In the battle between crepes and pancakes, I’ll side with crepes any day. Why? Because they’re endlessly versatile (serve them up with sweet or savory fillings) and their thin and delicate texture means I can enjoy a lot more of them before feeling overly stuffed. 😅 I mean sure, a big stack of fluffy pancakes always has its place, but crepes for me are just tops. Especially when they’re as easy as this recipe for homemade crepes. Need more convincing? Keep reading…
What’s the Difference Between Crepes and Pancakes?
Crepes, like pancakes, are made with a simple batter comprised of flour, eggs, milk, and butter. The main difference between crepes and pancakes is the ratio of ingredients in the batter which creates different textures once cooked. Crepes are very thin and flexible, making them perfect for filling, folding, and rolling. Their delicate flavor also pairs well with both sweet and savory ingredients. American pancakes, on the other hand, are thick, fluffy, far more cake-like, and are almost always served with sweet toppings.
Ingredients for Crepes
Crepes are incredibly easy to make and don’t require any unusual ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy homemade crepes recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour: Flour gives the crepes body and a nice flexible texture. You can substitute up to half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, if desired.
- Eggs: The eggs serve three purposes in crepes: binding, leavening, and flexibility. They act as the glue that holds the batter together, they create some steam action when cooked which helps leaven the crepes just a touch, and they keep the crepes nice and flexible.
- Milk: Milk serves as the liquid in the batter. I used whole milk for a richer crepe, but you can substitute with any milk, dairy or non-dairy, that you like.
- Butter: Butter keeps the crepes rich and delicious, and add a nice flavor.
- Water: A little extra water helps hydrate the flour to keep the crepes nice and soft.
- Salt: Salt helps flavor the crepes so they don’t taste pasty or too much like flour.
- Oil: Oil is used to cook the crepes so they don’t stick to the pan and so they brown nicely on the surface.
Make Sweet or Savory Crepes
Our homemade crepes recipe below is neutral in flavor and pairs well with either sweet or savory fillings. If you want your crepes to be a little sweeter and more dessert-like, you can add 1 Tbsp granulated sugar and ½ tsp vanilla extract to the batter for a sweeter finish.
Filling Ideas for Crepes
The best part about crepes is filling them with all sorts of fun ingredients! Scavenge your fridge and pantry for anything you might need to use up, and come up with your own fun flavor combinations, or try one of these filling ideas for crepes:
- Yogurt and jam
- Ham and cheese
- Lemon curd and whipped cream
- Nutella and berries
- Spinach and goat cheese or Swiss cheese
- Peanut butter and chocolate chips
How to Serve Crepes
Once you’ve chosen some fun fillings for your crepes, you can either fold or roll those fillings up in the crepe. To fold the crepes, cover half of the crepe with your toppings, fold the crepe in half to close, and then fold in half once more so it’s in a quarter-round. To roll the crepes, place your toppings down the center, or slightly to one side, then fold one side over the toppings, then continue to roll to the other side.
How to Store Leftover Crepes
…If there are any leftovers! Leftover crepes are stored well in the fridge for quick use later in the week, and you can even freeze crepes for longer storage. Keep refrigerated crepes in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or other air-tight food storage container for 4-5 days. To freeze, make sure to place a piece of parchment between each crepe so they don’t stick together once frozen. Thaw frozen crepes in the refrigerator overnight, or at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, then microwave briefly until warmed through.
Easy Homemade Crepes
Servings 6 crepesIngredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.07)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature* ($0.46)
- 1 cup milk, warmed* ($0.20)
- 3 Tbsp melted butter ($0.33)
- 1/4 cup water ($0.00)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil, for the skillet ($0.08)
Instructions
- Add the flour, salt, eggs, milk, melted butter, and water together in a large bowl until it forms a smooth and slightly thick batter.
- Let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate up to two days.
- When ready to make your crepes, heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Once hot, brush with about ½ tsp oil.
- Pour about ⅓ cup of the batter into the skillet and begin to tilt the skillet in a circular motion to allow the batter to evenly cover the surface of the skillet.
- Allow the batter to cook until mostly set, then flip and cook until golden brown on the second side. The total cook time for each side will vary depending on your skillet and stove top. You may need to adjust the heat up or down as you go.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter, adding more oil between crepes as needed. As you cook the crepes, stack them on a clean plate and cover with a towel to keep warm. Once all of the crepes are cooked, fill, fold, or roll the crepes then serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Crepes
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt, 2 large eggs (room temperature, 1 cup milk (room temperature), 3 Tbsp melted butter, and ¼ cup water.
Whisk the ingredients together until it creates a smooth batter that is thin enough to run off the spoon. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for up to two days.
Heat a 10-inch non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, brush about ½ tsp oil over the surface of the pan.
Pour about ⅓ cup batter into the center of the pan, then immediately tilt the skillet around in a circle to allow the batter to thinly cover the surface.
Getting the batter to evenly cover the surface may take a little practice, but don’t worry, even if they’re not perfectly shaped they still taste great! And it can make for a fun Saturday morning game. Once the batter is mostly set, it’s time to flip the crepe.
Flip the crepe and cook until golden brown on the second side. The time needed to cook the crepe until golden brown on each side will vary depending on your skillet and characteristics of your stove, so you may need to play around a bit and adjust the heat as you go.
As you cook the crepes, pile the finished crepes onto a plate and cover with a clean towel to keep warm. This recipe will make about six crepes.
Once they’re all cooked, it’s time to fill and enjoy! To roll the crepes, place your fillings down the center or slightly to one side, then fold one side in over the toppings and continue to roll to the other side.
To fold the crepes, place your fillings over one half of the crepe, then fold to close.
Fold in half one more time to create a quarter-round.
And then once the crepes are filled and folded or rolled, you can top them with even more ingredients like powdered sugar, whipped cream, or maple syrup.
What is your favorite crepe filling? Share in the comments below. :)
I often fill mine with scrambled eggs and cheese for breakfast, but my favorite simple crepe filling is a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a dusting of powdered sugar, like I had in London years ago. So simple and so good!
At 80, living alone and cooking from a wheelchair, I am always looking for recipes that can be made for just one. Never thought of crepes – can’t wait to try the savories. A great fresh food and no leftovers to deal with! Thanks – S.
Best savory crepe combination I’ve ever had*: butternut squash (cubed), spinach, thin apple slices, and chevre. I can’t wait to pair your recipe with this filling combo!
* It was at Burlington International Airport in Vermont. Shout-out to The Skinny Pancake and the best airport food ever.
I’m Dutch and I prefer the Dutch take on crepes. Slightly thicker. They’re best with molten cheese by putting cheese on as soon as you flip it, or with apple by putting the apple slices in the pan before the batter, hmmm <3
In Ireland, my friends used to always make HUGE batches of these for “Pancake Tuesday” and everyone would fill them with powdered sugar and lemon juice. Very tasty, but I love savory crepes most. And of course Nutella!
I was introduced to crepes in Paris, at a food cart, and he was serving them with Nutella. THE BEST EVER.
My favorite is just squeeze some lemon on top of the empty folded crepes and sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the lemon (Oh my goodness…I am craving some now). It’s a combination of sweet and sour combined (perfection if you ask me : ) ).
my favorite filling is Nutella! topped with sliced, fresh strawberries — it’s even better =]
Quick and easy way to clean a blender? Dribble a drop or two of dish soap and a 1/2 cup or water and pulse the blender, then dump and repeat to rinse (may need several rinse cycles). Easy-peasy!
Several rinse cycles? Sounds like it would be easier just to take a scrub brush to it the old-fashioned way, lol.
Depends what is in it :) The soapy blend works great and doesn’t usually need more than one whizz and a rinse if you haven’t either made hummus or let stuff harden on.
Your crepe recipe is very similar to my grandmother’s Swedish pancake recipe. We had them every Saturday morning while I was growing up! Love them to this day!
What fun, and thanks for the good ideas about the blender! Like the pear & brie; will think about how to modify for Spring fruit. I have almond flour but no wheat flour, will try and report back. Anyone make almond crepes? Cheers, TinaP
Keep us posted, please!! :-)
Pear and brie?? That sounds amazing. Maybe even with a bit of prosciutto… now I know what I’ll do with my leftover crepes!
I grew up on these things and our “recipe” was some flour, some eggs and enough milk to get it to the right consistency! And Beth, mine STILL look like amoebas! But we eat them anyway.
I love Nutella in mine now, but as a kid, we just put plain sugar (or jam) in them and rolled them up. Until we had a banana crepe at a restaurant downtown: bananas, sour cream, whipped cream and brown sugar. A bit more work, but definitely tasty! And my kids sometimes put brown sugar and cinnamon in them.
We had them a lot growing up with all sorts of fillings. In polish they’re called naleลniki. My favorite filling is farmers cheese mixed with cream, vanilla and sugar, but only if they’re fried again in butter till golden and crispy, then served with sour cream mixed with sugar (or just sprinkled with sugar).
I also recently came back from Prague. I did not have crepes but was very inspired by the food. The best food during our trip that covered 4 countries. Hope to see some of their dishes on your blog! I had the best warm cabbage that was sweet and sour, it blew me away. Did you have any?
I actually did have some cabbage like that (mine was purple cabbage)! It was probably one of the best things I had there, yet so simple. I might have liked it so much, though, because by that time I was seriously vegetable deprived. :) I think it was just vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. I need to try it.
i had crepes with lemon cream filling this past weekend and i have been wanting more. i will certainly give your recipe a try, it looks so good.