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Home > All Recipes > Crepes

Easy Basic Crepe Recipe

Published: Oct 2, 2021 · Modified: Nov 23, 2024 by Judith Coates · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

Bon Appétit
Like it? ~ Let us know below!
What makes a crepe recipe sweet or savory is only the adjustment of a few ingredients and toppings.
Read the tutorial above to learn how to make perfect crepes and get tips to help.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe
basic crepe with ingredients

Learning how to make crepes is simple and rewarding. What are crepes? A crepe is a wafer-thin type of pancake with no leavening agent. Some people may refer to them as a flatbread. They can be eaten flat, folded, or rolled into a tunnel, with an endless selection of sweet or savory fillings and toppings. With only 4 ingredients that everyone has on hand, they are economical, quick, and easy to whip up!

Six folded crepes on a wooden board surrounded with two eggs, salt and flour.

Jump to:
  • ❤️About Crepes And Why We Love Them
  • 📸Ingredient Shot
  • 📋Ingredient List
  • 🔢Instructions
  • 🎨Visual Step-by-Step Guide
  • Kitchen Tools
  • 🥞Crepe Filling Flavor Ideas
  • Tips For Savory Crepe Batter
  • Tips For Sweet Crepe Batter
  • 📇🧅Savory Crepe Recipes For You To Make
  • 📇🍬Sweet Crepe Recipes For You To Make
  • 🫓Let's Look At Galettes
  • Top Tips
  • ❄️Storage
  • ❔FAQ
  • 📖 Recipe

❤️About Crepes And Why We Love Them

This crepe batter recipe is a fantastic starting point for making just about any type of crepe you wish to make. I explain with pictures and step-by-step instructions below. Then you can move on to other crepe filling ideas listed below to make a wonderful variety of this popular, special treat. And make sure you try my Best Easy Apple Pie Filling Galette.!

Nothing could be easier for a quick meal or snack, and they can be served with a plethora of other foods to make delicious eats!

Oh, and because the process to make galettes, and pancakes are similar to crepes then we will talk about them a little too. Enjoy!

📸Ingredient Shot

Ingredients for basic crepes with flour, milk, water, salt, and two eggs.

📋Ingredient List

Crepes only take 4 ingredients, if you don't count salt and water, flour, milk, oil, and eggs. Making them economical, fast, and easy to prepare.

  • flour
  • milk
  • eggs
  • oil

🔢Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients in a bowl.
Clear bowl with crepe batter being stirred with a whisk.

2. Use a wire whisk to stir everything together to make the batter.

Black crepe pan with a white crepe cooking in it.

3. Heat your pan slowly until it reaches a hot temperature around 200°C /400°F. Butter and then quickly pour in your batter. Crepes especially need to be cooked hot and quick or they may turn out rubbery if cooked too slow.

White crepe in a pan ready to flip.

4. How To Flip Crepes And Pancakes: Flipping the pancake. It is ready to flip when the edges start to lift. Gently take your spatula and slip it under the galette placing it underneath and across your galette to lift it so that it can be turned.

Browned crepe in a frying pan.

5. Crepes are done cooking when they are lightly browned. If your pan is hot enough this will only take 2 minutes on the first side and one minute for the second side after flipping.

🎨Visual Step-by-Step Guide

Visual step-by-step instructions showing how to make crepes.

Then you will have a lovely stack of crepes to dress in endless ways.

A stack of light brown cooked crepes.

The finished product ready to be embellished for eating right away or preparing for storage for later use.

Kitchen Tools

  • small bowl
  • whisk or blender
  • 8"non-stick pan with rounded corners or heavy-bottomed pan (only if you are experienced) or crepe pan
  • long spatula or flipper

🥞Crepe Filling Flavor Ideas

Crepes are such a perfect food because you can make them sweet or savory to suit your mood or need for a particular type of meal.

Crepes can be served simply flat with toppings or folded and stuffed inside the layers or rolled up around a filling. The latter two can also be served with something yummy on top to grace the crepe.

A golden crepe rolled up with yellow and white scrambled egg inside and a sprig of green parsley.

Filling Flavor List

  • Use up leftovers by inserting in a crepe, rolled up or folded. Like the photo above with scrambled eggs for serving intentionally or when leftover.
  • P&J crepes! Who wouldn't love this old favorite for breakfast or snack? Simply spread your crepe with jam, drizzle peanut butter back and forth across the crepe, fold in quarters or roll up, and eat!
  • Spread a crepe with peanut butter, lay slices of banana across half of the crepe, then fold the other half over the banana half, and fold into quarters before enjoying.
  • For chocolate crepes, before mixing the batter replace ¼ cup of flour with ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa and add 3 tablespoons of sugar.

Tips For Savory Crepe Batter

  • Use olive oil, vegetable oil or sunflower oil in the batter as each one will enhance your crepes with a slightly different flavor, your preference.
  • Try various oils out by dividing the dry ingredients after mixing them together into thirds placing each third in a separate bowl and use 3 different oils to see the one you like best.

Tips For Sweet Crepe Batter

  • Add 1 tablespoon caster sugar (To make caster sugar buzz granulated sugar in the blender until finer but not powder, be careful not to breathe in the dust.)
  • Or, use light brown sugar to make golden caster sugar which adds a slight caramel flavor.
  • Use melted and cooled butter instead of oil in batter.

Note: ½ cup white sugar will equal ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon of castor sugar.

Try the many variations listed below and then come up with your own and share with us in the comments!

📇🧅Savory Crepe Recipes For You To Make

  • Three of my favorite foods combined into a tasty rolled up crepe, Bacon, Spinach, Cheese & Mushroom Crepes.
  • If you like it hot or tangy this recipe has lots of opportunity to adjust as you like, Spicy Ground Beef Crepes.
  • Yes, this crepe dish is a wonderful choice for people with a gluten allergy as buckwheat or beech wheat or kasha, which is not a wheat at all but related to a leafy vegetable that flowers like rhubarb or sorrel. Buckwheat Crepe Recipe
  • Another popular French dish which is still a crepe Ficelle Picarde is a delectable combination of ham, and mushrooms in a cream sauce, stuffed inside a crepe and smothered in cheese which is melted under the oven broiler.

📇🍬Sweet Crepe Recipes For You To Make

  • This recipe is as delicious as it sounds Chocolate Cream Filled Crepes.
  • Creamy Dark Caramel & Pecan Crepes, a match made in heaven!
  • Crepes Suzette With Orange Butter Sauce and Crepes Suzette Flambé With Citrus Sauce Recipe may sound the same but thy they both have an exquisite flavor of their own, so you must try them both.

🫓Let's Look At Galettes

Galettes are a close cousin to crepes. They can also be made savory or sweet. The biggest difference is that galettes are like pockets that hold the filling and are often filled while still in the pan and the edges are flipped over the top of the filling.

They are made with a variety of flours whereas crepes are usually made with plain white flour. But galettes can be made with a variety of flours like buckwheat, whole wheat, spelt flour, and cornmeal can be added.

Try these beautiful French galettes for proof of their worthiness.

  • A French Classic Galette De Sarrasin or Buckwheat Crepe recipe or Buckwheat Galette, which is more commonly called buckwheat pancakes in the US and Canada served with butter and syrup, but a completely different food from this French dish.
  • A lovely breakfast or brunch meal Ham And Cheese Galette or in France a Galette Bretonne. Always delicious and quick and easy to throw together.
  • Then there are endless fruit galettes that are similar to pies but not with all the fuss and muss of pie crusts, like our Best Easy Apple Pie Filling Galette.

Voila! Superbly made Crepes for you to enjoy all my different recipes!

Top Tips

If you're going to make this recipe, make sure to follow this top tip!

  • As always having the right tools will produce a better result, so that is why it is very important to use a good skillet or fry pan. What makes a good skillet for crepes and galettes? A heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan or a good quality non-stick pan with rounded corners that the batter can be swirled around in, will produce a thin, evenly browned, fluted edged crepe.
  • All batter types should stand (or rest) for at least an hour, so plan ahead, that goes for galettes and pancakes as well as crepes.
  • Crepe and galette batter should be stirred until smooth, but, not pancakes. Pancakes need to be stirred just to combine the wet with the dry and lumps are good.
  • The first crepe, galette, or pancake cooked is often the messiest. Why? It's hard to say but sometimes we try too hard to get the batter perfectly round and thin in the pan, or the pan is not hot enough, but whatever it is, it's most often misshapen. Don't be dismayed, they will still be delicious!

❄️Storage

This process for storing can be used for galettes and pancakes too.

  • Any leftover crepes can be frozen and reheated at another time.
  • Or make them intentionally with the idea to freeze them for later use.
  • Layer cooled crepes with clear wrap between them, then place the stack of pancakes in a plastic bag or wrap in foil, then it can be placed in the freezer as is or in a container to keep them from getting damaged in the shuffle.

❔FAQ

What Is The Secret To Making Great Crepes?

The batter needs to rest for a minimum of one hour before cooking, but if you plan ahead mix the batter the day before to let it rest longer. Pancakes and galettes will also benefit from resting the batter.

What is the difference between crepes, galettes and pancakes?

Crepes and Galettes are very thin and have no leavening agent added like baking powder or baking soda. Crepes are usually made with wheat flour, whereas galettes are always made with buckwheat flour (chickpea flour). Pancakes contain a leavening agent which makes them thicker and fluffy.

What ingredients are crepes made with?

Crepes are simply made with flour, milk, water, eggs, and salt. Making them is very economical.

Can other types of milk be substituted for cows milk?

Yes, try coconut milk, almond milk, cream, even kefir, yogurt, but the key to substituting in other milks is, if your desired replacement is thick, replace some of the amount with water or you will end up with thick crepes.

Still have a question about crepes?

Ask it in the comments below and I will answer ASAP!

Use this plain crepe mixture to start with to create your own delicious meals!

📖 Recipe

basic crepe with ingredients

Easy Basic Crepe Recipe

Judith Coates
Bon Appétit
Like it? ~ Let us know below!
What makes a crepe recipe sweet or savory is only the adjustment of a few ingredients and toppings.
Read the tutorial above to learn how to make perfect crepes and get tips to help.
Print Recipe Pin
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Course Crepes
Cuisine French
Servings 12 -14 crepes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup/100 gr plain flour
  • a pinch of salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ⅓ cup water
  • 1 cup/300 ml 1 or 2% milk semi-skimmed milk

Instructions
 

  • Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
  • Make a well in the center, then add the eggs, oil, water, and milk.
  • Stir crepe batter with a whisk until smooth, it should be thin, do not beat.
  • Let batter stand for 1 hour before cooking for best results or longer, even over night.
  • Heat an 8" pan slowly (use a non-stick crepe pan unless you are experienced) until it is hot about 400°F/200°C.
  • Butter pan quickly and pour in enough batter to cover the bottom by swirling pan gently to spread the batter across the surface of the pan. Cook fast and hot 1-2 minutes or they will be rubbery.
  • When edges lift easily and bottom browning, it is time to turn.
  • The second side will only take a short time to cook, less than 1 minute, so keep a watch on it.
  • Serve on warmed plates and enjoy!

Notes

Tips For Successful Crepes
  • Let batter rest for 1 hour after mixing or longer, even over night.
Tips For Sweet Crepe Batter
  • Add 1 tablespoon caster sugar (To make caster sugar, buzz granulated sugar in the blender until finer but not powder, be careful not to breathe in the dust)
  • Or, use light brown sugar to make golden caster sugar which adds a slight caramel flavor.
Tips For Savory Crepe Batter
  • Use olive oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil in the batter as each one will enhance your crepes with a slightly different flavor, your preference.
  • Try them out by dividing the other ingredients in half placing each half in a separate bowl and use 2 different oils to see the one you like best.
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Keyword easy basic crepe recipe, French food, how to make crepes, simple crepe recipe, what are crepes
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Enchanté, je suis Judith

Owner, home chef, food writer, & creator of this website where I share my collection of appetizing French cuisine recipes. My goal is to remove all your misconceptions about French food being too finicky or too saucy, it's simply wonderful everyday eating! So, let us get cooking!

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