Swedish pork pancake is Swedish home cooking at its best: a thick pancake batter of flour, eggs and milk poured over crispy fried bacon and baked until the surface turns golden and the middle is just set. The dish is cheap, filling and needs no special equipment beyond an oven-safe dish. In Sweden it’s part of the Thursday table alongside pea soup, and it never appears without a dollop of lingonberry jam to cut through the salty richness.
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In the airfryer, the dish gets an advantage it rarely has in a regular oven: the circulating heat hits the surface directly, so the edges rise high and turn crispy while the middle stays soft. Here’s the method, the mistakes I’ve made myself, and the side dishes that work best.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents:
Why I love Swedish pork pancake in the airfryer
Swedish pork pancake solves three things at once. It uses cheap ingredients, it’s made in a single dish without a stack of washing-up, and it tastes like far more work than it actually takes. The batter is essentially the same as for regular pancakes, just thicker, and the bacon delivers both fat and salt, so you don’t need to season heavily.
The airfryer also does the work faster than an oven, which takes far longer. You don’t need to preheat for ten minutes, and because the basket is small, the heat sits close around the dish. The result is a surface that turns golden all the way round instead of just in the middle.
The difference between airfryer and oven
An oven heats the air and leaves it almost still. An airfryer blows that same air around at high speed, which dries out the surface faster. For Swedish pork pancake, that means high, crispy edges and a shorter path to the batter setting. On the other hand, the temperature needs to stay low: go well above 180 °C with such a thick batter, and the top turns dark long before the middle is done.
My kitchen test of Swedish pork pancake
I made the dish in my Philips XXL, because the dish needs to sit flat in the basket, and there’s room for a proper oven-safe dish. 180 °C turned out to be the right point: 32 minutes of cooking gave a golden, risen surface and a middle that was set without being dry. With 15 minutes of preparation — frying the bacon and whisking the batter — and 15 minutes of resting time afterwards, I end up at 62 minutes from fridge to plate.
The resting time isn’t optional. If I cut into the dish right away, liquid runs out and the pieces fall apart. After a quarter of an hour, the batter has settled, and you can cut squares that hold their shape all the way to the plate.
Fry the bacon completely before the batter goes on. Half-fried bacon never turns crispy once it’s buried under a centimetre of batter.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The common mistakes and how to avoid them
The first mistake is pouring the batter over bacon that’s only been warmed through. The fat needs to be melted and the edges crispy before the batter hits the dish, or you’ll end up with soft, chewy patches in an otherwise good dish. The second mistake is turning up the heat to save time: above 180 °C the surface burns while the middle is still runny, and there’s no way back from there. The third is impatience at the end. Cut into the hot Swedish pork pancake right away and it collapses — give it the 15 minutes of rest, and you’ll get neat, firm pieces.
How to serve Swedish pork pancake
The dish is rich and salty, so the sides should be either tangy or fresh. The classic Swedish lineup is short but hard to beat:
- Lingonberry jam — the tangy-sweet counterweight the dish is built around
- Pea soup with mustard, if you want the full Swedish Thursday meal
- A crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette
- Pickled beetroot or redcurrant jelly, if lingonberries aren’t within reach
Storage and reheating
Leftovers keep for three to four days in the fridge under a lid or cling film. Reheat them in the airfryer at 160 °C for five to seven minutes — that way the edges turn crispy again, which the microwave never delivers. Swedish pork pancake can also be frozen in portions for up to three months. Let them thaw completely in the fridge before reheating, or the middle will stay cold while the surface dries out.
Swedish pork pancake is one of those dishes that rewards simplicity. A few ingredients, one dish and a little patience at the end, and you have a Swedish classic that fills up a whole family for almost no money.
FAQ
No, the batter is runny and needs a dish with sides. Use a small oven-safe dish or a cake tin in glass or metal that can sit flat in the basket without touching the heating element. Foil trays also work, but they bend easily when you lift them out.
Either the temperature is too high, so the surface sets long before the middle, or the batter is too thick in the dish. Stick to 180 °C and 32 minutes of cooking, and spread the batter in a layer about two centimetres thick. Test with a toothpick in the middle — it should come out without wet batter on it.
Yes. Cubes of smoked ham or lightly salted pork give the same salty base, and both need to be fried off beforehand just like the bacon. For a milder dish, you can mix the meat with fried onions, but avoid watery vegetables — they make the batter heavy and extend the cooking time.
Recipe
Swedish pork pancake in the airfryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
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Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
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Airfryer size
All our recipes are tested in a Philips Airfryer 2000 Series NA230/00 – 6.2 L
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Shopping list
Ingredients
Pancake batter
- 250 g wheat flour
- 6 dl whole milk
- 4 pcs eggs
- 1 tsp salt
Bacon and fat
- 250 g bacon (Diced)
- 1 tbsp butter (For greasing the dish)
To serve
- 4 tbsp lingonberry jam
How to make it
Preparation
- Put 250 g wheat flour and 1 tsp salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk in half the 6 dl whole milk a little at a time, until the batter is completely smooth and lump-free.
- Whisk in the 4 pcs eggs one at a time, then thin out with the rest of the milk. The batter should be thicker than regular pancake batter, roughly like single cream.
- Cover the bowl and let the batter rest for 15 minutes at room temperature. Resting makes the pancake more tender and helps it rise evenly.
Cooking in the airfryer
- Preheat the airfryer to 200 °C on the hot air setting. Grease an oven-proof dish that fits in the basket with 1 tbsp butter.
- Spread 250 g bacon in an even layer in the dish, and place it in the airfryer. Fry the bacon for 7 minutes at 200 °C, until the fat has melted and the pieces are lightly crisp.
- Take the dish out, stir the batter well, and pour it over the bacon so it spreads out evenly. Turn the airfryer down to 180 °C on the hot air setting.
- Bake the pancake for 25 minutes at 180 °C, until it is golden brown, risen at the edges and firm in the middle. Insert a toothpick in the centre; it should come out dry.
To serve
- Let the pancake rest for 3-5 minutes in the dish so it firms up. Cut it into squares and serve with 4 tbsp lingonberry jam.
Our notes for the recipe
Use a dish with high sides, and fill it no more than two-thirds full, as the batter rises quite a bit during cooking. If the pancake is golden on top but still soft in the middle, loosely cover the dish with foil and bake for another 5 minutes. Variation:
For a sweeter version, whisk 1 tbsp sugar into the batter and serve with extra lingonberries. For more flavour, you can sprinkle a little chives or thyme over the bacon before pouring the batter on top. To serve:
Serve warm with lingonberry jam and a green salad with a tangy dressing. A glass of cold buttermilk is the classic Swedish accompaniment. Serving size:
If your airfryer is smaller, you can make the dish in two batches in two smaller dishes.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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