Make the Best Crepes Ever With These Easy Tips and Recipes

Delicate crêpes always create an impressive display, but making them is surprisingly easy. And because they play well with both sweet and savory fillings, these super-thin French pancakes are versatile enough to serve for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Here's how to make crepes, plus some of our favorite recipe ideas:

This traditional crepe recipe can be sweet or savory, depending on how you fill it.

How to Make Crepes

Better Batter

Batter consistency is key when making crepes, and like everything else, there are a few tricks to make it perfect.

Whip It Good

Though you can mix crepe batter by hand, using a standing or immersion blender makes it perfectly smooth. The smoother the batter, the thinner and more delicate the crepe.

Think Thin

Crêpes are close cousins to pancakes, but the batter is a lot thinner. It should be about the consistency of heavy cream and should coat the back of a spoon. If your batter is just right, you should be able to swirl it to cover the pan in a thin, delicate layer. If your batter is too thick to swirl, simply whisk in a few tablespoons of milk or water to thin it out.

Chill Out

It's important that you allow the crepe batter to rest, to make lacy crepes. This can be as little as 30 minutes on the counter top, or as long as overnight in the fridge.

The Heat is On

Cooking crepes is about finding the perfect balance of heat and time.

* Oil Up

Lightly grease your pan with a small amount of neutral-flavored oil (butter has a tendency to burn). As you cook, you may find you have to re-oil your pan occasionally or not at all.

* Warm Up

Heat the pan slowly over medium heat. As the pan continues to heat up while cooking, you may need to increase or decrease the heat, for perfectly golden crepes. And don't worry: the first crepe or two always count as "testers" until you get the heat just right.

* Pour In

The size of your pan determines how much batter to pour in. You want enough to just coat the bottom when you swirl the pan. Make a couple of practice crepes until you figure out how much is just right.

* Flip It

When the edges of your crepe start to lightly brown (two to three minutes), and the top of the crepe starts looking dry, then it's ready to flip over. Carefully lift the edge of the crepe with a thin spatula, turn the crepe over, and cook for another 30 seconds to one minute. (Some cooks like to lift the edge of the crepe with a spatula and turn it over with their fingers.)

No Crêpe Pan? No Problem

Many folks are under the impression that you must have a professional crepe pan to make the perfect crepe. Not so! The most important thing is to use a nonstick pan (whether it is has a commercial nonstick coating or is just naturally well-seasoned is up to you), low sides (to make flipping easy), and is relatively heavy so it heats evenly.

To Eat Now or Later?

If you're eating the crepes right away, fill them with your favorite sweet or savory fillings and dig in. But you can also make a batch of crepes ahead of time so they'll be ready when you are. This is especially helpful if you're making crepes for a crowd.

Cool your crepes on a wire rack, then stack with a small square of parchment, waxed paper, or plastic wrap between each layer. Wrap them well in plastic and store in your fridge for a few days or your freezer for a few months.

Sweet or Savory

Match the flavor of your crepe batter to the flavor of the filling. Making a breakfast or dessert crepe? Add sugar, vanilla extract, or a splash of liqueur.

Try this recipe for Vanilla Crepes.

* Find more sweet crepe recipes.

To make savory crepes, omit the sugar and vanilla. If you want, add a tablespoon or two of chopped fresh herbs or spinach to the batter.

Try this recipe for Savory French Crepes.

* Find more savory crepe recipes.

Gluten-Free and Vegan Crepe

Need to make a crepe without gluten? No problem! It's as easy as replacing the all-purpose flour with your favorite gluten-free blend or alternative flour (like these Quinoa Crêpes).

Have a vegan coming over for brunch? We've got you covered! Though it's traditional to use milk, butter, and eggs in crepes, there's no steadfast rule that you have to. Lose the eggs and use dairy alternatives, like in this Vegan Crepe recipe.

Related
Practice your crepe-making technique with Chef John's Strawberry Crepe Cake recipe.