Easy-to-make, thin, rollable French crepes that are not only vegan (aka eggless and dairy-free), but gluten-free as well. You will not need any fancy gluten-free flour mix to do it, only 5 simple, pantry ingredients and they are ready in a hitch.
Eating vegan and gluten-free might not be easy at first, but there are so many amazing ingredients out there to make delicious dishes. Have you thought of making fluffy vegan pancakes or crispy vegan waffles using red lentils? Or have you seen this oil-free oat flour chocolate cake? Browse through our vegan gluten-free dessert page for more inspiration.
⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our free e-book with a shopping list.
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The perfect crepe should be…
Crepes are originated in France, but they are popular all over Europe. I would say way more popular than American pancakes. They can be sweet or savory, but all perfect crepes have 3 things in common.
The best crepes should be thin, rollable, and slightly fluffy.
If they are not thin enough, it means the crepes are just too dense and will be hard to roll. If they are too dry, they will crack during rolling or even before, during flipping. They need to be fluffy a bit with little bubbly holes to make it light and weightless.
How to make crepes vegan and gluten-free?
Back in my pre-gluten-free years, I could make crepes without even measuring as I knew how to get to the right consistency and texture. I mean it is literally just 3 main ingredients: eggs, milk, and wheat flour.
You would think it is hard to make crepes vegan and gluten-free at the same time as you have to toss out all 3 main ingredients. The truth is that yes, it needed a bit of experimenting before I finally settled on this combination. One of the reasons was that I don’t like using store-bought gluten-free flour mixes.
So what do you need?
- Oat flour (or rice flour – see Notes)
- Buckwheat flour
- Tapioca starch (or cornstarch – see Notes)
- Dairy-free milk (I like using homemade cashew milk, but any milk would do)
- Sparkling water
Why did I use these flours?
Oat flour has a rough bitter-y taste sometimes, so you need to combine it with something else. Using only buckwheat flour to make crepes is tricky as the crepes can dry and crack easily during frying. And why do you need starch? To give a bit of elasticity, so the crepes will be rollable even if they are thin. Not to mention starch is a great vegan egg substitute.
Top tips to make vegan and gluten-free crepes
- How to avoid lumps -> First mix all dry ingredients, then add liquid gradually (1 cup at a time).
- No oil is needed -> If you have a good non-stick frying pan, you don’t need any oil to fry crepes.
- You need a sizzling hot pan. Full stop. -> You need to have a hot pan, so when you pour the batter it sizzles. The crepes should be fried quickly on high heat to activate the starch. I promise you if you do it on low heat, the batter will stick to whatever pan you are using (even if it is a non-stick) and you will not be able to flip it without ripping it apart.
- Why is there no sugar in the batter? -> Crepes can be sweet and savory depending on the filling. There are two reasons I don’t like to add sugar to the batter: 1) sugar on high heat makes the batter more sticky and harder to handle; 2) you can put as much or as little sugar as you want as part of the filling to compensate it.
- Use a crepe spatula -> I recommend using a plastic* or wooden* crepe spatula that is long but thin with a shape edge. This will make turning the crepes much easier. See below photo or watch the video in the recipe card to see how effortlessly I can flip the crepes around with it.
Vegan crepes filling
There are literally thousand ways to enjoy your crepes with a vegan filling. Here is to just name a few. Links are pointing to homemade recipes.
- maple syrup
- maple syrup and lemon juice (so delicious!)
- homemade peanut butter and jelly (here is a quick homemade cranberry jelly recipe)
- strawberry puree (or any fruit puree for that matter)
- blueberry syrup
- raspberry curd
- apricot jam
- cinnamon eggplant jam
- apple butter
- mango coulis
- pumpkin compote
- vegan whipped cream (here is a coconut chocolate whipped cream recipe)
- tofu cream cheese
- homemade healthy Nutella
- melted chocolate
- vegan custard
What is your favorite filling? Let us know in the comments. We love to add more delicious ideas to this list.
This French Crepes recipe is dairy-free, and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, nut-free, and gluten-free diets. It can also be WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you don’t use oil for frying.
⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our free e-book with a shopping list.
More desserts recipes
You can browse through our Vegan Gluten-free Dessert page or check out
- Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Sweet Potato Chocolate Pudding
- Fried Apple Rings
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Apple Crisp Pie
Easy Vegan Crepes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Oat flour or 140 g (1 cup) rice flour (see Notes)
- ⅓ cup Buckwheat flour
- ⅓ cup Tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 1 cup Dairy-free milk (homemade cashew milk)
- 2 + ½ cup Sparkling water
- Vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and gradually add milk and sparkling water (1 cup at a time). Let the batter sit for 5 minutes.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan (10 inch/26 cm) on high heat.
- Hold up the frying pan in the air. Take approx. ¼-1/3 cup pancake batter (depending on the size of your pan) and pour it in the middle. Then slowly make a circular motion to spread the batter thinly around until it reaches all sides.
- Fry for 1 minute or until the edges are lifted. Move the spatula around the edges and lift it up slightly to see nothing sticks anywhere. Move the spatula to the middle and gently flip it over. (You can see the photo in the post above, or you can watch the video to see exactly how to do it.)
- Fry for another minute and stack the crepes on a plate covered with a lid to keep them warm until serving.
Notes
Top tips to make vegan and gluten-free crepes
- How to avoid lumps -> First, mix all dry ingredients, then add liquid gradually (1 cup at a time).
- No oil is needed -> If you have a good non-stick frying pan, you don't need any oil to fry crepes.
- You need a sizzling hot pan. Full stop. -> You need to have a hot pan so when you pour the batter, it sizzles. The crepes should be fried quickly on high heat to activate the starch. I promise you if you do it on low heat, the batter will stick to whatever pan you are using (even if it is a non-stick), and you will not be able to flip it without ripping it apart.
- Why is there no sugar in the batter? -> Crepes can be sweet and savory depending on the filling. There are two reasons I don't like to add sugar to the batter: 1) sugar on high heat makes the batter more sticky and harder to handle; 2) you can put as much or as little sugar as you want as part of the filling to compensate it.
- Rice flour instead of oat flour? - I tested this recipe with rice flour and it works. It will taste sweeter compared to the bitterness of oats, but it will dry out way faster. If you use rice flour, I recommend eating as soon as they are ready. They will not hold up long, sadly.
- Use a crepe spatula -> I recommend using a plastic* or wooden* crepe spatula that is long but thin with a shaped edge. This will make turning the crepes much easier.
Sylvie
Crepes are one of my favourite dessert, ever, and I’ve always wondered if it was possible to make them vegan – so now I know it is not only possible, you can also make super delicious looking vegan crepes. Can’t wait to try it! Yum!!