French Crepes

How to make these traditional French crepes recipe at home with this delicious recipe for soft and flavorful crepes to go with your favorite filling. These French pancakes recipe are quick and super easy to make, perfect for a snack or family breakfast.

French pancakes

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 this round-shaped French pancake recipe is especially very popular in the world for its simplicity and its deliciously soft and airy texture in the mouth.

You only need 3 ingredients to make classic French crepe recipe, flour, milk, and eggs, and unlike American pancakes, there is no yeast in the recipe, so they are very thin and delicious.

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

Why we love this recipe

• Easy crepe recipe in Own Bowl which makes it an incredible recipe.
• Only 3 basic ingredients, flour eggs and milk, yes, that's all it takes for making crepes at home.
• Easy to flavor with cocoa powder, flavors and more

This classic French crepes 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.

Ingredients needed for this recipe

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.

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 and recipes variations

• 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 a 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.

How to make Crepes recipe at home

• Place the flour in a mixing bowl with the salt and sugar and make a well in the center.
• Pour the eggs into the well and whisk gradually to incorporate the flour.
• Drizzle in the milk with one hand and with the other continue to whisk gradually until you have a smooth, lump-free mixture.
• 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)

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

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.

Best fillings for crepes

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

Serving suggestions

Here in France, we are used to eating crepes for all occasions, for the after-school snack, for birthdays, and even in savory versions 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 Chocolate crepes cake with chocolate mascarpone frosting
• Soak in orange sauce like the crêpes suzette recipe
• Flavored with unsweetened cocoa powder and served with Nutella like my chocolate crepes
• With whipped cream and lemon curd or strawberry coulis.

>> Try also this delicious recipe of Morrocan Baghrir with semolina à garnish with butter and honey.

Storage and freeze instructions

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.

Freeze: You can keep the crepes in the freezer for up to 3 months, let them come back to room temperature slowly.

Frequently Asked Questions

More classic French recipes

• Galette des rois with frangipane
• Brioche French toast
• French Fraisier cake
• Normande French Apple tart
• Almond Pear Bourdaloue tart
• Classic French apple tart
• Rustic French apple tart
• Traditional Strawberry custard tart
• French Apple yogurt cake

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