Pancake Day recipes from Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and other celebrity chefs
One of our favourite days of the year – Pancake Day – is here.
Set on Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day is the traditional feast before the first day of Lent on Ash Wednesday.
Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, which is why in 2024 it's being celebrated on 13 February.
Historically, the tradition was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before Lent began, which is how Pancake Day came to be.
Even the Royal Family celebrates Pancake Day, with their official Instagram account previously sharing pancake recipes with royal chef-approval.
These include jam and cream pancakes, classic lemon and sugar pancakes, as well as savoury ham, leek and cheese options.
Celebrity chefs have previously revealed their go-to Pancake Day recipes – including Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay. Read on to see our favourite chef-approved pancakes.
Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson championed Swedish pancakes for the traditional celebration.
In January 2023 she shared that she had teamed up with OcadoLife to put together a recipe for the sweet treat.
"I’m already gearing up for #PancakeDay (not long now!) and in case you want to do likewise, here is my recipe for Swedish Pancakes, written exclusively for @ocadouk and now in February’s OcadoLife, which is available by searching OcadoLife on ocado.com," she wrote alongside an accompanying picture of the delicious looking pancakes.
Lawson says that while they look like French crêpe-style pancakes, she serves them as the Swedes do, either rolled into a cigar shape or folded, and suggests two scrummy-sounding fillings: cream cheese and lemon curd, and glazed blueberries, cream and toasted almonds.
While she also loves a classic lemon and sugar crepe-style pancake, the TV chef has previously recommended her American Breakfast Pancakes to start the day off with a sugar hit.
You can find the full recipe on nigella.com
Jamie Oliver
As well as an incredible folded pancake recipe, Jamie Oliver shared a recipe for gluten free crepes.
"A recipe lots of you have asked me for over the years and the good news is all you need is 3 ingredients and one cup, and you're left with the fluffiest pancakes in just minutes take a look!!" he wrote alongside a demonstration video shared to Instagram.
"Full recipe link in my bio. The question is, who's holding out until #PancakeDay or getting in a practice run this weekend hahaha??"
For the time-pressed, the TV chef previously revealed four different ways to make one-cup pancakes. In an Instagram video, Oliver shows how to make thick and fluffy pancakes, wicked waffles, pancake sandwiches and classic crepes in a cup – perfect for when you want smaller portions.
Gordon Ramsay
The TV chef previously shared via Instagram that he considers Pancake Day "one of the most important days" in his household.
In the same demonstration video Ramsay showed his followers exactly how to make classic crepe-style pancakes – and how to flip them.
His toppings of choice are strawberries and lemon topped with honey.
Melissa Hemsley
Melissa Hemsley, one half of the Hemsley + Hemsley sister duo with Jasmine Hemsley, is a cookbook author and frequently shares health recipes on her social media.
For Pancake Day, she recommended her banana oat pancakes, which incorporate oat or buckwheat flour for added fibre.
"Pancake Day is just around the corner and I'm already thinking about how many different types of pancakes (savoury, sweet, fluffy ones, thin ones) I can fit into one day," she wrote.
"These ones are a must!"
Ravneet Gill
The Bake Off star also previously shared recipes for fans to test out.
"Crepes are my personal fave," she wrote on Instagram. "Here with caramelised blood oranges & crème fraîche. If not simple lemon & sugar."
She also shared a pancake hack she's picked up along the way.
"The trick I’ve always been told is to add double cream to the batter and to let it rest for at least an hour before cooking," Gill added.
The pastry chef's other crepe recipe is topped with caramelised peaches and a healthy dollop of cream. Yum!
Emma Hatcher
For those following a low-FODMAP diet [reduces certain carbs hard to digest], Emma Hatcher of @shecanteatwhat previously shared her low-FODMAP pancakes with pineapple and papaya compote and cardamom yoghurt.
Read more about Pancake Day:
Time to get the frying pan out! This is when Pancake Day will be in 2024 (Oxford Mail, 2-min read)
It's Pancake Day! See Kate Middleton's Flipping Skills on One of Her First-Ever Royal Outings (People, 2-min read)
Buckingham Palace chefs reveal royal way to enjoy pancakes for Shrove Tuesday (Yahoo Life UK, 3-min read)
