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
Recipe Details
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.
Video
Notes
- Nutritional information does not include added maple syrup.
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!
These were so good and easy too! I served them for Mother’s Day and they were a big hit! I can’t wait to eat the two leftovers.
I’ve been making these for years and they are amazing!
Absolutely amazing! I substituted 1 1/3 cups oat flour for 1 cup regular flour. I just ground up old fashioned oats in my vitamix and there you go…oat flour. I also used about a cup or so of milk, since the oat flour thickened things up a bit. I served these with sides of stewed/seasoned pinto beans and fresh fruit. Really tasty and impressive. ? Thank you!
This was just what I craved today! I needed corn and I never turn down bacon. I didn’t have bacon to cook so I softened my real bacon bits in some refrigerated bacon grease I keep for flavoring and tossed in dried minced onions in that sauteed bacon ( out of sweet onion too). Used the cheddar I had on hand too. But the cakes baked up just perfectly! Doubted they could be fluffy considering the dense batter but they really had a lightness inside. We didn’t use these for b-fast but used them as our hand bread with some soup. Will definitely make again!
Made these in the waffle maker and came out perfect! Only made two large cakes but a lot less effort than the griddle. Want to try these with oat flour next.
There is a small little restaurant in Capitan, NM that makes a pancake like this and serves with seasoned pinto beans. It is to die for and all I ever get .
Linda
These were so delicious! My favorite breakfast for dinner I’ve ever made…even my 4 year old ate her whole plate!
This is delicious! One of my favorite recipes. I discovered on Pinterest last year and have made these probably 50 times since. I add diced jalapenos for a bit of kick. Delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Love these! We call them “Mancakes” 🙂
These are unbelievably delicious!! Like the ultimate comfort food! Thanks so much for sharing!
I was skeptical but tried these anyway and they were SOOOOO GOOD! Thank you for the easy recipe!
What a great way to start my day! These look amazing; definitely too good to pass up!
These were amazing! I love a good salty sweet breakfast!
Trying these this evening. I love the movie Waltz Across Texas & in one of the scenes the old boy makes pancakes out of whatever was in the fridge, similar idea . We’ve actually made some with rice, corn & beans before.
Do you drain the bacon? I did because it seemed like too much fat but the recipe doesn’t state if you should.
Yes. Cook the bacon… but you don’t necessarily have to use the same skillet for making the griddle cakes. No need to cook them in bacon fat. Hope you enjoyed!
This was really good! I didn’t want to go to the store so substituted mozzarella for the cheese I didn’t have, and reduced the cayenne to two shakes so as not to overwhelm my spice-wimp kids. I used frozen corn but thawed it first in the microwave. After cooking the first one I figured out to flatten the cakes down with the spoon for more even cooking. Will make again for sure.
Absolutely loved these griddle cakes. Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner, they are a wonderful savoury treat. A pleasant change from pancakes, and I love pancakes. I loved mine with Maple Syrup; my Aussie partner just a little pepper. He loved them and said to put the recipe in my Tried it a Winner!
Hi, I’m planning to make these for a post wedding brunch…have you ever tried to reheat or freeze these? I know people have asked but since the post goes so far back, I thought I would ask? Many thanks.
I haven’t tried freezing these.
Made mine for lunch, and topped them with GUACAMOLE! FANTASTICO!
These were absolutely delicious. Definitely a keeper!