Yorkshire Pudding Recipe | Perfect Every Time

Name: Yorkshire Puddings
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 140 g Plain Flour; 4 Medium Eggs; 200 ml Whole Milk; 100 ml Cold Water; 0.5 tsp Fine Salt; 4 tbsp Beef Dripping, Lard, or a neutral oil with a high smoke point, sunflower or vegetable - not olive oil

Yorkshire puddings are one of the great achievements of British cooking - crisp, golden, dramatically puffed shells of batter with a soft, eggy interior that are as much a part of a Sunday roast as the beef itself. Getting them right is a point of pride in British kitchens, and the difference between a good Yorkshire pudding and a great one comes down to a handful of non-negotiable principles that this recipe takes care of.

The method here is the result of understanding what makes Yorkshire puddings rise: the batter must be well-rested, the fat must be smoking hot before the batter goes in, and the oven door must stay closed for the entire cooking time. Follow these three rules and tall, dramatic, golden Yorkshire puddings are virtually guaranteed every time.

This recipe makes 12 individual puddings using a standard 12-hole muffin tin - the perfect size for a Sunday roast. The batter takes five minutes to mix and can be made well in advance, making it one of the most useful make-ahead components of a roast dinner. Serve alongside roast beef and gravy, or fill with sausages and onion gravy for a crowd-pleasing toad in the hole. All ingredients are standard supermarket staples.

Ingredients

For the batter

140 g Plain Flour
4 Medium Eggs
200 ml Whole Milk
100 ml Cold Water
0.5 tsp Fine Salt
4 tbsp Beef Dripping, Lard, or a neutral oil with a high smoke point , sunflower or vegetable - not olive oil

Method

Make the batter. In a large jug or bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs. Whisk from the centre outward, gradually incorporating the flour. Add the milk and water gradually, whisking continuously until you have a smooth, thin batter the consistency of single cream with no lumps. Transfer to a jug for easy pouring.

Tip: Using a mix of milk and water rather than all milk produces a slightly lighter, crispier batter. The water creates more steam during cooking, which helps the puddings rise dramatically.
Leave the batter to rest for at least 30 mins at room temperature - or overnight in the fridge for the best results. A rested batter allows the flour to fully hydrate and the gluten to relax, producing taller, more consistent puddings.

Tip: Resting the batter is not optional if you want tall, dramatic puddings. An unrested batter produces smaller, flatter puddings. Overnight in the fridge gives the very best results - the batter develops in flavour and the puddings rise even higher.
Preheat your oven to 220°C fan / 240°C conventional / Gas Mark 9 - this is non-negotiable. Yorkshire puddings need extreme heat to rise. Place a 12-hole muffin tin in the oven with approximately ½ tsp of fat in each hole. Heat for at least 10–15 mins until the fat is smoking hot.

Tip: Smoking hot fat is the single most critical factor in Yorkshire puddings that rise. If the fat is not at smoking point when the batter hits it, the puddings will not rise properly. The fat should be visibly shimmering and beginning to smoke when you pull the tin from the oven.
Working quickly, remove the tin from the oven and immediately pour the batter into each hole, filling each about halfway - the batter should sizzle dramatically on contact with the hot fat. Return to the oven immediately.

Tip: Speed is essential at this stage. Every second the tin spends out of the oven, the fat cools. Have the batter in a pouring jug, the oven door open, and move through the tin as fast as possible. The dramatic sizzle when the batter hits the fat is the sound of a good Yorkshire pudding being born.
Bake for 18–20 mins until dramatically risen, deeply golden, and crisp all over. Do not open the oven door at any point during cooking - the drop in temperature will cause the puddings to collapse and they will not recover.

Tip: The oven door rule is absolute. Resist every temptation to peek. If you have an oven light, use it to check progress from outside. Opening the door before 18 mins is the most common cause of collapsed Yorkshire puddings.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately - Yorkshire puddings begin to deflate after a few minutes out of the oven, so have everything else ready to go before they come out.

Alternatives & Variations

Use sunflower or vegetable oil instead of beef dripping or lard - significantly reduces saturated fat with no meaningful impact on rise or flavour
Swap 70g of the plain flour for wholemeal flour - adds fibre; the puddings will be very slightly less light but still rise well
Reduce to 3 eggs and increase the milk by 30ml - marginally reduces fat and calories with a minimal effect on the finished pudding

Replace the whole milk with unsweetened oat milk or soy milk - both work well in Yorkshire pudding batter and produce excellent results. Oat milk gives a slightly richer flavour. Use beef dripping, lard, or a neutral vegetable oil rather than butter. The puddings rise just as well with plant-based milk and are essentially dairy free when made with oil or dripping.

Swap the plain flour for a gluten free plain flour blend - Doves Farm works reasonably well, though gluten free Yorkshire puddings are more prone to collapsing than the standard version as gluten provides the structural support that allows the puddings to hold their risen shape. Adding ½ tsp of xanthan gum to the gluten free flour helps with structure. The results are not identical to the standard version but are significantly better than most people expect.

FAQs

Just 25 mins of active prep and cooking, plus at least 30 mins of resting time - overnight in the fridge gives the best results. The actual cooking time is only 18–20 mins, making them one of the quickest components of a Sunday roast to cook.

Rated Intermediate - not because the technique is complicated, but because there are several non-negotiable rules that must be followed for a good result. The batter must be rested, the fat must be smoking hot, and the oven door must stay closed. Follow these three rules and they're virtually foolproof.

Almost always one of three reasons: the fat wasn't hot enough when the batter went in (it must be smoking); the oven temperature was too low (220°C fan minimum); or the oven door was opened during cooking. Resting the batter also plays a role - an unrested batter produces notably flatter puddings.

Yes - they freeze brilliantly. Cool completely, then freeze in a zip-lock bag for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen in the oven at 200°C fan for 4–5 mins until crisp and hot. They come back remarkably well and are one of the most useful freezer staples for a Sunday roast or midweek sausage and gravy dinner.

Yes - in fact the batter is better for resting. Make it the night before and keep it covered in the fridge. Remove it 10–15 mins before cooking to take the chill off slightly. The longer resting time produces taller, more flavourful puddings.

Beef dripping gives the most flavour and is the most traditional choice. Lard also works brilliantly. For a vegetarian version, a neutral oil with a high smoke point - sunflower or vegetable - works very well and produces excellent rise. Never use olive oil - its smoke point is too low and the puddings will not rise properly.