How to Make Toads in a Hole

Traditional toads in a hole are sausages baked in a Yorkshire pudding. We made them easier and quicker with a mix. You can have your toads in the oven in minutes‚ It's as fast as you can add milk and eggs to a mix and stir. They're quicker than pancakes‚ quick enough for the busiest morning. They're ready to come out of the oven in 15 minutes or less.

Toads in a hole are a bucket of fun!

I had a ton of fun feeding them to the troops, (that is, the employees.) The name is fun, they're new and different, and there is so much you can create with them. And they are so easy.

You Can Invent Toads in a Hole Forever

For me, toads seem like breakfast food, though it makes easy lunches or dinners as well. The mini toad with a white sauce is an example of what lunch toads could look like. Put little cocktail sausages in it and pour gravy on top, and you have a full meal. And you can make any serving size.

We started out with a 9-inch x13-inch pan because that's the volume we use in a pannekoeken/German pancake recipe. Then, we graduated down to smaller pans and even jumbo muffin pans to make individual servings. Along the way, we tried adding apples, bacon, cheese, or scrambled eggs.

You can also upscale them using full-size hot dogs. In England, they use different cuts of meat.

Get the Whole Family of Toads

We invented a whole family of toads recipes here! We've got classic toads, toads for two, and individual toads. You'll be excited about what you find!

Toads, scrambled eggs, and a side of potatoes

Use Any Smooth Pan for Toads in a Hole

We're kind of stuck on three pans: a 9 x13-inch glass pan you can see here, a similar 8 x 8-inch pan, and a jumbo muffin pan. But you don't have to stick with these. I suspect you could make toads in a tin can. You just have to balance the amount of batter to the size of the pan. Leave plenty of room (at least 50%) for the batter to climb up the side walls. So, you can use your favorite baking dish.

The smoother the sides and the more rounded the radius of the bottom to the sides, the more the batter will climb. 

The higher the batter climbs, the thinner the crust and the quicker it bakes. We'll give you a range of baking times. Don't open the oven (and let the heat escape) until you get to the bottom of the range. Then crack the oven just a bit and look in. Keep baking until crust starts to brown.

What about German pancakes?

German pancakes are like Yorkshire pudding, Close enough. And we're in the mix business, big time. We have a German pancake mix that we love, so why not make it quicker, faster, easier with a German pancake mix?

With one two-pound pannekoeken mix you can make nine 12-inch pannekoeken/German pancakes or nine of our favorite toads in a hole recipes. That's a lot of food, without a lot of money. Plus, they're so darned good and so easy.

Our Favorite Toads in a Hole Recipe

We like the ratio of meat to batter here are three sausages (our favorite is brats) in a three-egg batter in a 9√ó13-inch pan.

For the meat lovers out there, you can use six sausages instead of three. We tried six sausages too. They ended up as dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 full-sized brats or similar fully cooked sausages (or more brats if you prefer)
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup German pancake mix

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. (Make sure the oven is hot; the batter needs the steam to expand.)
2. Place the eggs, milk, and mix in a medium bowl. Stir until it is mixed. A few lumps may remain.
3. Place the butter in a 9√ó13-inch baking pan. For the best shape, use a glass pan with rounded corners so that the batter can creep up the sides as it expands.
4. Place the pan in the oven and let the pan heat just until the butter melts. Do not scorch the butter.
5. Take the hot pan from the oven and immediately pour the batter into the pan. Do not let the pan cool.
6. Position the sausages in the pan leaving space around the sausages and without getting batter on top of the sausages. Return the pan to the oven.
7. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until the upper edges of the batter browns.
8. Remove the pan from the oven. Slip a thin-bladed spatula under the casserole to loosen any sticking spots and then drag the casserole from the pan to a cutting board or platter. Slice and serve hot.

Variations on Toads in a Hole

We love maple or buttermilk syrup on our toads. Toads love to swim in syrup. For a wonderfully complete breakfast, pile some cheesy scrambled eggs on the toads after they come from the oven. And a little maple syrup doesn’t hurt the eggs either.

Try other sausages of your choosing. You may add seasonings or other inclusions to the batter as well.

• taco seasoning and cooked chorizo sausage
• Italian seasoning and Italian sausage
• sliced chicken breast and country gravy
• breakfast toads with crumbled bacon pieces and/or diced apples