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Pancake Lasagna

by Tanya

Pancake Lasagna

When my brother was in town last month for a training, one of the meals I made for us was this yummy pancake lasagna. And I thought it would be an appropriate dish to share for Father’s Day since I shared a breakfast recipe for Mother’s Day.

The recipe originates from Food Network, and more specifically—The Best Thing I Ever Made. In all honestly, I can’t say it’s the BEST thing I ever made, but it is darn tasty! I am a huge fan of breakfast, so this is definitely in my wheelhouse and something I will make again.

My dad likes pancakes, but his favorite dishes are probably hamburgers and desserts. I’d like to think he’d enjoy this dish, because it’s sweet, although not sickeningly sweet, which I was little worried it might be.

The biggest changes I made to the recipe dealt with quantities. From reading the comments, it sounds like the original version fed an army (which makes sense—the episode was on feeding a crowd!). So I played around and cut it down to a family-sized dish with fewer layers.

My brother and I thoroughly enjoyed the lasagna. It was a lovely combination of savory and sweet. I served it with big, juicy chunks of cantaloupe to help cleanse our palate.

This dish looks far more complicated and intimidating than it really is. You can easily make almost all of the components in advance. I prepared the meat layer (bacon and sausage) and the maple cream sauce in the afternoon, so when my brother got home, all I needed to do was whip up the pancakes and scramble the eggs.

Pancake Lasagna

Next time, I plan to make the pancakes in advance as well and assemble everything except the scrambled eggs the day prior. In the morning, I can quickly whip up some eggs and pop everything in the oven. Easy peasy.

Print Recipe

Pancake Lasagna

Servings: 10 -12 servings

Ingredients

Pancake Layer

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons butter melted and cooled slightly

Meat Layer

  • 1 lb breakfast sausage
  • 1 1 b bacon

Egg Layer

  • 12 eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or half ‘n half
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cups of cheese divided

Sweet Maple Cream Layer

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  • For Meat Layer: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a wire rack over a cookie sheet. Place bacon slices on rack and bake until crispy, about 15 minutes. Reserve bacon fat and set aside. Line a separate cookie sheet with sausage links and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Crumble bacon and chop sausage into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
  • For Maple Cream Sauce: In a small sauce pan, combine reserved bacon fat, butter and flour to make a roux. Stir in heavy cream and maple syrup and cook over low heat, stirring until the consistency of gravy, which takes approximately 30 minutes. Set aside.
  • For Pancake Layer: Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then stir gently until just combined. Batter should remain lumpy. Do not overmix. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes before cooking. Melt 1 Tbsp of butter in a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Pour batter onto skillet or griddle in 1/4 cup portions. Cook until edges are set and bubbles just begin to break, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and continue cooking until second side is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Repeat with remaining batter.
  • For Egg Layer: In a large skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter of low heat. Whisk together eggs, heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste. Pour into skillet and gently stir until scrambled and cooked through. Set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE:

  • Spray your baking dish (I used a 9 1/2 skillet) with non-stick spray, then line the bottom with a single layer of pancakes, cutting pieces to fill in the gaps, as needed. Lightly spread a layer of maple cream sauce over the pancakes*. Next, add the chopped sausage and bacon, spreading evenly over the pancake layer. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the meat layer. Add another layer of pancakes, then maple cream sauce and spread scrambled eggs over the pancake layer. Cover with the remaining 2 cups of cheddar cheese. Bake until the cheese has melted on top and begun to get crispy, about 10 minutes**. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes, to make cutting the lasagna easier. Serve with maple cream sauce on the side.

Notes

Whew. I know this looks long and scary. But when you think about, it’s just making pancakes, eggs and sausage/bacon for your family.
*I used a very light touch with the maple cream sauce. It is delicious but it is sweet. I used maybe a 1/4 cup per layer, then served the remaining sauce on the side for those who wanted it a bit sweeter. If your family prefers things sweeter, feel free to adjust the amount of maple cream sauce you use and you may need to double the recipe.
**If you’re baking this immediately, you only need to cook it until the cheese melts as everything is warm. If I had prepared and assembled everything in advance, up to adding the scrambled eggs and final cheese layer, I would cover the lasagna and bake for 20-30 minutes, while I scrambled the eggs. I’d then add the eggs and cheese and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tanya

Pancake Lasagna