Ham and Cheese Crepes
Ham and Cheese Crepes are fun, easy, and tasty. Use up that leftover ham (or buy it) for a quick and healthy after school snack or supper.
With the recent Paris Olympics have you been thinking about French food? Maybe something fancy like Beef Bourguignon or something fun like crepes. Perhaps even filled with ham and cheese!
While almost everyone knows what crepes are, they had their heyday in the 1970s and 80s. And in my very first job, when we worked an especially long day, we’d often head on over to a local Magic Pan restaurant. Camaraderie and eating crepes was a perfect way to wrap up the evening!
Of course crepes are just as much fun today, even if they’ve moved from trendy to classic.
Yes, Julia Child and 68 million French folks can’t be wrong.
What are Crepes
Crepes are a thin style pancake that originated in France, though many other cultures have their own versions of thin pancakes such as these Swedish Pancakes. And an especially nice feature of French crepes is that they can be filled with sweet or savory fillings. Yum!
Now as an aside, there is an interesting new trend in crepes called the mille crepes cake. Here a large quantity of crepes is stacked into a cake shape and layered with a tasty filling. With many options from chocolate to matcha to tiramisu, it’s a fun metamorphosis that’s revving up popularity again!
Why You’ll Love This!
Simple. With pre-made crepes (packaged or pre-make your own), these Ham and Cheese Crepes come together in minutes!
Tasty. Ham and cheese are a classic flavor combo because they’re so good together.
Fun. While I admit that dessert crepes may be the most fun of all, savory crepes are just as special!
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Crepes. Packaged or make your own ahead of time.
- Shredded Swiss Cheese. Or another similar melting cheese like Gruyere or Comte.
- Chopped ham. Or go with thin sliced deli ham if that’s easier.
- Optional garnish. LIke chives, chopped peppers, parsley, extra shredded cheese
Special Tools
- No special tools required!
Step by Step Directions
If you don’t have pre-made crepes you can follow the directions in my Lemon Curd Crepes. Then you can either fill them immediately as they finish cooking or make up a batch and store between wax paper to keep from sticking.
Heat an appropriately sized frying pan on medium until a drop of water sizzles immediately when sprinkled on. Spray with non-stick spray. Gently lay a crepe in the pan, then sprinkle half of the crepe with ¼ cup ham and ¼ cup cheese for a large crepe. Use about 2 Tablespoons each for a smaller crepe.
Fold the other half of the crepe over the filled half and let everything heat for a minute or two to melt and warm the filling. Fold over again (into a quarter size) if desired.
Serve warm, garnished if desired. Extra cheese, chives, chopped scallions, peppers, or parsley can all look nice sprinkled on top!
How to Serve
I love these Ham and Cheese Crepes because they are so versatile, going from snacks to meals–and quickly. Yes, now you can think beyond the Overnight Egg Casserole next time you need a hurry-up morning meal.
Or you can get home from a shopping trip (school shopping and black Friday are both coming up) and whip up a quick snack. Or feed a crepe or two to a hungry schoolchild between sports practice and dinner to thwart a junk food attack.
And don’t forget dinner. When I serve as a meal, I like to add a big salad, especially one that has an extra vegetable like this Tuscan Kale Salad. But if you’re in a hurry, opening a bagged salad and grating a couple carrots on top is just as good. Can’t beat that for a meal in minutes.
And now that football season is starting, I’m even thinking about these for a Game Day snack.
Variations
Crepes are a seriously fun. One of my favorites is filled with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone for a special breakfast or dessert. Or go savory with these Egg and Vegetable filled Breakfast Crepes.
Want to ditch the crepes but stay on the ham and cheese theme? Well my Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich is super tasty and another easy and convenient lunch or light suppers.
Tips & FAQs
I expected to need to buy deli ham or maybe even a ham steak for these but when I saw a package of pre-chopped real ham in the meat section I was delighted.
If you avoid nitrates (I usually do but make exceptions), I did find that one of my natural food purveyors sells organic ham steaks that are smoked and nitrate free. This is what I’ll buy to chop the next time I make these. They do mail order, but you might have local sellers as well.
While a Teflon-type pan might make re-heating the crepes easier, I was completely successful with a stainless steel pan (in fact I won’t buy a PFOA coated pan if there is any alternative). I just made sure to get it hot (a drop of water should immediately sizzle), sprayed the pan with PAM, then gently set the crepe down into the pan.
This would be a great way to use up leftover holiday ham. And if you have holiday houseguests, think how they’d enjoy these in the days following the big celebrations!
Celebrating Julia Child
- Ham and Cheese Crepes from Art of Natural Living
- Julia Child’s Buttermilk Bread from That Recipe
- Ratatouille Stir-Fry from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Summer Vegetable Tart from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
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Easy Ham and Cheese Crepes
Ingredients
- 4 - 8 crepes depending on size
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese or other good melting cheese
- 1 cup chopped ham can also use deli slices
- Optional chives chopped tomatoes or extra shredded cheese for garnish
Instructions
- f you don’t have pre-made crepes you can follow the directions in my Lemon Curd Crepes. Then you can either fill them immediately as they finish cooking or make up a batch and store between wax paper to keep from sticking.
- Heat an appropriately sized frying pan on medium until a drop of water sizzles immediately when sprinkled on. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Gently lay a crepe in the pan, then sprinkle half of the crepe with ¼ cup ham and ¼ cup cheese for a large crepe. Use about 2 Tablespoons each for a small sized crepe.
- Fold the other half of the crepe over the filled half and let heat a minute or two to melt and warm the filling. Fold over again (into a quarter size) if desired.
- Serve warm, garnished if desired. Extra cheese, chives, chopped scallions, peppers, or parsley are all good garnish options.
These Ham and Cheese Crepes sound like the perfect blend of nostalgia and convenience! With their roots in classic French cuisine, they bring a touch of elegance to any meal while being incredibly easy to whip up. Love it!
I’ve seen the pre-made crepes in the grocery store and this would be a great way of trying them rather than making them from scratch.
I have a stack of crepes in my freezer just waiting for a recipe! Thanks for this.
A stack of crepes in the freezer–how fun!
I still have some crepes leftover. I think I need to make these for breakfast since I’m home half the week.