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Parmesan Popovers with Crispy Sage Garlic Butter…better known as the simple, 7 ingredient, melt in your mouth popovers that are roll your eyes back GOOD. These perfect parmesan popovers are light, airy, hinted with browned butter and parmesan cheese, and are SO delicious. Serve these cheesy popovers warm right out of the oven with homemade crispy sage and roasted garlic butter. Great for any night of the week from Sunday night dinner to an upcoming fall dinner party. You can’t go wrong with these popovers.
I made these on a Sunday with Sunday night dinner in mind. And while I wasn’t planning to share the recipe, I knew from the minute I pulled these cute little cheesy popovers out of the oven, that I indeed NEEDED to share this recipe.
Let me explain a little. Popovers have always been a food that both my mom and I have loved. I first made them way back when I had just started cooking. So around the age of 12 or 13? It was for our family’s Thanksgiving and I was in charge of the popovers and spaghetti squash. I remember the Williams-Sonoma recipe so clearly. I also remember the popovers being perfect, like so delicious.
But clearly I knew nothing back then, because those popovers score maybe a 2 in comparison to today’s parmesan popovers.
Oh. So. Good.
So why the need to make popovers in early October when I normally reserve them for Thanksgiving? Well, as I said, it was a Sunday. I’d been working non-stop since 9 am on some very fun Halloween recipes (more to come this Friday). I needed a break from all the sugar and something inspired me to make popovers. I’m not sure exactly what brought this on, but the idea of parmesan popovers with hints of browned butter, crispy sage, and garlic sound just delightful (not a word I really use, but it seems to describe these popovers perfectly).
About 5 minutes after dreaming up this recipe in my head, I was already browning butter and heating the oven in prep for popovers.
And about an hour later I had these popovers in front of me. Complete with crispy sage and “roasted” garlic butter for serving. I called my mom, because that’s what I do when I make popovers. She practically ran down to try these…delivering the final “oh my God, these are sooo good”, seal of approval.
And just like that the bestest (savory) popover was created. All in under an hour with almost no thought at all. I swear some of the best recipes are the ones I create on the fly. No overthinking, just take the initial idea and I run with it…I need to do this more often.
Here is how to make perfect parmesan popovers
The first step is key to this recipe. Brown some butter with garlic and fresh sage. As the butter browns, the garlic quickly caramelizes and the sage gets crispy. Reserve the garlic and sage for making the sage garlic butter, but use the browned butter within the actual popover batter.
Second step, position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Popovers rise a lot so it’s important to give them room! Now, add a pat of butter to each popover cup and then place the pan in the oven to preheat. Heating the popover pan ensures the popovers will pop in the oven. This is the 6 cup popover pan that I have and love. Here is the 12 cup popover pan if you want to double the recipe.
Tip: If you don’t have a popover pan, you can use a standard size muffin pan, but the popovers will be mini popovers. Still delicious, just smaller.
OK, next mix the batter, which is a basic mix of milk, flour, and eggs. BUT it’s made special with that browned butter, a little parmesan, and if you’d like, fresh black pepper. I prefer these minus the pepper so that the flavor of the browned butter and parmesan really shines through, but you do what you feel you will love most.
Add the batter to the hot popover pan and bake. About 40 minutes later you’ll have these popovers, and yes, your kitchen will smell amazing.
Ok, BUT. Let’s talk about that sage garlic butter…
Because it is very delicious and very much needed to complete these popovers.
Take the “roasted” garlic and crispy sage from the already browned butter and mix it into the softened, salted butter.
And now you have crispy sage garlic butter.
Tip: you will want to smear this on everything, so double it.
Simple, right?
By now I’ve made your mouth water, right? Or if not my words, you can’t deny those mouth-watering photos.
I hope so because I really cannot stress enough just how “roll your eyes back” good these popovers are. This is one of those recipes that you’ll look forward to making every fall. These popovers are warming, cozy, and so easy to make.
Plus, they go with pretty much any dinner you make. Slow cooker french chicken? Yes, for sure. Instant pot coq au vin? 100%. Creamy butternut and broccoli soup? Yep, great for dipping. Thanksgiving dinner? ABSOLUTELY.
You can’t go wrong.
Please do make these, and soon, I know you guys will love them.
Oh, and lastly, my mom suggests that you simply make and eat these…all on their own. They don’t need to be paired together with a meal…they can BE the meal!
If you make these parmesan popovers with crispy sage garlic butter, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Parmesan Popovers with Crispy Sage Garlic Butter
Servings: 6 (or 10 mini popovers)
Calories Per Serving: 325 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons, +6 tsp salted butter
- 1-2 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
- 8 fresh sage leaves
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (optional)
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
Instructions
- 1. Heat 2 tablespoons butter, the garlic, and sage in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the butter until it begins to brown and the sage is crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the garlic and sage from the skillet and reserve for making the sage garlic butter. 2. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 3. Place 1 teaspoon of butter in each cup of a 6 cup standard popover pan. Alternately, you can use a 12-cup muffin pans and make 10 mini popovers. Transfer the popover pan to the oven.4. In medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the milk and eggs until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the browned butter, flour, parmesan, salt, and pepper - if using, and whisk to combine. It's OK if there are small lumps. 5. Carefully remove the popover pan from the oven and carefully swirl the butter around the cups to grease the pan. Evenly divide the batter between the popover cups, filling them about 3/4 of the way full. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake another 15-20 minutes, until puffed, golden and crisp. 6. Meanwhile, make the sage butter. Mash the reserved garlic with a fork. Chop the crispy sage. Stir both the mashed garlic and sage together with 4 tablespoons butter.7. Serve the warm popovers immediately, with sage butter.
Notes
Makes 6 popovers or 10 mini popovers.
To Bring Eggs to Room Temperature: place the eggs in a bowl and fill with warm water. Let sit 5 minutes.
Popover Pans: this is the exact 6 cup popover pan that I have and love. Here is the 12 cup popover pan if you want to double the recipe.
This post was originally published on October 8, 2019
I made these tonight as a side for the beef I was serving for dinner. They are OUTSTANDING!!! So completely yummy. These will go in to my Sunday dinner rotation for sure!
Thank you so much Cindy!! xTieghan
Mine didn’t popover! So bummed. They taste delicious but don’t look as gorgeous as yours. Any ideas where I messed up?
Hey Paula,
So sorry you had issues with the recipe. Several things could have caused this: did you adjust the recipe at all? What kind of pan did you use? and Did you heat the pan prior to adding the batter? All of these would have an effect on whether the popovers popped! I hope this helps for next time:) xTieghan
I just made these and while they were delicious they didn’t rise 🙁 not sure what I did wrong
Hey Tory,
So sorry you had issues with the popovers. I am wondering if you adjusted the recipe at all? It is also key to heat the popover pan while making the batter. Let me know if this helps for next time! xTieghan
I made these popovers last night and while they were so delicious – they turned out “sunken” in. My only thought was that I didn’t warm the milk long enough? Anyone else have this issue?
Hey Claire,
I am so sorry you had issues with the popovers! I am wondering a few things: did you adjust the recipe at all, did you heat the pan prior to baking, and what kind of pan did you use? These all could affect how the popovers turned out. Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
This will be forever used!!
Love that!! Thank you so much Gloria! xTieghan
I saw this recipe yesterday and on a whim I decided to make them for our family dinner. I have NEVER made a popover, so needless to say I did not think it was going to work. Let me tell you, THEY ARE AMAZING. I cannot wait to make these again.. no no more like I NEED to make these again. The butter… speechless. Such a crowd pleaser and the house smelled amazing!! Thanks for sharing! Cannot wait to try more of your recipes!
I also used a normal muffin tin and they came out perfectly after 20 mins.
I am so glad these turned out so well for you, Kelly! Thank you so much for trying them!! xTieghan
Do you know if these can be made with gluten free flour successfully?
Hey Andi,
I would sub an equal amount of gluten free flour. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
My first attempt at popovers and these were delicious! They got rave reviews all around. I only had the muffin pan and it turned out fine (actually, I used half the batter in a normal muffin tin but only had a 6 cup muffin tin so the rest I did in a mini muffin tin… extra mini popovers! but both were delicious!(
Thank you so much Ashley!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I read through a ton of comments, so I apologize if this question was already answered.
Would these turn out with fresh ground wheat flour? It’s now the only flour I have available since purchasing our grain grinder.
Hey Darlene,
Yes that should work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi
Saw these today and just had to make them! They turned out really nice looking but mine were dense inside?? Any suggestions?
Hey Kim,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try. I am so sorry they were dense, did you adjust the recipe at all? The key to a light fluffy popover is heating the pan prior as well. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
Super easy to make. The brown butter gives it such a special touch. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thank you so much Luisa! xTieghan
So delicious! Mine turned out kind of ugly but tasted great. I had some extra batter and used it to make some yummy crepes!
Thank you Jess! I am really happy to hear that! xTieghan
Tge recipe says to add the browned butter along with the rest of the ingredients to the milk and eggs mixture. Is the browned butter whatever is left in the pan after sautéing the garlic and sage?
Hey Rebecca,
Yes, that is correct, just remove the garlic and sage. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Can you use flaxseed instead of egg with similar results? Thank you!
Hey Lalantika,
So sorry I have not tried this without the egg or substituting flax egg so I am unsure of the results. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Could you use unsweetened almond milk in place of the whole milk?
Hi Nicole,
Yes that will work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan