Pancakes aren’t hard to make, but there is something about the standing at the griddle measuring, pouring and flipping that can feel tedious somehow — especially if what you really want is to make a big batch to pop in the freezer for later use, and you’ve got other things on your to-do list that you’d like to take care of instead of standing there with a spatula in your hand. Enter the sheet pancake, a thick, fluffy, one-pan wonder that bakes itself without your help entirely.

Three things to note about this recipe:

  1.  You can absolutely make this same batter and use it for regular old pancakes.
  2. If you are hating the idea of separating eggs and folding in egg whites, skip it and just use 3 whole eggs instead. The pancake won’t be as fluffy, but it will still be good!
  3. You can do whatever mix-ins you’d like, and even do a couple of different mix-ins on the same sheet pan — just make sure to keep them in distinct sections when you add them.

3 cups all-purpose or white whole wheat flour, or a mixture of the two
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. each baking powder and baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs, separated
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 1/2-2 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter, melted

*Optional add-ins — you could go pretty crazy with this! Pictured is a banana-chocolate chip version, which uses about 3 medium sized, very ripe bananas and a half-cup or so of chocolate chips. Other versions might include a pint of blueberries or raspberries, swirls of jam or preserves, 2 tsp. of cinnamon and a half-cup of crushed nuts….

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center.
Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract, beating lightly. Stir in the yogurt and then gradually add the milk, stirring until the batter pours from the spoon in a thick ribbon. Depending upon the flour you use and other mysterious forces of pancake alchemy, sometimes this takes 1 1/2 cups of milk…sometimes it takes more.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, mixing until there are no further streaks of egg white and the whole mixture is light and fluffy.
Brush a large rimmed baking sheet with the melted butter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly.
Sprinkle any add-ons over the top of your sheet pancake.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, the top springs back when touched lightly, and the sides are just slightly pulling away from the pan.