Crepe Sauces: 5 Sweet and Savory Sauces for Crepes

A good sauce turns a plain stack of crepes into a dish. On the savory side, it’s almost always a version of béchamel, the French white sauce that holds a filling together and browns in the oven. On the sweet side, the classics are a buttery orange caramel, a glossy chocolate sauce and a bright fruit coulis.

These five cover nearly everything you’ll want to make with crepes. They’re grouped in one recipe card below so you can make one, or two for a crepe night with both savory and sweet.

Savory crepe sauces

Béchamel

Béchamel is butter and flour cooked together into a roux, then whisked with milk until it thickens. It’s the base of most baked savory crepes: a spoonful mixed into the filling keeps it creamy, and a thin layer on top protects the crepes in the oven. The consistency in this recipe, thick enough to coat a spoon but still pourable, works for both. For a thicker sauce to bind a filling, use 4 tablespoons each of butter and flour to the same 2 cups of milk.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Warm the milk. Warm milk blends into the roux more smoothly than cold, so you get fewer lumps.
• Cook it fully. Simmer for the full 5 to 7 minutes. Undercooked béchamel tastes floury.
• Season at the end. Nutmeg is traditional, but a little goes a long way.

For a sauce made with a spoonful of Dijon, see the baked ham and Gruyère crepes in Make-Ahead Crepe Brunch for 8.

Mornay

Mornay is béchamel with cheese, usually Gruyère, sometimes with Parmesan. It’s the sauce for Chicken and Mushroom Crepes and works with ham, spinach, leeks or any leftover roast vegetables. Stir the cheese in off the heat: high heat makes it grainy and stringy.

Sweet crepe sauces

Orange butter sauce (Suzette style)

This is the sauce from Crêpes Suzette: sugar cooked to a light caramel, butter, fresh orange juice and zest. The crepes are folded into quarters and warmed right in the pan so they soak up the sauce. The liqueur is optional, and you don’t need to flambé for it to taste right. It’s best with plain or orange-scented crepes, such as Classic French Crepes with a little zest in the batter.

Chocolate sauce

Warm cream poured over chopped chocolate makes a smooth, pourable sauce in about five minutes. Use a chocolate you’d happily eat on its own, around 55 to 70 percent cacao. Drizzle it over crepes filled with bananas, strawberries or whipped cream, or over Chocolate Crepes for something richer. If it thickens as it sits, stir in a teaspoon of hot water or warm cream.

Berry coulis

A coulis is the lightest sweet sauce: berries simmered with a little sugar and lemon, then strained. Raspberries give the brightest color and flavor, and frozen berries work just as well as fresh. Spoon it over crepes filled with sweetened ricotta, mascarpone or cream cheese, or alongside lemon sugar crepes.

Which sauce for which crepe

Crepe	Sauce
Ham and cheese, chicken, mushroom	Mornay
Spinach, leek or vegetable crepes	Béchamel or Mornay
Plain crepes for dessert	Orange butter sauce
Banana, strawberry or ice cream crepes	Chocolate sauce
Ricotta, mascarpone or cream cheese crepes	Berry coulis