Update February 2019: The recipe has been completely reworked, the crepes are now gluten-free with a much better texture and flavor. In fact, the gluten-free version tastes even better than the previous one. I also added some extra tips at the end of the recipe to make perfect crepes! Now you don’t have any excuses not to make delicious and thin crepes!
Crepes party? Here I come! Don’t get me started on how much I love crepes, they are so thin, soft, and delicious with just about anything.
Crepes always make a hearty and easy breakfast since you can make them a day ahead and just reheat them in the morning. Topped with fresh fruits or jam in the summer, peanut butter, maple syrup or chocolate in winter, or filled with stir-fry vegetables for dinner, you can use them in many ways.
Regularly, my mom used to make us crepes when we were back from school. I would eat at least three at 4 pm and another two for dinner filled with bechamel and ham, plus another one with sugar for dessert. Six crepes…yes I was a real glutton at the time.
At least these crepes are refined sugar-free, vegan, gluten-free, and only require 30 minutes to make!
This recipe is really easy to prepare, all you have to do is mix all the ingredients and let the dough rest for about 1/2 hour. Heat skillet. Cook. Garnish. Eat.
I went with a mix of buckwheat flour, oat flour, and a bit of cornstarch to keep these crepes gluten-free, and healthy. Can you see how these crepes look like a pile of soft fluffy towels?
The crepes have the perfect texture and a little bit of elasticity so you can fold or roll them easily. They can be infused with a little amount of rum, which combined with the vanilla gives them a wonderful flavor.
I like my crepes still warm, generously filled with chocolate spread or peanut butter, or when I am feeling fancy, both. Feel free to share what are your favorite fillings or toppings! Peanut butter and jelly? Apple sauce and cinnamon? Or maybe just drizzled with some maple syrup, the combinations are endless.
Easy Vegan French Crepes (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 2 and 2/3 cups almond milk
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp rum optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, oat flour, and cornstarch. Pour in the almond milk, maple syrup, coconut sugar, oil, vanilla, and rum if using.
- Whisk until everything is well combined. The batter should be very thin. Let it sit 5 minutes while you heat the skillet.
- Heat some oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Use a kitchen paper towel to remove excess oil in the skillet.
- Once the skillet is hot, pour about 1/3 cup of batter into skillet and tilt the pan with a circular motion to spread the batter evenly.
- Cook the crepe for about 1 minute, until golden brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.
- Stack the crepes on a plate to keep them warm. You can also cover them with a clean damp kitchen towel to keep the crepes from drying too fast.
- Serve warm or at room temperature filled with melted chocolate, nut butter, etc.
Hey Monika, it should work! Let me know if you try it!
do you do all your own styling and photography? It’s really amazing.
Hey Adam, I do, thanks!
bravo! you could go pro!
Lovely blog, love that you add in macros nutrients too 🙂
Thanks Mish! 😉
Just found this blog and am already in love with your recipes and photography. Great work!
Thanks Allie!
Hi Cyd,
If you are located in europe, please check this website, it’s fairly new but has everything you need to make vegan cheese, including the blue culture: http://www.cashewbert.com/penicillium-roqueforti-strong.html
By the way, please post your comments on the good post.
I just made these! With two changes: I substituted extra ground flaxseed for some of the flour, and I didn’t use any oil in my pan. They still turned out great! Served with peanut butter and banana. Thanks for the recipe!
Great! Glad to hear you liked them 🙂
Hi Darlene,
That’s weird, did you use *light* spelt flour?
The amount of cornstarch in the recipe is correct though. I’m going to make the recipe again to see if everything is okay.
hey thomas!
do you think I can prepare the recipe the day before and cook them in the morning? 🙂
thx!
Hey Maeva,
Yes you can, just store the batter covered, in the refrigerator. You may have to add a bit more water the next day since it will have thickened slightly.
Did you use the exact ingredients for this recipe? By the way, what do you mean by “not great at cooking”?
I just made this and they turned out great, especially for being my first time making crepes! I didn’t use oil in the pan as I have a good nonstick skillet. I subbed tapioca starch for cornstarch, not sure if that’s ok but it seemed to work fine. Definitely trying these again!
Awesome! So glad you liked this recipe! 🙂
Yes, cornstarch and tapioca starch usually act the same in recipes.
I wish the photo was of real crepes. With buckwheat flour they turn black and not at all like on your photos.
I’m not sure what kind of buckwheat flour you used, but they shouldn’t turn black. The buckwheat flour I use is about the same color as oat flour. You may want to read this article about the two types of buckwheat flours: https://www.cooksinfo.com/buckwheat-flour
I hope the crepes still tasted great though!
Hi Thomas,
These crepes look great and achievable to make – my only question is, what do you think you could substitute for oat flour? I have trouble with digesting oats and would prefer to not use them.
Thank you 🙂
I’m afraid I cannot recommend another flour as you would have to make other changes (amount of liquid, etc) as each flour absorb liquid differently.
Thank you for this recipe – they were wonderful and came out PERFECT!!! I put a beet-applesauce-date compote inside. Delicious! I will be using it in a dinner for 12 next Monday!
Great! Thanks for your feedback Pamela!
Absolutely delicious. My allergy free child & the rest of my family LOVE these crepes. I will add them to our favorites. Thank you!
Thanks Robin 😉
Delicious! Couple of things to note- I followed the recipe/directions to a T and found it took much longer for the crepes to cook than one minute per side. I cooked them on medium-high heat and it took about 5-7 minutes per side. When I tried turning them over at all before that they got super crumbly and fell all over the pan. Really had to let them cook to get dry and crispy enough. Even with that they were very delicate, didn’t seem to have the pliability of the folded crepes as photoed (but still so good!). Also mine turned out dark grey from the buckwheat flour. I read that there’s two kinds of buckwheat flour, but I’ve only ever seen the dark type at stores. Still tasted great, I did mine with strawberries and a coconut sugar based melted chocolate bar! Fun and super tasty dinner!
Excellent recipe followed it as written and I now can make GF pancakes that are vegan and taste great. Made them few times and nomming one as i write. I could never get gf ones quite right until i saw this recipe! Thank you.
Thanks so much for your feedback! Glad to hear you liked these crepes 🙂
Do you have your recipe in metric weight measurements?
I don’t for this one yet, but you can look on internet for conversions.
In the commentary with the photos, you mention to let the batter rest for 30 minutes, but this is not stated in the printable recipe. Any comment on that?
Letting the batter rest 5-10 minutes is usually enough.
Wow it’s incredible to know that everything can be vegan AND gluten free.
Looking forward to trying these.
Just one question, is there any other flour other than buckwheat, that you think would achieve the same texture?
This is very uncommon where I live.
I’m afraid using another type of flour will also affect the ratio of the other ingredients, so you would need another recipe.
What makes your crepes so golden? When I use buckwheat flour the crepes always come more greenish/ brownish.
It seems there are different kind of buckwheat flour, the one I use is white/light grey.
This turned perfect for me, I had to adjust the liquid but the crepes where perfectly crisp and golden brown and tasted delicious with maple syrup / jam / fruits.
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback Chris 🙂
The recipe works but in no way do they look like the ones in the photos. Did you use white buckwheat flour?
Yes, I use white buckwheat flour. I’m currently working on updating this recipe with another flour as it seems buckwheat flour is available in different versions and it’s not specified on the label of the packagings unfortunately.
Nice fairly simple recipe. I used gluten free flour instead and worked great. Topped it with powdered sugar. I subbed agave instead of maple syrup and used a bit more (white) rum.
How can I make these savory not sweet?
I would just omit the coconut sugar and remove a tablespoon of maple syrup.
These crepes are amazing! Healthy and delicious! My kids love them and so do I. I make these for my picky eaters several times a week. I’m so happy I found this recipe!
Sometimes I add 1/2 a banana to sneak some more nutrients into their food.
Yes they are delicate but with a good pan and a very thin spatula they turn out perfect!
Thanks for your feedback Eva 😉
Really amazing gf and vegan crêpe recipe! Loved the way they came out.
Glad you liked it Aly!
Hi Thomas, I saw you mention that you’re updating the recipe with a replacement for the buckwheat flour. Just curious if you have the new version yet? My kids can’t have buckwheat flour, so wondering what other flour I can substitute and still keep the recipe gluten-free.
Hi Kristin,
I haven’t yet. I would try using sorghum flour if you don’t mind the nutty flavor.