Crepes filled with delectable fillings are one of my favorite meals. Chicken and Mushroom Crepes with Cheese Sauce are a real treat and a lot easier to make than one might think. At one time considered the fare of stylish restaurants and bistros, they can actually be very easily made at home.
I often make up a large batch of the crepes and freeze them, in between layers of plastic wrap, in a sealed freezer bag. If they are already made in advance, it does speed up meal preparation.
Crepes can be made with all-purpose flour or, if following a gluten-free diet, made with gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour. In fact, the crepes in the photos in this posting are made with the 1-to-1 gluten-free flour and are very tasty and have a good soft texture. The crepe batter benefits from spending an hour in the refrigerator before being cooked. I find this gives greater structure to the crepe batter than cooking the crepes immediately after the ingredients are mixed together. The 1/4-cup measuring cup is a good size to use for the batter needed for each crepe.
A slope-sided non-stick 8″ skillet is perfect for making crepes. Make sure the skillet is hot before adding batter and that only the minimal amount of butter is added to the pan. The best way to get thin crepes is to hold the 1/4-cup with the batter in one hand and the hot pan in the other. Pour the batter in to the pan while quickly tilting and swirling the pan to evenly distribute the batter. Cook the crepe until the gloss is gone from the top of the crepe and it starts to look a bit dry, small tiny bubbles begin to appear, and the edges of the crepe start to curl slightly. I use the tip of a fork to gently life the edge of the crepe, then I grab it with my fingers, and flip it over to the other side. The second side only needs about 15-20 seconds of cooking. Have a couple of clean tea towels spread out on the counter and, as soon as each crepe is cooked, flip it out on to the tea towel. A small amount of additional butter may need to be added to the pan after every few crepes are cooked. This will ensure that the batter moves freely in the pan. Even though pan manufacturers claim pans to be non-stick, I find they benefit from the addition of a small amount of butter.
My recipe is a good use of leftover chicken (or turkey); however, if you are craving chicken crepes and don’t happen to have any leftover chicken, simply cook some chicken breasts especially for the crepes. It will take approximately one (1) pound of raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts to yield about two (2) cups of cooked cubed chicken. When I am preparing the chicken breasts for cooking, I mix about 1/2 tsp liquid chicken bouillon with about a couple of tablespoons of water and drizzle it over the chicken. I will sprinkle a small amount of herbs and spices (e.g., dillweed, cumin, granulated garlic, or pretty much whatever strikes my fancy at the time) over the chicken, cover, and bake in the oven until done. This adds some extra flavor to the chicken which can, otherwise, be a bit bland.
I recommend making this recipe in steps starting with the crepes, then the cheese sauce, and finally the filling. I enhance the cheese sauce with the injection of some flavor boosters that include chicken stock, granulated garlic, paprika, and cayenne. They do make a difference. Those following a gluten-free diet will need to ensure that the chicken stock they use in this recipe is gluten-free. If gluten-free chicken stock is unavailable, this sauce may be made entirely with milk though the flavor will obviously differ somewhat. The thickener in the sauce is all-purpose flour and, for those on a gluten-free diet, I have had great success using the gluten-free 1-to-1 flour as a thickener for this sauce. While the sauce can be made entirely with grated cheddar cheese, I find it can be a bit too intense. Therefore, I use a blend of cheeses, my favorite being a mozzarella-provolone-parmesan mix . With so many packages of pre-shredded cheeses on the market, it’s a quick and easy way to get a blend of cheeses for a recipe.
The filling is easy to make and only takes basic, simple ingredients that include two (2) aromatics (onion and celery), sliced button mushrooms and, of course, the cubed cooked chicken. What holds this filling together is a portion of the cheese sauce. Don’t add so much cheese sauce that the filling becomes soupy – all that should be needed is about 1/2 cup of the sauce to bind the filling ingredients together.
To fill the crepes, simply divvy up the filling between the eight (8) crepes, placing the filling along the center line of each crepe. Gently fold one side of the crepe over the filling and roll again to form a cylinder.
If you want to plate the crepes, then I recommend baking them together in a baking pan (a 7″x11″ baking pan works well). I like to bake my crepes in individual au gratin dishes like those in the photo below. I find they are great for presentation and they also ensure that each serving receives an equal amount of the cheese sauce. For presentation purposes, the crepes also look finished and undisturbed when brought to the table in their individual serving dishes.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Chicken and Mushroom Crepes with Cheese Sauce
Ingredients:
Crepes:
2 large eggs
1 cup flour (to make gluten-free, use 1 cup of 1-to-1 gluten-free flour)
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp melted butter
Cheese Sauce:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour (to make gluten-free, use ¼ cup of 1-to-1 gluten-free flour)
Scant ½ tsp salt
½ tsp granulated garlic
Dash paprika
Dash cayenne
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1 cup grated cheese mixture (e.g., mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan)
Filling:
2 tbsp butter
½ cup onion, finely chopped
½ cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
Fresh herbs for garnish (e.g., parsley, chives, tarragon)
Method:
Step 1 – Make the crepes. In large measuring cup or bowl and using an immersion blender, beat the eggs lightly. Combine the flour and salt and beat in to the egg alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour (3 additions of flour and 2 additions of milk). Beat in the melted butter and beat an additional 30 seconds, or until batter is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate batter for 1 hour.
Over medium heat, melt apx. 1½ tsp butter in a 8” non-stick skillet with sloped sides. Using a ¼-cup measuring cup, scoop up batter. Pour the batter in to the heated skillet while quickly swirling and tilting the pan to ensure batter distributes evenly and completely over the bottom of the pan. Return pan to heat and cook crepe until top loses its gloss, tiny bubbles start to appear, and the edges of the crepe start to slightly curl. Gently lift an edge of the crepe away from the side of the pan with a tip of a fork and grab the crepe with fingers and flip it over. Cook the second side of the crepe for 15-20 seconds. Flip the crepe onto a clean tea towel. Repeat for remaining crepes, adding small amounts of butter to the pan, if necessary, to keep the crepes from sticking to the pan.
Step 2 – Make the cheese sauce. In small bowl, combine and mix the flour, salt, granulated garlic, paprika, and cayenne. In medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour mixture and cook until frothy. Whisk in the chicken stock and milk. Cook sauce, until thickened and smooth, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Stir in the cheese until melted.
Step 3 – Make the filling. Preheat oven to 350°F. In medium-sized skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until onion becomes translucent, stirring frequently to prevent vegetables from burning. Add the mushrooms and sauté for approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and add the diced cooked chicken. Add approximately ½ cup of the cheese sauce to the vegetable-chicken mixture and stir to combine.
Step 4: Assemble the crepes. Grease 4 individual au gratin dishes or one oblong baking pan (apx. 7”x11”) that will hold 8 filled crepes. Divide the filling mixture between the 8 crepes by placing filling in the center of each crepe. Gently fold crepe over filling and roll again into a cylinder shape and place in baking dish(es). If using au gratin dishes, place 2 filled crepes in each dish. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over crepes to cover, leaving both ends of the crepes uncovered.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and, if desired, sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs.
Serving Suggestion: Serve with favorite green salad.
Yield: 4 servings, 2 crepes each
A delectable chicken and mushroom filling encased in a thin, soft-textured crepe and smothered in a rich cheesy sauce.
Ingredients
- Crepes:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup flour (to make gluten-free, use 1 cup of 1-to-1 gluten-free flour)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- Cheese Sauce:
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour (to make gluten-free, use ¼ cup of 1-to-1 gluten-free flour)
- Scant ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp granulated garlic
- Dash paprika
- Dash cayenne
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup grated cheese mixture (e.g., mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan)
- Filling:
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup celery, finely chopped
- 1 cup button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
- Fresh herbs for garnish (e.g., parsley, chives, tarragon)
Instructions
- Step 1 - Make the crepes. In large measuring cup or bowl and using an immersion blender, beat the eggs lightly. Combine the flour and salt and beat in to the egg alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour (3 additions of flour and 2 additions of milk). Beat in the melted butter and beat an additional 30 seconds, or until batter is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate batter for 1 hour.
- Over medium heat, melt apx. 1½ tsp butter in a 8” non-stick skillet with sloped sides. Using a ¼-cup measuring cup, scoop up batter. Pour the batter in to the heated skillet while quickly swirling and tilting the pan to ensure batter distributes evenly and completely over the bottom of the pan. Return pan to heat and cook crepe until top loses its gloss, tiny bubbles start to appear, and the edges of the crepe start to slightly curl. Gently lift an edge of the crepe away from the side of the pan with a tip of a fork and grab the crepe with fingers and flip it over. Cook the second side of the crepe for 15-20 seconds. Flip the crepe onto a clean tea towel. Repeat for remaining crepes, adding small amounts of butter to the pan, if necessary, to keep the crepes from sticking to the pan.
- Step 2 - Make the cheese sauce. In small bowl, combine and mix the flour, salt, granulated garlic, paprika, and cayenne. In medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour mixture and cook until frothy. Whisk in the chicken stock and milk. Cook sauce, until thickened and smooth, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Stir in the cheese until melted.
- Step 3 - Make the filling. Preheat oven to 350°F. In medium-sized skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until onion becomes translucent, stirring frequently to prevent vegetables from burning. Add the mushrooms and sauté for approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and add the diced cooked chicken. Add approximately ½ cup of the cheese sauce to the vegetable-chicken mixture and stir to combine.
- Step 4: Assemble the crepes. Grease 4 individual au gratin dishes or one oblong baking pan (apx. 7”x11”) that will hold 8 filled crepes. Divide the filling mixture between the 8 crepes by placing filling in the center of each crepe. Gently fold crepe over filling and roll again into a cylinder shape and place in baking dish(es). If using au gratin dishes, place 2 filled crepes in each dish. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over crepes to cover, leaving both ends of the crepes uncovered.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and, if desired, sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs.
- Serving Suggestion: Serve with favorite green salad.
Notes
Please read entire blog posting for additional details and hints on making the crepes that are not included in this recipe.
If you like crepes, you may also enjoy this crepe recipe from My Island Bistro Kitchen as well:
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