French Crepes

How to make easy French crepes at home with this delicious recipe for soft and flavorful crepe to go with your favorite filling. This crêpe recipe is quick and super easy to make, perfect for a snack or family breakfast.

Classic French crepes

French crepes are one of the traditional French recipes that are usually made during Candlemas Day which is a Christian celebration at the beginning of February.

But these crepes with the round shape which reminds the sun has certainly also Paian origins, like the famous galette des Rois recipe.

Now the classic French crepes are a dessert in their own right and we no longer wait for Candlemas Day to enjoy these delicious crepes Prepared for any occasion, snack, birthday, breakfast and more.

Why we love this recipe

If crepes are so appreciated in the world today by young and old alike it is certainly because it is an ultra-easy and delicious recipe.

French crepes recipe are made with only 3 basic ingredients, flour eggs and milk, yes, that's all it takes for making crepes at home with only one bowl of prep and a crepe pan.

This classic French crepe recipe is so delicious that you can eat it plain, with brown sugar, Nutella spread, jam or slices of fresh fruit and whipped cream.

This is the best crepe recipe, so versatile, you can flavor them with cocoa powder, color them with food coloring, make them with fun designs and even make them into a fabulous crepe cake dessert.

>> See all crepes, pancakes and waffles recipes from the blog

Ingredients to make crepes

Here are the needed ingredients and possible substitutions to make the crepes at home, scroll down the page to see the quantities in the recipe card.

Crepe batter

1. Wheat flour: All-purpose flour or wholemeal flour to make the Breton version or a gluten-free flour mix to make a gluten-free crêpe batter.
2. Milk: semi-skimmed dairy milk or vegetable milk like homemade almond milk for a vegan version.
3. Eggs: At room temperature, they blend in better.
4. Butter: Optional use unsalted butter melted, it brings a softer texture, you can replace it by oil but butter gives a better taste.
5. Sugar: Optionally, you can replace it with a bag of vanilla sugar or a natural sugar like honey or maple syrup.
6. Salt: A flavor enhancer, it brings out all the flavors.

Materials: You need a nonstick crepe pan, a crepe maker or even a frying pan for baking crepes, and you can make the batter with a whisk or use a blender.

Option

• Flavor: add orange blossom, lemon juice, rum, grand marnier, vanilla extract citrus juices, fruit zest or puree to flavor them.
• Chocolate: Add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened, bitter cocoa powder to make a version of chocolate crepes or to make swirled or patterned crepes.
• Yeast: Add a small amount of baking powder for fluffy crepe.
• Food coloring: Use gel food coloring to make colorful crepes.

⚠️ You will find the quantities and complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page.

Best fillings for crepes

• Spreads, Nutella, biscoff spread, peanut butter, almond butter
• Powdered sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar etc..
• Jam, strawberries, raspberries, apricots …
• Honey or maple syrup.
• Fresh fruit with whipped cream.
• Salted butter caramel perfect with Brittany crepes.
• Homemade hazelnut and almond praline paste.
• Milk jam

To make it a delicious dessert, add whipped cream, vanilla or chocolate ice cream, crushed nuts, custard, etc. ….

How to make Easy Crepes

1. Place the flour in a mixing bowl with the salt and sugar and make a well in the center.
2. Pour the eggs into the well and whisk gradually to incorporate the flour.
3. Drizzle in the milk with one hand and with the other continue to whisk
4. gradually until you have a smooth, lump-free mixture.
5. Add melted butter (optional) and mix again until smooth.

Anti-clumping tips: gradually mix the dry ingredients while adding the milk to the eggs, avoid mixing too quickly (you can always use a hand mixer to smooth the batter)

Should I let the batter rest?

If you are in an organized team then I advise you to make your crepe batter in advance and let your batter rest in the fridge for about 30 min to 1 hour.

But if you're more on the "I don't have time" team 😅 like me with 4 kids at home and last-minute snack ideas, then move on immediately to the cooking process, your crepes will still be delicious 😜.

Why should I let the batter rest? Letting the batter rest allows the dry ingredients to absorb the liquid ingredients for more flavorful and fluffy crepes.

Cooking

1. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
2. Grease the pan with a little butter or coconut oil and pour a small ladle of crepe batter into the hot pan.
3. Spread the crepe batter in the pan, turning the pan to distribute the batter into a thin layer.
4. Cook at medium-high heat for about 1 to 2 minutes per side and use a crepe spatula to flip them easily.
5. Place the baked crepes on a plate and repeat for the rest of the pancake batter.
6. Serve the crepes hot with the topping of your choice or cover them with a cloth.

Tip: When the crepe is done, the edges come off and you can easily insert a spatula underneath to flip it over and cook it on the other side.

Conservation

In the fridge: They can be kept for 1-2 days in the fridge before cooking, covered with plastic wrap or in a glass bottle with a lid. After cooking you can keep them at room temperature for 1 day.

How to serve crepes

Here in France we are used to eat crepes for all occasions, for the after school snack, for birthdays and even in savory version with ham and cheese.

I like them as much undercooked and tender as with a lot of nutella, but you can make fabulous desserts with them, like :

• Filled with chocolate and red fruits
• With caramelized apples and flavored with cinnamon and whipped cream
• In a crepe cake with strawberries and whipped cream

Frequently asked questions

More crepe recipes

• Fluffy Pancakes
• Homemade Belgian waffles
• Baghrir mille-trous pancakes
• Chocolate crepes
• Chocolate crepes cake
• Suzette crepes

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