Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Casserole

This fluffy blueberry Buttermilk pancake casserole is layered with juicy berries and finished with a sweet brown sugar crumble on top. It’s the easiest way to serve pancakes to a crowd without standing at the stove for hours. Perfect for weekend brunch, holiday mornings, or even meal prep for the week.

Love More Blueberry Recipes ? Try My Blueberry Biscuits or this Blueberry Cookies next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Think of all the flavors of buttermilk pancakes—vanilla, blueberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup—baked into one dish. The texture is thick, fluffy, and bursting with juicy berries under a golden crumb topping. It’s an easy, no-fuss way to feed a crowd, and the leftovers reheat beautifully for another cozy morning.

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Ingredient List

Crumb Topping

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Pancake Casserole

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• ½ cup milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1-2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ⅔ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

No buttermilk? Regular milk plus two tablespoons vinegar. Let it sit five minutes till it gets chunky. Frozen berries work great but don’t thaw them first or you’ll get purple streaks everywhere. Trust me on this one.

Why These Ingredients Work

Buttermilk makes this fluffy. The acid reacts with the baking soda and creates these air bubbles that make it light instead of dense. Regular milk mixed in keeps it from being too tangy.

Lemon zest might seem weird but it makes the blueberries taste more like blueberries. Like it wakes them up or something. Don’t skip it.

The crumb topping isn’t just for looks. It gives you crispy edges and sweet bits that make every bite interesting. My kids always eat those parts first.

Both baking powder and baking soda are important. Different chemical reactions. Both needed for maximum puff. Old baking powder makes flat pancakes so check the date.

The combination of buttermilk and regular milk is key. All buttermilk would be too sour. All regular milk wouldn’t have enough acid for the baking soda to work with. This ratio is perfect.

Fresh blueberries are great but frozen ones work just as well. Sometimes better because they hold their shape. Don’t thaw frozen ones though. They’ll leak juice and turn everything purple. Learned that the hard way.

Essential Tools and Equipment

Big pan, 2 bowls, whisk, measuring cups, grater.

You need a 9×13 inch baking dish. Glass or metal, doesn’t matter. I use glass because I like seeing how golden the bottom gets.

Two mixing bowls – one medium, one large. The large one for the batter, medium for the crumb topping.

A whisk for mixing dry ingredients. You could use a fork but a whisk is faster and gets everything combined better.

Regular measuring cups and spoons. Nothing fancy.

A microplane grater or the small holes on a box grater for the lemon zest. Don’t use the big holes or you’ll get chunks instead of zest.

That’s it. No special equipment. No stand mixer. Just basic stuff you probably already have.

How To Make Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Casserole

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Grease your pan with butter, not cooking spray. Butter tastes better.

Make the crumb topping first

Mix flour, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Pour in melted butter and stir with a fork until it looks like wet sand. Put this in the fridge while you make the batter so it stays cold.

In your big bowl

Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Make sure there are no lumps.

In another bowl

Beat the eggs first, then add buttermilk, regular milk, melted butter, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients

Stir gently with a spoon or spatula until just combined. It should look lumpy. Don’t overmix or you’ll get tough pancakes.

Pour batter into your greased pan and spread it around evenly

Sprinkle the blueberries on top. They’ll sink a little which is perfect. Take the crumb topping out of the fridge and crumble it over everything.

Baking

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and springs back when you touch it lightly. A toothpick stuck in the middle should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

Let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting

I know it’s hard to wait but it needs to set up or it’ll fall apart when you serve it.

The smell while it’s baking is incredible. Like a bakery in your kitchen. Your family will start wandering in asking when it’s ready.

You Must Know

Don’t overmix the batter. Seriously. Stir just until the flour disappears. Lumps are fine. Overmixed batter makes tough, dense pancakes instead of fluffy ones.

Room temperature ingredients mix better but if you forgot to take the eggs out, put them in warm water for five minutes.

The lemon zest makes a huge difference. Zest it right over the wet ingredients so all those oils go into the batter instead of onto your counter.

Make sure your baking powder is fresh. If it’s over six months old, it might not work well. Test it by adding a teaspoon to hot water. It should bubble up immediately.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Keep berries frozen if using frozen ones. Room temperature eggs mix better but warm them in hot water if you forgot. Fresh baking powder is crucial – old stuff won’t lift properly. Line with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Cool melted butter slightly so it doesn’t scramble the eggs.

Don’t open the oven door for the first 30 minutes. It needs that steady heat to puff up properly. Opening the door lets cold air in and can make it sink.

If you want extra crispy edges, butter the sides of the pan really well. The batter will climb up the sides a little and get golden and crispy there.

You can tell it’s done when the top springs back lightly when touched and the edges start pulling away from the sides of the pan slightly.

Let it rest the full 10 minutes before cutting. It’s still cooking from residual heat during this time and will set up properly.

Cut with a sharp knife in clean strokes. Don’t saw back and forth or you’ll make a mess.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Mixed berries instead of just blueberries. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries all work great. Chocolate chips are amazing – use mini ones so they don’t sink. Apple chunks with extra cinnamon in fall. Double the lemon zest and add two tablespoons lemon juice for serious lemon flavor. Banana slices and chopped walnuts on top before baking.

My kids love the chocolate chip version. I use about a cup of mini chocolate chips and add an extra half teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter. Tastes like chocolate chip pancakes.

The apple version is perfect for fall. Dice two medium apples and toss them with a little cinnamon and sugar before adding to the batter. Add an extra teaspoon of cinnamon to the crumb topping too.

For the lemon version, add two tablespoons fresh lemon juice to the wet ingredients and double the zest. Makes it bright and tangy. Great with fresh berries on top when serving.

Banana walnut is my husband’s favorite. Slice two bananas and layer them with the blueberries. Add half a cup chopped walnuts to the crumb topping. The bananas get soft and sweet in the oven.

Make-Ahead Options

Make tonight, bake tomorrow. Cover with plastic wrap, stick in fridge, add 10 minutes to baking time. You can freeze the whole unbaked thing for up to 2 months.

This is perfect for holiday mornings when you don’t want to be cooking while everyone else is opening presents or sleeping in. Assemble it Christmas Eve, bake it Christmas morning while you make coffee.

To freeze, wrap the whole dish tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Label it with the date and baking instructions. When you want to bake it, thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake as normal, maybe adding 5 extra minutes.

You can also bake it completely, let it cool, then freeze individual pieces. Reheat in the microwave for about a minute per piece. Great for busy mornings when you want something homemade but don’t have time to cook.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

This recipe is pretty forgiving. If your buttermilk is really thick, thin it with regular milk. High altitude people need to use three-quarters teaspoon baking powder and add two extra tablespoons flour.

Don’t skip the lemon zest. I know it seems like a small thing but it really makes the flavors pop. The difference is noticeable.

The crumb topping should be cold when it goes on the casserole. That’s why we put it in the fridge while making the batter. Cold butter pieces create better texture as they melt in the oven.

If you don’t have a 9×13 pan, you can use a 10-inch cast iron skillet or two 8-inch square pans. Adjust the baking time accordingly – smaller pans will bake faster.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with maple syrup, butter, whipped cream, whatever you like. Powdered sugar makes it look fancy for company. Goes great with bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, or Greek yogurt if you want something lighter.

My family likes it with warm maple syrup and butter. The kids put way too much syrup on theirs but whatever. It’s a weekend treat.

For company, I dust it with powdered sugar right before serving and put out bowls of fresh berries, whipped cream, and warm syrup. Looks impressive but I know it was actually easy to make.

It’s also good cold the next day. My kids eat leftover pieces for after-school snacks. Sometimes I warm pieces in the microwave for 30 seconds but it’s fine cold too.

How to Store Your Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Casserole

Leave on counter for up to 2 hours max. After that, cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Individual pieces freeze well for up to 2 months – wrap them separately. Reheat in oven at 350 for 10 minutes or microwave individual pieces for 30-60 seconds.

The texture is best the day you make it but leftovers are still good. Sometimes I make it on Sunday and we eat pieces throughout the week for quick breakfasts.

If reheating the whole thing, cover with foil so the top doesn’t get too dark. If reheating individual pieces, a damp paper towel over them in the microwave keeps them from drying out.

Allergy Information

Contains gluten from flour, dairy from buttermilk and milk and butter, plus eggs. For gluten-free, substitute with 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend. For dairy-free, use plant milk and dairy-free butter – there are good buttermilk substitutes now. For egg-free, use quarter cup applesauce per egg but texture will be different.

I’ve made the gluten-free version for my celiac neighbor and it worked great. Couldn’t tell the difference. The dairy-free version is trickier because you lose some of the tang from the buttermilk but still good.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can you use frozen berries?

Yes, don’t thaw them first.

Why is mine dense instead of fluffy?

You overmixed the batter, stir less next time.

Can you double the recipe?

Yes, cover and refrigerate, add 10 minutes to baking time. The most common mistake is overmixing. People think they need smooth batter like for regular pancakes but this should be lumpy. Mix just until the flour disappears.

Another question I get is about the pan size. You really need the 9×13. Smaller pans will overflow and bigger pans will make it too thin.

Some people ask about making it healthier. You could use whole wheat flour for half the all-purpose flour. Greek yogurt instead of some of the milk. But honestly, it’s a weekend treat. Don’t stress about making it healthy.

💬 Made this recipe? Drop a comment below and let me know what you thought! Did your family love it as much as mine does?