Easy-to-make recipe for savory breakfast crêpes with creamy eggs, sharp cheddar, and chives. Perfect for brunch!
Does the idea of making French crêpes at home scare you? Because if it does, this post is for you. If you can make a pancake, you can make a crêpe. Seriously. And, I'll share my technique for the creamiest, cheesiest scrambled egg filling around. Garnish with chives for an elegant yet easy (and completely delicious) meal!
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Why Make This Recipe
- Egg Crêpes Perfect for Any Meal: You may think breakfast when you think of crêpes, but I'm here to tell you that scrambled egg crêpes are a fantastic option for brunch, lunch, or dinner as well.
- Delicious Vegetarian Option: These crêpes with eggs and cheese are topped with chives. Totally filling, and a great meal option for vegetarians.
- So Versatile: Once you learn how to make crêpes, the filling possibilities are endless! Fill them with savory ingredients or sweet—they're really just a fancy delivery mechanism for whatever you have on hand.
🥗 Ingredients for Breakfast Crêpes
- Flour: You can use gluten-free flour or whole wheat flour to make the crêpes but note that the texture of your crêpes will change. If you want to use whole wheat flour, I'd start by replacing ¼ cup of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. If the texture is still ok, go up to ½ cup. For a gluten-free recipe, try my Gluten-Free Crêpes with Almond Flour.
- Chives: If you don’t have chives, you can substitute finely chopped green onions. Unless they are very finely chopped, though, I’d use them just as a garnish rather than also including in the crêpe batter. You can also experiment with other fresh herbs like dill or thyme.
- Cheddar Cheese: As a substitute for cheddar cheese, try gruyère, gouda, or Comté.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions for French Crêpes
First, start with a classic French crêpe recipe.
1. Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup milk, ½ cup water, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and ½ teaspoon of salt in large bowl and whisk vigorously until well-combined (about a minute).
You can also use a blender for this step—blend for about 10 seconds. Next, whisk in 1 tablespoon of chopped chives. The batter should be much thinner than pancake batter—closer to the consistency of heavy cream.
2. Let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it up to overnight, but move into the refrigerator if you are not using right away.
3. After resting the batter, give it another quick whisking.
4. Now heat a 9- or 10-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet on medium heat, cut off a sliver of butter, and swirl it around your pan. Use a paper towel to coat the pan evenly.
5. Pour about ¼ cup of batter directly in the center of the pan, then quickly lift the pan up and roll your wrist around as you hold it, so that the batter spreads out in a thin even layer over the pan.
6. Cook without disturbing the crêpe until you see the edges beginning to brown, then use a non-scratch spatula to flip your crêpe and cook the other side. You can use your spatula to peek if you need to—you want the bottom to be just golden brown in spots.
Keep an eye on your heat—the crêpes should take about 1 minute to cook on the first side, and 30 seconds or so on the second side.
7. Repeat with the rest of your crêpes, including buttering the pan between each one. As you finish your crêpes, stack them on a plate separated by squares of wax paper or parchment paper.
You will likely have more crêpes than you need for this breakfast crêpes recipe. You can store leftovers in the refrigerator for future use.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions for Egg Filling
1. To make the scrambled egg crêpe filling, first whisk together 8 eggs, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper until totally incorporated.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, then add eggs. Use a rubber spatula to slowly stir eggs, pulling the spatula around the sides of the pan and through the middle. Cook the eggs slowly, stirring frequently.
At first it will seem like not much is happening, then all at once they will begin to cook quickly. The entire process should take at least 5 minutes.
3. When the eggs start to clump up as you stir with your spatula, leaving the bottom of your pan clear, add 2 ounces of grated cheddar cheese and stir in.
4. Continue to cook until eggs are done, and cheese is melted.
5. To assemble your crêpes, lay a crêpe on a cutting board and add a small scoop of eggs along one half of the crêpe.
6. Top with a small sprinkle of chopped chives and shredded cheese, then fold over the top of the crêpe. Fold in half again, and garnish with additional chives and cheese if you’d like.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Breakfast Crêpes with Eggs
French crêpes are made without leavener (such as baking soda or baking powder), so they do not rise and fluff up like an American pancake.
Typically, crêpes are made with just flour, eggs, and milk. All-purpose flour is most common, though the Bretagne region in France is famous for its savory crêpes called galettes made with buckwheat flour.
Additional crêpe batter ingredients might include sugar, for sweet crêpes, or liqueurs or spirits. Pancake batter, on the other hand, typically includes butter, sugar, and baking powder, along with flour, eggs, and milk.
Yes and No. Crêpes themselves are excellent for make-ahead. They will store for several days in the refrigerator in a ziplock bag or airtight container.
And, you can freeze crêpes for up to 3 months. Use a piece of parchment or wax paper between each crêpe so that they don’t stick together, then put in a ziplock bag or airtight container.
If you freeze them, thaw in the refrigerator before using. When you’re ready to eat one, heat it gently in the microwave for 15-30 seconds before filling.
As for the filling, it’s best to make scrambled eggs right before you’re ready to serve, as they can get rubbery when refrigerated and reheated. You can definitely grate the cheese and chop your chives up to 24 hours in advance, and keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use.
Resting is important because the starch in the flour has time to absorb liquid, air bubbles rise to the surface and are released, and the gluten which develops when you mix the batter has a chance to relax (while gluten in a nice chewy artisan bread loaf is appreciated, not so in a crêpe). All of that makes for a more tender crêpe.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Note that the technique I use above for scrambled eggs makes the eggs creamy and silky, with smaller curds. It requires cooking the eggs low and slow, and not getting impatient and turning up the heat. Of course you can cook your eggs more quickly at a higher heat, but they won't be as velvety as the low and slow method!
You may be wondering what tools you need to make crêpes at home. You can make crêpes with just a rubber or wooden spatula and a nonstick skillet (or very well-seasoned cast-iron skillet).
If you plan to make crêpes regularly, investing in a pan like this Cuisinart brand crêpe pan is not a bad idea. Crêpe pans have a nice weight to them and conduct heat nicely so you get an even cook on your crêpes. And the sides on a crêpe pan are fairly low, which helps you get your spatula under the crêpe to flip it.
The other tool you might want to invest in is a wooden crêpe turner—these are long and flat, and make it easy to lift your crêpes and flip them without damaging them. Again, they aren’t necessary for crêpe making, but they do make the job a little easier if you find yourself making crêpes frequently.
Need a dairy-free crêpe recipe? Try these Crêpes without Milk or Butter, the next time you run out of milk!
Note that these scrambled egg crêpes have a hearty filling, which makes the triangle folding method best. (Fill one half of the crêpe, then fold over the empty side. Fold over again into a stacked triangle shape.) If you decide to fill leftover crêpes with a thinner filling, you can also spread the filling over the crêpe, then roll into a tube.
Other Filling Ideas for French Crêpes
Crêpes have so many uses! Think of them like sandwich bread or a pie crust. You can fill them with all sorts of things, both sweet and savory. In France, sweet crêpes are often topped with Nutella, jam, or with butter and sugar or sugar and lemon.
Fruits like sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, raspberries, or blueberries, along with whipped cream, are also quite popular.
Or, try a combination, as with my Banana Nutella Crepes! You can also top sweet crêpes with caramel or lemon curd. Or stuff with ricotta cheese and top with blueberry sauce, as in these Lemon Blueberry Crêpes.
But despite the fact that there are oh so many sweet options with crêpes, my favorite recipes are savory.
Besides making breakfast crêpes with eggs, you can use crêpes to stretch leftovers that aren’t quite enough for another full meal by spreading them out over crepes and folding them up.
In summer, I love to turn garden tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and pesto into these Caprese Crêpes. When it’s colder outside, these Creamy Dijon Chicken and Mushroom Crêpes completely hit the spot.
Other Breakfast/Brunch Ideas
Looking for other yummy recipes for a special breakfast or brunch? Why not try your hand at making homemade bagels next? Start with this onion bagel recipe.
And here are a few other recipes you might want to check out. You can also see my full collection in my Breakfast archive.
If you try this Breakfast Crêpes recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Breakfast Crêpes with Eggs and Cheddar
Easy-to-make recipe for savory breakfast crêpes with creamy eggs, sharp cheddar, and chives. Perfect for brunch!
Ingredients
For the Crêpes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 grams)
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup water
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, for cooking
For the Eggs
- 8 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2.5 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives, to serve
Instructions
- For the crêpes: combine the flour, milk, water, eggs, butter, and salt in large bowl and whisk vigorously until well-combined (about a minute). You can also use a blender for this step—blend for about 10 second.
- Next, whisk in the chives. The batter should be much thinner than pancake batter—closer to the consistency of heavy cream.
- Let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it up to overnight, but move into the refrigerator if you are not using right away.
- After resting the batter, give it another quick whisking.
- Now heat a 9- or 10-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet on medium heat, cut off a sliver of butter, and swirl it around your pan. Use a paper towel to coat the pan evenly.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter directly in the center of the pan, then quickly lift the pan up and roll your wrist around as you hold it, so that the batter spreads out in a thin even layer over the pan.
- Cook without disturbing the crepe until you see the edges beginning to brown, then use a non-scratch spatula to flip your crepe and cook the other side. You can use your spatula to peek if you need to—you want the bottom to be just golden brown in spots. Keep an eye on your heat—the crepes should take about 1 minute to cook on the first side, and 30 seconds or so on the second side.
- Repeat with the rest of your crepes, including buttering the pan between each one.
- As you finish your crepes, stack them on a plate separated by squares of wax paper or parchment paper.
- To make the eggs, first whisk together eggs, salt, and pepper until totally incorporated.
- Melt butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, then add eggs.
- Use a rubber spatula to slowly stir eggs, pulling the spatula around the sides of the pan and through the middle.
- Cook the eggs slowly, stirring frequently. At first it will seem like not much is happening, then all at once they will begin to cook quickly. The entire process should take at least 5 minutes.
- When the eggs start to clump up as you stir with your spatula, leaving the bottom of your pan clear, add 2 ounces of the grated cheese and stir in.
- Continue to cook until eggs are done, and cheese is melted.
- To assemble the crepes, lay a crepe on a cutting board and add a small scoop of eggs along one half of the crepe. Top with a small sprinkle of chives and shredded cheese, then fold over the top of the crepe. Fold in half again, and garnish with additional chives and cheese if you’d like.
- To serve, place 2 folded and filled crepes on each person’s plate. You will likely have leftover crepes, that you can store in the refrigerator for future use.
Notes
- Feel free to make the scrambled eggs to your liking—some people like to cook them fast, over high heat, and some prefer the slower approach. I like my eggs soft and creamy, so I use the slow approach. Also, cooking the eggs slowly allows the cheddar cheese to really melt into the eggs. Note that the smaller the skillet, the more time it will take to cook the eggs.
- You can absolutely buy store-bought crepes and speed up this recipe time quite a bit!
- As a substitute for cheddar cheese, try gruyère, gouda, or Comté.
- If you are a meat-eater, adding crispy crumbled bacon as a topping for these eggs is delicious. Just cook some bacon or lardons in your skillet before scrambling your eggs, then removing them from the pan. You can then scramble the eggs in a bit of the remaining bacon fat.
- If you have leftover crepes, wrap them (unfilled) in plastic wrap or in a ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator or freezer. It’s best to keep a piece of parchment or wax paper between each crepe so that they don’t stick together. If you freeze them, thaw in the refrigerator before using. When you’re ready to eat one, heat it gently in the microwave for 15-30 seconds before filling.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 549Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 533mgSodium: 788mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 25g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this egg crêpe recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
Mimi Rippee says
What a fabulous idea! Cheddar is great but I take cheese so seriously that I’d probably pick fontina for myself, or a smoked mozzarella!
http://www.chefmimiblog.com
Molly Pisula says
Ooh, definitely good options too!
Dana says
The clear directions made it easy to make crepes at home (something I never thought I'd do!) These were delicious, and we will definitely be making them again.
Chef Molly says
Yes! Crepes are easier than they look. So glad you enjoyed!
Journa Liz Ramirez says
One of my ew breakfast go-to recipes! These crepes are so good and flavorful, they are also so easy to make.
Gen says
These are spectacular, Molly! I love the chives and your directions are super helpful. This was another winner! Thank you.
Chef Molly says
Thanks so much. Really love these, and glad you did too!
Greta says
Oh, I love this crepe for breakfast. I'll make it tomorrow! Never ate crepes with eggs and cheddar though...it looks so good, I am definitely trying it!
Chef Molly says
You're in for a treat, Greta! It's a really tasty combo.
Gen says
That combination of cheddar and chives is just spectacular. Thank you! I’ll be making this often.
Chef Molly says
Totally agree. Can't beat cheddar and chives!
Samantha says
Delicious and Super easy to make!
Chef Molly says
Yes, these are a staple in our house!
Heidi says
I had never tried savory crepes so I thought I'd give these a try. I am so glad I did! These were perfect for dinner and my whole family asked me to add them to the menu for next month. 🙂
Chef Molly says
So glad you enjoyed these, Heidi! I love serving them for dinner too!
MacKenzie says
I made these beautiful crepes for my family last weekend and they taste just as good as the look. They were so light and flavorful. Perfect for Sunday brunch
Chef Molly says
Agreed! Thanks so much for letting me know.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
I can never resist crêpes, and you really made these come alive with the sharp cheddar and chives. Yum!
Chef Molly says
Merci! This is one of my favorite breakfast meals--so good!
mimi rippee says
You are so lucky that firstly, restaurants are opening back up, but also that you have such fabulous restaurants to go to! I grew up making crepes (French mother) and either ate them straight out of the pan with a touch of sugar, or make them savory with a cheesy duxelles kind of filling. But i LOVE what you did here. eggs, cheese, and a crepe. brilliant.
Chef Molly says
Thanks Mimi! Yes, I know we are really lucky here right now! Glad you like this crepe filling idea--it's a hit even with my picky kids, which is huge!