Strawberry Ricotta Crepes, a French-inspired sweet ricotta-stuffed crepe recipe with strawberries cooked in bourbon and vanilla. Decadent and delicious!
Crepes are about as quick and simple to make as it gets: only 6 base ingredients that you probably already have on hand, and just 20 minutes from prep to plate. Strawberries, vanilla, bourbon, and brown sugar come together to create the perfect sweet and boozy take on this international classic.
👉 Ready to indulge in these ricotta crepes with vanilla bourbon strawberries? Let’s do it!
🥞 Origin of crepes
Crepes are very thin pancake-like wraps that made with flour, eggs, and milk.
The crepes we know and love today originate from France, but other cultures have similar thin flour cakes, such as blintzes from Eastern Europe, panqueques from Argentina and Uruguay, crepella from Italy, and pannakeke from Sweden.
In fact, crepes have infiltrated the world and most cultures have some sort of thin pancake-like dish typical to its cuisine.
🍓 Ingredients
- Flour: Flour serves as the base of the crepes; we used all purpose but you can test other flour types and we expect most would work well in crepes.
- Eggs: Eggs bind the crepe ingredients together. If you’re going egg-free you can try making them with an egg replacement or with ground flax seeds, but you may not get the same fluffy consistency that eggs give to crepes.
- Milk: Milk mixes with the crepe ingredients to hold everything together; I like plant-based milk like pea milk or a creamy oat milk instead.
- Ricotta cheese: Ricotta cheese is a light, fluffy cheese that is used as a filling for the crepes. You can use plant-based ricotta cheese to make this dairy-free (try this homemade cashew ricotta to make your own).
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla lends a smooth and sweet flavor to all three components of this recipes (the crepes, the ricotta filling, and the strawberry sauce).
- Strawberries: Sliced strawberries add a fresh and sweet flavor and are great for making a simple sauce to drizzle on crepes.
- Bourbon whiskey: The sweet taste of bourbon compliments the vanilla, brown sugar, and strawberries for a tasty drizzling sauce.
- Brown sugar: Sweet and adds a depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Butter and salt: For flavor and frying. Choose vegan butter if plant-based.
🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Mix crepe batter
First, mix eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl with a whisk until smooth. The batter will be light and airy, but don’t overmix or they will become chewy.
2️⃣ Step Two: Cook crepes
Next, heat butter or oil in a large round pan on medium heat and pour ⅓ cup of batter onto hot pan. Spread batter until thin and even (picking up the pan and twisting until batter runs to the edges works best if making crepes at home).
Cook the crepe batter about 1-2 minutes, or until batter is beginning to dry, then flip and cook another 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside to cool, continuing to make crepes until all batter is gone.
3️⃣ Step Three: Make bourbon vanilla strawberry sauce
To make the Bourbon Vanilla Strawberries, add strawberries, vanilla, bourbon, and brown sugar to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat for ten minutes, until strawberries begin to soften and the sauce begins to thicken.
4️⃣ Step Four: Make ricotta crepe filling + serve crepes
Next it’s time to make the ricotta crepe filling. Mix the ricotta, cheese, and vanilla in a small bowl until well combined.
Spread ¼ cup of cheese mixture to the middle of crepe, then fold or roll crepe on a plate and top with bourbon vanilla strawberry sauce. Then serve and enjoy!
💡 Variations
The toppings and filling possibilities for crepes are endless, but here are a few favorites we’ve tried and loved:
- Crepe filling ideas: ricotta, cottage cheese, whipped cream, Nutella, peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower butter, fruit
- Crepe topping ideas: fresh seasonal fruit, honey, maple syrup, bourbon sauce (see below for recipe), date syrup, blueberry sauce
- Savory crepe ideas: cheese, herbs, shrimp, greens like spinach and kale, mushrooms, savory flavored oils like truffle oil or garlic oil
🧊 How to store
Crepes are a great make-once, eat-twice (or 3 or 4 times). Here’s how to make them ahead and store for later:
Refrigerator storage: Store the cooked crepes, ricotta vanilla filling, and strawberry sauce separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Then reheat the crepes on a pan over low heat and build the crepes when ready to serve.
Freezer storage: Crepes are freezer-friendly and can be stored in an airtight container or stored flat in a freezer-friendly bag until ready to serve. To thaw, simply place in the refrigerator overnight or thaw on the counter at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Then heat on a pan. We do not recommend freezing the strawberry sauce or ricotta filling.
🧇 More fruit-fill breakfast recipes
Want more sweet and fruity breakfast recipes? We’ve got you covered:
- Cast Iron Dutch Baby Pancakes with Blueberries
- Black Cherry Cornmeal Pancakes
- Buckwheat Pancakes with Pluots
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Strawberry Ricotta Crepes
Ingredients
Crepes
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter, or oil for frying
Ricotta Filling
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, or vegan ricotta
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Bourbon Vanilla Strawberries
- 2 cups strawberries, sliced
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup about 1.5 ounces bourbon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Crepes: In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, and salt with a whisk until well blended. Heat butter or oil in a large round pan on medium heat. Pour ⅓ cup of batter onto hot pan and spread batter until very thin and even on pan (picking up the pan and twisting until batter runs to the edges works best if making crepes at home). Cook 1-2 minutes, or until batter is beginning to dry, then flip and cook another 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside to cool, continuing to make crepes until all batter is gone.
- Bourbon Vanilla Strawberries: Add strawberries, vanilla, bourbon, and brown sugar to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat for ten minutes, until strawberries begin to soften and the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
- Filling and plating: Mix together ricotta cheese and vanilla. Spread ¼ cup of cheese mixture to the middle of crepe, then fold or roll crepe on a plate and top with bourbon vanilla strawberry sauce.
Recipe Notes
- Leftovers and storage: Crepes will last up to four or five days in the refrigerator, but they tend to dry out after one or two days. Reheat in pan or microwave.
- Nutrition notes: This Ricotta Crepes with Bourbon Vanilla Strawberries recipe is an indulgent meal, but it can easily be made healthier by omitting the added brown sugar and using light ricotta cheese.
Nutrition Information
UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in March 2019 and was updated in March 2022.
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