Gluten Free Crepes

I’d get proper French crepes during Folklorama and at local, whether as regular crepes - as most people know them - or different takes on them from other foreign cultures - Russian blini, polish cheese-filled crepes, even Swedish inspired ones with lingonberry sauce.

Giving up wheat to go on a gluten-free diet was one thing, I wasn’t about to give up the occasional really good crepe.

Obviously, I needed to come up with a recipe for the best gluten free crêpes ... but an easy gluten free crepe recipe.

I wanted thin gluten free pancakes, but with as few ingredients and as little effort as possible... and here we are!

This gluten-free crepe recipe can be made either sweet or savoury, and is perfect vehicle for pretty much pretty much anything you can think of.

Making Homemade Crepes

While you CAN make crepes on the stove top.. well, I have a confession to make: I am monumentally bad at making pancakes.

I mean, I can make any of the fanciest pastries you can think of, but literally have to have my husband actually cook American-style pancakes for me. (I make the batter, though!).

When it came to making crepes at home, I was terrified of the idea of making GIANT, really thin pancakes... so I wussed out and bought a crepe maker.

Definitely recommend that strategy. It's just a plug in, round cook top that you can use on the counter, and really makes the cooking process less scary..

My crêpe pan has a slight lip to prevent the batter from pouring out everywhere, but it's not so high that it makes flipping them problematic. It's uniform heat, so they cook up beautifully.

More on equipment in a bit, though...

Ingredients

Like all of my recipes that would normally require wheat flour, I use my own flour blend for this original recipe, using gluten free flours that have the flavors and properties that will work best for this recipe.

I don’t recommend using a premade “all purpose” gluten free flour mix, as the gf flours and their proportions could be wildly different for each brand of all purpose flour, and not as suited to what you want for the best crepes:

Flexible enough to wrap around your ingredients, strong enough to not rip when doing to, great flavour and texture.

Gluten-Free Flour Blend

The gf flours / starches I use in this recipe are:

Sorghum Flour
White Rice Flour
Tapioca Starch / Tapioca Flour

Note: I don’t tend to use Xanthan Gum in this recipe, as I don’t find I need to... when eating this fresh. If you anticipate serving it cold or reheating, you can add ½ teaspoon of it to the dry mix.

Supporting Ingredients

Aside from the flours, you’ll need a few simple ingredients to round out this easy recipe:

Milk (Use coconut milk or almond milk for dairy-free option)
Melted butter (Substitute coconut oil for a dairy free option)
Large eggs
Water
Salt
Pan spray

Equipment

There’s a good chance you have a pan that can make crepes at home, but if not - and if you really love your crepes - you may want to invest in a crepe pan, or a crepe machine.

Here are some thoughts on your options:

Normal Nonstick Frying Pan

If it’s your first time making crepes and you’re not ready to commit to a speciality piece of kitchen equipment, you can make this recipe in a nonstick skillet.

Ideally, you’ll want to use a 10-inch skillet or bigger. An 8-inch skillet is about the smallest I’d go, but I’d recommend avoiding a smaller pan like this, if possible. (Or do smaller crepes!).

The main difficulty with these pans - when it comes to crepes - is that the centers of the pan bottom don’t tend to be perfectly flat, and that can be a bit of an issue when it comes to both swirling the pancake batter around, and also when it comes to even cooking.

Crepe Pan

A Crepe Pan is a specialty type of nonstick pan, with a shallow depth and very flat bottom of the pan.

They’re usually 10" or bigger in diameter, plenty of room for making the best gluten-free crepes - or dosas!

These are built to not only be flat, but ensure even heat distribution throughout the bottom of the pan surface.

Crepe Maker

Finally, there are crepe makers / crepe machines, which are a round, speciality kind of griddle.

These aren’t a common item to find at a grocery store, but you may be able to find them in a department store. I bought mine on Amazon - 12" Griddle & Crepe Maker.

These machines are available from several different manufacturers, and are great for providing the flat surface, even cooking, and temperature regulation to make great crepes.

I love mine, highly recommend it. It came with a little wooden (bamboo?) T-shaped tool for spreading the batter, which I find much better than just swirling it. Give it a bit of a soak before using it, and you’re golden!

IMHO, this is the best way to make gf crepes.

How to Make the Perfect Crepes - Gluten Free!

The full recipe follows at the end of this post, this is an informational walk-through with additional tips

Batter

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients until well combined.

In a separate, small mixing bowl, whisk together milk, water, eggs, and melted butter.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, whisk until smooth and well combined, with no lumps.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the crepe batter rest for 5 minutes before using.

Making Crepes

Over medium heat, heat a small non-stick pan, nonstick skillet, special crepe pan, or griddle. (If you are feeling gutsy, you can go closer to medium-high heat, just be careful not to burn it!)

Note: You may want to use low heat after your first crepe, depending on your heat. I find that sometimes it can get too hot and stay there - be prepared to adjust!

Spray the pan with cooking spray, pour about ¼ cup of the batter onto the center of the pan, swirling the pan in a circular motion to spread the batter into a large, VERY thin, even circle.

Don’t use too much batter - ¼ cup batter is fine - you want these to be paper thin!

Cook for a minute or two on the first side, until bottom of crepe starts to turn golden brown.

Carefully flip, cook on the second side for 1 more minute.

Remove from the heat, spray the pan with a little more non-stick spray, and continue until all of the remaining batter is used up.

As the crepes are cooked, I like to transfer them to a large plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Once all the crepes are cooked, fill and serve.

If you have leftovers, allow them to cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. They’ll keep in the fridge for a few days, just reheat before serving.

Serving Gluten-Free Crepes

This recipe provides a great base for both your favorite fillings and favorite toppings, whether sweet or savory. Here are some ideas and a couple of recipes for your:

Sweet Crepes

If you’re looking to use a sweet filling for your cooked crepes, start by adding 2 tablespoon granulated sugar to the dry ingredients, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients.

Beyond that, sweet crepes can be served for breakfast, as a sweet snack, or as a fancy dessert. Here are a few ideas for sweet fillings:

1 - Spread crepe with Nutella or peanut butter, sprinkle with banana and/or strawberry slices, and roll up. Dust a little powdered sugar on top of the crepe to finish it off!

2 - Fill with fresh berries, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a bit of lemon zest or orange zest, top with whipped cream.

3 - Your favourite jam, marmalade, or preserves, maybe with some cream cheese added, and/or whipped cream on top.

4 - Just sweet crepes on their own (or stuffed with fresh fruit), topped with a drizzle of maple syrup or coconut sugar and some toasted walnuts.

Make a Crepe Cake

This easy gluten free crepe recipe works beautifully in any recipe for crepe cake - a “Cake” made by layering crepes with a creamy filling.

You may need to double the recipe or adjust the size of your crepes, though.

Curds

Lemon Curd is a traditional filling for crepes (sprinkled with powdered sugar!), but don't stop there - there are all kinds of fruit curds that are super tasty and easy to make!

Try Blackcurrant Curd, Kiwi Curd, Raspberry Curd... even Passionfruit Curd (which might be my favourite thing EVER!)

See my How to Make Fruit Curd post over on Celebration Generation for links to all of my unique fruit curd recipes!

Savory Crepes

Using the base recipe as-is, fill with one (or more!) of the following savory fillings:

- Add finely chopped fresh herbs to the dry ingredients, fill prepared crepes with cheeses - goat, ricotta, a mixture, maybe some shredded cheese. They’re a great platform for fresh ingredients!

- Spread with some softened/melted cream cheese, fill with smoked salmon, top with finely chopped chives.

- Saute something green - spinach, finely chopped broccoli - with some onions. Fill the crepe, top with cheese.

- Roll together with sliced deli meats and cheeses, for a fancy sandwich roll.

- Scramble some eggs with some chopped up cooked breakfast meats - bacon, sausage, ham - and whatever else you’d like, fill the crepes with it. Top with Hollandaise sauce, if you’d like.

... really, you can fill these with any kind of sauteed vegetable, pulled / chopped meat, and/or cheese. Shredded chicken, pulled pork, sliced steak, chopped up leftover ham - have fun with it!

Also, I have two savory crepe recipes:

Gluten Free Mushroom Asparagus Crepes with Swiss Cheese Sauce

Mushroom Asparagus Filling:

1 lb Mushrooms, sliced
½ Small onion, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 tablespoon Olive oil 1
1 lb Asparagus spears, trimmed
Salt and pepper

In a large frying pan or wok, saute the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add asparagus, continue cooking just until heated through.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stuff inside crepes, top with Swiss Cream Sauce:

Gluten-Free Swiss Cheese Cream Sauce

¼ cup Butter
¼ cup White rice flour
1 cup White wine
2 cups Shredded Swiss cheese
2 cup Milk
Salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in rice flour, cook over medium heat for two minutes.

Slowly add white wine, whisking as you pour. Simmer for 1 minute.

Once liquid is fully incorporated and smooth, add Swiss cheese and milk, stirring until everything is melted and well combined.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Gluten-Free Seafood Crepes

When I was in my young teens, a local breakfast restaurant offered seafood crepes on the menu.

It wasn't anything fancy or refined - I think it actually used those fake crab sticks - but I loved it.

As an adult, I decided that I should make a more elegant version as a supper option - better seafood, some white wine... oh, it's delicious.
When preparing the crepes to use in this recipe, I like to substitute dry white wine for the water in the crepes recipe.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

6 oz Crab claw meat
1 lb Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb Bay scallops, raw
1 tablespoon Olive oil
½ Small onion, chopped
1-2 Garlic cloves, crushed
8 oz Cream cheese, softened
½ cup Dry white wine
½ cup Heavy cream
1 cup Shredded Parmesan cheese
1 prepared batch basic crepes
½ cup Thinly sliced green onion, optional

Method

Strain any excess liquid off crab meat, if applicable. Pick through meat to remove shells, discard any found.

Combine crab meat, shrimp, and scallops in a large bowl, set aside.

In a large nonstick pan, saute onion and garlic in oil, cooking over medium-high heat until onions are tender and translucent. Add cream cheese, whisk until smooth.

Add wine, heavy cream, and Parmesan, stir til smooth. Add seafood, cook just until seafood is cooked through.

Fill crepes with hot seafood mixture, allowing two crepes per person.

Garnish with additional shredded Parmesan cheese, or with sliced green onions. Serve hot.

More Gluten-Free Breakfast & Brunch Recipes

Looking for more breakfast food recipes for the whole family? Here are some easy recipes to try:

Gluten-Free Apple Pancakes with Caramel Apple Topping
Gluten Free Bagels
Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Gluten Free Banana Nutella Ebelskivers
Gluten-Free Blackberry Muffins
Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Bread
Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
Breakfast Meatloaf
Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Bread
Gluten Free Cranberry Walnut Muffins
Gluten Free French Onion Soup Tart
Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake
Gluten-Free Lemon Mascarpone Ebelskivers
Gluten Free Mushroom Soup & Eggs on Toast
Gluten-Free Paska [Easter Bread]
Gluten Free Pop-Tarts
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
Gluten Free Sourdough Waffles
Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread

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