Savory Bacon-Cheddar Pancakes With Corn and Jalapeño Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated Mar. 27, 2019
Savory corn pancakes stuffed with bacon, cheddar, and jalapeño. . J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Why This Recipe Works

  • Cooking the bacon and corn with jalapeños and scallions before adding them to the batter enhances their flavor and adds texture to the pancakes.
  • Saving some of the corn/bacon mixture and pressing it into the pancakes as they cook gives the outer surface of the pancakes a nice appearance and texture after flipping.
  • Cutting the cheese into cubes creates big pockets of melted cheese that ooze out as you eat.
  • A mixture of cornmeal and flour gives the pancakes deep corn flavor.

Who ever said American pancakes have to be sweet? What's stopping us from savory-ing them up? These start with a basic American-style pancake recipe, but they come stuffed with crisp bacon, sautéed corn, jalapeño peppers, scallions, and—the kicker—pockets of gooey melted cheddar cheese.

Recipe Details

Savory Bacon-Cheddar Pancakes With Corn and Jalapeño Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 30 mins
Serves 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

  • 4 ounces bacon, cut into fine dice

  • 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears of corn)

  • 1 to 2 red or green jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced

  • 8 scallions, thinly sliced (divided)

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 cup (about 5 ounces) fine yellow cornmeal

  • 1 cup (about 5 ounces) all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 2 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving

  • 2 eggs

  • 10 ounces (about 1 1/4 cups) cultured buttermilk

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for oiling pan or griddle

  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Directions

  1. Heat butter, bacon, and 1 tablespoon water in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until water evaporates and bacon begins to crisp and brown, about 5 minutes. Add corn, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring, until tender and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add jalapeño peppers and half of scallions and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a plate to cool slightly.

  2. Combine cornmeal, flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, baking powder, baking soda, honey, eggs, buttermilk, 2 tablespoons oil, half of corn/bacon mixture, and half of remaining scallions in a large bowl and stir and fold until no dry streaks of flour remain but batter is still lumpy. Fold in cheese cubes.

  3. Heat griddle or large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add a small amount of oil to the griddle and spread with a paper towel. Ladle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of batter onto the griddle, spreading it into an even circle. Repeat to fit as many pancakes as you can. Spread a 1 tablespoon-sized portion of the bacon/corn mixture on top of each pancake.

  4. Cook undisturbed until edges of pancakes begin to set and bubbles start to break the top surface, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes with a thin, flexible spatula and cook on second side until golden brown and completely set, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet in a warm oven while you cook the remaining pancakes. Serve, garnished with remaining scallions and drizzled with honey.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
514 Calories
24g Fat
56g Carbs
21g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 514
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 24g 31%
Saturated Fat 8g 42%
Cholesterol 107mg 36%
Sodium 1052mg 46%
Total Carbohydrate 56g 20%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 21g
Vitamin C 9mg 46%
Calcium 318mg 24%
Iron 3mg 17%
Potassium 454mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)