French Pancakes (Easy French Crepes)

I am a French mum, and I love to share with my kid my favorite childhood recipe. French crepes are definitely part of my culture, a fun snack, dessert, or breakfast I have been eating monthly as a kid.

Here’s my family’s French crepe recipe, the best crepes you will ever have and the easiest crepes on earth, ready in 20 minutes!

How To Make French Pancakes

I know that most countries call these French pancakes, but I like to call them crepes! So don’t be too confused if you see crepes popping everywhere in this post.

French pancakes are French crepes. It’s basically the same thing! Crepe is the French name for pancakes, and in France, we don’t make thick fluffy pancakes for breakfast.

We love thin, large, round crepes that look more like egg wraps and are easy to roll or fold in a triangle shape.

Ingredients

All you need to make French crepes are 6 ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now.

• All-purpose flour – or white whole-wheat flour for a healthier twist.
• Large eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Sugar of choice – any granulated sugar works well. Unrefined cane sugar is our favorite option.
• Milk of choice – the authentic French recipe uses whole milk, but you can make French crepes with any milk. The less fat the milk contains, the crispier the crepes will be. So, for example, if you use almond milk, the crepes get lighter.
• Unsalted melted butter for a dairy-free option, you can swap the butter for melted coconut oil or any vegetable oil you have at home.

Crepe Batter

Nothing easier than making this crepe batter, actually, even the kids can make crepes, and that’s the cool part.

First, whisk eggs until well beaten. Don’t sweat it. Use a hand whisk, and don’t use a stand mixer or electric beater for this.

Now, whisk in the remaining wet ingredients: milk, melted butter, and vanilla.

Finally, whisk in the flour and sugar. Whisk until you have a smooth batter with almost no lumps. There are always a few lumps left, but that’s ok!

Cooking The Crepes

That’s the tricky part about crepe. How to cook crepes to make thin crepes? That’s the most frequent question I get asked as a French passionate about making crepes.

Crepe Pan Choice

You can’t make thin crepes in a regular frying pan. You must buy a non-stick crepe pan if you want to achieve ultra-thin crepes that crisp on the border. Crepe pans have lower borders and a thinner surface which means the crepes cook fast and evenly.

Warming The Pan

Keep in mind that the first crepe is always a mess, and most of the time, it’s too thick and not the best. That’s because the pan needs some time to reach its best temperature.

The pan should be hot but not ultra-hot, or the batter should split in the pan when you tilt the pan to spread the batter.

The best is to use a Tefal pan. It has a red hot spot in the center of the crepe pan that tells you when the pan is hot and ready to add the batter.

Tilting The Batter In The Pan

The technique to spread your crepe nice and thin is to first tilt the pan, add about 1/3 cup batter on top of the pan, and work by circular motion to gently spread batter everywhere on the pan surface.

If you miss batter, add more as you go. If you added too much batter, tilt the pan above the bowl with the crepe batter to remove excess. You should end up with just enough batter to cover the 10-inch pan surface.

Preparing The Pan

Now, warm up the crepe pan over medium heat and lightly oil the surface.

Crepes are not pancakes! They need only a tiny rub of oil on the pan to cook.

Don’t add too much oil to the pan or the crepes fry like an omelette.

Cooking And Flipping

Now, be patient, and don’t flip the crepes too quick. Wait for the French pancakes to be almost dry in the center.

When the border of the crepe unsticks from the border and get golden and crispy, it’s time to slide a flat tool under the crepe and flip it.

Cook an extra minute on the other side and store on a plate while cooking the remaining crepes.

Folding Crepes

There are two ways of folding the crepes:

• Rolling as a tube – perfect for on-the-go crepes, that’s how kids love to eat them the most, no knife and forks needed.

• Folding in a triangle shape – French-favorite way to serve breakfast or dessert on a plate.

Crepe Toppings

Below I listed healthier crepes toppings for you to try, but if you want to make authentic French crepes, try some of the favorite French combinations below:

• Chocolate spread and desiccated coconut – add the chocolate spread inside the crepe. French people use Nutella and add the toasted coconut on top of the folded crepe.
• Apricot jam and desiccated coconut – add both fillings inside the crepe.
• Strawberry jam and whipped cream – spread jam in the crepe and top with whipped cream and fruits.
• Crystal sugar – the classic ‘crepe au sucre’ that most French kids eat, basically a crepe filled with white sugar.
• Honey

Are French Pancakes Healthy?

The crepe itself is not that bad for you! It’s actually very nourishing as it contains:

• Protein from eggs and milk.
• Low sugar – you can even make the batter sugar-free, skipping the sweetener.
• Calcium from milk.

Then, of course, the flour used in crepes is refined white flour that doesn’t contain as much fiber as oat flour or whole wheat flour. But flour is still high in protein and a good source of quick carbs for kids’ breakfast.

The less healthy part of crepe is often their filling. Most French people fill their crepes with high-sugar ingredients like jam, chocolate spread, powdered sugar, or whipped cream. But it doesn’t have to be!

Healthy Crepe Filling

You can absolutely make these French pancakes and fill them with healthier toppings, including:

• Chia Seed Jam – to up the fiber and protein content of the crepes.
• Nut Butter – this adds healthy fats, plant-based proteins that are fulfilling. The best choices are chocolate peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter.
• Sunflower Seed Butter
• Fruit Puree – like apple puree, or strawberry puree.
• Fresh Fruits – banana slices, berries
• Yogurt