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.
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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. :)
It’s been quite some time since I’ve made crepes, but I think that needs to change. I have some bananas and a jar of Nutella that are screaming to be wrapped up in this deliciousness. :D
I was just recently thinking about learning to make crepes so that I can freeze them! Then bam! Budgetbytes crepe recipe :-)
My crepe story comes from Puerto Rico. I was at a little hole-in-the-wall place and I decided to order what seemed to me to be the oddest thing on the menu. I had cheese crepes stuffed with octopus tentacles. Hundreds of little tentacles. I kid you not, it.was.amazing.
Hahahah WOW!
I had no idea making crepes was so simple, but I’m now seeing crepes in my immediate future. As always, thanks for making the seemingly difficult easy to understand and recreate.
I always keep a stick of butter in the freezer and use it to grease my pan between crepes, they taste so good!
The filling of choice at my house is Nutella :)
My family loves crepes! My favorite savory combo at the moment is ham, swiss, dijon, and spinach. It’s hard to go wrong with a filling, and it’s a great way to use up odds and ends in the fridge.
We must try this! Thanks, great blog!
http://luksusportal.pl/en
I never really liked crepes when I had them here in the states served like pancakes with syrup and butter (I don’t really like pancakes), but then I went to France and I had crepes stuffed with tuna fish and melted cheese and I realized what I’d been missing.
I’ve never made crepes myself, but I trust your recipes and I’m sure I can do it if I follow this one.
I try not to eat “sweets” but I make crepes for my grandchildren and my grandson’s favourite is crepe filled with “nutella” !!!
We ate these growing up, but always called them Swedish pancakes. We spread butter on them, sprinkled with sugar, and rolled them up. So good! Brings back memories of Saturday mornings.
Sauerkraut, mushrooms and lentils
For some reason I’ve never tried making crepes at home because I thought they were complicated. This recipe sounds pretty easy though so I think I’ll give it a go in the next week or two.
I always thought it was complicated, too! So very easy, though. :)
You can substitute mineral water or beer instead of the milk. The crepes will be lighter this way. Use butter to grease your pan. I like mine with pure maple syrup or fresh fruit and whipped cream. I like savory crepes, but I use buckwheat flour like in France, Britany. I cook the crepes on only one side, and I cook an egg on one side and I add grated cheese and ham. Serve with a green salad with sliced apples and walnuts and apple cider as a drink. Bon appétit!
Beth,
You must try buckwheat crepes, very popular in France where they are called galettes. They are served with savoury fillings like cheese with ham and/or asparagus/spinach, and sometimes with an egg. And, buckwheat flour is gluten free. You can also add a little bit of beer to the mix as it intensifies the buckwheat flavour.
Yummy!
Can’t remember the last time I had crepes, and I’ve been thinking about it. Specifically, savory crepes with a shrimp filling, maybe with mushrooms too. Should be fairly easy to get all sorts of veggies in these things. Ooh! Shrimp and asparagus!