This Easy Crepes Recipe is just that - unbelievably easy and unforgettably delicious. They’re especially amazing when filled with fluffy Greek yogurt whipped cream and drizzled with fresh strawberry sauce.
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This Easy Crêpes Recipe has a long and beautiful history in our family. On special occasions - birthdays, holidays, sleepovers with friends - my husband would wake up early and start preparing the crêpes recipe that had been handed down in his family for generations. The aroma of those sweet Crêpes would waft through the house and up the stairs, to the delight of my three daughters, who would scamper down to devour them by the dozens, filled with grape jelly and covered in powdered sugar.
When my youngest was about 6 years old, she wanted to write the recipe down, as she decided that was going to be the Crêpes Master in our home. She called her Grandfather, who recalled his mother's recipe as well as he could, and she wrote it down. This is her recipe, in all its glory.
And now I'm bringing you my version of that Crêpes Recipe. A love note to my husband and children, who I wish were still small enough to be awakened to the smell of crêpes.
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Ingredients
The ingredients for this Crêpes Recipe are common pantry ingredients. The only thing you may need to get are the fresh strawberries, but frozen work too!
See recipe card below for quantities.
Love strawberries? Try my Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake made with juicy strawberries and tangy yogurt whipped cream on top of fluffy cream biscuits!
Substitutions
These easy crêpes are also the easiest to accept substitutions and still come out amazing! Here are a few things you can do and still end up wearing a crêpes mask:
- Fresh strawberries - If strawberries aren't in season, or you just don't want to buy them, you can definitely use frozen strawberries in the sauce. Or just use a good quality strawberry preserves.
- Whole milk Greek yogurt - You can substitute with nonfat yogurt and it will still be a delicious whipped cream.
- All-purpose flour - The texture of these crêpes stays soft and tender even if you use gluten free flour in place of all-purpose flour.
Variations
Crêpes are literally a blank slate and they love to play dress up. I created this easy crêpes recipe to be not too sweet just so they would be more versatile. This way they are perfectly balanced whether adding sweet or savory fillings. Here are just a few of the infinite ways you can play with them:
- Rooty tooty fresh and fruity - In place of the strawberry sauce you can use any fruit that you want. Make a mixed berry sauce, try them with my tender maple apples, or just go for all fresh fruit.
- Lemon crepes - Instead of making the strawberry sauce, make my lemon crepes filled and drizzled with my easy lemon curd.
- Chocolate - Replace ¼ cup of flour with ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder for delicious chocolate crêpes.
- Nutella - In place of the Greek yogurt whipped cream, try spreading a layer of nutella on your crêpes. It'll be great with or without the strawberry sauce but I'm all about chocolate and strawberries!
- Savory - One of my favorite ways to use leftover crêpes is to turn them into ham and cheese crêpes topped with an egg and baked in the oven.
Love the texture of crepes? Try my traditional German pancakes recipe, Pfannkuchen. A cross between these thin French crêpes and fluffy American pancakes, they are delicious and easy to make. I'm obsessed!
Instructions
There are 3 components to this recipe and you can make them all the day before, for a stress free but delicious morning. You can also just make any one of the parts and use them in other recipes. Flexibility is cool 😎
1. Make strawberry sauce
Step 1: Combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice and cook until the strawberries are soft and the syrup has reduced, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. If you would like it thicker, add a cornstarch slurry.
Step 2: After adding the slurry, simmer another 2 to 3 minutes. Pour into a shallow container to speed cooling, placing in the refrigerator if possible. You can make the sauce up to 3 days ahead.
2. Make Greek yogurt whipped cream
Step 3: Whisk heavy cream and sugar to soft peaks. Add Greek yogurt.
Step 4: Continue whisking until peaks hold when whisk or beaters are lifted from the bowl. Cover and chill until ready to use. Can be made the day before.
3. Make crêpes
Step 5: In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk and vanilla and whisk. Continue whisking while drizzling in melted and cooled butter.
Step 6: Add in flour, powdered sugar, and kosher salt and whisk until fully combined. Let rest for at least 15 minutes, up to 3 days ahead.
Step 7: To a nonstick pan, or crepe pan, over medium-low heat, add butter and allow to melt. Pour in ¼ to ⅓ cup batter. (A 7 to 8 inch crêpe pan is standard and the amount of batter needed will depend on the size of your pan.)
Step 8: Tilt pan until the batter is evenly distributed.
Step 9: Cook on one side until set and lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 10: Flip and cook on the other side about 45 seconds longer. Remove from pan and flip onto a plate.
Step 11: Spread about 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt whipped cream over surface of crêpe.
Step 12: Fold in half and then in half again, forming a triangle.
Serve: Place your folded crêpe on your plate and drizzle with as much strawberry sauce as you like. Repeat with more crêpes until your brain explodes with joy. Eat!
Feeling fancy? Try making my Easy Creme Anglaise and pouring it all over your crepes. That's what I'm talking about!
Expert tip
Making the perfect crêpe: The first time I took over making crêpes in the family, I think the one thing I was most nervous about was not adding enough batter to the pan and making more of a lace doily than a crêpe.
Worry no more. Just get a little more batter in a small measuring cup and pour it over any bare spots, then swirl the pan to allow the batter to spread out evenly over the surface. No more lacy edges!
Flipping: To flip, remember my rule, don't fear the pancake! You can use a very thin spatula to flip your crêpe, but the best tool is your fingers. Use a spatula to lift the edge and just grasp the edge and flip over. If it folds, just unfold it. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be flipping like a pro!
Recipe FAQ's
The short answer is no. Resting the batter will allow the flour to fully hydrate and any gluten strands formed while whisking to relax. This will give you a more tender and melt-in-your-mouth crêpe. But if tomorrow morning looks to be a busy one, and you really want crêpes, make the batter up to 3 days ahead. You don't even have to let it come to room temperature. Just pull it out of the fridge and starting making your crêpes!
Your batter may thicken a little as the flour is hydrated. Just add a little more milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the batter is about the consistency of cream.
Crêpes can be stored stacked on top of each other and placed in a zip top bag, for up to 3 days. For longer storage in the freezer, place sheets of parchment or wax paper between crepes, place in a zip top freezer bag, and freeze up to one month.
Rewarm refrigerated or thawed frozen crêpes in the microwave for about 30 seconds or give them a quick 30 second spin on each side in your crêpe pan.
Did you try this recipe?
Leave a comment with a ⭐️ rating below to tell me all about it, and don't forget to tag me on Instagram!
I appreciate you!
-Cynthia
📖 Recipe
Easy Crêpes with Strawberry Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
Crêpes
- 4 (200 g) large eggs
- 2 cups (488 g) milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar plus more for dusting finished crepes
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter melted
Strawberry sauce
- 2 cups (300 g) strawberries quartered, from 2 pints, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional
Greek yogurt whipped cream
- 1 cup (245 g) heavy cream
- 1 cup (250 g) Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon (24 g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Make strawberry sauce
- Combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the strawberries are soft and the syrup has reduced, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Mash the berries with a fork, the back of a spoon, or a potato masher, to desired consistency and simmer another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. it will thicken more when completely cooled or chilled.
- If you would like your sauce a little bit thicker, whisk together 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and add to simmering strawberry sauce. Simmer another one or two minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Make Greek yogurt whipped cream
- Add heavy cream and sugar to a medium bowl. Using a whisk or a hand mixer, whip to soft peaks. Add yogurt and continue mixing until peaks hold when whisk or beaters are lifted from the bowl. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Make crepes
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk and vanilla and whisk. Continue whisking while drizzling in melted and cooled butter. Add in flour, powdered sugar, and kosher salt and whisk until fully combined. Allow to rest at least 15 minutes, up to 3 days ahead.
- In an 8 to 10 inch nonstick skillet, set over medium heat, add ½ teaspoon butter and allow to melt. Add ¼ to ⅓ cup batter and tilt pan until evenly distributed. If there are bare spots, this is the time to add more batter to those spots to fill them in.
- Cook on one side until set and lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side about 45 seconds longer. Remove from pan and flip onto a plate.
- Roll or fold the crepes and serve with Greek yogurt cream, and strawberry sauce. Dust with powdered sugar.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
Charlie C says
Great to prepare batter ahead of time; Always a hit with adults and a great way to teach kids the love of cooking!
Cynthia Christensen says
Thank you!
Abby says
Yum! These were delicious! Will definitely be making again! Loved the strawberry, but also can't wait to try different fillings too!
Cynthia Christensen says
I’m so glad you like them! When my kids were little they would just load theirs up with powdered sugar inside and out 😂 (OK they still do it)
Lynn says
Can't wait to try this recipe! My mouth is watering already.
In the crepe ingredients, should I use whole milk or does the fat percentage matter?
Cynthia Christensen says
I’ve only used whole milk but I don’t think it really matters. Let me know if you try something else!
Ashley says
I didn’t make the full recipe but I did try the recipe for the crepes and they were amazing! For some reason I’ve always wanted to make crepes but it seemed too intimidating. It wasn’t hard at all and they turned out beautifully! I will for sure be keeping this recipe to make plenty and I will try the filling you suggest! Thanks so much!
Cynthia Christensen says
Congratulations! You are now a fancy person who makes crêpes!