4 Delicious French Crepe Variations To Liven Up Your Breakfast

Strawberry Crepes With Chocolate Glaze | Foodal.com

Crepes are incredibly versatile (and delicious).

They can be enjoyed at all times of day, from breakfast to dinner to dessert.

Chocolate Crepes | Foodal.com

Try this easy and foolproof crepe recipe. With a simple addition to your batter, you can easily switch from sweet to savory.

Horizontal image of a row of folded thin pancakes on a white plate surrounded by white towels, with mugs in the background.

Basic Crepes – Get the Recipe Now

I had never eaten crepes until I met my husband. A typical Sunday brunch at his family’s home consisted of eggs, bacon, and crepes.

4 Delicious French Crepe Variations To Liven Up Your Breakfast | Foodal.com

As a new bride, one of my first lessons in the kitchen was making crepes, and mastering flipping them in the pan. My father-in-law, a French chef, was the perfect teacher.

My husband tweaked his father’s original recipe, which did not contain sugar. These crepes are great for breakfast or dessert. We enjoy these with maple syrup, or sprinkled with sugar and rolled or folded into fourths.

Dessert Crepes

If you think crepes can only be served for breakfast, then you are sorely mistaken.

Dessert Crepes | Foodal.com

Using a few crepes, you can whip up an elegant dessert relatively quickly and easily.

Chocolate Cream Crepes

So sweet and so creamy! This crepe recipe with a creamy chocolate custard center is for any chocolate lover.

Horizontal image of three rolled thin pancakes with a pudding filling topped with whipped cream.
Photo credit: Nikki Cervone

We use our recipe for a decadent Italian chocolate budino to make the filling. It’s over-the-top indulgent!

Chocolate Cream and Banana Crepes

Chocolate Cream and Banana Crepes | Foodal.com

Prepare crepes (see recipe above).

Chocolate Cream and Banana Crepes | Foodal.com
Chocolate Cream and Banana Crepes
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Chocolate Cream and Banana Crepes | Foodal.com
Chocolate Cream and Banana Crepes
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Rating: 0
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Ingredients
Filling
  • 1 package chocolate instant pudding mix
  • 1 teaspoon coffee granules
  • 3 cups heavy whipping cream
Chocolate Sauce
  • 1 ounce (4 squares) 1 ounce (4 squares) bittersweet chocolate
  • 2 sticks butter unsalted
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Servings:
Units:
Instructions
Filling
  1. In a large mixing bowl, beat pudding mix, coffee, and whipping cream until mixture has thickened.
Chocolate Sauce
  1. In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate, butter, milk, and sugar until thickened.
To construct crepes
  1. Spoon chocolate cream into the center of the crepes.
  2. Slice bananas and place them on top of chocolate cream.
  3. Roll or fold them up as desired. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.
Recipe Notes

Chocolate Cream and Banana Crepes | Foodal.com

Strawberry Crepes With Chocolate Glaze

Strawberry Crepes With Chocolate Glaze | Foodal.com

Prepare crepes (see recipe above).

Strawberry Crepes With Chocolate Glaze | Foodal.com
Strawberry Crepes with Chocolate Glaze
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Strawberry Crepes With Chocolate Glaze | Foodal.com
Strawberry Crepes with Chocolate Glaze
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Filling
  • 1 pound strawberries sliced
Chocolate Sauce
  • 1 ounce (4 squares) bittersweet chocolate
  • 2 sticks butter unsalted
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. Slice strawberries and place them inside crepes.
  2. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.
Recipe Notes

Strawberry Crepes With Chocolate Glaze | Foodal.com

Crepes With Strawberry Sauce

Our recipe for crepes with strawberry sauce is sweet and fruity, using our homemade recipe for strawberry syrup with a base of fresh straweberries.

Horizontal image of two white plates, each with with a stack of folded thin pancakes served with whipped cream, sliced fruit, and a red syrup.
Photo credit: Nikki Cervone

One of my favorite wedding gifts was my crepe pans. These pans, specifically designed for making crepes, are made of cast iron and they are naturally nonstick.

Teflon-coated pans are also available for ease of use, if you prefer. These pans feature low sides, in order to facilitate flipping with a spatula.

Savory Crepes

Savory crepes are a delicious addition to your lunch or dinner menu.

Fill crepes with meats and cheeses for a new taste experience. When making savory crepes use the above recipe, just omit the sugar. You can add chives or other fresh herbs to the batter if desired.

Mediterranean Spinach And Cheese Crepes

These savory spinach and cheese crepes find inspiration from fresh and bold Mediterranean flavors, using melt-in-your-mouth greens, creamy Greek yogurt, briny crumbled feta, and freshly grated lemon zest!

Horizontal image of a halved and stack thin pancake with a greens, onion, and cheese stuffing on a plate next to a wooden serving platter and green leaves.

Rather than use fresh spinach, we use a nifty ingredient to always keep on hand: frozen chopped spinach. It’s easy to store, and can last for months in the freezer.

Ham And Cheese Crepes

Savory melted cheese and thin-sliced ham are tucked into a subtly sweet crepe.

Horizontal image of two filled crepes on a plate next to salad greens.

This is our interpretation of a casual French street food favorite, and it is a snap to make with just a few simple ingredients.

Beautifully crisp around the edges and beyond gooey inside, this dish is delectable in the morning or for snack time.

Ready to explore more beyond crepes? Check out our full article on French cooking inspirations.

What’s your favorite crepe variety? Let us know in the comments!

About Jennifer Swartvagher

Jennifer is an experienced journalist and author. Her work has been featured on TODAY Parents, The New York Times Blog, BlogHer, Scary Mommy, and scores of other parenting and cooking publications.

46 thoughts on “4 Delicious French Crepe Variations To Liven Up Your Breakfast”

  1. Those look absolutely delicious and they don’t seem very difficult to prepare. I think my kids would like them. I would love to see lower carb/sugar versions of them however.

    Reply
  2. Oh, wow! I’ve never made crepes before. The chocolate cream crepes look to die for. I’m a huge fan of all things chocolate cream, so I can’t wait to try these. Maybe topped with strawberries. The strawberry crepes look good as well. I wonder if these two recipes would be good combined.

    This is making me hungry!

    Reply
  3. I’ve always loved crepes for some reason. I enjoy cooking them, and definitely love eating them. I’ve never prepared savory crepes, although I have eaten them, and they’re delicious. Since I always make dessert-type crepes, I think of them when I get a sweet craving so the cycle perpetuates, but your spinach and cheese crepes look so good they could help me break my sweet crepe cycle.

    Reply
  4. Crepes are my favorite. I eat them at any time of the day, and my friends love whenever I cook them. They are fairly easy to make and I think I’m going to try these variations as well. They seem delicious! 😀

    Reply
  5. These look absolutely delicious! I’ve always eaten breakfast/dessert crepes with fruit and chocolate flavors, but I’ve never fashioned one intended for lunch or dinner. I’m absolutely dying to try the spinach and cheese one. I know what I’m cooking up this weekend. 🙂

    Reply
  6. These are really delicious looking. I think I prefer the savory, although a little bit of sweetness is also nice every now and then. I am certainly going to try these. Thanks.

    Reply
  7. Oh, my. Oh, myyy. I was planning on making some crepes this weekend for my SO (he actually likes them in soup, so I have to make more than my usual batch for him to have some sweet ones AND some soup ones)… but now that I’ve seen those decadent looking pictures, I don’t think I can wait that long anymore! I might just go and make them for dessert right after our dinner… They are so easy to make!

    Reply
  8. All I have to say is that this looks like heaven! My eyes are still glued to these photos. I have never had crepe before either. Maybe if we buy enough eggs in the future, I can make some for myself. A dish you can have anytime of the day is my kind of thing.

    Reply
  9. All these variations are so nice! I love crepes, but have not had a lot of success making them. Since you learned from a French chef, I made sure to jot down the recipe. The fact that I can use these in so many ways provides the inspiration to master the technique. All the sauces and syrup recipes are an added plus.

    Reply
  10. Never personally made crepes, but always wanted to. Best crepes I’ve ever had were in New Orleans; where they must have had 20 varieties. These recipes seem quite good, although I want to cut down on my carb intake so…Better than pancakes though!

    Reply
  11. Even though I love chocolate, I prefer savory crepes. The best ones I had were in Paris and Amsterdam with cheese and eggs. Another way to eat them is an Italian way of baking savory ones with a cream and tomato sauce for a main meal called crespolini.

    Reply
  12. Crepes were one of the first things I learned how to make. They’re not seen as breakfast food here in Belgium, although I have occasionally eaten them for lunch or dinner. So both breakfast as dessert seem weird for them to me. Strange how those things differ from country to country. I’ve never tried them with anything other than sugar, chocolate or fruit, either. I’m interested in checking out the variant with ham and cheese! I’ll definitely be trying that out next time I make them.

    Reply
  13. Hey these pictures made me want to eat a crepe right now. I was wondering if I missed the savory crepes recipe, you know for the batter because I guess I don’t have to add sugar, right?

    Another thing, I’ve never attempted to try to do this at home because I’m not a big dessert fan, but it never occurred to me I could prepare these kinds of crepes. Anyways, I don’t have the special crepe pan, do you think I will have trouble using a regular nonstick pan?

    Reply
  14. One can almost confuse them for pancakes, I couldn’t help myself but salivate 😉 page has been bookmarked, got to try one or two of these awesome recipes…question, is it advisable to use vanilla essence as an ingredient when making crepes?

    Reply
  15. I see people limiting themselves to chocolate and orange crepes. Now I see your recipes and all the variations and am so blown away. I will definitely be trying to prepare the strawberry sauce version soon. Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  16. Wow I never thought to use crepes in such different varieties! My husband loves them for breakfast so i’m sure he would enjoy them in other meals and especially as a dessert. Thanks for adding all of the recipes so I can make all of it. Looks Delicious!!!

    Reply
  17. Crepes are a wonderful dish my family has enjoyed Christmas morning for decades! It’s nice to see more variations on the filling so we can enjoy them year ’round! I have experimented with vegan buckwheat crepes (as I am vegan for health reasons) once before- I’d love to see more vegan or low carb options, if possible!

    Reply
  18. I really must try and make this one morning. I’ve never even thought of this. It looks delicious, but I’m scared I would mess it up. I’m not too great at making things come out perfect like it looks in the pictures. Thanks for a simple recipe!

    Reply
  19. I feel like crepes are such a great ‘anytime’ meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or desert; you can always find a recipe to make them awesome. I love the idea of the Mediterranean spinach and cheese one. Kind of reminds me of the flaky greek pastry, spanakopita. Making homemade versions are always fun but I do like to go out and get them at this local restaurant called ‘AB Crepes’. They’re always adding new variations to the menu and giving me great ideas for new recipes to try. Does anyone else have a favorite restaurant or recipe that is unusual they like?

    Reply
  20. I really like how simple crepes are and the sheer variety when it comes to what fillings you want to put in them. While I do enjoy putting jam and whipped cream in them for breakfast, I did get creative and added soft serve ice cream with fudge and caramel during the summer just to try something different. I had to eat it in a bowl so nothing would drip, but it was totally worth it!

    Reply
  21. I love these! I always say I will give a savory crepe a try, but whenever I’m in line about to order, my sweet tooth takes over and I always resort to a crepe that has Nutella. Who knew the recipe for crepes could be so simple? Note to self: next weekend, pick up some fresh eggs and whip up some up! Strawberries, bananas, nutella, whip cream, and powdered sugar is a must!

    Reply
  22. I didn’t grow up eating these French-style pancakes, so it wasn’t until I was older and went off to college when I had my first taste. I think I was honestly quite surprised at how delicious it was, and it didn’t help that there were a million choices for me in terms of flavors and styles!

    My husband likes to make these (although he doesn’t get to as often as he like) and more often than not, he enjoys the savory ones over the sweet ones. We have this wonderful recipe from Alton Brown that I will have to compare to your recipe to see whose crepe is supreme 😉

    I wonder if it’s possible, for the savory ones, to make it into an Asian-fusion twist. I wonder how that would turn out!

    Reply
  23. Wow! I was completely blown away when I saw the recipe for the Mediterranean Spinach And Cheese Crepes! I have NEVER seen a crepe recipe that includes spinach! It looks absolutely delightful! I have tried to make crepes before and they never came out right and I’d never know why. But after looking at your recipe I see that I didn’t add as much eggs as should have. You guys are making me so excited to retry this!

    Reply
  24. My mom made a mango crepe last night but it was for dessert. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten crepe for breakfast. But I can see why it would be a big hit. I can imagine a peanut butter and jelly version for breakfast. Hmm, I might ask my mom to send me her recipe. Thanks for the yummy idea!

    Reply
    • My favorite way to enjoy these for breakfast is with a little bit of sugar — simple and sweet.

      Did your mom make a syrup with the mangoes or did she just slice them on top?

      Reply
  25. Yummy!! I think I know what I am having for breakfast tomorrow.. well maybe for lunch since I am not used to eating much in the morning. I think I will put nutella and banana in them but can’t wait for the strawberry season to make some with strawberries. I usually but only jam in them so putting fruit in them will be something new for me! 🙂

    Reply
  26. I have always wanted to try crepes, and these recipes look so good. They seem so easy to make, now I’m figuring why not try it out? I’m dying to taste the spinach and cheese crepes, they look amazing!

    Reply
  27. My best friend back home is so crepe obsessed. She pretty much chooses crepes anytime they are there. She always goes for Nutella- filled crepes; I bet she’d fall head over heels for that first chocolate-y coffee one! Since I generally prefer savory flavor to sweet, I’m going to try the spinach and feta crepe as soon as I get the chance. Thanks for the post!

    Reply
  28. Okay..my mouth is watering from just looking. Then I remember the taste….love them!!! Oh my goodness I have not thought about crepes in years and they use to be a staple in my household. I am extremely happy I came across this post because I will be at the market tomorrow buying some more eggs. I especially want to make the chocolate creme recipe and add a few bananas. My family is going to love this. I used to make them all the time until it seemed we began to “crepe out”, too many in a short amount of time. However, there are such great recipes here and I will most definitely be making the chocolate creme version tomorrow.

    Reply
  29. I love crepes and we always eat them as a dessert or afternoon snack. I have only started eating them as breakfast after travelling to Australia. Banana and chocolate is a classic combination and I do love it, I also eat nutella-banana on my crepe. I also love a honey and lemon combination. I never had crepes as a savory dish, but if you don’t add sugar to the batter it is a great idea.

    Reply
  30. A couple weeks ago my girlfriend and I had sweet crepes with peanut butter and banana from a local food truck, and boy, oh boy, were they delicious. We’ve been looking for a good recipe we could make at home, and it looks like we just found plenty to choose from. Thanks!

    Reply
  31. You know, the image that made me click on this article was the image of the Strawberry Crepes with Chocolate Glaze. I was like “Oh my God!” Later when I started reading the article and seeing the other photos, I simply died a little! Seriously drooling here. LOL Dear Lord! These crepes look to die for! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I really enjoy crepes, but had no idea how they were made before. I can’t wait to try the Strawberry Crepes with Chocolate Glaze, the Chocolate Crème Crepes, and the Mediterranean Spinach and Cheese Crepes. Thanks again for sharing such wonderfully delicious looking recipes.

    Reply
  32. What I like about this is, It’s easy to create. So, I decided to make it for my tomorrow’s breakfast :). I love strawberries but I want to taste what Mediterranean Spinach And Cheese Crepes is. I will make it since our refrigerator have those kind of ingredients. I’m sure that my work will be tasty as that in the picture.

    Reply
  33. Ive never made crepes before and to be honest I had no idea it was this easy to make! These recipes look absolutely delicious, especially the ones with chocolate! My kids and husband are going to go crazy over this when I make them tomorrow morning for breakfast. Thank you for the amazing recipes!

    Reply
  34. I’m literally drooling. These look amazing. When I think of crepes I always think of them as sweet treats. The Mediterranean Spinach And Cheese recipe you have listed has changed my whole thought process around. I can’t wait to try my hand at them. The recipe seems so large for just two people. This may be a silly question but can the batter be refrigerated and if so for how long? It would be nice if I could make a big batch and cook them fresh daily or nightly if my taste buds are feeling naughty.

    Reply
  35. These recipes look delicious. My husband talks often about the crepes his mother used to make when he was a kid, but I’ve never tried to make them yet. He told me recently about a fund raising event we were invited to on a social media site, where they are planning to serve these treats but for what I consider a very large price…5 to 10 dollars each. At that price they’d better be good is all I can say, but if they look anything like the ones shown above, well…maybe. 😉

    Reply
  36. I’ve just had my snack and now I’m getting hungry again, just by looking at those mouthwatering pictures! This a very versatile recipe because you can stuff them with whatever you want and they always turn out great! I have a sweet tooth so I can’t wait to try out all the great combinations you suggested, specially the chocolate cream and banana version. The Savory version looks fantastic as well, I usually use ricotta cheese combined with spinach, but Feta cheese sounds like a great addition, it’s tastier than ricotta. If I migh suggest it, you need to try out this version: prosciutto, cheese, bèchamel, and mushrooms. It’s to die for!

    Reply
  37. Strawberries are not common where I’m from but sometimes I do see a small pack of it in the frozen food section of the supermarket I frequent in. They’re usually small and sour compared to the one grown in the United States but when it doesn’t break my budget, I’ll buy a pack that’s about $2 to $3 and just make a strawberry shake with maca powder or have it with hotcakes as a breakfast treat.

    Reply
  38. I have only made crepes a few times but these recipes are too good to pass up. I think the Ham and Cheese would be the perfect light brunch. Although, I definitely would splurge on my diet a little for the chocolate cream and banana. Bananas are healthy enough lol. Chocolate cream sounds like a great way to start the day.

    Reply
  39. I ony have had crepes a few times in my entire existence and I’m always craving for more of them, and I actually thought that it was a harder thing to do but it seems actually pretty easy, so I really need to give them a try, this sunday, maybe :P.
    I’m looking forward to the chocolate cream one and the strawberry one, those two are my favorite flavors when it comes to dessert, so… let’s see how it works.
    Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply
  40. You mention a crepe pan in these recipes? Is it necessary to have one or can I get away with a standard pan? I find pancakes to be too dense, so I would love to be able to make the lighter crepes, but I don’t want to mess them up by using the wrong equipment. If I need one, can somebody recommend me a good crepe pan?

    Reply
  41. I always tend to eat crepes every time I hit the mall with my sister, we definitely love them! I had never seen the strawberry crepes, seems like we’ll have to try those by ourselves sooner or later, indeed.
    Thank you for sharing this.

    Reply

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