How to Make Crepes (Spoiler: It’s Easy!)

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Wondering how to make crepes at home? We’ve got you covered. They are easy to make and they’re great whether you stuff them with sweet or savory fillings.

All it takes to learn how to make crepes at home is a simple recipe and a little bit of practice.

Serve these homemade crepes filled with strawberries and whipped cream and drizzled chocolate sauce or fill them with ham and cheese for a savory meal.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, try some of our homemade crêpe filling recipes below!

An easy crepe recipe with step by step instructions

If you’re new to making crepes, you’re going to be surprised at how easy this recipe is to master.

It took a few dubious attempts to perfect our crepe-making technique. Once we did, though, we started making them all the time.

This is our basic crepe recipe with simple instructions for how to make crepes.

What ingredients do you need?

Crepes can be made with basic kitchen staples. Here’s everything you need:

• All-purpose flour
• Eggs
• Milk
• Salt
• Butter

How do you Make Crepes?

The full recipe with amounts and instructions is below in the recipe card, but here are the basic steps.

1. Combine the ingredients in a bowl, blender, or stand mixer and mix until smooth.
2. Refrigerate the batter for 20 minutes or longer.
3. Ladle the batter into the center of a hot pan while simultaneously tilting the pan in all directions, in a circular motion, so that the batter spreads out evenly over the bottom.
4. Cook until the top of the crepe looks dry on both the top and bottom and is very lightly browned on the bottom, about 1 minute. Flip gently with a spatula and cook the other side for 30 to 45 seconds until the second side is very lightly browned.
5. Stack the cooked crepes on a plate and cover with a clean dishtowel to keep them warm while you make the rest of the crepes.
6. Serve with your favorite fillings!

Do You Need a Special Pan to Make Crepes?

No. A 9- or 10-inch skillet or omelet pan, ideally made of nonstick material, will certainly work.

If you want to invest in a proper crêpe pan, though, you will be happy to discover how easy it is to use to make great crêpes. We like this one from Cuisinart.

Tips for homemade crepes success

• Refrigerating the batter for at least 20 minutes or as long as overnight helps develop the flavor and improves the texture of your crepes.
• To make successful crepes, you need to spread the batter out in a thin, even coat over the bottom of your pan. This is done by quickly tilting the pan all around in a circular motion as soon as you drop in the batter. As you tilt the pan, the batter will spread out quickly and evenly. With a little practice, this step is easy.
• Stir up the batter occasionally during the crepe-cooking process to prevent it from settling unevenly. If you’ve used a blender to mix the batter, you can give the blender a pulse every now and then.
• And finally, don’t let your pan get too hot. If your crepe starts to brown, bubble, and spatter as soon as it hit the pan, turn the heat down a bit.

What fillings will you put inside your crepes?

Butter, sugar, and lemon juice is a simple classic way to serve these delicate pancakes and I can’t get enough of it.

Or try this Sweet Ricotta Cream and Strawberries crepe filling.

My son is partial to Nutella and bananas. Or try Trader Joe’s Cocoa and Cookie Butter as a filling (it’s also great with bananas).

Whipped cream and berries are always well received as a crepe filling.

Or try a savory filling like goat cheese with caramelized onions and mushrooms or Radicchio, Butternut Squash, and Walnuts.

Another savory filling we love is Peas, Pancetta, and Mint.

Shrimp, Tomato, and Chives or Sour Cream, Caviar, and Chives are lovely choices for a fancy cocktail party or summer lunch or brunch.

To be perfectly honest, we’ve used them to wrap up just about anything we find in the fridge. We’ve wrapped up leftover stir-fry, meat or seafood stews, fruit and yogurt, or ice cream and caramel sauce.

More breakfast and brunch recipes you’ll love

• Japanese Souffle Pancakes
• Blueberry Clafoutis
• Chocolate Chickpea Muffins
• Ginger Peach Scones
• Chilaquiles
• Turmeric Brown Rice Congee
• Baked Eggs in a Crunchy Potato Crust
• Baked Eggs with Greens and Goat Cheese

Basic Crepe Recipe

Robin Donovan

These crepes are easy to make and perfect for filling with sweet or savory fillings.

5 from 9 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine French

Calories 127 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• Vegetable oil vegetable oil spray, or butter for cooking

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, blend flour, eggs, milk, water, salt, and melted butter together using an electric mixer until smooth. (Alternatively, batter can be blended in a food processor, blender or stand mixer. You can even whisk the batter vigorously by hand, but you need to take great care to smooth out all the lumps.)
• Heat a lightly oiled or buttered 9- or 10-inch pan over medium heat. (If using a good non-stick pan you can skip the oil/butter step.)
• Using a ¼-cup scoop, ladle batter into the center of the hot pan while simultaneously tilting the pan in all directions, in a circular motion, so that the batter spreads out evenly over the bottom.
• Cook until the top of the crepe loses its shine and the bottom is dry and very lightly browned, about 1 minute, then turn with a spatula and cook the other side the same way (but for a slightly shorter time).
• Add more oil or butter and continue until all the batter has been used, stacking cooked crepes on a platter to await their filling. Stir up the batter occasionally during the crepe-making process to prevent it from settling unevenly.

Video

Notes

1. Good news for people who like to get prep work out of the way: Crepe batter may be made a day in advance and kept, covered, in the refrigerator.

2. Or, if you want to make the crepes themselves in advance, stack them in a pile and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days or the freezer for a couple of weeks.

3. To reheat, wrap the stack in aluminum foil, and heat in a 350° oven until heated through, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 127kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 3gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 90mg

Keyword crêpes, crêpes recipe, easy crêpe recipe

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