My French-Canadian dad knows best! This is his recipe for classic French crepes that are perfectly thin with buttery, crispy edges. Customizable with your favorite sweet or savory fillings, make them with only 9 basic ingredients and no special pans required.
Growing up, Sunday morning crepes were my dad’s specialty! From extra crispy to thick and doughy, my dad could deliver any crepe request my sister and I threw at him. I often reminisce about those slow mornings together. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the day I finally made these crepes myself was a bittersweet moment. This crepe recipe is truly one of the best recipes of my childhood and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you!
One thing I love about these crepes is that they only require 9 basic pantry ingredients! That means you can make these crepes on a whim, whenever you’re craving them. Plus choose any fillings your heart desires from savory like ham and swiss, to sweet (the way I grew up eating them), topped with a big pad of Butter and drizzled with maple syrup.
What You’ll Love About This Crêpe Recipe
If you are new to crepes, prepare for your expectations to be blown away! With the perfect thin and tender texture, these crepes will be making you come back for seconds, thirds, and probably fourths! You’ll love these crepes for many reasons, however here are just a few:
- Incredible taste. Enough said! Be careful though, one is definitely not enough!
- Sweet or savory. Fill and top these crepes to your heart’s content with either sweet or savory flavors. Sweet for breakfast or dessert, or even savory for lunch!
- Easy, yet “fancy”. Want to impress your company without a ton of work? Crepes are the way to go! Simple and easy to put together, yet impressive and classy.
- Delicious all-year. Whether you are celebrating Mother’s Day in spring or looking for a cozy breakfast on a snowy morning, you can never go wrong with crepes. They are delicious any season of the year.
Ingredients For Crêpes
- All-purpose flour – all-purpose flour helps create the batter.
- Whole milk – whole milk’s higher fat content contributes to a richer and more tender texture, which is a must!
- Water – water helps achieve the desired thin consistency of batter to ensure a smooth texture.
- Eggs – eggs help create structure.
- Powdered sugar – powdered sugar adds a touch of sweetness while easily dissolving into the batter.
- Baking powder – baking powder helps create the perfect texture.
- Vanilla extract – vanilla extract adds delicate flavor.
- Salt – salt enhances flavor.
- Butter – butter is used to grease the pan and add flavor, helping the edges of the crepes get crispy.
- Maple syrup (optional) – maple syrup adds sweetness and smoky, vanilla-like complexity drizzled over the top of the crepe. This is the way Dad always served crepes.
How To Make Crêpes
Full instructions in the recipe card; this is just an outline!
- Whisk.
Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and powdered sugar in a large bowl.
- Make a well.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Do this by pushing the dry ingredients to the sides of the bowl and leave a bare spot in the center.
- Combine.
Combine eggs, whole milk, water, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
- Stir.
Pour wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Batter should be very loose with small lumps.
- Preheat.
Heat an 8” skillet on the stove over medium/low heat.
- Add.
Add butter to the bottom of the hot skillet, then add just enough batter to the skillet so that the bottom is thinly covered.
- Cook.
Cook for 1-2 minutes at medium/low heat or until just golden.
- Flip.
Flip and let the crepe cook for another 1-3 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve.
Transfer to a plate and fill however you’d like!
Crêpe Filling Ideas
Crepes are a blank canvas! Whether you want to go overboard with toppings or keep it simple, here are a handful of delicious options:
- Butter and maple syrup, which is my favorite!
- Peanut butter or your favorite nut butter with sliced banana
- Pumpkin Butter
- Lemon curd and fresh berries such as raspberries or strawberries
- Homemade Strawberry Preserves
- Turkey, swiss and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
- Fresh mozzarella, basil and sliced tomato
- Eggs, sautéed mushrooms, and chives
- Sautéed Spinach and feta
- Bacon Jam and cheddar
- Ricotta, chive, and smoked salmon
How To Store Leftover Crêpes
- Store: IF there are any leftover crepes, store in an air-tight container or a gallon-sized Ziploc in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: allow crepes to fully cool before placing in an air-tight container with a piece of parchment between each crepe to prevent them from sticking together. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheat: microwave gently in increments of 10 seconds between damp paper towels or in a warm pan with a little butter.
More Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love!
- Over Easy Eggs
- Homemade Breakfast Sausage
- Blueberry Pancakes
- How to Make An Acai Bowl
- Banana Bread Muffins
How to Make Crêpes (Dad’s Recipe)
Equipment
- 8” nonstick skillet, or a smaller nonstick skillet if you don’t have an 8”
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ½ cup water
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Butter, to grease pan and optional to top
- Maple syrup, optional to top
Instructions
- Whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, powdered sugar, and salt – in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients by pushing dry ingredients to the sides of the bowl, leaving a bare spot in the center.
- In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, whole milk, water and vanilla extract.
- Pour wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a whisk. Use the whisk to crush any large lumps in the batter. The batter should be very loose and have small lumps in it.
- Heat an 8” nonstick skillet over medium/low heat. Add a teaspoon or so of butter to the hot skillet. Use a large spoon to add just enough batter to the pan so that the bottom is just covered in a thin layer of batter.
- After 1-2 minutes, use a spatula to lift the corner of the crepe to see if the bottom is golden brown. If not, let cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until the bottom turns golden.
- When golden, flip the crepe and cook the other side until golden brown, about 1-3 minutes.
- Transfer the crepe to a plate. Serve however you’d like or the way my dad would serve: slather with butter, use 2 forks to roll the crepe into a spiral, and drizzle with maple syrup.
Video
Notes
- A 5 to 8” nonstick skillet works. 8 inch is best. A larger skillet will not work since the batter is very loose.
- The way my dad served crepes was with a pad of butter and maple syrup, but you can stuff crepes with savory toppings or sweet toppings before rolling. Filling ideas are included in the blog post above!
- Experiment with crepe thickness by adding a little less or more batter to the pan. Also experiment with doneness (light golden vs. dark golden crepes taste different!).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
