Crepes – A Beautiful Mess

Don’t sleep on this crepes recipe. These are easy to make and require no special equipment. The result is soft and foldable crepes that taste rich and slightly vanilla. They are perfect for a fun breakfast or afternoon snack slathered in Nutella or topped with fresh berries and whipped cream. Yum!

Crepes are sort of like a pancake, although the texture is more like a custard and less like bread. You can easily roll them or fold them so they make excellent vessels for all sorts of fillings and creams. And while I tend to make sweet crepes, you certainly could skip the vanilla extract in the recipe below and make savory crepes with cheese, bacon or ham as a filling.

Related: Make your own filling with this easy strawberry jam or blueberry jam recipe.

Ingredients

• Eggs
• Milk
• Water
• Salt
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Butter

I tend to keep my crepes pretty simple, and then go wild with the fillings. But if you’d like to spice these up a little, you could add some cinnamon, nutmeg or even pumpkin pie spice. And if you are making savory crepes, skip the vanilla extract and add some black pepper, garlic powder or finely chopped green onions to the batter instead.

How to make Crepes

In a blender, combine the eggs, milk, water, salt and vanilla extract. Blend to combine. Then blend in the flour and melted butter. I like doing this in a blender, but if you don’t have one you could also do this in a mixing bowl and whisk together by hand.

Lightly spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray. Over medium heat pour in 1/3 cup of the crepe batter and immediately swirl the pan so the batter spreads out as thin as it will go.

Once the edges set, and you will likely see a few bubbles in the center, use a rubber spatula to go around the edges of the crepe to get underneath it. Then flip it and cook for another minute or two on the other side.

Repeat until you’ve cooked all the batter into crepes. Serve warm.

Tips & Additional Information

• Some will recommend shifting the flour into the batter so as to avoid any lumps. I don’t find this necessary, although it does work to avoid batter lumps. If you see any, simply whisk or mix more.
• You do not have to use cooking spray on a nonstick skillet. I like to as I find the cooking spray (or oil, or butter) will add a little more color and texture to the outside of the crepe. But you can skip it.
• Crepes store well! I save any leftovers in an airtight ziplock with parchment paper in between each in the refrigerator. I will rewarm them in the microwave for 30 seconds to reheat them.
• Since leftover crepes are so easy to rewarm, I tend to make more than I need, which is why this recipe makes around 15 crepes. You can easily cut this recipe in half if you want to make less.

More Breakfast Recipes

Crepe Fillings & How to Fold

• I like to fold crepes in triangles. You can do this by folding in half, and then folding in half again.
• You can add filling and roll up the crepe like a tortilla.
• I like jams and jellies for filling, but some other spreadable ideas include peanut butter (or any nut butter like almond butter) and chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella) or lemon curd.
• Mix together some granulated white sugar and lemon juice and lemon zest for a sweet and sour topping.
• Mix together some granulated white sugar and cinnamon for a sugar and spice topping.
• Softened cream cheese, Greek yogurt or ricotta.
• Chocolate sauce or caramel sauce for more of a dessert option.
• I also loved fresh whipped cream, canned whipped cream or even Cool Whip, along with berries such as strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Also sliced bananas or apples are great!