Italian crespelle – what is that? If you’ve been wondering about these Italian crepes with alfredo sauce, you’ve come to the right place! Chicken alfredo crepes are a great leftover chicken recipe that you will love. These savoury chicken crepes are easy to make, unique and packed with flavour.
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I love making chicken alfredo crepes and I love Italian cooking. So read on to find out more and look forward to the rich, creamy flavours this baked chicken alfredo casserole offers.
What are Crespelles?
An Italian crespelle is a thin Italian pancake. They can be sweet like French crepes or savoury like French galettes. The sweet kind often feature ingredients like fruit, cream, Nutella, or even a splash of alcohol. And then you have savoury chicken crepes and other non-dessert versions.
Crespelle used to be considered ‘poor people food’ a century ago, until a chef at Montecarlo’s Café de Paris spoiled a batch of pancakes for Edward VIII, the Prince of Wales. He came up with the orange and Grand Marnier delight we know today as crepes Suzette. Crepes, or pancakes, are found in many countries and differ slightly.
A great leftover chicken recipe, these Italian crespelle crepes boast the flavours of garlic, herbs and Italian cheeses. They make a nice dinner and baked chicken alfredo casserole is an economical yet tasty dish to consider.
How to Make Italian Crepes with Alfredo Sauce
These savoury chicken crepes have several components. You have the seasoned chicken, the crespelles themselves, the filling, and then the sauce. You need to cook the chicken with the broth, garlic, oregano, and pepper in a pan then shred the chicken when it’s cool enough to handle.
Add the sauce ingredients to a second pan and cook. Don’t forget to stir often to get all those wonderful chicken alfredo crepes flavours well blended. Mix the crespelle ingredients to make a batter then cook it just like you’d cook crepes or pancakes.
Mix the shredded chicken with the seasonings, tomatoes and cheese then divide this mixture between the crespelles before folding over. Put some sauce in a baking dish topped with the crespelles.
Add the rest of the sauce and bake. Top with cheese, broil and then serve the baked chicken alfredo casserole with some tomatoes and basil on top!
Not only is this a great leftover chicken recipe but it’s something you can make again and again. Italian crespelle is a versatile recipe and you can use different meats, flavours, spices, and more, to come up with new variations.
This recipe is a little like enchiladas, since you stuff pancakes (rather than tortillas) and then cover the stuffed pancakes with sauce. You could even try a Mexican version using Mexican blend cheese in the filling and sauce and adding some ground cumin to the dish.
Beef would work in place of chicken too. This is a great leftover chicken recipe but also good for any other kind of leftover meat. You could even make these Italian crepes with alfredo sauce vegetarian by using extra veggies in place of the chicken. Gluten free crepes could replace the ones in this recipe, if desired.
How to Serve these Chicken Alfredo Crepes
I love to have savoury chicken crepes with something simple like a green salad with Italian vinaigrette. You can also just serve this by itself since there is chicken in there plus the crepes and also vegetables. It would also be good with steamed or sautéed seasonal veggies.
How to Store Leftover Italian Crespelle
If you find yourself with baked chicken alfredo casserole leftovers, they will keep for a few days. The recipe actually makes 8 or 9 servings so unless your family is HUGE or you’re having a party, you’ll have some over!
Cover any leftovers with foil or plastic wrap and keep them refrigerated. You can warm portions of great leftover chicken recipe in the microwave or a hot oven.
If you want to make extra crespelle, these pancakes can be wrapped in either foil or plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let them sit on the countertop for an hour before use since they can break easily if they’re chilled.
Another idea if you’re making a batch of crespelle is to freeze them for up to 2 months then thaw overnight in the refrigerator before use.
Can I Make Baked Chicken Alfredo Casserole Ahead?
So you can make the Italian crespelle pancakes ahead but what about the rest of this savoury chicken crepes dish? You can prepare it ahead if you like but the crespelle might go a little soggy.
For that reason you might like to save time by making this chicken crepes recipe ahead and then making the rest of the dish just before cooking. You’re going to love these easy chicken alfredo crepes!
Italian Crespelle Recipe
Italian Crespelle – Chicken Alfredo Crepes
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 Pound chicken tenderloins or leftover chicken
- 1 Clove garlic crushed
- 1 Teaspoon peppercorns
- 2 Teaspoon oregano
Crespelles
- 1 Cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Cup whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 2 Cloves garlic crushed into paste
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Teaspoon basil
Filling
- 2 Cup chicken shredded
- 1 Teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Teaspoon red chili pepper
- 2 Cups ricotta cheese whole milk
- 1/2 Cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/2 Cup tomatoes diced
Sauce
- 2 Ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 Tablespoon roasted tomatoes
- 1 Cup heavy cream
- 1/4 Cup unsalted butter
- 3 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 Cup parmesan cheese grated
- 4 Oz mozzarella cheese
- 2 Tablespoon basil
- 1 Teaspoon black pepper coarse
- basil chopped, optional garnish
- mozzarella cheese shredded, optional garnish
Instructions
- Add chicken broth, 1 crushed garlic clove, peppercorns, and oregano to a saucepan over high heat. Once simmering, add the chicken tenderloins and cover. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and shred the chicken. Set aside.
- Meanwhile: In a separate saucepan, combine all ingredients for the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes, stopping often to stir.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add all ingredients for the crespelles into a food processor or blender and puree for 20 seconds, or until smooth. Lightly spray the skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add 2 tablespoons of crespelle batter to the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom of the skillet. Cook for 30 seconds, then carefully flip. Cook for 15 more seconds and place onto a plate. Cover with a large bowl. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine shredded chicken, italian seasoning, garlic powder, red chili pepper, ricotta, parmesan, and diced tomatoes. Stir to incorporate.
- Add 3 tablespoons of mixture to the center of the crespelles and fold in half over the filling. Repeat with remaining crespelles.
- Add a ladle full of the sauce to the bottom of an oven safe casserole dish. Line the crespelles atop the sauce. Pour remaining sauce over the crespelles and place into the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven. Add ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese and place under the broiler for 4 minutes. Garnish with chopped basil and fire roasted tomatoes.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Add these tasty Italian savoury chicken crepes to your dinner menu soon. You won’t be disappointed in how great these Italian crespelle taste!
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a storyteller, food lover, dog mom and adventure seeker living on the Pacific coast. She shares her passion for food, dogs, fitness, adventures, travel and philanthropy, in hopes of encouraging followers to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places and stand for a cause. Bella lives with Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease.
I have never heard of these but they sound delicious!
This sounds amazing and my family would love these! Definitely saving this recipe for later.
I am drooling. These look so amazing. I have always loved crepes.
Yum! I love the idea of having chicken Alfredo in a crepe!