Bacon Cheddar Popovers
Filled with extra-sharp cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon, these Bacon Cheddar Popovers are perfect for a hearty weekend brunch!
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I’ve mentioned here before that my wife and I try to hit the gym 3-4 mornings a week. Her company has a gym on site, so we drive down and get a workout in before heading off to our respective jobs. (Of course, Snowmageddon 2015 has interrupted our workout plans more than once lately. We tried heading out before the snow plow came through one morning…we made it about 1/4 mile before coming back home.)
I’ll be honest. I don’t love the gym. But I view it as a necessity since we always seem to have a counter full of tasty desserts like these Gooey Turtle Brownies or these Baked Powdered Sugar Doughnuts. Life is all about balance, and by balance I don’t mean a cookie in each hand. I mean a workout in the morning so that I can enjoy dessert at night.
My workout routine typically involves about 40 minutes of cardio followed by a bit of weightlifting. Thankfully, the gym has tv’s right in front of the cardio machines…otherwise I’m pretty sure those 40 minutes would feel like an eternity. I always flip on the 6am SportsCenter to catch up on the action from the previous day.
I’m pretty sure one of my favorite parts of SportsCenter is Neil Everett, one of ESPN’s anchors for that early morning edition of the show. He frequently works song lyrics into his stories. He’s a character. And he always refers to #’s as hashbrowns. Instead of “#SCTop10,” it’s “Hashbrown SC Top10.” Instead of “#DukeBBall,” it’s “Hashbrown DukeBBall.” Seeing as how I live in the world of social media and foodie hashtags, I love the hashbrown reference. Although, I wonder how Neil would refer to hashbrowns on Twitter? Would it be “Hashbrown Hashbrown”?
So how does all of this morning workout and hashtag talk relate to these delicious Bacon Cheddar Popovers? Well, popovers are pretty much the best brunch food ever! They’re right up there with hashbrowns in my opinion. They’re relatively quick to make, and they’re perfect for a hearty weekend breakfast. Sure, I’ve heard all the talk about how popovers are difficult to make. They don’t rise. Or they rise and then deflate before they’re done baking. A basic popover recipe only calls for 5 ingredients, and those 5 ingredients can be rather ornery when it comes time to bake ’em up.
This popover recipe has proven successful for me time-and-time again, though. My only rules are: (1) whisk the batter well (no lumps!) and (2) don’t open the oven door while baking (no peeking!). The result is a beautiful pan of golden brown popovers. For this version, I added some crumbled bacon and extra-sharp cheddar cheese (I used Cabot’s Vermont Sharp). These may be my favorite version of popovers yet! Although I do wonder how Neil Everett would refer to these. Would it be “Hashbrown Popover”?
Have you tried making popovers at home? What are your favorite popover flavors?
Bacon Cheddar Popovers
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded, divided
Instructions
- Cook the bacon on a large frying pan until crispy. Crumble bacon and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Grease a 6-cup popover pan; set aside. (See note)
- In a large bowl, add eggs, milk and melted butter; whisk together until well combined.
- Add flour and salt; mix until batter is smooth and well combined.
- Stir in the crumbled bacon and ¾ cup of shredded cheese.
- Fill each cup in the pan slightly more than half-full with batter. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of shredded cheese evenly across the cups.
- Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes.
- Without opening the oven door, reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue baking for 12-15 more minutes, or until popovers have puffed up and are dark golden brown in color.
- Let popovers cool slightly before serving.
Wait..what? I thought balance equals to cookies in each hand? No? 🙂 These bacon cheddar popovers are amazing and awesome for breakfast. I’ve never made popovers before and I’m excited to try some. Thanks for sharing your popovers rules also.
Haha! Well, there are different kinds of balance, Linda. I mean a cookie (or a cake) in each hand still keeps you balanced! (Or maybe a cake in one hand and like 2 dozen cookies in the other…) Either way, these popovers are one of my favorites! Popovers are a unique creation, but they are so darned delicious! 🙂
G 3-4 mornings a week? What can I say? I’m so proud of you IronDavid, I might shed a couple of tears.
I suggest you change the name of the blog into “The Spiced Gym Goer”. Sounds good, right?
On a more serious note, love me a popover especially when there are cheddar and bacon involved!
Oh no, Mike! Don’t cry! I didn’t mean to upset you. 🙂 We haven’t made it to the gym as much this past week as both Laura and I are getting over a cold. But we’ve still made it out to go curling twice!
I haven’t ever made a popover, David, but I can pop over to y’alls place and help take these off your counter! They sound divine! While am there, y’all can skip the gym for a week because I will make sure to rid your counters/pantry/fridge of any turtle brownies and baked powdered sugar doughnuts – yup – your welcome!
Hahaha…you have an excellent memory, Shashi! And yes, I would gladly take the help ridding our counter of the brownies and doughnuts. I would also gladly take the help ridding our back yard from the snow so the dogs can go out. I’ll give you a popover for every 10 minutes of snow shoveling you do. Is that a deal? 🙂
David, OH MY GAWD. . I love these!! I actually have a popover pan that I have never used!!! I’m going to try this recipe this weekend!!! and as for going to the gym. . I have a home gym. . treadmill and free weights. . and like you, I don’t love it but I view it as a necessity too. . well, there are times that I do love it. . the running. . and when I get a really good run in. . plus it’s my “alone” time so I love that . . but yeah, when it’s -8 degrees outside and freaking cold, the last thing you want to do is exercise!
Wait. You have a popover pan, and you’ve never used it? Pull that bad boy and get it in the oven ASAP! Popovers are a fun creation for sure. I made this batch of popovers later in the day, but my favorite way to eat them is for a nice, hearty brunch. As for the gym, it sounds like you’ve got a nice setup at home. I’ve toyed with the idea of doing something like that…but then I might feel guilty if I don’t go down to work out more often, ya know? Oh well, if I had a gym at home, I might work out more often. If I work out more often, then I can eat more cake. That’s sound logic, right? 🙂
Popovers are one of my favorites for snackin’ or pre-dinner with company munching!
Warm, pillowy yum and these had me at bacon. Add that sharp cheddar and BAM I’m there. My favorite is this Pancetta Parmesan and Black Pepper Popovers.
I hear a lot of people say they are difficult, but the secret is a super HOT pan first and no peeking until they’re done. Nice popovers here David! #WolfpackEats!
Ooo…pre-dinner company munching! I like that idea, Kevin. I usually think about popovers for brunch, but I clearly need to open my horizons. Haha…apparently we have the same way of thinking, too. Except your version sounds so much fancier! Pancetta > bacon (although we all know that bacon is amazing). Good tip on the hot pan…I don’t do that, but maybe I need to give that a shot next time I make popovers. It makes sense why a hot pan would be good. Either way, NO PEEKING! Thanks, Kevin!
Mate, these look delicious and I love the ingredient list- all my favourites in one.
Hi 5 to morning workout people- Although the last 15 minutes of my workout I’m thinking of breakfast…and may or may not cut my sets short depending on my hunger. Also, our TVs on the car-DIE-o machines only show one station- ADS for the gym. Thank you, AnytimeFitness.
Ouch! You only get ads for the gym on your cardio machines? What the heck is that all about? I mean, they went to the effort of putting in tvs. And they’ve already got you there, so no need for ads. Give a guy something fun to watch!! That’s just rude, Anytime Fitness. (P.S. Laura and I used to go to an Anytime Fitness back when we lived in Atlanta. I wonder if it’s the same chain. They at least showed the local news on one tv in that one, though.)
WOW. these look amazing, and who doesn’t love the cheddar & bacon combo!? Nice work, I can’t wait to try these 🙂
Thanks, Rachael! These popovers are magic. Literally. They disappeared from our countertop, and I have no idea where they went. (Ok, maybe I do know where they went…haha!) Thanks!
Cheddar and bacon just go so well together, so how could I say no to these! They look so savory and delicious, and for sure a must-try! Pinned 🙂
Thanks, Christina! Cheddar + bacon = the perfect comfort food combination. I bet you can’t eat just one! 🙂
Going to the gym is a must for me to because I am a baking blogger, and I have no will power. Some weeks I manage to give away all my test treats to friends & family, but other weeks, well… I don’t 😉
I take group classes (mainly HIIT & bootcamps) to keep me motivated because I’ve made friends and so if I don’t go, they will notice and call me out on it. It’s a good system! I still kinda hate exercising though.
Well, all that to say is eating foods like these popovers make all that effort & sweating worthwhile. I’ve never made a popover before. My mom makes yorkshire puddings to go with roast beef sometimes, and you are right about how these simple recipes can be so temperamental. But when you get them right, they are so worth it!
Haha! As a food blogger, I think a gym membership just needs to be factored into monthly expenses. 🙂 But you made a good point about friends…having people to hold you accountable is so important when it comes to the gym. That 5am wake-up call comes early, and it takes both me and my wife to keep our gumption going that early in the morning. But I will gladly hit the gym if it means popovers are waiting for me at home. Give these guys a shot…they’re super tasty, and really quite fun to make. Thanks for stopping by!
Yes freaking yes. Now this is my type of recipe. Hashbrown heck yea. Dude… but now you have me thinking about somehow combining hashbrowns with popovers. Is that even possible? Work your magic. Make it happen.
Hmmm…a hashbrown popover? Would that be #hashbrown or #popover or #hashbrownpopover? Ah…I’m so confused now! Haha…but yes, that would be incredible. Not sure it would work since popovers are kinda finicky, but we need to investigate this possibility ASAP. #WolfpackTestKitchen
Can hardly wait to try these when my kitchen remodel is done! Recipe sounds delicious and like another good reason to keep my popover pan!
This is a really delicious popover recipe, Kaden…it’s definitely a good reason to keep your popover pan around!! Good luck with the kitchen remodel. I see you are lining up some fun recipes for when you get back in the kitchen!! 🙂
What is the calorie count per popover
Hey Debbie! I don’t usually calculate calories, but at a quick glance I would guess these are around 200-225 calories per popover. Of course, you can use lighter ingredients like turkey bacon to help offset the calorie count. I hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by!