Vegan Crepes (Chickpea Crepes)
This recipe for easy vegan crepes made with chickpea flour “eggs” will amaze you! They taste just like traditional crepes, plus they’re light, lacy, and delicate and even though they’re egg-free. Whether you want savory or sweet crepes, this is the recipe that you’ve been looking for.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, get more amazing vegan recipes that will satisfy your cravings!
Made with chickpea flour as an egg replacement, these chickpea crepes have an authentic taste that you just don’t get in other vegan crepe recipes!
If you’ve never had a crepe before, they are kind of like a cross between a pancake and a tortilla. They can be served sweet with berries, jam, vegan cream cheese, or chocolate or served savory with vegan ricotta cheese, spinach, mushrooms, or anything that you would put in a wrap.
I know that you may be thinking that crepes sound too fancy and difficult, but honestly, they’re easier than pancakes and I think more fun as well. There are endless ways to serve them and it’s fun to just make up a toppings bar and let everyone create their own crepe masterpiece.
🌟 Egg replacer
Traditional crepe recipes have anywhere between 2-4 eggs in the batter to give them protein and structure. When cooked, the eggs bind them together allowing the crepe to be thin, soft, and pliable yet strong enough to roll and fill. So, to make a great vegan crepe with an authentic taste and texture, I use a chickpea “egg”.
Just like in my popular vegan French toast and chickpea omelet recipes, the chickpea flour has an unmatched egg-like taste and texture when fried. Many vegan crepe recipes use cornstarch to replace eggs. This helps to bind and keeps it soft, but it doesn’t give you the authentic taste or satisfying protein that chickpea flour does.
Chickpea flour is the secret to the best vegan crepes recipe you will ever have!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- White Flour – all-purpose white flour or a grain-based gluten-free flour mix for gluten-free crepes. Buckwheat flour will also work.
- Chickpea Flour aka Garbanzo Bean Flour – this is a key ingredient in this recipe and replaces the eggs in traditional crepe recipes. If you can’t find it, you can swap it out for cornstarch, but it will not be as authentic tasting.
- Plant-Based Milk – you can use any type of vegan milk that you want like almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or any non-dairy milk. Be sure to use the plain unsweetened variety if you are making savory crepes.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Granulated Sugar – optional for sweet crepes. (Any organic sugar is vegan.)
- Vanilla Extract – optional for sweet crepes.
- Vegan Butter – optional for helping the crepes not stick to the pan. You can also use a small amount of coconut oil, olive oil, or any cooking oil.
🔪 Helpful tools
- Blender – this helps get a very smooth vegan crepe batter. If you don’t have a blender, you can use a bowl and a whisk.
- Crepe Pan – or a 10-inch nonstick pan. You can also use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.
- Crepe Spreader – this is a T-shaped tool that helps smooth and flatten the crepe batter. It’s fun to use, but I find that just swirling the pan gives you the same result.
- Crepe Spatula – this is just a long thin wooden spatula that helps to get all the way under the crepe for flipping. You can just use a regular spatula as well.
Note – You can buy a crepe set that comes with the pan, spreader, and spatula if you would like. However, you can make them with nothing more than a 10-inch non-stick skillet and a regular spatula.
🥄 How to make chickpea crepes
Step 1 – Pour 3/4 cup of water into a blender, then pour in 1/3 cup of garbanzo bean flour and blend until smooth. Be sure to pour the liquid in first so it doesn’t stick to your blender.
Step 2 – Add 1 cup of vegan milk to the mixture with 3/4 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp salt, (and sugar and vanilla for the sweet recipe) then blend until you have a very smooth batter. You can use the batter immediately or place it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 48 hours until you’re ready to make the crepes.
Step 3 – Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes before cooking the crepes.
Step 4 – Set the heat to medium-low and allow your pan to warm up for about 2 minutes. Melt about 1/2 tsp of butter on the pan and then pour 1/3 cup of the crepe batter in a circular motion in the pan and immediately swirl the pan around until the batter is evenly covering the bottom of the pan.
Step 5 – Allow the crepe to cook for about 2-3 minutes until it appears dry, loses its shine, and the edges start to lift up from the side of the pan a little. Then loosen the edges completely with a spatula and quickly flip it over.
Step 6 – Cook the crepe for another 2 minutes on the other side until slightly golden and all of the crepe batter is fully cooked.
Step 7 – Stack on a plate until all of the crepes are finished and then serve with your choice of sweet or savory fillings.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Measure the ingredients carefully. Slight changes in measurements will change the thickness of the batter.
- Your batter should be very thin and watery. If it is too thick add a small amount of water until it spreads out evenly by just swirling the pan. If it’s too thin add a small amount of flour until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Don’t taste-test the batter and be sure to cook the batter completely. Garbanzo bean flour tastes terrible before it is fully cooked!
- You want thin crepes, much thinner than a pancake. Only use 1/3 cup of the crepe batter and swirl it around until it takes up the whole pan.
- It takes a little practice to make a perfect crepe. The first crepe may be a little difficult, but keep practicing and they will be the most delicious vegan crepes ever.
🍚 Serving suggestions
You can stack the crepes as you make them. The heat on the top crepe keeps the others warm and soft. If you are serving them for a party, you can fold them in half and then in half again to make triangles. Arrange the triangles on a platter and dust them with powdered sugar if you are using them with sweet toppings.
You can set up a little toppings bar and let everyone create their own masterpieces.
You can spread things like jams, jellies, or fresh fruit over top of your egg-free crepes or roll your crepes up with fillings like vegan ricotta cheese. If you make sweet crepes, you will probably want to use sweet fillings or toppings, if you make savory crepes, you may want savory toppings.
🍫 Sweet toppings and fillings
- Powdered Sugar
- Berries, Peaches, or Bananas
- Berry Compote aka Berry Sauce
- Vegan Nutella
- Egg Free Lemon Curd
- Vegan Caramel
- Vegan Butterscotch Sauce
- Peanut butter
- Peanut Butter Caramel
- Vegan Whipped Cream
- Maple Syrup
- Nut Butter
- Agave Nectar
- Chocolate Syrup
- Soy Yogurt
- Vegan Ricotta Cheese
- Vegan Cream Cheese
🧀 Savory fillings
- Spinach Tofu Ricotta
- Vegan Scrambled Eggs
- Vegetarian Fajitas
- Vegan Pesto
- Sauteed Mushrooms and Spinach
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Alfredo Sauce
You can even use these savory vegan crepes to make homemade manicotti, or layer them and use them instead of noodles for a vegan lasagna. This is a great alternative to noodles, especially if you are gluten-free and have limited options.
🍞 Can I make it gluten-free?
To make these crepes gluten-free simply swap out the flour for an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix. Make sure to use a grain-based mix and not almond flour or any other grain-free flour.
🥡 Storing
Yes, crepes make great meal prep and even party food because you can make up the batter the night before and keep it in the fridge for up to 48 hours. You can also cook up a bunch of crepes, and keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge until you are ready to serve. These vegan crepes also freeze perfectly. Simply place a piece of parchment paper between each crepe and store them in an airtight freezer bag for up to 2 months.
🔥 Reheating
To warm your eggless crepes, place a stack of them in a baking dish in the oven at 250° F for about 15 minutes. You can also reheat them individually by tossing them in a hot frying pan for about 30 seconds on each side.
Note – For more in-depth information, check out the article about storing and reheating crepes by Garlic Delight.
This easy vegan crepe recipe is perfect for Sunday mornings or special occasions. Everyone will love them and they’re a true treat.
🌟 More chickpea flour recipes
- Vegan Eggdrop Soup
- The Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Chickpea Frittatas
- Chickpea Bread
- Farinata aka Socca – Chickpea Flat Bread
- Chickpea Tofu
- 45 Chickpea Flour Recipes That Will Amaze You
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan crepes recipe
Vegan Crepes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup garbanzo bean flour, aka chickpea flour
- 1 cup vegan milk, (like soy, oat, cashew, or almond milk) use plain -flavored unsweetened for savory crepes.
- 3/4 cup flour, (or any grain-based gluten-free flour mix)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar, optional for sweet crepes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional for sweet crepes
- 3 teaspoons vegan butter, to spread on the pan before frying each crepe (optional)
Instructions
- Pour 3/4 cup of water into a blender, then pour in 1/3 cup of garbanzo bean flour and blend until smooth. Be sure to pour the liquid in first so it doesn't stick to your blender.
- Add 1 cup of vegan milk to the mixture with 3/4 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp salt, (and sugar and vanilla for the sweet recipe) then blend until you have a very smooth batter. You can use the batter immediately or place it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 48 hours until you're ready to make the crepes.
- Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes before cooking the crepes
- Set the heat to medium-low and allow your pan to warm up for about 2 minutes. Melt about 1/2 tsp of butter on the pan and then pour 1/3 cup of the crepe batter in a circular motion in the pan and immediately swirl the pan around until the batter is evenly covering the bottom of the pan.
- Allow the crepe to cook for about 2-3 minutes until it appears dry, loses its shine, and the edges start to lift up from the side of the pan a little. Then loosen the edges completely with a spatula and quickly flip it over.
- Cook the crepe for another 2 minutes on the other side until slightly golden and all of the crepe batter is fully cooked.
- Stack on a plate until all of the crepes are finished and then serve with your choice of sweet or savory fillings.
Notes
- Measure the ingredients carefully. Slight changes in measurements will change the thickness of the batter.
- Your batter should be very thin and watery. If it is too thick add a small amount of water until it spreads out evenly by just swirling the pan. If it’s too thin add a small amount of flour until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Don’t taste-test the batter and be sure to cook the batter completely. Garbanzo bean flour tastes terrible before it is fully cooked!
- You want thin crepes, much thinner than a pancake. Only use 1/3 cup of the crepe batter and swirl it around until it takes up the whole pan.
- It takes a little practice to make a perfect crepe. The first crepe may be a little difficult, but keep practicing and they will be the most delicious vegan crepes ever
Can I use almond flour in this recipe. I have that in my pantry.
No, almond flour will not work for this recipe. Chickpea flour is the key ingredient in these.
Go to! Can’t wait to make it for my kids one day! So nostalgic
Hi,
Thank you for this recipe! Just a quick question, can I change the proportions of garbanzo to wheat flour?
You probably can, but not too much. The garbanzo flour acts like eggs in this recipe which hold the crepes together.
I love this recipe! Through and through, thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy that you like it, Kristin!
Really nice crepes!! This is the first recipe that give me the best texture. Thanks a lot!
Your recipe reminded of my childhood. My Grandmother an immigrant from Eastern Europe would put me on a chair next to the stove and make crepes. My job was to butter then ,add cinnamon sugar and cottage cheese. . She taught me how to roll them. I am so grateful; for your recipe. I recently became vegan for health reasons. I can not wait to make these with my own granddaughters.
Aww that’s so sweet, Deb! It made my day to read this comment. Such a nice memory to have. Many of the recipes on my blog came from cooking with my grandmother and were then modified to be vegan. 🙂
why is it so difficult to copy the recipe?
I’m not sure what you mean. Why are you trying to copy the recipe? If you want to print it, there is a “print recipe” button on the recipe card.
The batter came together so easily and in no time I was cooking away with perfect results. The crepes are soft but keep together just like the egg based ones. We had them with cherry jam and fresh strawberries.
Thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Michelle! I’m so happy that you liked them! 🙂
WOW! These crepes were delicious. My son made them for me for Mother’s Day, some savory and some sweet. We all enjoyed them. My husband even liked them and he typically doesn’t care for vegan food. Definitely will be making these again! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
You’re welcome, Joy! I’m so happy that you liked them! 🙂
THIS is really The best vegan crêpes recipe I came across!! Since I turned vegan I struggled very hard to find a way to reproduce the texture of the original crêpes and This one really does the trick! Thank you for sharing with us
You’re welcome! I’m so happy that you liked this recipe, Shana! 🙂
can i use coconut milk ?
Yes, coconut milk will work well too. Enjoy! 🙂
Wow! Just made these this morning. You are right, they taste kind of eggy and like real crepes. They came out perfectly! Thanks for this awesome recipe.
You’re welcome. I’m so happy that you liked the recipe, Stacy! 🙂