Sweet & Savory Sourdough Griddle Cakes

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A Dinner without Complaints? Yes, please!

There are very few dinners in our house that receive zero complaints. When you have 4 little humans with BIG opinions, dinner can be a challenge. But breakfast for dinner is one of those meals that everyone can get excited about. And it definitely helps that I really enjoy cooking breakfast foods of all types.

The Most Delicious Sweet & Savory Sourdough Griddle Cakes

Griddle cakes are basically just pancakes with a fancier name. And our family LOVES pancakes. Buttermilk pancakes. Sourdough pancakes. Blueberry pancakes. Chocolate chip pancakes. Yum! But sometimes, I just don’t want something as sweet as dessert for dinner. I love anything that is a little sweet and a little salty. Who’s with me? Enter these amazing griddle cakes.

These little cakes are packed with the flavor of sourdough, the salty savoriness of the bacon, the sweetness of the corn, the creaminess of melted cheese, and just a touch of heat. Top them with maple syrup and hot sauce – they are just so good. You really have to try them!

Let’s Make Some Griddle Cakes!

So first thing’s first. Start with some bacon. Some GOOD bacon. In this particular batch, I used Garrett’s bacon ends. Bacon ends are the delicious little scraps at the end of the seasoned, smoked pork belly that don’t work as slices. But they are so flavorful and work great in any recipe that calls for chopped bacon – or for ham – or in soups – or on/in a burger – or really anywhere you want some extra bacon flavor. But I digress…

If you’re starting with strips of bacon, first you will need to chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Next, fry the bacon. I like to get it nice and crispy, so in this recipe I cook until the fat is completely rendered and the bacon is beginning to brown. Then to the pan I add the onions, and cook until the bacon is nice and crispy and onions are translucent and soft. Pause here. Take a moment to savor that delicious bacon & onion scent…mmmm. Drain the grease from the bacon and onions, but I highly recommend saving some of the bacon grease to use as the oil in your griddle cakes. Waste not, want not. And also – it adds more bacon flavor!

Now for some multitasking! While the bacon is cooking, whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl – flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and chopped green onions. Next, in a separate bowl, you will whisk the wet ingredients – milk, eggs, sourdough discard, honey, hot sauce, and bacon grease or oil. Then, pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir just until combined. Do not over-mix!

While your batter is resting for a few minutes, preheat your griddle or pan to 350 (or med/high heat), and coat with bacon grease, butter, or oil. If you need to shred your cheese, now’s the time! Drain and rinse the corn if you haven’t already done so. Finally add to your batter bowl your mix-ins: the shredded cheese, corn, and half of the bacon & onion mixture. Be sure to reserve the other half of the cooked bacon & onions for topping your griddle cakes – you won’t be sorry! Fold in gently. The batter will be thick!

Now it’s time to put the griddle cakes on the hot griddle! Scoop about 1/4 cup for each pancake. I like to use an ice cream scoop to cut down on the mess. These will not be perfectly round like pancakes, but that’s ok! Cook for around 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through. One tip for knowing your griddle cakes or pancakes are ready to flip – look for dry edges at the bottom. Then, after flipping your griddle cakes and cooking for several more minutes, gently press down in center with your finger or spatula. If you leave a dent, they’re not quite ready. If they bounce back, they are cooked in the middle, and ready to eat!

To serve your griddle cakes, top with the remaining bacon/onion mixture and green onions (I also added a bit more corn). Drizzle with maple syrup and your favorite hot sauce (optional, but highly recommended!) – Tabasco sweet & spicy is my newest favorite, and is what I used in this recipe. Devour your griddle cakes, and enjoy a sweet-savory fuss-free meal.

I hope you will love these as much as we did!

Learn from my griddle cake mistakes!

So here’s the thing. I’m not a perfect food blogger. I make messes. And mistakes. Lots of them! I could pretend to have it all together. But let’s be real – that’s just no my style. Instead, when I share a recipe, I will share my mistakes and messes so that others can learn from them, too. I hope it will make the recipes just a tad more approachable, and maybe even save you some time and frustration at some point!

1. So I took out all my ingredients to take a picture. Then left them on the counter while I cooked the bacon. And then went to grate the cheese right at the end of the recipe. And guess what – it was soft and really difficult to shred. It gummed up my grater, and was much harder to clean. Don’t make my mistake! Keep your cheese in the fridge until you’re ready to shred it!
2. Don’t forget to thaw your bacon if it’s frozen! I’m always forgetting to thaw things in advance. I totally forgot to pull the bacon ends out early enough for them to thaw. Luckily just a few minutes in a cool water bath did the trick, but it would have made my life easier if I had planned ahead!

Onion Cutting Tips!

These onions were particularly potent, so I had to bust out my favorite tricks for saving my eyes while cutting onions! First, place your onion in the freezer for 10 minutes before you need to cut it. Next, turn on your vent fan (or open a window) for some ventilation. Finally, if you use essential oils, place an open bottle of Thieves by your cutting board before you begin chopping. Feel free to cry because these griddle cakes are so good, but there is no use crying over cut onions!

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Sweet & Savory Sourdough Griddle Cakes

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Breakfast for Dinner – Southern Food

By Lagniappe Table – Serves: 18 griddle cakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 40 minutes – Total Time: 50 minutes

These little griddle cakes are packed with salty bacon, sweet corn, melty cheese, savory onions, and just a touch of heat. Delicious served with maple syrup and your favorite hot sauce!

Ingredients

• 1 lb bacon ends or bacon (cut into small bite-sized pieces)
• 1 medium or 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper*
• 6 Tbsp chives or green onions, finely chopped, divided
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sourdough discard
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 - 1 tsp Tabasco or other hot sauce*
• 3 Tbsp bacon grease or other oil
• 3/4 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 3/4 cups fresh corn, or 1 can corn drained & rinsed
• Maple Syrup
• Tabasco Sweet & Spicy or other favorite hot sauce*
• *optional

Instructions

1

Fry bacon in a pan over medium-high heat until fat is rendered and bacon is beginning to brown. Add onions and cook until onions are translucent, and bacon bits are crispy. Drain, but save grease for later! Set aside to cool.

2

While bacon mixture is cooking, combine dry ingredients in a large bowl: 1 1/2 c flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 4 Tbsp chopped green onions. Whisk well.

3

In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients: 1 cup milk, 2 eggs, 1 cup sourdough discard, 2 Tbsp honey, hot sauce to taste, 3 Tbsp bacon grease or other oil.

4

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Do not over-mix!

5

Pre-heat griddle to 350 or pan to medium-high heat.

6

Reserve half of the bacon mixture for topping. Add the other half of the bacon mixture, cheese, and corn to batter. Fold in gently. Batter will be thick!

7

Grease or butter hot griddle/pan. Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each griddle cake. Cook each cake 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through.

8

To serve, top with bacon/onion mixture and green onions. Drizzle with your choice of maple syrup, hot sauce, or a combination of the two.

Notes

If you don't have sourdough discard, you can leave it out. Simply substitute 1/2 cup flour & 1/3 cup milk in place of the sourdough discard.

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