I must give my 86-year-old Grandmother all of the credit for this crepe recipe. This is her signature breakfast dish that she is kind enough to make for our entire family (all 25 of us) each time we get together.
Our family has gotten so big that in recent years she got smart and started working on making our crepes weeks in advance. So she now brings big frozen pre-made batches of this delectable dish to satisfy everyone’s cravings, which means she can spend less time in the kitchen and more time playing with all of her great-grandkids!
All I did was slightly modify my grandma’s recipe to include whole-wheat flour and honey instead of sugar. I am thrilled to say that those minor changes barely changed the consistency of the batter, and the end product still tastes delicious.
While I grew up eating these crepes for breakfast (there is only a tablespoon of sweetener in the whole batch) I think they are just as fabulous as a dessert, too. If you want to serve them for an after dinner treat try rolling them up with strawberries and whipped cream inside and top them with chocolate sauce. Alternately, you could put baked apples (seasoned with butter, honey and cinnamon) inside too. The possibilities are endless!
One last thing, I am not going to lie and say this is recipe is “easy” like most of the others I have posted. Making good crepes does take time and practice, but I assure you that it will be worth the effort if you just have a little bit of patience until you get it right. And be prepared to throw a few mangled ones out if it is your first time making them.
Also, this is by far my oldest daughter’s most favorite breakfast and just the four of us will devour an entire batch. So if you want to impress your guests with this dish you may want to double the recipe (and once you get really good you could try to have two pans going at once).
Good luck and enjoy!
Whole-Wheat Crepes
These are great for breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted, + extra for cooking
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in blender and mix well. Let stand about 15 minutes.
- Melt and swirl around a small pat of butter in an 8 or 10-inch frying pan over medium heat.
- Angle pan and pour enough batter on one side to thinly and evenly cover the pan. Very quickly swirl the batter around to cover the pan in one thin layer.
- Immediately use your cooking spatula to push down the thin edges of the crepe around the perimeter.
- After about 1 minute (and once it is golden brown on the bottom) carefully flip it over without tearing the crepe.
- Fry for 1 more minute on the other side (until it is golden brown as well) and then roll up each crepe.
Serve with 100% pure maple syrup.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
Here are pictures of each step. Click if you wish to enlarge…
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Milk – good or bad?
These crepes are great! We are avoiding as much refined flour as possible and, based on how fantastic these are, I wonder why one would ever opt for white flour again! I used orange juice instead of water but otherwise stuck to the recipe exactly, and it worked very well.
Glad they came out great for you :) – Nicole
Any changes in the processes for freezing large batches? Thinking about making ahead for meal prep
No. I would just freeze them between wax paper, or freeze on a single layer on a pan and once frozen then put them all in a container or bag. – Nicole
My family loves crepes and today I tried this whole-wheat recipe. Amazing! will definitely have it again and again, however, I did refrigerate the batter for 30 min instead.
Glad they turned out great for you. – Nicole
Love the recipe. I was just wondering if I could use milk instead of the 3/4 cup of water just to add calories for my child?
While we haven’t tried that, I wouldn’t recommend it as it might make the batter too thick. – Nicole
Maybe use heavy cream, for a whipped topping?
Can I substitute milk with coconut or almond milk?
Hi, some of our readers have successfully made them with almond milk. – Nicole
Excellent recipe. I do add a bit of white flour as well but I love how soft they are.
I tried using coconut flour and it failed. Any recommendations on using with coconut flour?
Hi Faith, we have not yet tried to adapt different flours in this recipe yet. We’ve heard from other readers that they have successfully made them with gluten-free flours. It might just take a bit of practice. – Nicole
I made these a few weeks ago when short on groceries and there was no fruit left for afternoon snacks. I had no problem with the crepes sticking or breaking. I gave some to my husband while he worked and later asked him how they were and he said they were very tasty. We had them with maple syrup. Will continue to use this recipe for healthier crepes! Thank you!
These were perfect! My daughter wanted to make crepes and I wanted a healthier option!. She filled hers with sweet and I went savory!
That’s great! We love that they are so versatile. – Nicole
I have never made crepes before and was a bit nervous. These turned out amazing. I used Oat milk and pastry whole-wheat flour. They turned easy and taste great. Thank you I will be trying your other recipes. I too want to eliminate processed ingredients.
This is great to hear! Glad you enjoyed them. – Nicole