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This savoury Dutch baby is a single-serve baked pancake cooked in one small skillet and topped with melted cheese and a perfectly baked egg. Made using a simple batter of egg, milk and flour, it puffs dramatically in the oven before being finished with rich cheese and a softly set egg. Designed as a one-portion, one-pan recipe, it’s ideal for solo breakfasts, brunches, or low-effort dinners. The flavour is savoury, comforting, and gently rich, balanced with fresh chives and a cool spoon of sour cream or crème fraîche. It’s practical for cooking for one because it feels special without requiring multiple pans or lengthy prep.
Why You’ll Want to Make This Recipe
Single Serve
This Dutch baby is intentionally portioned for one, meaning no leftovers, no scaling, and no waste. Everything bakes in a single small pan, making it perfect for solo cooking.
Quick & Easy
With minimal prep and a short ingredient list, this recipe comes together with very little hands-on time. The oven does most of the work while you wait for that dramatic rise.
One Pot / One Pan Cooking
The batter is mixed in a jug and baked directly in the same skillet it’s served in, keeping washing up to an absolute minimum.
Comfort Factor
Warm, crisp-edged pancake, molten cheese, and a softly baked egg make this deeply comforting while still feeling light and elegant.
Eleanor’s Top Tips for the Perfect Savoury Dutch Baby
- Use a small ovenproof skillet (18–20cm) to encourage maximum rise.
- Preheating the pan with the butter is essential — the batter should sizzle slightly when poured in.
- Don’t overbake the initial pancake; it should be puffed and lightly golden, not deeply browned.
- Gruyère or Comté melt beautifully, but any good melting cheese will work.
- Crack the egg gently into the centre so it stays nestled as the pancake continues baking.
- If you prefer a runny yolk, check the pancake at the 7-minute mark after adding the egg.
- Serve immediately — Dutch babies deflate quickly but are at their best fresh from the oven.
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
Essential Ingredients
- Egg (for batter): Provides structure and lift.
- Milk: Creates a light, pourable batter.
- Flour: Forms the base of the pancake.
- Butter: Prevents sticking and adds richness.
- Salt & Black Pepper: Essential seasoning.
- Egg (to serve): Bakes directly on top for richness.
- Cheese (Gruyère or Comté): Adds savoury depth and melt.
- Fresh Chives: Freshness and colour.
To Serve (Optional)
- Sour cream or crème fraîche
- Extra black pepper
Essential Tools
- Small ovenproof skillet (18–20cm)
- Mixing bowl or jug
- Whisk
- Spoon or spatula
Dietary Variations
Gluten-Free
Use a gluten-free plain flour blend; results are best with a fine-milled flour.
Dairy-Free
Swap milk for unsweetened plant milk and use dairy-free butter and cheese alternatives.
Vegetarian
This recipe is naturally vegetarian.
Adding Protein
Add cooked mushrooms, spinach, or a slice of ham or prosciutto before the final bake.
Different Flavours
Try adding mustard to the batter, swapping chives for dill, or using blue cheese for a bolder finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I make a Dutch baby for one without a skillet?
A: Yes, a small ovenproof dish will work, but a metal skillet gives the best rise and crisp edges.
Q: Why didn’t my Dutch baby puff up?
A: The pan may not have been hot enough — preheating with butter is key.
Q: Can I cook the egg separately?
A: You can, but baking it directly on the pancake keeps everything truly one-pan.
Q: Is this suitable for breakfast or dinner?
A: Both — it works equally well for brunch, a light supper, or a cosy solo meal.
Q: Can I prepare the batter ahead of time?
A: It’s best mixed fresh, but you can rest it for up to 30 minutes if needed.
Ingredients
For the Dutch Baby:
1 Egg
60ml/4 Tbsp Milk
30g/2 Tbsp Flour
5g/1 Tsp Butter
Salt
Black Pepper
To Serve:
1 Egg
25g Cheese (I think Gruyère or Comté work especially well)
Sour Cream or Crème Fraîche
Fresh Chives, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to180ºC/160ºC fan.
- Crack the egg into a jug or bowl then add in the milk and whisk together. Add in the flour and whisk again until you have a smooth batter. Add a pinch of salt to season and a little black pepper, if you fancy it.
- Add the butter to a small skillet then place in the oven/air fryer to preheat for 4-5 minutes.
- Once hot, pour the batter into the pan then place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until risen and slightly crisp around the edges, but still pale. Take the pan out and scatter the cheese over the pancake. Crack the egg on top then bake again for 7-10 minutes until the cheese has melted, the egg is as cooked as you would like and the pancake is golden.
- Remove from the oven and serve with the sour cream, fresh chives and a final crack of black pepper.
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Subscribe to my newsletter for weekly meal plans, for one! I select 5 one pot one portion recipes that use similar ingredients and include your shopping list plus recipe notes, ingredient swaps and tips and tricks for using up leftovers. Take a look at the first one here...
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Usually I would consider a brothy meal that you eat with a bowl and a spoon a form of comfort food, however, the flavours in this dish are so fresh and vibrant that it has to go in this chapter. I love the fiery freshness of ginger and it’s the predominant flavour in this rich chicken broth. The finished dish isn’t a soup as such, but there is just enough broth to make every mouthful deliciously juicy. It also takes minimal time to make so it’s a useful recipe to have on hand for days when you’re short of time.
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Creamy Green Linguine
In a way, this linguine changed my life. It was the first recipe in the series to take off on social media, bringing new people and new opportunities into my life. It’s an exceptionally simple recipe that uses the same water to cook both the pasta and the vegetables, which you then use to create a velvety, carbonara-esque sauce with the cheese and egg. I’ve retested this and tweaked it since its original conception and, though I can’t promise it will change your life, I can promise it will be delicious.
Vegetable Pancake with a Chilli Crisp Egg
This vegetable pancake has its origin in Korea (where they’re known as yachaejeon) and is the perfect dish to use up odds and ends of any vegetables you have lying around. Cabbage, spring onions, carrots and courgettes work really well and provide a nice balance of moisture and crunch, but peppers, potatoes, mushrooms or leafy greens are good alternatives. Depending on the vegetables you use, you may need more or less water to make the light batter so adjust as necessary.
Prawn & Mango Salad
The perfect fresh, but still flavourful, summer salad! This is a beautiful fragrant salad with a creamy, zingy coconut milk dressing. With just a little bit of chopping and a minute of whisking, you’ve got a gorgeous summer lunch, perfect for working from home, taking lunch to the office or a sunny meal in the garden this weekend.
Some big praise!
Take a look at what some of my happy customers have to say about "One Pot, One Portion"!
"One Pot One Portion is, to borrow from The Parent Trap “a brilliant beyond brilliant idea”…I know many feel that it’s too much bother to cook ‘just’ for themselves — a sad admission, I feel — and to those people, and many others besides, I say: get this book and prove yourself liberatingly wrong!…Thank goodness for books! And thank goodness for Eleanor Wilkinson, a young talent to lift the spirits…There are so many people who could benefit from this book…this book is a boon and a blessing"
"A genius approach to bringing joy to every meal, Eleanor gets that good food is the best form of self-love."
I buy a lot of cook books and this is genuinely one of the best l've ever bought. I've tried 6 or 7 recipes so far and they're all winners. I'm well used to scaling recipes down to one portion, but not having to calculate measurements as l go along feels like a little luxury. One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up! Highly recommended.
I have been following Eleanor on IG for a while and have made several of her dishes before the cookbook came out. I was thrilled to see so many new things to try and have already made about 6 of them. Her recipes are approachable, the dishes are delicious, and they make me feel like I can cook! Highly recommend.
If you love eating good home cooked food but can't be bothered to cook just for yourself, then this is the book for you. Using ingredients that are easy to find, then mixing, cooking and eating from the same pan or dish means a minimum of washing up. Every recipe I have tried so far has been delicious and have all turned out well which isn't always the case with many cookery books. Definitely recommend!
Following Eleanor on Instagram and seeing her recipes come to life is one thing but then having them in my own kitchen is quite another. Not only are the recipes easy to follow and delicious she also help you not to waste food. This book is like having all your favourite foods in one place with the added bonus of an old friend showing you the ropes. Congratulations Eleanor when can I pre-order the next one?
Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you eating!
Follow Eleanor on socials and knew I NEEDED this book immediately! SO glad I paid extra and had it shipped from the UK (to US). Eleanor's voice is loud and clear in every recipe. The pictures are beautiful, the instructions are perfectly clear, and I want to make EVERYTHING. I cannot recommend this book enough!
This is perfect, as far as influencer chefs go, I find this book refreshing in what has become a cohort of lauded influencers who really aren't doing much more than the bog standard meals most people make anyway, or making googled recipes and adding their own "flair". This book is different as it's your normal fare you'd likely make yourself, given a little bit of a twist to speed up the process / use less utensils / ingredients / food waste, in really creative and tasty ways, all perfectly portioned for one.
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you eating!
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you
Follow Eleanor on socials and knew I NEEDED this book immediately! SO glad I paid extra and had it shipped from the UK (to US). Eleanor's voice is loud and clear in every recipe. The pictures are beautiful, the instructions are perfectly clear, and I want to make EVERYTHING. I cannot recommend this book enough!
This recipe book is stunning and fulfils its role brilliantly in catering for individuals who want to eat delicious meals, but don't want to prepare family sized portions or devote their entire evening to cooking. Who'd believe you could make an entire roast for one person and only use one pan in the process! She is a genius and I couldn't recommend this book any more highly.
One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up!
This is the book I've been waiting for! I (very happily!) live alone, love to cook and read cookery books, but every recipe is for two people or more. This gorgeous book contains recipes perfectly proportioned for one person (and I'm always a very hungry one person!) which ensures more variety, less food waste, and pure, gluttonous joy.
It's so nice to finally have a recipe book that I can go to if I want a quick easy meal with minimal cleaning up required! Everything l've tried so far is delicious. And I salivate at the thought of everything in there!
Totally reignited my cooking mojo which had been MIA for a while. I'm going to buy my daughter a copy to take back to Uni too as everything is simple and delicious - perfect for a student!
Best cookbook for somebody single!
The fact I know I won't have loads to wash up really feels motivating and l've earmarked so many of the recipes already.
This book is like having all your favourite foods in one place with the added bonus of an old friend showing you the ropes. Congratulations Eleanor when can I pre-order the next one?