compliment the roast. This side dish originated in Yorkshire, England, hence the name.

In the southern states of America you may call these delicious morsels popovers, but in the British Isles they are always called Yorkshire puddings.

Yorkshire pudding is golden brown when just baked in muffin trays — Yorkshire Pudding

When meat was scarce during the two World Wars, Yorkshire pudding was served extensively to help stretch the beef a little further.

Yorkshire puddings are very similar to American popovers, which are very popular in the southern states.

Popovers on a plate with text banner — Yorkshire Puddings made with batter

One of the first recipes for "a dripping pudding" was published in an English book called "The Whole Duty of a Woman" which was published in 1737.

"Make a good batter as for pancakes; put in a hot toss-pan over the fire with a bit of butter to fry the bottom a little then put the pan and butter under a shoulder of mutton, instead of a dripping pan, keeping frequently shaking it by the handle and it will be light and savoury, and fit to take up when your mutton is enough; then turn it in a dish and serve it hot."
The Whole Duty of a Woman 1737

Don't worry. Today's recipe for Yorkshire pudding is dripping free.

Here's how I make this trusty side for a roast.

Ingredients for batter in bowls — Ingredients for Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients For Yorkshire Pudding

Here you’ll find a quick list of what you’ll need for this recipe. Check out the printable recipe at the bottom of this post for US and Metric equivalent versions of the recipe. There you can choose the measurement system that works best for you.

all-purpose flour
salt (regular or kosher salt)
milk
eggs
canola oil or vegetable oil

Step-by-step Photo Instructions For Yorkshire Pudding

The ingredients are very simple pantry staples, and making Yorkshire puddings is far simpler than you might think.

Adding a cup of flour to a bowl to make a batter — Adding flour to a bowl

Make the Batter

Add the flour to a large mixing bowl (a medium bowl will work fine too).

I like to use my batter bowl which has a spout and handle to make pouring extra easy.

Salt in flour for making batter — Adding salt to flour in a batter bowl

Toss in the salt with the flour in the bowl.

You need more than a pinch of salt to add flavor to the batter.

You can use a medium mixing bowl if you do not have a batter bowl.

Milk and flour as a base for batter — Adding milk to flour in a batter bowl

Next pour in the milk.

Eggs flour and milk in a bowl to make batter for Yorkshire pudding — Adding eggs to batter

Next come the eggs.

Flour and egg batter in a bowl with an electric mixer — Whisking batter for Yorkshire pudding

I use my small electric hand mixer to combine all of the batter ingredients together.

Standing egg batter in a covered pitcher — Resting batter for Yorkshire pudding

I like to cover the Yorkshire pudding batter for 30 minutes to an hour before I cook it. Letting the batter rest makes the puddings a little lighter.

Yorkshire puddings cooked with batter that has not rested will have a different texture to those cooked with batter that has been rested. They will be less stretchy and have fewer interior bubbles.

Keep the mixture at room temperature. If the batter is too cold directly out of the fridge, the puddings won't rise well.

Some cooks like to rest the batter overnight. If you keep it in the fridge overnight, be sure to let it reach room temperature before using it.

Oil in the compartments of a muffin tray — Adding oil to a muffin tin for making Yorkshire puddings

Tips for Oven Baking Yorkshire Puddings

When you are ready to cook the puddings preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pour ¼ teaspoon of oil into the bottom of each cup in a twelve-count muffin tray.

You can use an American popover pan for this recipe. They tend to be a little narrower and higher than a muffin tin.

It's best to use a fat that can withstand high heat, if like me you're not using beef drippings to cook the Yorkshire puddings.

The best oils for this recipe have high smoke points and include canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil or safflower oil.

This is not a recipe for olive oil. It tends to burn. Butter adds lots of flavor but it too tends to burn. A mixture of melted unsalted butter and canola oil works well too, but I just use plain canola oil.

Place the oiled muffin tray into the heated oven for 3 to 5 minutes to heat the oil. Watch the oil does not burn.

Beating batter for Yorkshire pudding with a hand held mixer — Whisking batter before cooking Yorkshire pudding

While the oil is heating in the oven, use the electric mixer to whisk more air into the batter for 1 to 2 minutes.

Do not over beat it, since too much air will cause the puddings to puff and burst in the hot oven. However, do make sure your batter has no lumps.

Traditional Yorkshire pudding was cooked in a big pan using room temperature batter, and cut up to serve. I prefer individual servings using a muffin tray.

Old English cooks also added the drippings from their roast beef to the batter just before cooking. Since I usually use my crockpot to make my roast, I seldom have any drippings. This version, without extra dripping fat, turns out great.

Batter in a muffin tin — Yorkshire pudding batter in a muffin tray

Remove the muffin tin from the oven when the oil is hot. Be careful handling the hot muffin tin with piping hot oil. Any splash of oil could easily burn your skin.

There are two reasons for adding the batter to a piping hot pan. First of all it adds heat to the batter straight away and starts the cooking process without delay.

Second of all a hot pan decreases the risk of your Yorkshire puddings or popovers sticking.

Cast iron muffin pans work great. They take longer to heat up in the oven, but they retain the heat longer.

If you don't have a muffin tin, you can make one large Yorkshire pudding pudding in a cast iron skillet. This is a very traditional method. If you preheat the cast iron skillet the batter will puff up like one big cake. However, I find it easier to serve individual Yorkshire puddings, since cutting a large one causes it to deflate a little.

Divide the batter evenly between the twelve muffin cups.

Fill each cup to about ¾'s full. This recipe is perfect for a dozen puddings. Each pudding requries 4 to 5 tablespoons of batter (about ⅓ cup).

Try to get this step done quickly, since the batter will start cooking as soon as it hits the hot muffin tray. The sooner it gets to the hot oven, the better the puddings will rise.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.

Here's a little warning. For the first 20 minutes of cooking time do not open the oven door. If you release the hot air from the oven your puddings will flop and never rise.

I know it's very tempting to take a look and see if their beginning to puff up, but resist the temptation to open the oven to have a peek.

The Yorkshire puddings are ready when they are golden brown and all puffed up.

Freshly baked Yorkshire puddings in a muffin tray just out of the oven — Cooked Yorkshire pudding

This batch turned out pretty similar, but don't be surprised if you have some extra puffy ones, or if some burst during cooking.

Let the Yorkshire puddings cool in the tray for a few minutes then remove them to wire racks to for just a few minutes so they don't become soggy. Serve them warm.

Yorkshire pudding with beef on a plate — Yorkshire pudding

The ones with a hole may not look as pretty as the others, but whatever shape or size they end up, they all taste great. The best Yorkshire puddings bring roast beef dinner to the next level of deliciousness.

Roast beef served with carrots and Yorkshire pudding — Yorkshire pudding with gravy

Serve with roast beef and with gravy poured all over them. I find that when serving Yorkshire pudding with a roast Sunday dinner, there's no need to serve dinner rolls. Potatoes and Yorkshire puddings provide plenty of starch without adding bread to the menu.

Hope you enjoy this traditional English side.

This batter recipe can also be used to make toad in the hole, which is an English dish where browned sausages are covered in eggy batter and baked in the oven.

Recipe Card for Homemade Yorkshire Puddings

Here's a short video about this Yorkshire pudding recipe.

Here's the printable recipe card for your kitchen recipe tin.

Yorkshire Pudding

Baked batter pudding usually served with roast beef and gravy.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: British, Irish

Keyword: American Popover, Roast Beef Side, Yorkshire Pudding

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Resting Time: 1 10

Total Time: 1 45

Servings:

Calories: 86kcal

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
6 teaspoons canola oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Combine the flour, salt, milk and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat using an electric mixer for 1 minute, forming a thick gravy-like batter.
If time allows, cover the bowl and let the batter rest for one hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Add ¼ teaspoon of canola oil to the bottom of each cup in a 12-count muffin tray. Place the oiled muffin tray in the oven and heat for 3 to 5 minutes.
While the oil is heating, use an electric mixer to beat the pudding batter for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not over beat, or the puddings will pop and burst during cooking.
Remove the heated muffin tray from the oven. Pour the batter into each muffin cup, upto ¾'s full.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the puddings have puffed up and turned a golden color.
Serve with roast beef and topped with gravy.

Nutrition Facts

Yorkshire Pudding

Amount Per Serving (30 g)

Calories 86 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 49mg16%

Sodium 75mg3%

Potassium 55mg2%

Carbohydrates 9g3%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 100IU2%

Calcium 32mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition Information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.

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I hope you enjoy this delicious side for roast beef. I've been known to eat an extra one or two as dessert.