Toad in the Hole
Juicy sausages baked into a light, golden Yorkshire pudding batter with sweet caramelized onions. A simple, budget-friendly British family classic.
- 150 g plain flour
- 3 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 200 ml milk
- 12 sausages
- 2 onions, finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Pour the oil into an ovenproof dish and place it in the oven for a few minutes to heat through while you get the sausages ready — a hot dish is what gives the batter its initial lift once it goes in later.
- Carefully place the sausages into the hot dish along with the sliced onion, then return it to the oven and cook for 20 minutes. This head start browns the sausages and softens the onion before the batter is added, so neither ends up undercooked once the whole dish finishes baking.
- While the sausages cook, make the batter: sieve the flour into a bowl to remove any lumps, then add the eggs and a pinch of salt. Pour in the milk slowly, whisking as you go, and once all the milk is incorporated, keep whisking until the batter is completely smooth with no dry pockets of flour remaining.
- Remove the dish from the oven and immediately pour the batter around the sausages — working quickly here matters, since a hot dish and hot fat are what make the batter puff up properly. Return it to the oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes, until the Yorkshire batter has risen tall and turned deep golden and crisp.
Chef's Note: Toad in the hole is really just a Yorkshire pudding with sausages baked into it, and the same rules apply: a properly hot dish and hot fat before the batter goes in are what make it puff up dramatically rather than sitting flat and dense. Resist the urge to open the oven door while it bakes — a sudden drop in temperature is the most common reason the batter deflates before it's had a chance to set.
This is proper budget comfort food — a handful of pantry staples and a pack of sausages stretch into a full family dinner. Serve it straight from the dish with onion gravy and mashed potatoes or peas for the classic version, and if you have leftover batter, it also works beautifully on its own as plain Yorkshire puddings.
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