Easy Basic Crepes

This easy crepe recipe makes the best French crêpes! This basic crepe recipe is the only one you need to make perfect French crepes. Learn tips and tricks.

This recipe is adapted from Crepes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes by Martha Holmberg. If you love crepes, this is a beautiful book with creative recipes.

Make easy basic crepes for breakfast

I love this easy crepe recipe because it’s so basic and it’s simple. But most importantly, this recipe makes the best crepes.

There are so many things I love about this breakfast recipe:

• This is an easy crepe recipe.
• This recipe will give you a simple breakfast crepe you’ll love.
• This basic crepe recipe can be adapted for either sweet or savory crepes.

Personally, I think simple and basic is best when you are trying to make a classic French crepe recipe. I love this basic mixture because it’s so straightforward and easy.

To put this is in trendier terms, I’ve Konmari’ed crepe recipes until you are left with the most basic crepe. And the good news is that once you strip away all the complications from crepe making, the result is a delicious and perfect crepe.

Ingredients you need to make this basic crepe recipe

This recipe uses 5 basic crepe ingredients:

• Eggs
• Milk
• Butter
• Flour
• Salt

Five ingredients and that’s it! Like I’ve said, this breakfast crepe recipe is so easy to make. And if I were to take a guess, I’d think that you already have all these ingredients in your kitchen.

How to make these easy crepes?

To make these easy crepes in its most basic form: add all the ingredients in the blender, blitz, then cook the crepes individually.

Cooking the perfect basic crepes

First things first. Preheat, preheat, preheat. Make sure your pan is evenly nice and hot before you start cooking these breakfast crepes. If the pan isn’t hot enough, the recipe won’t work.

Add on a bit of butter, and quickly brush it around the pan. Then pour on the crepe batter and quickly smooth it out using a crepe spreader.

TIP: I always pour on the crepe batter using a measuring cup, so I end up with consistently-sized crepes. I use just under 1/4 cup of batter for a 12-inch pan. Pouring crepe batter from the tip of a scoop shaped measuring cup will give you more control.

Because French crepes are so thin, they cook for about 30-45 seconds on each side. Also, they are delicate. So once the first side is done, gently give the pan a shake to release the pancake, and carefully flip it.

TIP: If you accidentally make a small rip in your crepe while flipping (usually caused by the edge of your spatula), you can quickly dab on a bit of crepe batter with a spoon to seal the rip, and allow the batter to cook.

What tools do you need to make this easy crepe recipe?

If you have the right tools, making crepes is so easy. You wouldn’t think about making waffles without a waffle maker, right?

So for making basic crepes, you’ll need:

• a good crepe pan,
• a crepe batter spreader

In addition, if you have the following tools, making crepes will be so much easier for you:

• a blender (so you don’t have a lumpy batter)
• a silicone brush (to evenly spread butter on the crepe pan)
• a crepe spatula (for ease of flipping the crepes)
• pourable measuring cups (to consistently add the batter to the pan)

Cuisinart Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized Crepe PanLe Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Crepe PanThe ORIGINAL Crepe Spreader and Spatula KitNorpro Stainless Steel Measuring Cup Scoop ShapedLe Creuset Silicone Brush

Finding the best crepe pan

A crepe pan is easy to find and buy. There are so many options on the market though. Personally I go between using a cast iron crepe pan and a non stick crepe pan.

I love this cast iron crepe pan, but it’s pricy. If you are looking to treat yourself, I say go for it!

Otherwise here’s a great crepe pan with over 3,000 reviews on Amazon, and at a good price. If you can get yourself a crepe pan, it will make flipping your crepe so much easier. The edges are lower and shaped in a way that you can easily shift your crepe around to get your spatula underneath the crepe to flip.

Personally I think it’s romantic cooking with a cast iron crepe pan, and I love knowing that the pan will last ages. But it’s easier and less finicky to use a non-stick crepe pan.

Tips and tricks for making the best easy crepes

Do I really need a crepe spreader?

Yes! To easily make the best crepes, a crepe spreader is an indispensable tool.

Ok, I know you might think that you can just swirl this easy crepe batter around the pan. While you can do that, a crepe spreader will help you achieve perfect basic crepes.

I made all these easy crepes below with the help of a crepe spreader. That’s the only way I ever get the best crepes.

Because the pan is buttered and hot when you pour on the batter, without a crepe spreader, you really only have a few seconds to swirl the batter around.

Once this easy crepe batter hits the pan, it immediately will start to thicken and cook. It’s hard to get the crepe batter to move as you want it to be, without a crepe spreader.

A silicone brush will best spread the butter on the crepe pan

Before you add on the crepe batter, you’ll need to add a bit of butter to the pan.

You swirl melted butter around the pan, but to make sure butter reaches every surface of the pan, I always use a silicone brush. Though people will wipe melted butter around with a paper towel, I find that tricky to do on a hot pan.

TIP: For the perfect crepes, I always use a silicone brush to spread the melted butter evenly. The silicone brush helps butter get across the entire surface of the pan much quicker, cleaner and easier.

Common questions when making basic crepes

Why are my crepes sticking to the pan?

If you are using a cast iron crepe pan, it’s likely that the pan is not hot enough. To make the perfect crepe, I preheat my crepe pan for at least 10 minutes before the first crepe.

You may also need to check your technique for spreading the butter on the pan. Using a silicone pastry brush is my preferred method.

Can you leave crepe batter overnight?

Yes, definitely. To get the best crepes, I always rest the batter. 5 minutes is sufficient if you would like crepes that morning, but you can always leave the crepe batter overnight.

Simply cover the batter with a wrap and set it in the refrigerator. Give the batter a mix before cooking the basic crepes the next morning.

Why do you rest crepe batter?

Resting crepe batter allows the bubbles to settle, the flour to absorb the liquid, and the gluten to relax. When I don’t have patience, I let it sit 5 minutes. If I can wait a bit in the morning, I’ll let it sit 30 minutes to an hour.

On days I plan ahead, I’ll make the crepe batter the night before, and refrigerate it to make these basic crepes in the morning.

How do you get lumps out of crepe batter?

I hate lumpy crepe batter! The surest way to get out the lumps is to use a blender or food processor. For these easy crepes, I simply whizz all the ingredients together in the blender.

Voila! You end up with the perfect crepe batter recipe, and it’s easy to make.

How to serve this breakfast crepe recipe

Personally, I think simple and basic is a splendid way to enjoy this classic French crepe recipe. Just like how these crepes are so easy and straightforward to make, likewise, I keep the toppings very simple with this breakfast crepe.

My favorite? A squeeze of lemon and a dusting of powdered sugar.

If you are looking for something more, try this easy blueberry jam or a chestnut chocolate spread. The chocolate spread is my homemade nutella-inspired spread.

Alternatively, spread on some Nutella and serve it with bananas or strawberries, and whipped cream.

(If you are serving these basic crepes with sweet fillings, you can add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons of sugar into the crepe batter)