How to Make Crepes

How to Make Crepes: These tips and tricks (straight from a French bakery) will help you make delicious crepes every time!

The possibilities are endless with this recipe — fill them with a savory filling, sweet filling, or enjoy them plain with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Our favorite way to enjoy them is with Nutella®, berries, homemade whipped cream, and this vanilla sauce. These banana crepes (filled with custard) are also a favorite!

When I was in high school, we had the cutest foreign exchange student from France live with our family for about a year. We all fell in love with her immediately; she is the sweetest girl and fit in perfectly with our family!

Her dad is a pastry chef and owns a bakery/pastry shop in France, so you can bet we drilled her for any and all of her secrets and recipes. And the recipe we made the most? Crepes. She taught us how to make them perfectly with dozens of ways to enjoy them. I think we had some kind of “crepe meal” 3 out of 7 days a week for the whole time she lived with us!

Today I’m sharing the step-by-step process to make them (I promise it’s easy!), our favorite ways to enjoy them (savory and sweet), and some tips.

QUICK TIP

When I was little, the name Crêpes Suzette sounded romantic and magical. Do you know what it is? It’s a French dessert made with a crepe with a suzette sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and orange liqueur on top. The special part is that when served in a tableside performance, the liquor is lit and the crepes are served flaming. Très élégant! Now you know.

Step-by-step process to making crepes:

• Blend: Add milk, flour, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla, and eggs to a blender; process on low speed until well combined — about 10 seconds if you have a powerful blender.
• Scrape: Make sure you scrape down the sides of your blender. If any ingredients didn’t mix in well, blend for another few seconds.
• Chill: Chill the mixture for at least an hour. The batter can chill overnight if you want to serve crepes for breakfast.
• Cook: Once the mixture has chilled and you’re ready to make the crepes, give your mixture a quick stir. Then lightly butter a large skillet (you don’t need a special crepe maker!); lift the pan and pour 1/4 cup batter into the pan. Immediately tilt and swirl the pan in a circular motion to evenly coat the entire bottom portion of  the pan with that crepe batter. Once the bottom is golden brown (about 1 minute), use an offset spatula to lift the edge of the crepe and flip over to cook the other side. Cook until golden brown spots appear.
• Enjoy: Add your filling(s) of choice and fold it in half and then half again to form a triangle–or just roll it up like a burrito.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it makes a lot, which is nice to meal prep or plan meals for your week. Once made, these crepes store beautifully in the fridge for 4-5 days. Having them chilled and ready to makes it perfect to grab a couple of prepared crepes in the morning and whip together a quick (filling and healthy!) breakfast (or lunch, dinner, or snack).

Here are some of our favorite ways to fill them up and make a satisfying meal.

Crepe making tips:

• Refrigerate the batter for at least an hour. Refrigerating the mixture after it’s been blended relaxes the gluten and makes for light, airy crepes.
• Nonstick pan: While you don’t need a special pan or crepe maker to make amazing crepes, you do need a nonstick pan! FYI: Here’s the exact pan I use.
• Heat: Slowly heat the pan to the desired temp. If you try heating your pan too quickly you’ll have to constantly adjust the temperature trying to get it right.
• Butter the pan: You want to make sure you have enough butter to evenly cover the bottom and parts of the sides of your frying pan. Your first crepe may be a bit crispy and buttery, but the following crepes should come out perfectly. The initial butter you apply to the pan should last at least 5-6 crepes.
• Don’t flip it too soon: Make sure you wait until the surface of your crepe is starting to get golden brown spots, the edges have started to brown, and it is no longer shiny. If you flip it too early the crepe will tear and be undercooked.
• Immediately swirl the batter: It’s vital that as soon as you pour your 1/4-cup of batter onto the heated frying pan, you immediately swirl the batter evenly around the whole base of the frying pan. If you wait at all the batter will start to cook and you won’t get that thin, delicious crepe.

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You know that first test crepe that comes out a little crispy? It makes a great treat to nibble on while cooking the rest of them!

More Breakfast Favorites:

• French Toast (with four-ingredient caramel syrup)
• Ham and Cheese Quiche (the easiest recipe ever!)
• Bread Pudding Recipe
• Easy Banana Bread
• Chocolate Muffins (bakery style)
• Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

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How to Make Crepes

5 from 2 votes

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Learn how to make the most delicious crepes with tips and tricks to make them perfect every time! 

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

How to Make Crepes

5 from 2 votes

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Learn how to make the most delicious crepes with tips and tricks to make them perfect every time! 

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Main Course

Cuisine French

Keyword How to Make Crepes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Chilling Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 18 -22 crepes

Calories 121kcal

Author Chelsea

Equipment

• Parchment Paper, nonstick skillet, offset spatula

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 and 1/2 cups whole milk (I don't recommend a lower fat percentage)
• ▢ 2 cups white all-purpose flour, measure by spoon and level
• ▢ 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• ▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 4 large eggs
• ▢ Optional: powdered sugar, syrup, whipped cream -- whatever you want to serve in or on top

Instructions

• Add milk, flour, sugar, salt, melted and slightly cooled butter, vanilla, and eggs to a high-powered blender. Blend on low speed until well combined, about 10-15 seconds.
• Scrape sides and bottom of the blender if there's any flour sticking and blend a few seconds longer. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
• Before cooking the crepes, cut small squares of parchment paper to separate each one. This is important so they don't all stick together after being cooked and especially important if you are saving/storing them in the fridge for later.
• Heat an 8 to 10-inch NONSTICK skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Remove the batter from the fridge and give it a quick stir. Place a large tray or platter near the stove and put one square of parchment paper down. This is where you'll place all the crepes as they are cooked.
• Lightly butter the skillet with melted butter and a pastry brush (or a paper towel dipped in the butter). Barely lift the pan off the heat and immediately pour 1/4 cup crepe batter into the pan. Immediately, and working quickly, tilt and swirl the crepe pan in a circular motion to evenly coat the bottom of the pan with batter. Return skillet to the heat.
• Cook until the crepe is golden brown on the bottom (1-2 minutes) and then use an offset spatula (I like to use a rubber spatula) to lift an edge of the crepe. Gently grab that edge of the crepe and using your fingers and the spatula, flip the crepe to the other side. Cook until golden brown spots appear (another 1-2 minutes) on the bottom, and then remove the crepe to the prepared plate/tray. Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on top of the crepe.
• Repeat until all of the batter has been used. If crepes are cooking too quickly, reduce the temperature of the burner as needed(and alternatively increase if they are taking longer than 1-2 minutes per side to cook).
• TO SERVE: Fill crepes with desired fillings and then fold in half, and then half again to form triangles. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, add a spoonful of whipped cream, and drizzle on syrup as desired. 
• TO STORE: Let cooked crepes cool completely and then transfer to a large resealable plastic bag. Seal without any air and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

Recipe Notes

Nutritional information is for the crepes without any fillings or toppings.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 121kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 63mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 193IU | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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