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Cinnamon Sugar Kaiserschmarrn

Kaiserschmarrn is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover pancakes! Topped with homemade cinnamon sugar, this easy breakfast idea is perfect for lazy weekend mornings.

If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that I like to find fun ways to use up leftovers. Sometimes that means using stale chips to make chilaquiles or migas. Other times it may be using extra cooked rice to make a creamy rice pudding. Today, we are using leftover pancakes to make Kaiserschmarrn!

What is Kaiserschmarrn?

Basically Kaiserschmarrn is shredded pancakes that are caramelized in butter and sugar. “Kaiserschmarrn” means “Emperor’s Mess” and this dish gets its name from Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, who loved shredded pancakes. “Kaiser” means “emperor” and “schmarren” means “scrambled or shredded.”

Kaiserschmarrn is usually served with raisins and a dusting of confectioners sugar, but you can use any kind of fruit or pancake topping. When I make Kaiserschmarrn I like to use cinnamon sugar and then put maple syrup and fresh fruit on the table for serving. This may not be 100% traditional, but it’s the way my grandmother always made it and this way everyone can choose their preferred fixings. 🙂

How to Make Kaiserschmarrn

You can prepare pancakes from scratch as part of making Kaiserschmarrn, but I prefer to use leftover pancakes. Why? Because then we are using up extra food and also preparing an incredibly easy breakfast in minutes. You can use any of my pancake recipes for Kaiserschmarrn, as well as my homemade cinnamon sugar recipe. My favorite pancakes to use for Kaiserschmarrn are these old fashioned diner-style pancakes.

So the first thing you are going to do for this recipe is either make pancakes, or take pancakes out of the fridge.

Then, just tear the pancakes into pieces using your hands or two forks. Set the pieces aside and melt the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon sugar and stir things about a bit, until the sugar has melted. This will take about a minute.

Lastly, add in your pancake pieces. Cook everything for 4-5 minutes, just until the pancakes are heated through and well coated with the sugary butter. That’s it!

Serve the scrambled pancakes with your favorite pancake toppings, like maple syrup, jam, fresh fruit, you name it. You can even sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on top if you want a bit of crunch to contrast with the soft pancakes pieces.

More Breakfast Ideas

That’s about it! If you would like to see more of my breakfast recipes, here are some of my favs:

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Cinnamon Sugar Kaiserschmarrn

Kaiserschmarrn is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover pancakes! Topped with homemade cinnamon sugar, this easy breakfast idea is perfect for lazy weekend mornings.

  • Author: Rustic Family Recipes
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 12 minutes
  • Yield: 2-3 servings
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Austrian

Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare the Pancakes

Make your pancakes, or you can use leftover pancakes for this recipe. (I like to use leftover pancakes.) Tear the pancakes into pieces of your preferred size. I have several pancake recipes that work well for Kaiserschmarrn: 

Make the Kaiserschmarrn

Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat.

Add the cinnamon sugar. Stir it into the melted butter until the sugar has melted, about 1 minute.

Add the pancake pieces. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon to coat the pancakes and let the sugar caramelize over the pancake bits, about 4-5 minutes.

Serve with your favorite pancake toppings. 

Last Step:

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Keywords: Kaiserschmarrn recipe, scrambled pancakes, kaiser schmarren, austrian

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Reader Questions and Reviews

  1. I had leftover Paleo pikelets that I made using coconut oil and my kids didn’t like them. But I didn’t want to throw them out. Just made your recipe using them and the kids loved it. They used plain greek Yoghurt and berries as a topping. Yum!

    1. Rustic Family Recipes

      Oh I love the idea of making kaiserschmarrn with pikelets! I’m happy you and the kiddos enjoyed the recipe. 🙂

  2. I had never heard of this dish! It sounds easy, quick and delicious. I wished I had known about this when my kids were growing up! But I will make this with the leftover pancakes I have in my freezer for my grandkids! Thanks for sharing!

    1. Rustic Family Recipes

      I hope you all enjoy them! If you put out a bunch of toppings everyone can customize their kaiserschmarrn too. I like to put out syrup, whipped cream and an assortment of fresh fruit. 😀