How to make Yorkshire puddings

A homemade Yorkshire pudding is the crowning glory of a satisfying Sunday lunch. But even though they’ve been a favourite part of roast dinners for years, advice differs over what makes the best Yorkshire pud.

If you search for Yorkshire pudding recipe on Google you get 8.5 million results. BBC Good Food has 24 recipes at the time of writing. 

Recipes are all based on the basic Yorkshire pudding batter of eggs, flour, milk and some oil or fat. But varying quantities will give you crispier or fluffier Yorkshire puddings.

Our advice is to keep trying different recipes until you find your favourite. 

Below is our basic starter recipe for easy Yorkshire puddings, which will make enough for two people to enjoy. 

We've also included tips and links below to favourite recipes from top chefs, including James Martin and Mary Berry, for when you want to experiment a bit.

Find out which is the best red wine to pair with your roast dinner.

How to make Yorkshire puddings

1. Put the flour into a mixing bowl, then lightly beat the egg with a fork and add it to the flour. 
2. Add half the milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth and lump-free.
3. Then add the other half of the milk and whisk again.
4. Season with a little salt and pepper.
5. Pour the batter into a jug. Then leave it to stand for 10 minutes in the fridge.
6. Meanwhile, switch your oven on and set it to the highest possible temperature.
7. Drizzle a dot of oil, or add half a teaspoon of dripping or lard, into four of the holes in a non-stick muffin tin. Pop the tin into your oven until you see that the oven has reached its hottest temperature.
8. Carefully remove the tin, and pour the batter evenly into the holes with the oil or lard. The batter should come about half way up each hole.
9. Place the tin back in the oven, immediately turn the temperature down to 230°C/Gas 7 and cook for 20 minutes until the puddings have risen and browned. Do not open the oven during cooking.
10. Serve immediately.

For enough for Yorkshire puddings for two people (four puddings), you'll need:

• 1 large egg
• 55g plain flour
• 75ml milk
• Sunflower oil, rapeseed oil or dripping/lard
• Non-stick muffin tin

Yorkshire puddings: top cooking tips

Don’t open the oven

Keep the oven door closed when cooking your puddings. This is to keep the temperature high and to avoid them losing their rise.

Always heat up the fat

Make sure the fat and the tin are heated thoroughly before you add the batter.

What flour should I use?

Plain flour is what's recommended for Yorkshire puddings.

Should I chill the batter?

If you want taller, crispier puddings, keep your batter warm before cooking it. Chilling your batter in the fridge will make for denser, cup-like puddings.

Should I add water or not?

If you like a crispier Yorkshire pudding, try swapping some of the milk for water. Some people use equal parts water and milk, but it really depends on your preference. 

Should I leave the batter to rest overnight?

For puds with a taller, stretchier interior, allow your batter to rest for a few hours, or even overnight. Don’t panic if you don’t have time, though – you’ll still be able to make delicious puddings without that long a rest. But make sure you do allow some time.

What fat should I cook with?

The more solid the fat, the crispier your puddings are likely to be. For example, puddings baked with beef fat will be more structured than puddings baked with vegetable oil.

If your current oven's not up to the job, head straight to our best single ovens.

More Yorkshire pudding recipes 

How to make a Yorkshire pudding wrap

If you fancy something a little different this Sunday, why not try a Yorkshire pudding wrap? It's essentially a Yorkshire pudding pancake, and is a great way to use up leftovers from Sunday dinner.

For two wraps, simply triple the quantity of batter in our Yorkshire pudding recipe above.

Instead of using a muffin tray to cook it in, heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a 40 x 30cm roasting tin until hot, as per our recipe, and then pour in your batter mix.

Cook for 20 minutes. When you remove it from the oven, take the pudding out of the tray and flatten it with the back of a large metal or wooden spoon. Then cut it into two equal portions.

Fill with leftovers from your Sunday roast, either heated up or cold, according to preference. Roll it up like a wrap, and serve.

Follow our tips on how to make roast potatoes.