Easy to make Crepes take less than 5 minutes to throw together and less than 15 minutes to have on your table!
Just like our Best Fluffy Pancakes, Crepes are extremely versatile and easy to make! This Easy To Make Crepes recipe features a number of helpful tips and tricks that are guaranteed to help you create delicate, soft and buttery French Crepes every single time!
So versatile, you can make them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or dessert!
WHAT ARE CREPES?
Similar to American pancakes and Buttermilk Pancakes, French crepes have a mild, sweet, cake-like flavour, but a very different size and texture. Crepes are thinner, softer and more delicate. The batter is watery when compared to pancake batter, containing no leavening agents which prevents them from getting fluffy.
It’s easy to be intimidated by crepes if you have never made them before. You may have heard that they are either too difficult to make or too delicate to deal with, but with the right recipe, they are actually so easy!
After making them once, they will be perfect EVERY time.
Do these crepes look familiar? Perhaps because this is the very same simple, foolproof crepe recipe used in our Strawberries and Cream Crepes with Orange Liqueur. They might look tricky, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll be flipping perfect crepes every time.
INGREDIENTS
All you need for easy to make crepes is flour, eggs, milk and butter (or oil). The traditional recipes consist of 4 eggs, 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of flour. I’m not a fan of the strong eggy taste, so throughout the years, we have been able to reduce the amount of eggs, swapping 2 out for extra milk and fats (butter/oil).
I also find the more eggs in the recipe, the more likely it is your crepes will turn out rubbery and chewy.
If you love SOFT and delicate crepes, this recipe is definitely for you!
HOW TO MAKE PERFECT CREPES
In our recipe, we include two methods for mixing our batter:
WHISK the DRY ingredients together first. Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients. Whisk until lump free and smooth.
BLENDÂ all ingredients together in less than 10 seconds.
REST your batter while your pan heats up, letting the gluten rest. I find 5-10 minutes is plenty of time.
You want a runny batter so that it runs freely around the base of your pan, evenly covering it when swirling it around.
COOK in a lightly greased nonstick pan over a medium heat.
- For an 8 inch pan, you will need about 3 tablespoons of crepe batter (about 50 ml).
- A 10 inch pan needs about a ¼ cup of batter (about 60 mL).
- For a 12 inch pan, you need just over â…“ of a cup of batter (about 80-90 mL).
You want just enough batter to create a thin crepe!
Add batter while swirling the pan: Use one hand to pour the batter in, while the other hand swirls the pan. Work quickly to ensure the batter spreads evenly over the base and around the edges of the pan.
FOR SOFT CREPES
Use butter as grease to make your crepes super soft while cooking. Let cook until the surface has set and the underside is slightly golden, about 1 minute. Gently flip and cook until set, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
FOR CRISP EDGES
Using oil as your grease helps get those edges nice and crispy! Cook until the edges are starting to brown and crisp slightly, about 1 ½ – 2 minutes. Flip and cook for a further 30 seconds until the crepes develop brown spots.
CAN I MAKE THEM GLUTEN FREE?
Yes, crepes can be made gluten free. Use your regular gluten free flour, or buckwheat flour instead. They are slightly more delicate, but taste the same.
SUBSTITUTIONS
MILK:Â Â Almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, rice milk or goats milk can be used to make them. You can also swap milk out for water if you prefer, but the flavour will be altered.
FLOUR:Â Wholemeal and whole wheat flours can be used. They will have a nutty taste and will not be as delicate. The finer the flour, the softer the crepes.
BUTTER: Oil can be used instead.
MORE CREPE RECIPES
Nutella S’mores Crepes
Strawberry Cheesecake Crepes
Jam Donut Crepes
Easy To Make Crepes
Ingredients
FOR CREPES
- 5 ounces all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar heaped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 2 large egg
- 4 tablespoons melted butter or oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
FOR COOKING
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
Instructions
FOR CREPES
- Whisk together flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the centre and pour in milk, eggs and slightly cooled melted butter. Whisk wet ingredients first before folding into the dry ingredients.
- Whisk until batter is smooth. Batter should be runny/watery. Add in 1-2 tablespoons extra milk, if needed.
BLENDER METHOD
- Add all the ingredients into a blender. Blend until batter is smooth, about 10 seconds.
REST
- Let batter rest while preheating a 10-inch nonstick pan over medium heat. Alternatively, cover batter and refrigerate overnight.
COOK CREPES
- Lightly grease pan with a layer of butter with a butter soaked paper towel or silicone brush.
- Give the batter a light mix to move settled ingredients around before pouring out each crepe.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into the centre of your hot pan. Swirl around in a circular motion to evenly coat the bottom of the pan, spreading the batter around the edges. Fill in any gaps with a little extra crepe batter if needed.
- Place pan back on the heat.
FOR SOFT CREPES
- Let crepe cook until the surface has set and the underside is slightly golden, about 1 minute.
- Gently flip crepe and cook until set, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Repeat until all the batter is used up, mixing batter before pouring out each crepe.
FOR CRISP EDGES
- Cook crepes until the edges are starting to brown and crisp slightly, about 1 ½ - 2 minutes. Flip and cook for a further 30 seconds until the crepes develop browned spots.
- Repeat until all the batter is used up, mixing batter before pouring out each crepe.
- Stack cooked crepes on a plate.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Serve with fresh lemon wedges or thick slices to squeeze juice over crepes before eating, and whipped cream. If serving crepes later, microwave stack until warm, about 30 seconds. MAKE AHEAD Make crepes ahead of time and store layered with a sheet of parchment paper between each crepe. Wrap with cling wrap and store in an air-tight container. This prevents them from drying out. Refrigerate for up to 3 days, and warm (in batches) in the microwave before serving. They don't need long! Only about 10-15 seconds per batch of three crepes. FREEZE CREPES Once they have cooled completely to room temperature, wrap in a freezer bag and store in an air-tight container. Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to serve, defrost in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm them in the microwave.
Karen says
Delicious and so easy!
The Ice-cream Alchemist says
These are delicious! definitely more delicate in texture than other recipes that use more eggs but they also have a more delicate custard flavour. To flip without tearing, I used a spatula to loosen the edge all around first, then slip a long handle (wooden long handle spoon in my case) under the entire length of the crepe, lift, laid down half of the crepe, then carefully roll the other half down using fingers of my other hand to help. When the crepe is done I slid it onto a plate because these are soft.
Liz C says
Thank you so much! I was wondering how yo do that
Emma says
Lovely recipe. Comes together nice and fast and the whole family loves it as a meal or snack!
Zdenka says
I make crepes all the time. I add 1/4 cup mineral water, Perrier, and that helps so they wouldn’t be rubbery. To turn them over, I flip them in the air. They won’t break . I have years of experience, from childhood I was helping my mom.
Doris says
Yummy!! My dad’s birthday is tomorrow. I decided to make a special breakfast before he left since he was staying at my house. This was my first time making crepes. They turned out perfect! My dad, his wife, my husband, and me loved them! Will be making again. I really want to share a picture.
deena says
just made these delicious crepes and I agree with Deb, you nailed it! True to a classic French crepe- light, not rubbery egg and easy to make. Thanks for the recipe : )
Claire says
Is there an easy way to flip them and keep the shape?
Tracy Brennan says
I’d like to know as well. Need a video to see how it is does without breaking them.
Pat says
I googled how to flip or turn with spatula. Several videos helped me.
Doris says
I went with the crispy edge. Just cook a little longer? until firm enough to flip. I used tongs. They turned out perfect! And maybe a smaller pan to help with shape. If still not good for flipping, maybe a little less milk.
Deb says
Making these RIGHT NOW and this is by far the best recipe I’ve followed! I love that you only use 2 eggs. One thing that turned me off crepes was the eggy taste, and I just had a sneak bite of the first crepe and you definitely nailed it. Going to slide this recipe across the table to my kids for Mother’s Day tomorrow.