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This easy French Crêpe Recipe is adapted from Julia Child’s basic crêpe recipe, and will walk you through how to make paper-thin French Crêpes at home!
Recipe originally published August 18, 2016. Photos updated May 8, 2019.
Whenever I cook something particularly “fancy”– I like to impersonate the adorable, the fabulous Julia Child, and declare “Bon Appétit!” as I set the food on the table.
Super fancy food is also a great excuse to sit at the table instead of eating on the couch.
Being an adult is full of baby steps.
Is anyone else here a Julia Child fan?
I am!
I love to watch clips of her old cooking shows online, and whenever I need a French recipe that’s guaranteed to succeed– she’s my gal. Her recipes have never failed me, and are always delicious.
This easy French crêpes recipe based on her basic French crêpes, and is sure to leave you with a stack of delicious, ultra-thin French pancakes.
Want more Julia Child? This recipe is based on her crêpe recipes in The French Chef Cookbook and Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom.
Need a Gluten-Free Option? Try my gluten-free crêpes!
Are French Crêpes Hard to Make?
No.
At first, you may have trouble getting the crêpe “just right.”
Just remember that, as with flipping pancakes, it simply takes a little patience to learn the technique.
With American pancakes, you pour the batter out onto a hot griddle, and wait for one side to finish cooking, and then flip.
With French crêpes, you’ll hold the hot pan off the heat with one hand, add the batter with the other hand, and swirl, swirl, swirl.
Coat the entire pan, and then set it back on the heat and let it cook. Then flip, finish cooking, and set the crêpe aside to cool.
Repeat.
And then repeat again.
And again.
Keep in mind, if you have trouble getting the crêpe “just right,” remember that, just like with flipping pancakes, it gets easier with practice.
Do I Need a Special Pan to Make this French Crêpe Recipe?
Absolutely not!
I usually just use a non-stick omelette pan for mine, but sometimes I break out the fancy crêpe pan.
Most recently, my favorite crêpe pan is one of those mini cast iron pans that come with chocolate chip cookie gift packets. It’s small, heats evenly, and is just completely perfect for crêpe making!
Can I Use a Blender to Mix the Batter?
I recommend whisking by hand.
Blending the batter will work perfectly fine, but you’ll end up with lots of air bubbles in your finished crêpes.
Whisking by hand will help make your crêpes flat through the middle with lacy edges.
Can I Skip the Resting Period for the Batter?
Allowing the batter to rest for at least an hour is supposed to– in theory– allow the gluten to relax after you’ve whisked the batter.
It also allows the flour more time to absorb the liquids.
But if you’re pinched for time– yes, you can skip the resting period. I’ve done it, and the crêpes I made were still delicious.
If you skip the resting period, your batter just might not be quite as smooth (and you might have more air bubbles in the batter).
Can I Use this French Crêpe Recipe for Both Sweet + Savory Crêpes?
Yes!
Use the recipe exactly as written, or follow the extra add-in directions for either sweet or savory crêpes.
Want sweet crêpe ideas?
Try my favorite— top them with whipped cream and fresh fruit, along with a little drizzle of honey, or try turning them into a chocolate crêpe cake with bourbon!
I also love crêpes with nutella and banana! It’s so delicious.
Want savory crêpe ideas?
Try filling your crêpes with this smoked salmon dip from Imagelicious!
French Crêpe Recipe (Basic Crêpes)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup cold milk
- ⅔ cup cold water
- 3 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons melted butter, plus more butter or oil for brushing hot pan
Optional add-ins for savory crêpes:
- diced fresh herbs
Optional add-ins for sweet crêpes:
- dash sweet liqueur
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Instructions
- Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl.
- Let batter sit in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (or overnight).
- Pre-heat non-stick pan on high heat, and brush or spray with oil or butter. Oil should shimmer on the pan.
- Holding pan just off heat, add 2-3 TB batter and swirl to coat pan. Place back on heat and cook for about 90 seconds, until the bottom of the crêpe is golden and slides off the pan easily.
- Flip and cook the other side for 5-10 seconds. Move crêpe to a wire rack or plate to cool, and repeat with remaining batter.
- Make Ahead: Stack with wax paper in between crêpes. Refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3-4 months in an airtight container. Don’t skip the wax paper– the crêpes will stick together.
Love crepes! I’ve never made myself, but have eaten a bunch of times! Love how they can be made savoury or sweet. Isn’t Julia Child awesome? I read a book a while back about her and what an interesting person! Her quotes are just the best & love watching her shows on PBS- so entertaining! I have a couple of her recipe books. I think I’ll have to break them out again soon. Thanks for a great recipe, Sarah! The instructions are perfect too- so detailed 🙂
aw thanks! YES she’s adorable! I’m mildly obsessed haha. I LOVE her PBS shows- they’re fantastic! I read an autobiography she did.. I forget the name of the book though
This looks like something I could actually make. Honestly, crepes have always struck me as one of those impossibly delicate things that you need to learn over a 5 year apprenticeship in a mountain monastery. Always good to get the 101 for classic recipes!
LOL.. no mountain monastery needed! Plus if you mess the first few up.. just eat them anyway!! 🙂
I’ve never used milk mixed with water in crepes. It took me many many tries to be able to make the crepes properly. Love your explanation!
Crepes are so fancy looking but something that I can pull off for sure! Your photography is beautiful and makes these mouth watering crepes- a dish I must make at home.
This looks delicious! I want to try this over the weekend- my family will love it!
Made these this morning for my mom and me. They were so easy and delicious. We have a bunch of liquid eggs so I used that instead of fresh. I also added a splash of vanilla flavoring and filled them with a ricotta filling. Will definitely make them again.
Yay!! I’m glad you both enjoyed 😀 That’s a good idea to use the liquid eggs! And yummm ricotta 😀
Perfect recipe! Mine were a little big Because my pan was bigger but that was OK with me!
Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed 😀
What kind of flour
Hi Lee! Just all-purpose flour for this recipe. Hope you enjoy, and let us know how it goes!
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
Consistency was off; stuck to pan. Quantity was definitely not 10 people!
Hello! We’re sorry this recipe didn’t work so well for you. When there’s a problem with the crepes sticking to the pan, it can be due to the pan temperature. Crepes can be a bit finicky about that! And regarding the quantity, it depends on how large you make them. In the recipe notes, it gives approximate servings depending on what diameter you go for. So if you make large crepes they definitely won’t serve as many people.
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
This recipe was great, thank you! I let it rest for 20 minutes instead of an hour and they still were awesome! I made 10 crepes with the recipe. I have saved it for future crepe making!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting us know 😀
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes