Close your eyes and imagine a dish of tender seafood, mixed with a savoury cheese sauce, rolled in pancakes and grilled in the oven until the cheese melts and turns golden. Have I got your attention? Read on and see how to make this delicious dish of cheesy seafood-stuffed pancakes yourself!
This recipe for seafood-stuffed pancakes is one of my all-time favourite meals. I've been making it for years, along with my savoury mince-stuffed pancakes. When the children were younger I only had to mention the word 'pancakes' and I knew I'd be guaranteed empty plates all round.
What I love about this recipe is how easy it is to make. You simply combine seafood (mussels, clams, prawns (shrimp), even crab sticks) in a tasty cheesy parsley sauce, fold it in between pancakes, cover it with the remaining sauce and grated cheese, and bake it in the oven until the cheese is melted and golden.
The pancakes we use are soft thin pancakes which are similar to a French crepe, not the thicker fluffy American variety. If you have your own recipe for this type of pancake, you can use that, or if you need a recipe, follow this link for my recipe on how to make pancakes. If you don't want to make pancakes yourself, you can buy ready-made pancakes from any large supermarket. Do make sure they don't contain sugar though - you don't want to be making a savoury dish with sweet pancakes.
I use pre-cooked seafood from the chiller section of my local supermarket. While it normally has a good mix of mussels, calamari and clams, I find it doesn't contain enough prawns so I normally supplement with a packet of frozen raw prawns, which I saute in butter.
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Ingredients
This recipe will serve 4 people.
- Mixed seafood - this is a mixture of both cooked and raw seafood. I used frozen raw prawns that had been cleaned and shelled and a packet of ready-cooked mixed seafood. This particular batch of cooked seafood that I had contained imitation crab sticks in addition to the shellfish, but I was quite annoyed that it didn't have any calamari! Moral of the story: don't send hubby out to buy ingredients!
- Pancakes - you'll need 6 to 8 pancakes. My recipe for pancakes makes about 18 so you can either halve the recipe or make the full batch and use the remaining pancakes to make a strawberry custard pancake cake for dessert. (In my house you can never have enough pancakes!)
- Cheese - this should be grated and it is used both to make the cheese sauce and to sprinkle over the pancakes before they go into the oven.
- Butter - this is used to saute the raw prawns and also forms the base for the cheese sauce.
- Cornflour (or cornstarch) - used to thicken the sauce.
- Milk - for the sauce. You can use either full-fat or semi-skimmed.
- Parsley - this should be finely chopped. Most of it will be added to the sauce, but you should reserve a little to sprinkle over the pancakes before serving.
- You will also need salt and ground black pepper for seasoning.
**You can find the exact ingredient measurements for making these seafood-stuffed pancakes on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Instructions
Step 1: Melt the butter in a large pan and saute the raw (defosted) prawns on moderate heat until they turn pink. Transfer them to a plate and leave the butter in the pan.
Step 2: Combine the cornflour and salt with the milk, taking care to remove any lumps, and pour it into the butter. Stir over moderate heat until the mixture starts to thicken.
Step 3: Add the grated cheese and continue to stir until the cheese has melted.
Step 4: The sauce should be thick enough to leave a distinct trail that closes up quite quickly as you draw a spatula through it.
Step 5: Stir in the cooked seafood mix and the sauteed prawns.
Step 6: Finally stir in the chopped parsley. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary and a good grinding of black pepper. Remove from the heat and leave for a few minutes to cool.
Assemble the pancakes
Step 7: Place a large spoonful of the cooled seafood mixture on one side of a pancake. Fold the pancake over to enclose the seafood and transfer the pancake to a serving dish.
Step 8: Continue until all the pancakes have been filled and placed in the dish. Overlap the pancakes so they all fit in nicely in a single layer.
Step 9: You should be left with enough cheese sauce (without any seafood) to spoon over the top. Cover this with grated cheese and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Step 10: Bake in a preheated oven (180C / 375F) for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.
Serving suggestions
Serve the seafood-stuffed pancakes with a fresh green salad or a selection of steamed vegetables.
I divided the filling between 6 pancakes and found that one and a half pancakes were sufficient for one person. If you use 8 pancakes they will have slightly less filling and you will probably need 2 per person.
Tips for a successful outcome
Here are my top tips to ensure your seafood-stuffed pancakes turn out perfectly every time:
- Do cook the raw seafood first so that it can be added to the sauce with the cooked seafood. Obviously, if you're not using raw seafood you can skip this step.
- When making the cheese sauce, stir it continuously to avoid lumps forming.
- Taste the sauce once you've added the parsley, and adust the seasoning (salt and black pepper) to your own taste.
- When filling the pancakes, try to divide the seafood evenly between each pancake. Any leftover cheese sauce should be spooned over the pancakes before they are topped with grated cheese.
- If you are using 8 pancakes rather than 6, you may like to roll them rather than folding in half. I recommend trying to get the pancakes in a single layer in the baking dish so they each get some cheese sauce and grated cheese topping.
Variations
You could also add poached pieces of firm white fish (such as cod or haddock) in addition to the seafood. Cut fish fillets into bite-sized pieces and poach them in milk for about 5 minutes until they start to flake. Transfer the poached fish to a plate and reserve the milk to make the sauce, then continue with the recipe.
For extra flavour, add a teaspoon of dried dill with the chopped parsley.
Equipment
To make these seafood-stuffed pancakes you will need the following equipment:
- Large frying pan or saucepan to make the filling.
- Oven-proof baking dish large enough to hold the filled pancakes. The one I used measured 11" x 8" or 28cm x 20 cm.
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated in the microwave. You could also transfer the leftovers to an ovenproof dish, cover with tinfoil and reheat in the oven at 180C/360F for 15 minutes.
I wouldn't recommend freezing the leftovers as the pancakes would turn stodgy after being frozen and defrosted with the filling.
The seafood filling (without pancakes) can be frozen in a suitable container for up to 2 months and defrosted in the refrigerator before assembling with the pancakes and baking.
FAQ
Technically you can freeze these seafood-stuffed pancakes. Pack any leftovers into a rigid plastic container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Defrost and then reheat either in the microwave or place into a baking dish and reheat in a hot oven for about 15 minutes until piping hot.
Practically though, I wouldn't advise freezing the assembled pancakes. The pancakes and filling turn quite stodgy on defrosting, and the reheated result is not particularly appealing (ask me how I know 🙂 )
You can freeze the filling separately for up to 3 months, defrost it in the refrigerator and then roll it into pancakes as instructed in the recipe.
If you have made your own pancakes they can also be frozen, separated with layers of greaseproof or baking paper. Allow them to defrost before trying to separate them. Pancakes can be frozen for 4 months.
You can make the filling (cheese sauce and seafood) the day before, and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator.
If you are making your own pancakes you can make these 1 or 2 days in advance, then store them in the refrigerator, either wrapped in tinfoil or in a plastic bag large enough to hold the flat pancakes.
You can also assemble the dish in advance in the morning, refrigerate it and pop it into the oven 20 minutes before you are ready to serve.
Save for later
If you would like to make this recipe for seafood stuffed pancakes why not pin it to your Pinterest board so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Related recipes
Visit my fish and seafood recipes page for other delicious fish dishes. Here are a few recipes using seafood that you might enjoy:
📋The recipe
Cheesy seafood stuffed pancakes
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Frying Pan
- Spatula
- Baking dish 11" x 8" or 28cm x 20cm (approximately)
Ingredients
- 8 ready-made pancakes how to make pancakes
- 8 ounces / 225 grams cooked seafood mix
- 8 ounces / 225 grams frozen raw prawns (or shrimp) defrosted
- 2 cups / 480 ml milk
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese grated
- 2 ounce / 60 grams butter
- 1 small bunch parsley finely chopped
- 1½ tablespoon cornflour or cornstarch
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pan and saute the raw (defosted) prawns on moderate heat until they turn pink. Transfer them to a plate and leave the butter in the pan.2 ounce / 60 grams butter, 8 ounces / 225 grams frozen raw prawns (or shrimp)
- Combine the cornflour and salt with the milk, taking care to remove any lumps, and pour it into the butter. Stir over moderate heat until the mixture starts to thicken.2 cups / 480 ml milk, ½ teaspoon salt, 1½ tablespoon cornflour or cornstarch
- Add the grated cheese and continue to stir until the cheese has melted. The sauce should be thick enough to leave a distinct trail that closes up quite quickly as you draw a spatula through it.¼ cup cheddar cheese
- Stir in the cooked seafood mix and the sauteed prawns.8 ounces / 225 grams cooked seafood mix
- Finally, stir in the chopped parsley. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary and a good grinding of black pepper. Remove from the heat and leave for a few minutes to cool.1 small bunch parsley, Ground black pepper
Assemble the pancakes
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/360°F
- Place a large spoonful of the cooled seafood mixture on the bottom half of one side of a pancake. Fold the pancake over to enclose the seafood and transfer the pancake to a serving dish.8 ready-made pancakes
- Continue until all the pancakes have been filled and placed in the dish. Overlap the pancakes so they all fit in nicely in a single layer.
- You should be left with enough cheese sauce (without any seafood) to spoon over the top. Cover this with grated cheese and sprinkle with chopped parsley.¼ cup cheddar cheese
- Bake in a preheated oven (180C / 375F) for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.
- Serve hot with a leafy green salad and/or freshly steame vegetables.
Notes
- Do cook the raw seafood first so that it can be added to the sauce with the cooked seafood. Obviously, if you're not using raw seafood you can skip this step.
- When making the cheese sauce, stir it continuously to avoid lumps forming.
- Taste the sauce once you've added the parsley, and adust the seasoning (salt and black pepper) to your own taste.
- When filling the pancakes, try to divide the seafood evenly between each pancake. Any leftover cheese sauce should be spooned over the pancakes before they are topped with grated cheese.
- If you are using 8 pancakes rather than 6, you may like to roll them rather than folding in half. I recommend trying to get the pancakes in a single layer in the baking dish so they each get some cheese sauce and grated cheese topping.
- Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated in the microwave. You could also transfer the leftovers to an ovenproof dish, cover with tinfoil and reheat in the oven at 180C/360F for 15 minutes.
- I wouldn't recommend freezing the leftovers as the pancakes would turn stodgy after being frozen and defrosted with the filling.
- The seafood filling (without pancakes) can be frozen in a suitable container for up to 2 months and defrosted in the refrigerator before assembling with the pancakes and baking.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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