Here’s a very popular, delicious recipe: Bacon and Corn Griddle Cakes. These are savory pancakes served with warm maple syrup. Be sure to watch the short video showing you how to make them, then scroll to the very bottom of this post to print out the complete recipe.
We’re a banana-pancake kind of family. Rarely does a regular-old pancake grace a plate in the RecipeGirl house. Bananas are pretty much always sliced up and cooked right on in there with the batter. It’s the way we do our pancakes around here, plain and simple.
I was feeling a little wild and crazy last weekend though, and surprised my husband with a new kind of pancake- one where bananas were nowhere to be found- these Bacon and Corn Griddle Cakes.
What are Bacon and Corn Griddle Cakes?
These savory pancakes are stuffed with corn, crumbled bacon, onions, chives and Monterey Jack cheese. My husband eyed me suspiciously as I was preparing this deeply unusual breakfast treat. I told him to go back to reading the paper and pour himself a cup of coffee.
The truth is… I wasn’t exactly how these would go over either. The batter is thick, and it produces sturdy, yet fluffy little cakes that are perfect for stacking.
As a true bacon lover does, I always save some extra crispy bacon to serve on top.
And then I cover it all with a massive downpour of warm maple syrup.
I’ll never forget when we first sampled these. Wow. These are really different. And by different, I mean they are really very good. They don’t taste quite the same as pancakes, since there is a savory element to it all. So I thought it would be more appropriate to call them “griddle cakes.” The cakes have a fluffy interior, and those chunks of bacon and corn and melted cheese combined with the maple syrup are a surprisingly lovely treat.
It’s the sort of recipe that I’d be delighted to see on a breakfast menu at a restaurant, since I’m always up for trying new things. And the bacon… yep, bacon is a must. Make extra and be generous with it, because a little bit of bacon (or a lot) always makes everything taste incredible as far as I’m concerned. #BaconLoversUnite
So what do you think… are you up for sampling some Griddle Cakes?
If you’re looking for more unique breakfast recipes, you might like to try:
- Avocado Toast- 3 Ways
- Quiche with White Wine and Shallots
- Overnight Breakfast Enchiladas
- Breakfast Popsicles
- Baked Italian Egg Pastries
- Breakfast Tacos
Bacon and Corn Griddle Cakes
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- ⅓ cup finely chopped sweet onion
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅔ cup milk
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- 1 cup frozen, canned or fresh corn
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- warm maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, cook the bacon pieces until they begin to brown. Add the onion and continue to cook until the bacon is crisp and the onion is softened. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the bacon mixture for topping the griddle cakes upon serving- and set it aside.
- While the bacon is cooking, combine the flour, chives, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk, egg and oil, just until moistened. Stir in the bacon mixture, corn and cheese. The mixture will be thick. If you'd like the griddle cakes to be slightly thinner than those pictured, add a little more milk to thin out the batter.
- Heat and grease a griddle or large skillet. Pour a heaping ¼-cup of the batter onto the griddle and cook until it is golden brown- 3 to 4 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serve stacks of griddle cakes topped with a sprinkle of the reserved bacon/onion and a good dose of warm maple syrup.
Notes
- Nutritional information does not include added maple syrup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Have u ever tried this as a waffle batter? Just curious. It seems that it would awesome and a chicken and waffle base
I haven’t. It might be a bit too sticky for waffle batter.
Oh my, found this recipe on FB today. I had everything but chives so I made it, very good will make again. We had a side of fried potatoes, I used the bacon grease pan with a small amount of the grease.
Great to hear!
I have been making this on and off since you posted it in 2012! It’s a comfort food I can always count on! Thank you for creating it!
Yes!!! I was skeptical but tried them anyways and holy smokes! Delicious! I used extra corn and blackberry syrup. We rate foods on a scale of 1-10 so we know if we will make again. BF rated them a 9! Thank you!
Can I spread the batter on a sheet pan ? And bake?
I’ve never done that, so I’m not sure!
Love this recipe! So simple and different! Made these today on my antique cast iron waffle makers while camping and they were amazing!
This was fantastic. It was also pretty easy, and my kids were able to help. We made this mid-renovation without a regular stove, so I thought I’d post what changes we had to make. I made the bacon in the microwave and then broke it up in a food processor since it was thick and hard to cut. I sautéd onions on the electric griddle, and then cooked the cakes on that same griddle, sprayed with avocado oil. I used about 1/24 of a tsp of cayenne pepper and 1/4 tsp black pepper, since my kids won’t eat much spicy food. On the side, I served spring mix salad with white wine vinegar, olive oil and dijon mustard salad.
I have not tried this yet, but, as soon as I saw the pic I thought, “potato pancakes”. That might be really good with the corn and bacon.
Could you make this batter ahead of time … I was hoping to make it and take camping.
I would think that it would get awfully thick and not very usable!
My mom used to save leftover (regular) pancake batter in the refrigerator and add a little baking powder the next day before using it up. The powder will have reacted with the liquids in the batter and lost some of its oomph, so she “freshened” it up a bit. We never noticed the difference. It might be worth a try with these savory pancakes, if you were to use the batter soon in your camping trip. Or separately, at home, mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, mix the savory ingredients, just blend it all while you’re camping.
These were amazing! I made Sweet-n-Spicy Maple Syrup to serve over them. (Pure maple syrup with a bit of sriracha). Delicious…just the right amount of kick!
Can you use gluten free flour instead? Thank you!
You can certainly try!
Absolutely! I use King Arthur 1:1 and they come out fab every time. Even those who eat gluten love them. I also make them as waffles to do chicken and waffles – so good!