Italian Crepes (crespelle) with Meat Filling

Made with thin, melt in your mouth crepes wrapped around a savory meat filling, topped with tomato sauce, cheese and baked until bubbly, these Italian crepes are perfect for holiday gatherings or Sunday lunches with the family!

This recipe is known by so many names, some of you may call them crepe cannelloni; manicotti or perhaps pasta crepes. In Italy they are called crespelle.

But no matter what you call them, there is something so satisfying about paper thin crepes used in place of pasta sheets in recipes such as crepes filled ricotta and spinach; seafood crepes or even crepe lasagna. Crepes lighten up these recipes, in my opinion, and they are always a crowd pleaser!

This is my mother's meat filled Italian crepes recipe, and simply the best. Aside from shredded mozzarella and grated Pecorino Romano cheese, my mom always added some of the sauce she prepared to top the crepes in the filling. This gives the meat a smooth and creamier texture as well as extra flavor.

Making crepes from scratch is so much easier than you think. All you need is a good non stick pan or crepe pan. And you can also make them ahead: keep them refrigerated for a couple of days before assembling your crespelle or freeze them well wrapped for up to a month!

Ingredient List

For the crepes

• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Butter: unsalted melted
• Eggs: large size
• Milk: preferably whole milk
• Water

For the tomato sauce

• Tomato passata: jarred puréed tomatoes
• Onion: ½ or 1 small onion
• Garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Red pepper flakes (pepperoncino): optional for a little spicy kick
• Tomato paste
• Salt, to taste

For the meat filling

• Ground beef: or any combination of ground beef, veal and/or pork
• Onion: ½ onion
• Garlic
• Tomato sauce
• Egg
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Grated Pecorino Romano cheese: or Parmigiano
• Salt and pepper, to taste

The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.

Step by Step Instructions

To make crepes

• In a large bowl combine all ingredients for the crepes (eggs; melted butter; flour; salt; milk and water) and combine well. You may use a whisk, or a hand held mixer or blender are also quite effective for a crepe batter with a smooth consistency. Crepe batter is a lot thinner than a pancake batter. Cover and let rest for half an hour.
• Lightly grease an 8-inch non stick skillet or crepe pan with butter or oil over medium heat.
• When the pan is hot, place a ladle full of batter in the pan. Swirl it around to coat the bottom and partially up the sides of the pan. Tilt the pan over the bowl with the batter to drip off the excess batter. This is the key to making extra thin crepes!
• Cook the crepe for about one minute. You will know that it’s time to flip the crepe when the sides begin to detach themselves from the pan, the crepe will begin to bubble and brown. Use a spatula to flip it over and cook for about 30 seconds longer.
• Stack the cooked crepes on a plate and cover with a tea towel as you continue cooking the remaining crepes. You should have 12 crepes in total.

Prepare the tomato sauce

• In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onion until transluscent, stir in garlic and red pepper flakes (if using).
• Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
• Pour in tomato passata. Add 1 cup of water to the jar and swirl it around to gather all remaining sauce. Pour into the sauce pan.
• Add salt, to taste, and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Prepare the meat filling

• Heat a medium sized skillet over medium high heat. Brown the ground meat, using a wooden spoon to break up large chunks.
• When the meat is no longer pink, add the diced onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
• Stir in ¾ cup of the prepared tomato sauce. Lower to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
• Transfer the meat sauce to a bowl and let cool before stirring in the egg; shredded mozzarella and grated cheese.

Assemble and bake the meat filled crepes

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spoon enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
• Spoon approximately 2 tbsp. meat filling on the lower third of a crepe. Roll tightly and place seam side down on the prepared baking dish.
• Fill the remaining crepes, cover the crepes with tomato sauce and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.
• Cover and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
• If desired, turn on the broiler in the last minute of cooking to lightly brown the cheese.
• Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

Check out more baked pasta recipes!

• Sicilian Lasagna
• Sicilian Pasta al Forno
• Timpano di Pasta
• Anelletti al Forno with Eggplant
• Pasta and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash