This is a basic crepe recipe that can be used for making both sweet crepes and savory crepes. The batter comes together in minutes, and doesn't need any special equipment or refrigerating!
* This post was updated with new photos and clearer recipe instructions 🙂
Hi all! Before we start this post, I just wanted to quickly start off by saying that I really hope you're all staying safe and taking care of yourselves out there.
Cooking has been really helpful for filling my time and keeping me grounded, and I hope it can be for you all as well as we navigate through this difficult terrain. Sending you all lots of love and good wishes!
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If you've seen some of our other recipes, you may have already heard me mention how I used to live next to a café which literally made the best ... everything! Muffins, cupcakes, cakes, YOU NAME IT! And no surprise, they made the best crepes ever!
So it's safe to say, I had a lot of crepes growing up! To save myself the trip every time I was craving crepes (so everyday...) I thought I'd learn how to make them myself, and it's actually crazy simple to make!
To make crepes, you don't need any special ingredients, you don't need blenders, you don't need scales, and you don't need any special crepe pans! This is a very quick and simple recipe that you can have prepped and cooked within 30 minutes.
You can even make the batter ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days before cooking! I personally love doing this so I can have some morning crepes even when I have a busy day.
Can crepes be eaten cold?
Definitely! Although I enjoy warm crepes with chocolate sauce or maple syrup, cold crepes with ice cream, fresh fruits, or even just plain are FAN-TA-STIC.
Just do keep in mind, if you don't plan on having the crepes while they're fresh off the heat, do keep them well covered with a lint free tea towel to keep them from hardening and drying out.
Crepes vs pancakes:
Crepes and pancakes have very similar batters, both starring eggs, flour, milk, and some sort of fat like butter or oil. But there are two main differences between crepes and pancakes.
The first difference is the batter consistency. Crepe batter is much, much thinner than pancakes batter, which is what helps achieve the paper thin final product that crepes are famous for.
The second difference is that pancakes typically feature a leavening ingredient (usually baking powder) to give it a taller rise.
How to serve crepes:
You can make this recipe to use for both sweet and savory crepe making.
Whenever I make sweet crepes, I love adding a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter to up the dessert aspect of it! You could do without them if you're serving the crepes with something sweet. Some ways I like to enjoy sweet crepes are with Nutella, maple syrup, ice cream, fruit, whipped cream, or caramel or chocolate sauce (or a combination of 2 or more of these!)
You can also make savory crepes with cheese, deli, cheese sauce, or even make a crepe burrito.
But as always, these are just what I could think of. There are a million different ways to serve crepes!
If you liked these crepes, you may also like some of these other recipes:
• Homemade pancakes
• Quick and easy croissants
• Crispy breakfast potatoes
• Blueberry scones
Homemade Crepes Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup (120mL) milk
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar (optional - for sweet crepes)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional - for sweet crepes)
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour, spoon and leveled
- ½ cup (120mL) cool water
- 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- neutral flavored oil for brushing the skillet
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine milk, eggs, salt, sugar, and vanilla, and whisk to break up the eggs and incorporate the ingredients.
- Add your flour to the wet ingredients. Whisk together until there are no longer any large visible lumps of flour.
- Add cool water to the batter, and whisk until you get a very liquid batter. Pour in the cooled melted butter and stir until everything is incorporated. Set aside to prep the skillet.
- Generously brush a large skillet with neutral flavored oil to prevent the crepes from sticking. Place the skillet onto a stove burner set to medium heat.
- Once the skillet is hot, pour about ¼ cup of batter into the center of the skillet while swirling the pan around to spread the batter into a thin, even layer. If you need to, fill any empty spots with a few drops of extra batter.
- Cook the crepe over medium heat for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until golden brown on the bottom and the top batter has dried. Flip, and cook for another 30 seconds or until golden brown on the other side.
- Transfer the cooked crepes to a plate. Keep the warm crepes covered with a lint free tea towel or aluminum foil to prevent drying out. Repeat until all of the batter is used up.
- Serve plain, with maple syrup, whipped cream, fresh fruits, ice cream, deli, cheese, or whatever else you like!
Video
Enjoy!
I would love to hear any tips you’d like to add to this post and how your crepes turned out in the comments below!
Have any questions? Any ideas to improve this recipe? Feel free to comment for that as well.
Is there a recipe you want to see us make? Comment below and let us know!
Carol Jesep says
Love your crepe recipe and many others. I wish you used Pinierst. I store all my recipes there.
Mimi says
Hey Carol! Thank you so much for your sweet comment - I'm so happy you like my recipes!! I do actually use Pinterest (it's the best!) Here's a link to my Pinterest if you were looking for it 🙂