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Home » Breakfast » Crepes

Crepes

Created: February 18, 2019 Updated: May 9, 2023 by Lyuba Brooke 10 Comments *This post may contain affiliate links. Read More...

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There is nothing like a beautiful, thin Crepe that’s delicately soft with a little crunch on the ends. Learn how to make these soft and buttery classic Crepes in no time. These Crepes are made with only a few simple ingredients that you already have on hand. Crepes are so versatile, they can be served for breakfast, dessert, dinner, and lunch with as many different fillings as you can imagine. 

Looking for more classic breakfast recipes, try some amazing Brioche French Toast and make some Homemade Classic Waffles.

Crepes folded up on a plate with whipped cream in the middle.

CREPES

This dish is very personal to me because I grew up making and eating Crepes almost every weekend. I’m pretty sure that I was about 2 years old when I started helping my mom make crepes. Our favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings was to make crepes, doughnuts, or other treats we could indulge in on a lazy day.

Crepes that we know today originated in the northwestern region of France known as Brittany. The popularity of these thin “pancakes” quickly spread throughout France and is now a staple in French cuisine.

The popularity of crepes spread through many Western and Eastern European counties, Canada, South America, and many other regions. Growing up in Russia, crepes (blini) are just as popular as they are in France. We even have a holiday that’s centered around it, it can’t get more popular than that.

Crepes are made with a simple base combination of eggs, milk, and flour with a few other ingredients added. Many chefs have their own version of a basic crepe recipe but it never variates too much from the basic ingredients. 

My crepe recipe was actually taught to me by my mother and she learned it from my great-grandmother. This recipe has been in my family for generations and it has one little special trick that made my great-grandmother’s crepes extra special. The big secret is boiling hot water. 

Adding hot water to the batter to thin it helps crepes with extra soft texture and a beautiful doily-like pattern. There is something about the warm batter that has a special effect on these beautiful crepes. 

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Crepe batter in a metal bowl with a spoon, spooning some out.

HOW TO MAKE CREPES

Fill a small pot with about 3 cups of water and let it heat up while preparing the batter. Once it boils, take off the heat. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and oil until smooth. 

Add flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Whisk well until all is evenly incorporated. 

Scoop a cup of hot water with a 1-cup measuring cup and slowly pour it into the batter while whisking. Whisk until combined. 

Repeat with another cup of water and whisk until combined. 

Add another 1/2 cup of hot water to the batter and whisk. That should be enough hot water to make the batter thin enough. 

Preheat a nonstick pan over medium to medium-low heat (heat setting usually depends on the stove).

Rub the bottom and sides of the pan with some butter just to grease it a bit. 

TIP: the amount of batter you pour into the pan depends on the size of the pan and the desired size of the crepe. I usually pour in a little less than 1/4 cup in an 8-inch omelet pan and it spread almost to the edges. 

Remember to work fast! Lift the pan, pour the batter in the middle of the pan, and gently swirl the batter all around the pan to spread it thinly. Set the pan back onto the burner and cook for 30-45 seconds. Flip the crepe and cook on the other side only for about 10 seconds. 

Take the crepe out of the pan and onto a large plate and repeat with the remaining batter.

TIP: gently stir the batter together before scooping out the batter for each crepe. Lightly rub the pan with butter before cooking each crepe.

It’s okay to stack crepes one on top of the other. 

crepes stacked up on a plate.

WAYS TO SERVE CREPES

Crepes are so versatile, you can serve them with any filling your mind can come up with. Here are some of my favorite ways to serve crepes:

Breakfast

Make soft scrambled eggs with cheese and roll some of the scrambled egg mixtures inside a crepe. I usually estimate 1 egg per crepe.

Soft, juicy, cheesy scrambled eggs are wonderful rolled in a slightly sweet crepe in the mornings. Fast and easy breakfast if you have crepes already made in the fridge.

As a sweet breakfast option, roll fresh berries inside the crepe and dust them with some powdered sugar. 

Dessert

Crepes can be stuffed with just about any mixture of berries or fruit and topped off with whipped cream. Try berry or fruit pie filling too.

You can add whipped cream right inside the crepes and drizzle them with chocolate and caramel. 

For a very easy dessert, spread some jam inside the crepe, fold it and add some whipped cream on top.

Crepes can also be filled with a no-bake cheesecake mixture. Beat softened cream cheese with some vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla yogurt until smooth. Spread some of the cheesecake mixture on the crepe and roll it up. (Many flavor additions are possible here.) 

Lunch/Dinner

For a lunch and dinner option, crepes can be filled with meats. Try filling crepes with ground beef (cooked of course), diced rotisserie chicken, shrimp, or scallops. You can even add sauce over the top of a meat rolled crepe. 

Crepes filled with shrimp and scallops and topped with creamy white wine sauce are heavenly. 

The sky of the limit when it comes to crepe fillings.

crepes on a plate with powdered sugar being poured on top.

HOW TO STORE CREPES

Crepes are wonderful to be made ahead of time and reheated for breakfast, lunch, dessert, or even a snack. Simply cover stacked and cooled crepes with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Make sure that the crepes are wrapped air-tight and re-wrap them after each time you take out some crepes to be used. 

HOW TO REHEAT CREPES

TIP: It’s okay if the crepes were stacked right on top of each other. If you’re having a little trouble separating cold crepes, pop them into the microwave for a few seconds just to warm up the few top ones. That will make them easier to separate. 

I prefer to reheat crepes in a hot non-stick pan for just a few seconds each. This revives the crepe and gives it a gentle crunch over the top rather than just soft from a microwave. 

After the crepes have been reheated, you can fill them with any filling you desire.

above photo shot of crepes folded up with whipped cream in the middle

SOME MORE RECIPES TO TRY

Strawberry Cream Filled Crepes

Boston Cream Crepe Cake

Breakfast Bundt Cake

French Toast

crepes on a plate stacked up.

PIN THIS RECIPE

crepes on a plate stacked up.

Crepes

These Crepes are made with only a few simple ingredients that you already have on hand. Crepes are so versatile, they can be served for breakfast, dessert, dinner, and lunch.
5 from 2 votes
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Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Main Course
Cuisine: American, French
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Servings: 14 (Makes 26-30 crepes)
Calories: 123kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 cups hot water
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Fill a small pot with about 3 cups of water and let it heat up while preparing the batter. Once it boils, take off heat. 
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and oil until smooth. 
  • Add flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Whisk well until all evenly incorporated. 
  • Scoop a cup of hot water with 1-cup measuring cup and slowly pour it into the batter while whisking. Whisk until combined. 
  • Repeat with another cup of water and whisk until combined. 
  • Add another 1/2 cup of hot water to the batter and whisk. That should be enough hot water to make the batter thin enough. 
  • Preheat a non stick pan over medium to medium-low heat (exact heat setting  depends on each stove).
  • Rub bottom and sides of the pan with some butter just to grease it a bit. 
  • TIP: the amount of batter you pour in the pan depends on the size of the pan and the desired size of the crepe. I usually pour in a little less than 1/4 cup in an 8-inch omelette pan and it spread almost to the edges. 
  • Lift the pan, pour batter in the middle of the pan and gently swirl the batter all around the pan to spread it thinly. Set the pan back onto the burner and cook for 30-45 seconds. Flip the crepe and cook on the other side only for about 10 seconds. 
  • Take the crepe out of the pan and onto a large plate and repeat with remaining batter.
  • TIPS: gently stir the batter together before scooping out the batter for each crepe. Lightly rub the pan with butter before cooking each crepe.
  • It’s okay to stack crepes one on top of the other. 

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

Nutrition

Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 194mg | Potassium: 49mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 70IU | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

9.2K shares

Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Easter, How To, Mother's Day, Popular Posts

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

Comments

  1. flagle says

    August 16, 2022 at 2:48 am

    These were really easy! I have made crepes before but they never came out this good. I am going to use this recipe over and over.I added a few tablespoons of sugar for a dessert crepe but will leave the sugar out when I use these as shells for manicotti for Christmas! I can’t wait!

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      August 23, 2022 at 11:05 am

      I am so pleased they turned out well for you! Thanks for stopping by to let me know.

      Reply
  2. posterdle says

    August 16, 2022 at 2:47 am

    My children love these! I too added Orange peel and Grand Marnier(SP?)

    Reply
  3. Donna Chouinard says

    April 10, 2020 at 10:44 am

    5 stars
    Ok, so I never would have thought to reheat crepes and add something savory like meat and cheese but I’m SO GLAD you mentioned that ! I had a few leftover and did just that! I loved it so much! Thanks !

    Reply
  4. Penelope Otton says

    January 1, 2020 at 12:16 am

    Can’t figure out how to access recipe for crepes. Penelope

    Reply
  5. G says

    May 11, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    Hi, Layuba, Just to clarify, is the recipe calling for 3 cups total of HOT water (each time)?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Meela says

    April 21, 2019 at 9:55 am

    How much ingredients should I add pls.
    Pls give me quantities.

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      April 25, 2019 at 11:07 am

      Meela, sorry for the late response. All ingredient quantities are listed above in the recipe. Is the recipe not showing up for you?

      Reply
  7. Bonnie says

    February 24, 2019 at 11:09 am

    I would love to take these to an Easter Brunch to WOW everyone. Any suggestions how to keep them warm or do I just serve them room temp?

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      March 2, 2019 at 12:27 pm

      Hi Bonnie!
      I usually keep the plate that I’m stacking crepes on right on the stove, or course away from the burger, that way the area is warm. While they are stacked one of top of the other, crepes will stay warm for a little while. You can serve them right after you finish them and it will be just fine.
      Unless crepes are cold, they will be just fine at room temperature or a bit warmer, especially if you are filling them with fruit or whipped cream, which is cold. If you will be filling the crepes with something warm, like scrambled eggs, that will bring up the temperature of the crepe!
      I hope this helps! 🙂

      Reply

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Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

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