Crêpe vs Pancake: What's the Difference? A UK Guide
Crêpe vs pancake: what's the difference? A crêpe is a very thin pancake made from a runny, unleavened batter of flour, eggs and milk, then folded or rolled round a filling. An American-style pancake uses a thick batter with baking powder, so it rises into a soft, fluffy round that's served in a stack. A traditional British Pancake Day pancake sits in between, much closer to a crêpe.
At a glance
- No risecrêpe batter has no baking powder
- 2x flourAmerican pancake batter uses about twice the flour per 300ml of milk
- 1 mina side for a thin pancake, against 5 to 6 minutes in all for a thick one
- 9 FebPancake Day in 2027
On this page
Ask someone in Manchester, Paris and Chicago to make you a pancake and you'll get three different plates. In Britain, "pancake" can mean a thin, lacy disc rolled up with lemon and sugar, or a thick, fluffy stack from a café brunch menu. That's why so many people search for the difference between crepe and pancake recipes before Shrove Tuesday. This guide explains how the batter, cooking and serving differ, where British and Scotch pancakes fit in, and what it all means if you're baking low-carb.
Crêpe vs pancake: what's the difference?
A crêpe is a type of pancake, but not every pancake is a crêpe. Wikipedia defines a crêpe as a dish made from unleavened batter, cooked in a frying pan or on a griddle. Unleavened simply means there's no raising agent, so the batter spreads thin and stays flat.
When most people compare crepes vs pancakes, though, they mean the thick American-style pancake. That batter contains a raising agent such as baking powder, so it puffs up as it cooks. Wikipedia notes that American pancakes may be about 1cm thick and between 10 and 25cm across, and they're usually served at breakfast in a stack of two or three.
| Crêpe | Pancake | |
|---|---|---|
| Batter | Thin, runny | Thick |
| Raising agent | None | Baking powder |
| Thickness | Paper-thin | About 1cm |
| Size | Fills the pan | Small rounds |
| Texture | Soft, lacy | Fluffy, spongy |
| Served | Folded or rolled | Stacked |
"Pancake" here means the American style. Based on Wikipedia's Crêpe and Pancake entries and BBC Good Food's easy pancakes and American blueberry pancakes recipes.
The batter: where the difference starts
Both batters use the same three basics: flour, eggs and milk. The difference is in the balance, and in whether anything makes the batter rise. Two well-known BBC Good Food recipes show it clearly, because both use exactly 300ml of milk:
| Per 300ml milk | Thin | American |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 100g plain | 200g self-raising |
| Eggs | 2 large | 1 |
| Raising agent | None | 1 tsp baking powder |
| Fat | 1 tbsp oil | Knob of butter |
| Makes | 12 | 10 |
From BBC Good Food's easy pancakes (thin, crêpe-style) and American blueberry pancakes recipes. Checked 31 October 2026.
The thin batter has half the flour and twice the eggs, so it pours easily. BBC Good Food says it should be similar in consistency to single cream, and suggests resting it for 30 minutes if you have time. The American batter is described as thick and smooth. It uses self-raising flour, which already contains a raising agent, plus an extra teaspoon of baking powder for more lift. If you're unsure which flour is which, our guide to plain flour vs all-purpose flour explains the UK names.
Why baking powder changes everything
Baking powder releases carbon dioxide when it gets wet and again when it's heated. In a thick batter, those bubbles get trapped and the pancake rises into a soft crumb, which is why you see bubbles on the surface before you flip it. A crêpe batter has nothing to trap and nothing creating gas, so it cooks flat and thin. Our article on baking soda and bicarbonate of soda covers how raising agents work in more detail.
If your crêpe batter feels thick, whisk in a splash more milk. It should run off a spoon and spread across the pan when you tilt it. A thick batter makes a heavy, bready crêpe.
How they're cooked and served
Cooking a crêpe
For thin pancakes, BBC Good Food uses a medium frying pan or crêpe pan over a medium heat, wiped with oiled kitchen paper. You pour in about half a ladleful of batter and swirl it so it just coats the base, then cook for about 1 minute on each side until golden. For 12 from its recipe, it suggests an 18cm pan. A non-stick pan with sloped sides makes them easier to slide out.
Cooking an American pancake
For thick pancakes, you drop a large tablespoon of batter into the pan for each one, making rounds about 7.5cm across, and cook three or four at a time. BBC Good Food cooks them for about 3 minutes, until small bubbles appear on the surface, then flips them for another 2 to 3 minutes. They take longer because the heat has to reach the middle of a thicker pancake.
Fillings and toppings
Crêpes are wide and flexible, so they're made for folding round a filling. Wikipedia lists common sweet fillings such as chocolate spread, jam, lemon juice and sugar, whipped cream and soft fruit, and savoury fillings like cheese, ham, egg and mushrooms. American pancakes are usually stacked and topped instead, most famously with butter and maple syrup, plus fruit or whipped cream.
British, Scotch and American pancakes
Here's where it gets confusing in the UK. When most British families make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, they're making something very close to a crêpe. Wikipedia describes English pancakes as plain flour, eggs and milk in a runny batter that forms a thin layer in the pan. BBC Good Food's own easy pancakes recipe calls itself a foolproof easy crêpe recipe. The British pancake is usually a touch thicker than a French crêpe and is classically served with lemon and sugar.
- English pancakes: thin, runny batter with no raising agent, so they're effectively a slightly thicker crêpe.
- Scotch pancakes: also called drop scones, these are small and thick, more like the American type. Wikipedia says they're about 9cm across and traditionally raised with bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar.
- American pancakes: thick, fluffy and raised with baking powder, now on most UK brunch menus.
- Welsh pancakes (crempog): these vary a lot, but are often thick and stacked into a tall pile.
So if a recipe just says "pancakes", check the batter. A runny batter with no raising agent gives you the thin British kind; a thick batter with baking powder gives you American-style pancakes.
Crêpes, galettes and Pancake Day
Crêpes are closely linked with Brittany in north-west France, where crêperies are especially common. In French crêperies, a galette usually means a savoury pancake made with buckwheat flour, while the smaller, sweet ones made with wheat flour are sold as crêpes. Wikipedia notes that buckwheat galettes once took the place of bread in Brittany.
Both countries also have a pancake day. In France, crêpes are traditionally eaten on La Chandeleur (Candlemas) on 2 February. In Britain, pancakes belong to Shrove Tuesday, when perishable foods such as eggs and milk were historically used up before the Lenten fast. Pancake races are held across the country, and the race in Olney, Buckinghamshire, is said to date back to 1445. Shrove Tuesday falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so in 2027 it's on Tuesday 9 February.
Carbs in crêpes and pancakes
Both crêpes and pancakes made with wheat flour are carb-heavy, and toppings such as sugar or syrup add more. A thick American pancake contains more flour than a thin one, so it carries more carbs per pancake. BBC Good Food's own nutrition figures show the gap:
| Pancake | Carbs |
|---|---|
| Thin pancake (BBC) | 7g |
| American, per serving (BBC) | 18g |
| Groovy Keto pancake | 4g (2g net) |
BBC Good Food figures are per pancake for its easy pancakes recipe, and per serving without syrup for its American blueberry pancakes, before toppings. The Groovy Keto figure is per cooked pancake, as shown on the Keto Pancake Mix product page; net carbs are total carbs minus polyols.
The thin pancake looks better per piece, but it's easy to eat three or four, and lemon and sugar adds more on top. If you're counting carbs, the flour and the topping matter more than the shape.
Keto pancakes and low-carb toppings
Our Keto Pancake Mix is made for American-style pancakes and waffles. It's based on almond flour, coconut flour and whey protein isolate, sweetened with our erythritol and stevia blend, and it contains baking powder, so it rises into thick pancakes rather than spreading into crêpes. You add eggs and milk, or your preferred milk alternative, and the mix makes about 15 pancakes of 4 inches across.
- Batter: whisk the eggs and milk, then add them gradually to the mix. If it's too thick, add a little more milk.
- Cooking: use about 2 tablespoons of batter for each 4-inch pancake in a lightly oiled non-stick pan over a medium heat.
- Flipping: turn each pancake when small bubbles form, then cook for about 1 to 2 minutes a side until golden.
For crêpe-style toppings, try lemon juice with a dusting of Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener in place of caster sugar, or melt a few Keto Dark Chocolate Buttons into a sauce. Our guide to melting chocolate shows how to do it without it seizing. For more ideas, see our round-up of keto pancake mixes in the UK or our keto coconut flour pancakes recipe.
The pancake net carb figure is per cooked pancake, as shown on the product page.
The Keto Pancake Mix contains nuts (almonds) and milk, and you add eggs and milk. Always check the pack for full allergen information.
Key takeaways
- A crêpe is a thin, unleavened pancake. No baking powder means it stays flat and lacy.
- American pancakes are thick and fluffy. About twice the flour plus baking powder makes them rise.
- British pancakes are close to crêpes. The Shrove Tuesday kind uses a runny batter with no raising agent.
- For low-carb, look at the flour and toppings. Wheat flour and sugar carry most of the carbs in both.
Frequently asked questions
Are crêpes and pancakes the same?
Not quite. A crêpe is one type of pancake: very thin, made from a runny batter with no raising agent, and usually folded round a filling. American-style pancakes use a thicker batter with baking powder, so they rise into soft, fluffy rounds that are served in a stack with toppings.
Is a British pancake the same as a crêpe?
It's very close. A traditional British Shrove Tuesday pancake uses plain flour, eggs and milk in a runny batter with no raising agent, just like a crêpe. It's often slightly thicker than a French crêpe and is classically served rolled up with lemon juice and sugar rather than a filling.
Can you use pancake batter to make crêpes?
Only if it's a thin batter with no raising agent. A British pancake batter works well for crêpes, though you may want to add a splash more milk. A thick American batter made with self-raising flour or baking powder will rise as it cooks, so it can't spread thin enough.
What is a galette?
In French crêperies, a galette is usually a large, thin savoury pancake made with buckwheat flour, especially in Brittany. Sweet versions made with wheat flour are sold as crêpes. Galettes are often filled with ham, cheese and egg, then folded into a square so the filling shows in the middle.
Are crêpes or pancakes lower in carbs?
Per piece, a thin crêpe-style pancake usually has fewer carbs because it contains less flour. BBC Good Food gives 7g per thin pancake against 18g per serving of its American pancakes. Toppings like sugar or syrup add more, and keto mixes made with nut flours cut the carbs further.
Sources
- BBC Good Food. Easy pancakes (thin batter, method, pan size and nutrition per pancake) and American blueberry pancakes (thick batter, method and nutrition per serving). Checked 31 October 2026.
- Wikipedia. Crêpe (definition, fillings, Brittany and La Chandeleur), Pancake (American, English, Scotch and Welsh pancakes), Galette (Breton buckwheat galettes) and Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day traditions and the Olney pancake race).
- Groovy Keto product pages: Keto Pancake Mix (ingredients, method, yield, nutrition per cooked pancake and allergens), Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener and Keto Dark Chocolate Buttons. Checked 31 October 2026.
