How To Make Crepes- The Easy Way– This basic recipe for homemade crepes is all you need on your repertoire of easy and delicious recipes.
The crepes are thin and buttery, and you do not need to use a blender, a mixer, or a fancy special pan. A few basic ingredients are all you need to make the crepes and get them ready for your choice of sweet or savory fillings and topics.
Where I come from, kids love crepes, especially if you serve them with their favorite jam.
Most of my recipes on this blog have a story. Many of them are recipes I grew up with and loved all my life, other recipes are inherited from friends and family.
This easy crepes recipe comes from a dear friend. She taught me two of her favorite recipes she grew up with, and I am more than honored to share them with you.
One is this recipe of crepes and the other is her famous recipe of doughnuts.
What are crepes:
Crepes are the European cousin of the American pancakes. They are thin and made with flour, milk and eggs without the use of a leavener that you see in the American pancakes. The batter is spread very thin in a frying pan and cooked on both sides.
Simple and easy to make, this recipe is a staple for many European countries. They are the most popular in France, but every country has a version of this wonderful dish.
Where I come from, the concept of pancakes is not very well known, but crepes are made in any household.
The men, in particular, take pride in showing you how to flip the pan, so the crepes get cooked evenly on both sides.
Moms or grandmas disappear in the kitchen, only to come out with a mountain of warm crepes filled with homemade jams and preserves.
Crepes are a big deal back there but also a cheap and delicious dessert that can be consumed during the day.
I do not remember having crepes for breakfast, but for sure I had them as a dessert after lunch, as a snack in the afternoon, or even for dinner.
The crepe batter is made in advance and allowed to rest, so the flour swells and any air beaten in during preparation has time to dissipate.
Allowing the batter to rest will ensure that the crepes are soft and even. This is an important step.
How to pronounce crepes:
Read about this here.
Are crepes the same as American pancakes?
No, they are not. Crepes are a thinner version of a pancake. While both items are made with the same ingredients, the crepes batter is runny, while the pancake one is thicker and dense.
Also, the pancakes batter has either baking powder or baking soda.
Crepes can be made either savory or sweet.
They are suitable for any meal of the day and can be filled with many items, like ham, cheese, cooked vegetables, jam, fresh fruit, chocolate, or whipped cream.
Savory crepes:
Crepes can be made with all-purpose flour or buckwheat. If you make them with buckwheat (a naturally gluten-free flour), they are called galettes and are very popular in the region of Brittany, France.
Sweet crepes:
These are made with all-purpose flour and a small amount of sugar added to the batter. You can choose to make them without sugar if the fillings are overly sweet.
What kind of ingredients you need to make homemade crepes:
You need just a few ingredients: eggs, milk, flour, oil or butter and a pinch of salt. If you want to make them sweet, then you will need to add some sugar to the batter.
How To Make Crepes- The Easy Way:
The recipe is very easy to make.
Step1. Prepare the batter.
Blend eggs and milk together, add oil and sugar, then gradually add flour and salt.
Mix until smooth and lump free. To achieve a lump free consistency of the thin batter, you need to whisk really well. If you have a blender, you can blend the batter until it is smooth, but you can make crepes without it.
To tell you the truth, as we are in the era of multiple kitchen gadgets, so most bloggers out there use a blender for making the crepes batter.
If you do not have one, there is not a big deal. Use a whisk or a fork and work that batter really well, until all the lumps are gone.
Step 2. Allow the batter to rest.
The next step will be to clean up and allow the batter to sit for about 15-30 minutes before you start cooking the crepes.
The batter can sit in the fridge for up to one day if you choose, for example, to make the crepes in the morning, but prepare the batter the night before.
Step 3. Make the crepes.
Using a 5-6 inches skillet, spoon out some batter into the center of the skillet and then roll the pan to let the batter run to the edge, to keep it as thin as possible.
Let it bubble and then with a fork or knife lift a corner of the crepe and flip it. Both sides should be a little brown but still soft.
Step 4.
Place the cooked crepe on a plate and continue the same way with the rest of the batter. Stack the crepes on top of each other.
My grandmother used to cover the crepes with a plate positioned upside down to keep the crepes warm.
Secret: Butter the rims of each crepe to keep soft.
You can also roll them in an easier way, as you can see in the photo below, or just fold them in four.
Can I replace the milk?
Yes, you can. Use any kind of milk you have. You can also use almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk or even water. Seltzer water is another good one for this recipe.
What kind of savory fillings you can use:
- Shredded Chicken
- Cooked Mushrooms
- Ham and Cheese
- Seafood
- Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese(add some chopped herbs like dill or parsley)
- Cooked Hamburger Meat with Tomato Sauce
- Cooked Broccoli with Bacon
- Cooked Spinach and Feta Cheese
- Omelet with Feta Cheese and Dill
What kind of sweet fillings you can use:
- Cottage Cheese/Farmer Cheese with raisins and sugar
- Nutella
- Nutella and Slices of Banana
- Sliced Bananas and Caramel Sauce
- Cream Cheese with Orange Preserves
- Sweetened Whipped Cream and Fresh Fruits, like berries or peaches
Can I use self-rising flour?
Yes, you can, but keep in mind that self rising flour contains baking soda, so the crepes will come out thicker due to the rising agent in the flour.
Can I freeze them?
Yes, you can absolutely freeze crepes and the process is very simple. You can make up a large batch, wrap them in parchment paper inside of freezer bags, then in the freezer.
They should be kept for up to 3 months. Defrost them slowly in the refrigerator, or in the microwave in 10 seconds increments.
More recipes to love:
Easy Banana-Buttermilk Pancakes
How To Make Crepes- The Easy Way
How To Make Crepes- The Easy Way- This easy crepes with jam recipe is a delicious option for a simple dessert. Kids love crepes especially if you serve them with their favorite jam!
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 4 cups/1 liter whole milk
- 2 cups/250g all purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- (Optional) 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 5-6 inch skillet
Instructions
- Blend together eggs, milk, oil and optional sugar, if you make them sweet.
- Gradually add flour and salt.
- Mix until smooth and lump free.
- Let mixture sit for up to 15 minutes in a covered bowl.
- Heat up 5-6 inch skillet with melted butter.
- Spoon out mix into center of skillet and then roll the pan to let the batter run to the edge to keep it as thin as possible.
- Let it bubble and then with a fork or knife lift a corner and flip the crepe.
- Both sides should be a little brown but still soft.
- Remove and stack. Butter the rims of each pancake to keep soft.
- Fill them with your favorite savory or sweet fillings. Roll them up and serve warm.
- Recipe can be cut in half for a smaller batch.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 76Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 29mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g