12 pancake recipes for Pancake Day / Shrove Tuesday

Pancake Day 2021 is coming up. It’s a fun and delicious day to celebrate — you could even have pancakes for every meal! Here are 12 delicious Pancake Day recipes – sweet and savoury – that you can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

What is Pancake Day and other questions

What is Pancake Day? It’s another name for Shrove Tuesday, the beginning of the build-up to Easter. It’s followed by Ash Wednesday, the start of the Christian fast of Lent.

When is Pancake Day 2021? Tuesday 16 February

Is Pancake Day always in February? The exact day changes every year because its timing is related to Easter, whose date shifts every year. But it always precedes Ash Wednesday and is always in February or March.

Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? Pancakes were traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday as a way to use up rich ingredients (eggs, milk, sugar) that you would be giving up for Lent.

You don’t have to observe Lent to enjoy Pancake Day. Try these Pancake Day recipes, with lots of different toppings that kids and adults can enjoy!

1. Toffee apple pancakes with vanilla ice cream

Toffee, apples, vanilla — need we say more about this stellar combination? 

Try this recipe: Toffee apple pancakes with vanilla ice cream

2. Spelt flour pancakes with rhubarb and cardamom

Pancakes don’t have to be made only with pale flours. This one uses spelt, which adds a distinctive and interesting flavour. Yet it remains simple and easy to put together. You’ll be amazed at the flavour the crushed cardamom imparts, making the tangy rhubarb filling deliciously fragrant.

Try the recipe: Spelt flour pancakes with rhubarb and cardamom

3. Ricotta pancakes with poached cherries

We are nuts for cherries — with this recipe you can use fresh cherries or the frozen kind. Keep a pack in the freezer and you can whip up these pancakes anytime! Ricotta adds a richness and moisture to the batter to make these pancakes a cut above.

Try the recipe: Ricotta pancakes with poached cherries

4. Oat & banana pancakes with caramelised maple pecans

For us, these fantastic pancakes are just made that much better by caramelised pecans — an almost perfect combination of the meatiness of the nut, the sweetness of the caramel, the toastiness that the process adds. In short, yum. This recipe uses American-style pancakes: fluffy, soft to the tooth, full of body and delicious. 

Try the recipe: Oat & banana pancakes with caramelised maple pecans

5. Chocolate pancakes with maple & pecan ice cream

This indulgent dessert remains quick and easy by dent of the use of chocolate spread and chocolate dipping sauce, although the pancakes are made from scratch and are the work of a minute. 

Try the recipe: Chocolate pancakes with maple & pecan ice cream

6. American-style banana butterscotch pancakes

This indulgent dish features the American-style thick pancakes rather then the thin version that are more like crepes. Think fluffy, high, spongy, when your fork cuts through them down to the plate, with the butterscotch sauce drizzled over it. Serve them in a stack for authenticity.

Try the recipe: American-style banana butterscotch pancakes

7. Sweetcorn pancakes with maple-coated bacon and chili crème fraîche

Do you feel lemon and sugar is too simple for your pancake predilections? Do you ever just want to push the boat out on Pancake Day with a taste bonanza? Try these amazing pancakes, which combine classic flavour combinations, the smooth with the crispy, the cooling with the spicy. 

Try the recipe: Sweetcorn pancakes with maple-coated bacon and chili crème fraîche

8. Korean prawn & salad onion pancakes

This Asian-inspired recipe actually takes longer to prep than actually cook, and it couldn’t be easier to put together on short notice!

Try the recipe: Korean prawn & salad onion pancakes

9. Hot chilli vegetable pancakes

This recipe is as quick and easy as it is zippy with crunch and spice. By using premade pancakes (you can keep a package in the freezer) you can literally have these on the table in a quarter of an hour — perfect for midweek meals and last-minute suppers when everyone’s tummy is rumbling. 

Try the recipe: Hot chilli vegetable pancakes

10. Duchy butternut squash, walnut & Stilton stuffed pancakes

This pancake dish is made a bit differently: Once the ingredients are cooked on the hob, they are finished in the oven in a baking dish. It’s like the pancake version of lasagna and completely delicious. Walnuts are a great addition here as the cooked squash and Stilton are lovely and soft, a great counterpart to the crunch of the nuts.

Try the recipe: Butternut squash, walnut & Stilton stuffed pancakes

11. Creamy leek & mushroom pancakes

We love leek and mushrooms together. By combining chestnut and button mushrooms, you can a rich yet not overwhelming flavour, perfectly complemented by the leeks. 

Try the recipe: Creamy leek & mushroom pancakes

12. Cheesy pancakes with cauliflower and broccoli

Cheese and broccoli are a classic combination in loads of dishes. This hearty yet easy pancake recipe also brings in the taste, texture and nutritional benefits of cauliflower. You can make it very quick by using prepared frozen pancakes — keep a package in the freezer and you know you’ll never far away from a crowd-pleasing family meal.

Try the recipe: Cheesy pancakes with cauliflower and broccoli

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