Enjoy homemade crepes, save money, and enjoy la belle vie. This easy recipe will get you hooked on making crepes yourself at home. They make a great Valentine’s Dessert.
Love these crepes? Be sure to try our 20+ Pancake Recipes to Make for Dinner. They are a great recipe for using up a lot of milk before it goes bad.
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Crepes are a huge part of my memories of France. Whether they were the simple (read: cheap) butter and sugar affairs that I purchased from a street vendor or the savory dinner crepes that I indulged in at Le Roy d’Ys in Poitiers, crepes have always held a special place in my heart.
Stateside, it’s hard to find a great crepe. Those that are sold at farmer’s markets or fairs are okay, but at $4 each? Homemade crepes are the best option.
Homemade Crepes
Flat, delicate, egg-like pancakes, crepes are the French equivalent of a pancake or tortillas. Sort of. They come together fairly quickly and just call for a little fancy handling when it comes to cooking and flipping.
Homemade crepes can make an easy dinner if you omit the vanilla extract and fill them with savory things like cheese, cooked meats, ham, or sauteed vegetables.
They make an easy dessert if you sweeten them up. They make an easy snack that’s just plain delicious.
What are crepes made of?
Crepes are basically made from eggs, milk, and flour. It’s a very eggy batter with much more egg and milk than flour.
What is the difference between a pancake and a crepe?
A pancake is a thin, American, flat cake baked in a pan. It is made of eggs, milk, flour, and leavening. A crepe is a thinner, French pancake baked in a pan and filled with sweet things, like jam or sugar.
Crepes can be quite large, especially crepes sold by street vendors which may be up to 16 inches in diameter. One crepe is more filling than one pancake.
What is the difference between a crepe and a galette?
A crepe is a thin, sweet French pancake, usually filled or topped with sweet fillings, such as sugar, jam, Nutella, or fruit. A galette (also galette de sarrasin) is a thin, savory French pancake, made with buckwheat and usually filled with ingredients such as cheese, ham, eggs, and vegetables.
Both are delicious and both should go on your must-make list.
How do you make homemade crepes?
Crepes are super easy to make from scratch.
- Assemble your ingredients.
- Place the eggs, milk, butter, flour, salt, and vanilla in a bowl. Blend into a smooth batter using an immersion blender or whisk. You can also prep the batter in a blender or food processor.
- Refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes. This allows the flour to absorb the liquid better and produces a better texture crepe.
- Heat a nonstick skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Brush it with melted butter.
- Pour a scant ¼ cup batter into the pan, tilting the pan so that the batter covers the bottom completely.
- Once the crepe is set and starting to brown lightly around the edges, flip it over to brown the other side. Place the crepe on a plate while you cook the rest of the batter.
- Continue until all the crepes are cooked and you’ve got a stack ready to be served?
It’s hard to make folks wait while you fry up all the crepes, but it’s more fulfilling to serve a stack of hot fresh homemade crepes at one time instead of watching them disappear as soon as they’re out of the pan.
Do you have to let crepe batter rest?
It’s important to let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes. To save time when you’ve got hungry morning people, blend the batter the night before and store it in the fridge overnight.
Do you fold or roll crepes?
While you may have seen crepes rolled around a filling in American cookbooks, this isn’t typically how they’re served in France.
Rather they are folded into quarters, sometimes with the jam or Nutella spread inside or the toppings piled on after folding.
How do you fill crepes?
Homemade crepes can be filled or topped with any number of ingredients. Consider these options:
- fresh fruit, such as sliced strawberries, chopped stone fruit, sliced bananas, or other berries
- whipped cream
- jam
- Nutella, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce
- nut butter
- honey
- butter and sugar (drizzle on some lemon juice!)
If you want to get real fancy, you can make Crepes Suzette.
Can you make crepes in advance?
It is great to make crepes in advance because the process of cooking them one at a time can become rather time consuming.
One time in college in France, one of the coordinators of EAP invited all 50 of us exchange students to her party for a crepe party. She had made over 100 crepes. The only way you pull that off is by making them in advance.
Once you crepes are baked and cooled, layer them between parchment or deli papers and store them in a ziptop gallon-size bag in the refrigerator. They are good in the fridge for up to 4 days.
How do you freeze crepes?
Layer cooked and cooled crepes between sheets of parchment or deli wrap and place in a ziptop freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw before serving.
Do you need special equipment to make crepes?
You don’t need special equipment but there are some kitchen tools that make the crepe-making process easier.
- To make the batter: an immersion blender, food processor, blender, or whisk
- To cook the crepes: a crepe pan or nonstick skillet
- For easy flipping of crepes: silicone spatula
Can crepes be affordable?
Heck to the yes!
Now, a farmer’s market crepe costs $4. A package of 10 premade crepes at the grocery store runs about $4. This works out to be 39 cents per crepe. (You can find them in the produce section for some reason.)
Since crepes are basically eggs, milk, and a bit of flour, they are a very affordable treat to make yourself. Let’s see how this recipe breaks down, if shopping at the same store and not buying things on sale.
- eggs: $3.99/18 ct, 22 cents each = $0.88
- milk: $2.79/gallon = $0.28
- flour: $2.69/5-pound bag, 54 cents per cup = $0.68
- butter: $3.69/pound, 93 cents per stick = $0.47
Total to make 14 crepes: $2.31 0r 17 cents per crepe!
Considering that you could purchase those ingredients for much less buying them on sale or at ALDI, that’s a pretty good cheap eat, my friend!
Not only will you impress the folks at your table, but you’ll do it quite affordably.
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to share a picture on social media and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Easy Homemade Crepes
Ingredients
- 4 egg
- 1 ⅔ cup milk
- 3 tablespoon butter melted, plus extra for frying
- 1 ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- fillings for crepes : butter, jam, sugar, nutella
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a blender. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
- Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush with melted butter.
- Pour a scant ¼ cup batter into pan, tilting pan so that batter cover the bottom completely.
- Once the crepe is set and starting to brown lightly around the edges, flip it over to brown the other side.
Notes
Nutritional values are approximate, do not include toppings, and are based on 1 crepe.
Nutrition
Dominique
DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for this terrific recipe! I always know your recipes will work. They are so reliable. My daughters were delighted that we finally found a recipe for our “egg burnout.” We live on a micro farm with a healthy flock of chickens and ducks. The eggs were taking over! Wish I could share with you! Thanks again!
Jessica Fisher
So glad to hear it was a success for you. Thanks for your encouraging words!
Ann
Hey Jessica!
You’re feeding my eyes so much right now. These crepes look irresistible. On my try list this weekend. Really in the mood for something like these.
Thank you for step-by-step instructions for how to make these. Looking forward to your new recipes. You’ve created an amazing blog. I’ll be coming around often.
Jessica Fisher
Glad to have you!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I have made both savory and sweet crepes through the years with varying recipes. (Also ate them in France-yum !) I don’t ever remember letting the batter rest for 30 minutes so I’m going to try this recipe tomorrow night for Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras. I’ve still got Nutella in my pantry so I think I”ll be making the sweet ones in keeping with the day! I’m still plugging along with my Pantry Challenge plus trying to be more efficient in the kitchen for this month’s challenge. So far so good. I keep opening my freezer to look at the white space. LOL. Not empty yet, but getting there and it feels good!
Jessica Fisher
Sounds delicious!
Karen J
I am 65 and have never attempted crepes until this week. These were amazing! I made the batter the night before, then used my non-stick pan. The first one was a learning curve for flipping it, but I soon caught on. Thanks for the clear directions, it really helped. These made a special breakfast with jam and powdered sugar. I followed the chexbonnefemme.com directions for freezing the extras as there are two of us and this makes a lot. Looking forward to trying a savory filling with those. Five stars!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! I’m so glad to hear these worked well for you, Karen. So yummy!
Jolene
Do you think these would freeze ok? Sounds like you may not have had a chance to try freezing them, lol. Just thought I could make a double batch and freeze some for another day.
Jessica Fisher
No, I’ve never been able to freeze them because we never have any left over. Here are some great tips to do it though: http://chezbonnefemme.com/how-to-freeze-crepes-and-why-you-should/ Wini is my hero.
Jennifer
Now I feel like eating crepes. Did you ever have them with sugar and fresh lemon juice squeezed on then while in France. That’s how I love them. Or chocolat sauce and whipped cream, or caramel. Yum!
Jessica Fisher
I never had the lemon juice on crepes. Will have to try them. Sounds yummy!
Tasty
Sugar and lemon juice is how the Brits eat them on Shrove Tuesday!
Hadiyatou Diallo
This recipe is awesome! I had to make crepes as a French assignment and they came out buttery and thin and just a little crispy on the edges, plus they were so yummy! You’re recipe was easy to follow and had great results! thanks 🙂
Jessica Fisher
I’m so glad you saw such success! Yay!
Kristen @ Joyfullythriving
I love crepes! My Dad always made the crepes when we were growing up so my Mom could make sausage crepes for dinner. Sausage and cream cheese rolled in crepes with a butter and sour cream glaze over the top. Delicious! I think I need to make crepes again soon.
Jessica Fisher
Sounds yummy!
Liz
I’ve always been too intimidated to try my hand at crepe-making, but you make it seem so easy, I may just give it a go! 🙂
Jessica Fisher
If I can do it, you can do it. 🙂
Sandi
My mom actually gave me a crepe pan a few years ago, but I’ve never used it. I like the simple buttery kind, but our own years in France have made us Nutella-lovers as well. Thank goodness for the Costco size and price, since the grocery store price is outrageous. Maybe if I use both the skillet and the crepe pan, I could make them faster so they are all still hot when we eat. Hmmm. Kid has a birthday on Monday, perhaps I’ll surprise him for breakfast before he goes to work. Thanks for the idea!
Jessica Fisher
When we were in France this fall, I saw the largest Nutella jars I have ever seen. Stunning! Wish I had brought one home or at least taken a picture. It made the Costco size look like a mini.