Italian Crepes (crespelle) with Meat Filling

Crepes cannelloni with tomato sauce and cheese on plate with fork.

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!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword savory italian crepes with meat filling topped with tomato sauce

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 40

Resting time 30

Servings crepes

Calories 275kcal

Author Nadia Fazio

Ingredients

For the crepes

2 large eggs
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
½ cup water
1 tbsp. butter unsalted, melted
pinch salt

For the tomato sauce

796 ml jar of tomato passata
3 tbsp. olive oil
½ onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
pinch red pepper flakes optional
salt to taste

For the meat filling

400 grams ground meat beef, veal or pork or a combination of all 3
½ small onion diced
1 clove garlic mincced
¾ cup tomato sauce as prepared above to cover the crepes
1 large egg
2 cups mozzarella divided
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmigiano if you prefer
salt and pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To make the 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 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.
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 shake to gather all remaining sauce. Pour into the sauce pan.
Add salt, to taste. 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 3/4 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; half of the shredded mozzarella and grated cheese.

Assemble and bake

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 the remaining 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.

Notes

Substitutions and Variations

-For a vegetarian option, fill the crepes with a spinach and ricotta mixture.

-Use ground beef, veal or pork or a combination of all 3 for a total of 400 grams.

Make ahead

You can break down this recipe into smaller tasks such as:
-Prepare the crepes up to 3 days ahead and keep refrigerated, well wrapped in order to prevent them from drying out.
-The crepes may be frozen for up to 1 month.
-Prepare the filling and sauce a day ahead and refrigerate.
-Assemble the entire dish a day ahead and simply bake before serving.

Storage

Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days.

To freeze

-Assemble the dish then freeze before baking it. Place directly from the freezer to the baking dish, top with sauce and bake.
-Freeze the filled crepes before topping them with sauce. Place in a container with sheets of parchment paper separating layers of filled crepes. To bake: place frozen filled crepes in your baking dish, top with sauce and bake. Baking time will increase since you are baking from frozen.

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