Crispy Yorkshire Puddings (2024)

Crispy Yorkshire puddings are a classic British side dish often served alongside roast beef or other roast dinners.

They are made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk and cooked with vegetable oil in a hot oven until golden brown and crispy on the outside whilst perfectly soft and spongy on the inside.

We can't claim this as our own. The basic batter mix for Yorkshire Puddings is well known and used by many top chefs, including Jamie Oliver and Mary Berry.

We have tested many methods to bring you the best Yorkshire Pudding recipe with step-by-step pictures. Moreover, they take less than 30 minutes from start to finish.

Click the button below to see how quick and easy yorkshire puddings are to make at home.

Read all the tips and tricks in this blog post for how to make Yorkshire pudding at home.

History

Believed to originate from the North of England and were originally called dripping pudding due to the beef dripping (fat) used to create them.

It wasn't until the Victorian era that Yorkshire pudding became associated with roast beef and served as a side dish.

During this time, the dish became more refined, and the batter mix was tweaked to create the light and fluffy puddings we know today.

Over the years, fluffy Yorkshire puddings have become a staple in England and are often served with all Sunday Roast Dinners, not just beef.

Equipment

Here is what you will need to make Yorkshire Puddings at home.

What Tin to Use?

This mixture will make 12 small Yorkshire pudding's in a shallow cupcake baking tray, as seen in this blog post.

If you want to make 6 large Yorkshire puddings, use the same batter mix and method, but cook in a deep muffin tin instead.

Or, to make 4 large Yorkshire puddings, use the same batter, but pour into these large muffin tins, specially designed yorkshire pudding tray.

Or you can make just one giant Yorkshire pudding in a small round roasting tin. (We serve our gammon stew in these)

Yorkshire Pudding Mix Ingredients

The homemade batter mix calls for four basic staple ingredients to make fluffy Yorkshire pudding.

Eggs, milk, plain flour, salt and pepper. You will also need oil to cook them in too.

Plain flour

For the best Yorkshire puddings, use plain flour, also known as all-purpose flour.

Do not use self-raising flour as this already contains baking powder and will make the end result tough.

Eggs

In the UK we recommend using free-range medium eggs.

Medium eggs in the UK are different in size to US eggs, so check the weight. They are typically between 53-63g in weight (weigh them still in the shell).

Milk

Any type of milk can be used for this recipe, whole milk, semi-skimmed or skimmed.

Salt and Pepper

Always season the mix with a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Oil

Traditionally, beef pan drippings (beef fat) were used to cook the Yorkshire pudding in. These days most people use vegetable oil as it is more widely available and easier to use.

We have tested many fat/oils and found that rapeseed oil (canola) also gives good results, but any cooking oil will work.

How to Make Yorkshire Puddings

The key to making Yorkshire puddings is to get the batter mix right and cook them in a hot oven.

First, preheat the oven to 220°C fan / 240°C / 475 F / gas mark 9. This will help you make Yorkshire puddings crispy. While the oven is heating up, you can prepare your batter.

Sieve plain flour into a medium bowl to remove any lumps.

Add the egg yolks and whites, milk and a pinch of salt and pepper into the same bowl.

For the quickest results, use a hand blender to mix the eggs, flour & milk together into a runny smooth batter.

This will only take a couple of minutes. Of course, you can stir using a hand whisk (a balloon whisk is best). But if you only have a wooden spoon, that will work as long as mixed until smooth and lump-free.

Leave the Yorkshire pudding batter to rest at room temperature whilst preparing the muffin tins and waiting for the oil to heat in the oven.

How to cook Yorkshire Puddings?

So with the batter mixed it's time to heat the oil inside your chosen muffin tin.

Use about 1 teaspoon of Sunflower oil /Vegetable oil/lard or beef dripping in each hole of the cupcake or muffin tin.

What Temperature Oven?

Put the oil-filled muffin tray into a preheated oven (220°C fan / 240°C / 475 F / gas mark 9) for at least 10 minutes, allowing it to get really hot.

Once you have very hot oil, carefully remove the tray from the oven.

The trick here is to pour the batter quickly and prevent the oil from getting cold.

Immediately pour the batter evenly into each hole, about halfway full, in the cupcake tin/muffin tin or yorkshire pudding tin.

Don't let the batter drop on the hot pan between each hole, as they will connect to each other. We use a spoon to catch any drips to prevent this from happening!

Next, place the baking tray back into the oven and watch the magic happen!!

The hot oil will make the batter rise; watch as the batter turns into crisp Yorkshire puddings before your eyes!

It is important not to open the oven door during cooking time.

Cooking Time

It takes about 15 minutes to get the perfect scrumptious golden yorkshire pudding. They should be well risen, golden brown and crispy on the outside to hold their shape.

If your open the door too early, they may sink, so if you're not sure, it is best to bake for too long than not long enough!

Serve immediately with your favourite roast dinner with plenty of gravy!

Top Recipe Tips

Over time and through questions from our readers, we have the answers you need to make your Yorkshire puddings rise beautifully in the oven and stay risen when removed!

DO NOT remove them from the oven too soon! Such a common mistake; they look great and have a lovely big rise in the oven but then when they come out, they deflate.

Use an empty oven dedicated to the Yorkshire puddings to bake on the middle shelf. This allows the heat to circulate easily, giving the best chances for a good rise, even colour and crispness.

So remember, if you don't want your Yorkies to shrink and shrivel up.

You must give them enough space, cooking time & high heat to crisp them up. So they can keep their well-risen structure!

📖 Step by Step Recipe

This post was originally published on 11/12/2019 and was modified on 10/08/2022 with updated pictures and clearer instructions for the best Yorkshire puddings.

Serving Suggestions

A yorkshire pudding is traditionally served with roast beef but can be served with any roast dinner or other comfort foods. We will give you a few suggestions below.

Seen here served with our Rolled Rib of Beef - Boneless Roast Joint, air fryer parsnips and fluffy mash.

Or below with boneless roast pork loin, served alongside carrot and swede mash, crispy goose fat roast potatoes, finger-licking green beans with garlic and bacon, homemade apple sauce and sticky honey roast parsnips.

Or make the kids happy, place bacon wrapped sausages inside for a miniature toad in the hole served with gravy and mashed potatoes.

The kids also love them with jam or chocolate spread inside. Add a scoop of ice cream and drizzle salted caramel sauce, Chocolate Sauce or Strawberry Coulis over the top to serve as a dessert

Or serve for Breakfast with fried eggs, bacon and beans!

Beef recipes

Here is a selection of our beef recipes which are great to serve with yorkshire puddings.

However, why limit this fantastic side dish to beef?

More Roast Dinners Recipes

Add them as a trimming to your turkey Christmas dinner or alongside roast lamb shoulder or slow-cooked leg of lamb.

Prefer pork? Serve with our glazed gammon joint. Or try with ham, apple sauce and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

How to Store

If you want to save leftovers, allow them to cool before placing them in a sealable bag or container.

They can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.

The best way to reheat Yorkshire puddings is in a 180°C fan /200°C/400°F / gas mark 6 oven for 3-5 minutes.

You can heat them in the microwave if you want; however, they shrink and go soggy! They will only need 30 seconds in the microwave to warm up.

You could also make them ahead, then reheat them in a hot oven for a few minutes whilst plating whatever you are serving them up with.

The batter mix can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge in an airtight container. But remember to bring the cold batter to room temperature before cooking and give the batter a good stir to mix up the starch molecules.

Freezing Homemade Yorkshire Puddings

This Yorkshire pudding recipe can be made, baked, chilled and frozen for up to 3 months and can also be reheated from frozen.

Cook frozen yorkshire puddings in a 180°C fan /200°C/400°F / gas mark 6 oven for 6-8 minutes.

Let us know how you get on making these Flawless Yorkshire Puddings?

Also, if you have any other ideas of what to fill yours with, let us know in the comments?

More Roast Dinner Side Dishes

We have plenty of other roast dinner sides for you to try.