Life

This Crepe Recipe For One Will Move Your Brunch Game To New Levels

by Brittany Bennett
Brittany Bennett

Next time you make breakfast on a weekend, give fluffy pancakes a break from their brunch duties and consider another sweet treat option: A crepe. This thinner pancake-like dish is absent of leavening agents like baking soda and baking powder, which makes it take on a more silky texture once it's cooked. It's truly easy to make, and even easier to eat. That said, most recipes for crepe batter yield about 22 to 24 crepes, which is a lot if you're a single person who isn't planning on inviting half of France over for breakfast. So, to save you the trouble of doing tons of math to half ingredients, I've created a custom crepe recipe designed for one person.

There is little effort required to make these crepes. All you need are four ingredients — flour, butter, milk, egg — and a whisk. The simplicity also makes these ~fancy pancakes~ an achievable weekday morning breakfast. Ooh la-la! Nothing like anything but cereal before work to make you feel like you have yourself together.

This recipe will blanket your plate with three small crepes, giving you three different options for filling. Enjoy your crepes sweet, showered in sugar and lemon zest, or with a dollop of yogurt and fresh berries. Or if your sweet tooth never grew in, top your crepe with a fried egg and fresh herbs for a more savory bite. However you fill it and top it, you'll feel so victorious after whipping these up for yourself that you might ponder a life in Paris as the owner of a little crêperie.

Side note: these crepes aren't just for breakfast. You can make them whenever the mood strikes, whether that's 7 a.m. or 10 p.m.

Crepes For One

Brittany Bennett
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons egg*
  • Pinch of kosher salt

Whisk a large egg in a small bowl for a minute until it's a bit frothy — the yolk and egg whites should be completely combined. Then, measure out one and a half tablespoons of the whisked egg, and reserve the remainder for scrambling after cooking the crepes.

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, whole milk, butter, egg and salt.

Brittany Bennett

2. Whisk the ingredients together until no lumps remain. You want this batter to be thin! Alternatively, you can pour all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend together.

Brittany Bennett

3. Heat an 8" non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, brushing the pan with butter. If you have a crepe pan, by all means use that! But a regular non-stick skillet will work just as well.

4. Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter into the center of the pan and swirl the batter around so it coats the skillet. If you don't have a crepe spreader, you can use the back of your tablespoon to spread the batter thin and evenly.

5. Cook the crepe for 45 seconds until the top of the crepe begins to look dry.

Brittany Bennett

6. Using a fish spatula, flip the crepe over to the other side. Cook for 15 to 20 more seconds until it's spotted with golden brown.

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(NOTE: If your crepe becomes misshaped like mine because pouring-photographing-managing heat is a full time job requiring more than two arms, that's OK. The crepe has character! And you'll fold it anyways. So if you share a picture on Instagram, nobody will have to know that the crepe was never perfectly round — if that matters to you.)

7. Flip the crepe in half and then in half again to create little delicious triangles. Repeat with the remaining batter. And serve with desired toppings!

I'm partial to lemon zest and a sprinkling of sugar.

Brittany Bennett

Bon appetit indeed.

Check out more Single Serving recipe ideas here for when your speed is less “entertaining my crew” and more “watching Netflix alone on my couch.”