Easy French Crepe Recipe

This easy French crepe recipe is perfect for feeding a few kiddos or a crowd. The best part is that you only need a few basic ingredients and the batter is best when made the night before! That makes for a simple breakfast the next day!

In our house, everyone raves about these delicate crepes.

I was worried when I first went to make them because I thought they would surely be a mess and that none of them would actually turn out.

Boy was I wrong! My first crepe making experience was followed by the making of crepes routinely afterwards.

You will love how these flat French pancakes create the perfect outer shell to your favorite flavors.

Not only that, but they are so easy to whip up! They use great ingredients that will fill hungry bellies and leftovers can be eaten later.

Whether you want a quick breakfast or to use these to host a brunch, they are perfect!

Some other great breakfast recipes are my quick breakfast quiche, sourdough monkey bread, and cinnamon muffins!

What Are Crepes?

Crepes are essentially a very thin pancake, unlike my super fluffy pancakes that are equally as delicious.

Most authentic french crepe recipes combine basic ingredients, such as, flour, water, and salt.

These French pancakes are made without any leavener, which is what makes them different from American pancakes.

Crepes originated in the northwest Brittany region of France, around the 12th century.

They lend a sophisticated flair to the breakfast table, and the best part about them is that serve as a blank canvas for all sorts of fillings, toppings, and flavors.

People enjoy savory crepes and sweet crepes, alike!

Crepes are either left flat or rolled, depending on the type of filling. Our favorite filling is my cream cheese crepe filling. So good!

Why you’ll love French Crêpes

• This classic french crepes recipe makes plenty for everyone.
• They make great leftovers so you can enjoy them the next day! Crepes store very well once cooled and zap up in seconds in the microwave.
• You can customize your crepes the way you like them, such as a sweet or savory crepe.
• This soft buttery treat is perfect for any occasion! Try these for a simple breakfast or a festive brunch.
• Crepes are an easy breakfast. If you want another easy option, be sure to make some of my delicious croffles.
• It’s like a thin pancake that can be stuffed with your favorite flavors and rolled up.
• You can wrap almost anything in crepes- meats, cheese, veggies, chocolate spread, whipped cream.
• Not only are they great paired with other things, but they are delicious eaten on their own.

What are sweet crepes?

A sweet crepe is great for breakfast or brunch!

To make your crepe sweet you can simply use fresh fruit such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, and strawberries.

Some people enjoy whipped cream and cream cheese crepe filling with theirs.

Many enjoy their crepes with ice cream and chocolate, while others love to add a bit of caramel. If you need a delicious salted caramel recipe, be sure to try the one for my simple cheesecake recipe!

Sweet crepes add sugar and vanilla extract to the crepe batter to give them some subtle sweetness without being overpowering.

What are savory crepes?

If you’re not in the mood for whipped cream or fruit, but you still want to make crepes, don’t worry!

You can make savory crepes that are fantastic for lunch or dinner.

If you want to make your crepes savory make sure to leave sugar and vanilla extract out of the crepe batter.

A few things you can put in your savory crepes are avocado, cheese, meat, and veggies.

You might even enjoy a breakfast crepe filled with eggs, sausage, and cheese.

You typically use buckwheat flour to give your crepes a nutty flavor and add to the flavor profile of the dish.

Ingredients for a basic crepe recipe

• Melted Butter – Butter helps so that the crepes aren’t tough or rubbery.
• All Purpose Flour– All-purpose or buckwheat flour is best for crepes.
• Whole Milk– Whole milk works best to add richness to the crepes, but a substitute can be oat or almond milk if you are looking for a non-dairy option.
• Large Eggs– These provide structure and bind ingredients together.
• White Sugar– White sugar dissolves well in this batter, but a substitute can be sucanat or maple syrup.
• Vanilla Extract– Vanilla is used for the depth of the flavor.
• Salt – As always, you need a pinch of salt to balance out the sweet flavor.

Steps for making perfect French crepes

1. Make Batter– Mix up your preferred crepes recipe in the blender or food processor, to get a smooth batter. It should be the consistency of a thin pancake batter.
2. Chill Batter– Pop it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or overnight, to let the batter rest. This produces the best results because it lets the flour incorporate fully with the rest of the crepe batter.
3. Cook Crepes- Heat a medium non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour a 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan, and swirl it around so that the batter spreads out to cover the bottom of the pan. Keep swirling while it’s cooking – crepes are thin, so it doesn’t take long, and this prevents them from burning. You’ll know they’re done when they’re slightly crispy on the outer edges. Flip and cook the second side for 20 seconds or until done.
4. Fill and Roll Crepes– Make the delicious crepe filling and spread it on your homemade crepes. Add in your favorite crepe fillings. Roll it up and enjoy these decadent, thin pancakes.

Delicious Cream Cheese Crepe filling

You can whip up a simple whipped cream filling using just heavy cream and powdered sugar, but my simple cream cheese crepe filling is even better!

I don’t recommend using store bought whipped toppings because they tend to not hold up to the rolling of the crepes very well.

How to prevent rubbery crepes

The best crepe recipe creates a delicate thin layer that can easily be filled with savory fillings or filled to make dessert crepes.

The last thing you want is to bite into a rubbery crepe.

This recipe gives you perfect crepes that have the proper ratio of liquids to dry ingredients so you won’t need to worry about then becoming too weighed down or rubbery.

This is a foolproof crepe recipe that produces the delicious French classic every time!

Add ins for Sweet Crepes

• Lemon Juice– You can add a bit of lemon juice to make lemon crepes for a fun summer crepe.
• Fresh Fruit– Sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries work great piled high inside of this French classic.
• Nutella Spread– Generously coat the inside of the sweet crepe with nutella for a chocolate crepe every kid will love.
• Nuts– Many people enjoy putting nuts in theirs for a nice crunchy texture. This gives a nice juxtaposition to the soft crepe.
• Shredded Coconut– Coconut is another great choice to add to your sweet crepe. It will give a bit of texture to the otherwise soft dish.
• Melted Chocolate– You can add a light layer of chocolate to your crepes by drizzling melted chocolate over top.

Add ins for Savory Crepes

• Veggies– Diced potato, kale, spinach, cooked bell peppers, and sliced mushrooms are just a few vegetables that go well with crepes.
• Meat– hamburger meat, pork, turkey, chicken, bacon, steak, and ham
• Sea Food– Some people even enjoy sea food on their crepes to change it up a bit.
• Assorted Cheeses– Cheese would be a great addition to any savory crepe.
• Eggs– You can even scramble some eggs and wrap them in your crepe for a hearty and protein rich breakfast.

How to store leftover cooked crepes

Storing leftover crepes is easy. The most important step is to make sure you have fully cooled crepes.

You will stack your leftover crepes and put paper towels, wax paper, or parchment paper between each one so they don’t stick together.

Then, you put your stack of crepes in a zip lock bag and put the zip lock bag in the refrigerator of freezer.

Typically, they can be in the freezer for up to 2 months and can be in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

How to reheat leftover crepes

This is super simple.

To reheat crepes, take your leftover crepes out of the freezer and place one crepe at a time on a microwave safe plate.

Microwave for 15-30 seconds on medium power or until warm.

Can you freeze leftover crepes?

Yes, you simply plastic wrap your delicate crepes and stick them in the freezer.

Be sure to place parchment or wax paper in between each crepe so they won’t stick together.

This makes it much easier when you get them back out to reheat.

French Crepe Recipe