Cooking and Serving: 40 minutes | 12 crepe pancakes
Ingredients
Sweet or savory crêpes | Ingredient substitutions
Description
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 12 crepe pancakes
Ingredients
Sweet or savory crêpes
Expert tips
Ingredient substitutions
Notes
* Sweet or savory crêpes
* Ingredient substitutions
* Gluten Free Crêpes Recipe
* Storage instructions
Gluten free crêpes are simple, French-style pancakes. Light, airy and delicate
but not fragile, these pancakes can be served sweet or savory.
I often serve them simply, with roasted chicken and vegetables and a bit of
cheese. Simply fill the crêpes like you would a taco or burrito before serving
The consistency of the crepe batter should be like half and half: thicker than
whole milk, thinner than heavy cream. Swirl the crepe batter around. You get
The first pancake is always for the cook, as it may be rather unfortunate
looking. It will still taste great!
Made with only a handful of basic gluten free pantry ingredients, gluten free
crêpes are one of the simplest recipes you’ll find. But it’s the simplest
recipes are frequently the trickiest—and the ones most likely to frustrate you
when you’re new at making them.
This recipe makes the best crêpes because we use the most appropriate
ingredients, in just the right amounts. And the method is clear, concise, and
white plate with 4 folded crepes and lemon slices
plate with 4 folded crepes and lemon slices
* Gluten free flour blend
– This recipe calls for our gum-free gluten free flour blend
made with superfine white rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch.
Anything else will lead to rubbery pancakes. Xanthan gum has no place here!
* Salt – I bake and cook with kosher salt, which is much easier to measure
accurately than table salt. You can also use lightly flaked sea salt.
* Eggs – The eggs are the backbone of this recipe. They serve as a binder, and
as the only leavener.
* Butter – Butter adds richness, flavor, and tenderness.
* Milk – Avoid any flavored milk here, whether your milk is dairy or nondairy.
And make sure it has some fat, which adds tenderness.
SWEET OR SAVORY CRÊPES
There’s no sugar in the batter, so they start out quite neutral in flavor. You
can then serve them sweet or savory.
In many of the photos here, I’ve served the crêpes with a lemon simple syrup. If
you’d like to make a simple syrup, here’s how:
To make “rich” simple syrup, which is best for drizzling (and for using in
cocktails), simply combine twice as much sugar-in-the-raw (granulated sugar
works, too, but sugar-in-the-raw dissolves more fully) as water in a saucepan.
Whisk to combine completely.
Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, and continue to simmer gently until
the sugar is completely dissolved, and the sugar has just begun to thicken
(about 3 minutes). Transfer to a heat-safe container to cool completely. Store
covered in the refrigerator.
To make simple syrup, the process is the same, but the ratio of sugar to water
is 1:1 instead of 2:1.
To make lemon syrup (“rich” or not), replace 1/4 of the water with
freshly-squeezed lemon juice. To increase lemon flavor, add a strip of lemon
rind after whisking together the sugar, water and lemon juice and keep in during
simmering. Discard before storing.
Make them tonight. I bet you have all the ingredients right now. They’re a great
alternative to traditional gluten free pancakes
MORE IDEAS FOR SERVING SWEET CRÊPES
You can wrap crêpes around fillings, or sprinkle them on top with more than just
* Powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar on top, with berries inside
* A smear of nut butter inside, like Nutella or peanut butter—or try heating
them a bit and drizzling on top
* Filled with whipped cream and fresh fruit, and topped with chocolate sauce
Wrap your pancakes around nearly any savory filling you can imagine. Our
favorite is crispy gluten free chicken tenders
Here are some other ideas:
* Try a cream cheese filling with a sprinkle of everything but the bagel
* Fill with scrambled eggs and bacon
* Smoked salmon and chives make a hearty breakfast
* Try filling them with sliced lunch meats for a light dinner; ham and cheese
savory gf crepes sound just about perfect!
Black spatula lifting edge of gluten free crepes in blue cuisinart nonstick pan
spatula lifting edge of gluten free crepes in blue cuisinart nonstick pan
THE RIGHT GLUTEN FREE FLOUR BLEND
Our gum-free gf flour blend
not an all purpose gluten free flour blend, is essential here. No xanthan gum or
guar gum should be used! And, as always, measuring flour is needed for precise, reliable results.
RESTING THE BATTER FIRST
Allowing your crepe batter to rest in the refrigerator first gives the flours
time to absorb the milk. Your crepe batter will be more stable and your crêpes
FRYING PAN VS. CRÊPE PAN
A non stick pan works best here, but if you have a crêpes pan (which is really
just a nonstick skillet with low sides), you can of course use that. A seasoned
cast iron 9-inch skillet is great, too. There are even electric crepe skillets,
but that’s not necessary.
PREHEAT THE PAN FOR EVEN BROWNING
Get that pan heated to medium before you begin to swirl in the batter. You’ll
know from the first crepe pour whether your pan was hot enough.
KEEP YOUR CRÊPE PAN WELL-GREASED
Even nonstick pans should be lightly greased and stay that way for each crepe,
so everything slides around the moment the batter sets.
Gluten free crepes sliding from round dark nonstick pan
free crepes sliding from round dark nonstick pan
INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
The milk in this recipe doesn’t have to be cow’s milk. You can use your favorite
unsweetened nondairy milk (mine is almond).
In place of butter, you could use vegan butter. Even Earth Balance buttery
sticks would work (although I don’t often like them).
There are 3 eggs in this recipe. I’m not sure if you could use “chia eggs” or
“flax eggs” to replace them successfully. Maybe try Just Egg refrigerated plant
Gluten free crepes in stack on white plate with black border
free crepes in stack on white plate with black border
Go Ad-Free
GLUTEN FREE CRÊPES RECIPE
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 25 minutes mins
Resting time for batter: 12 hours hrs
Yield: 12 crepe pancakes
fingers picking up top gluten free crepe from stack on large white plate
picking up top gluten free crepe from stack on large white plate
These gluten free crêpes are the very thin pancakes with lacy brown edges you
remember. Serve them sweet or savory!
* 1 ¾ cups (245 g) gum-free gluten free flour blend
(162 grams superfine white rice flour + 54 grams potato starch + 29 grams
tapioca starch/flour)
* ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
* 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
* 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 2 cups (16 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature
* In a large bowl, place the flour blend and salt, and whisk to combine well.
In a separate, small bowl, place the eggs, butter and milk, and whisk to
* Create a well in the center of the flour and pour in the wet ingredients.
Whisk until very well combined. The batter will thicken a bit as you whisk.
* For best results, cover the bowl and place the batter in the refrigerator
overnight or for up to 2 days.
* Before using the batter, remove it from the refrigerator, whisk until smooth,
and allow it to come to room temperature. The batter should be about the
consistency of half and half (thicker than milk, thinner than heavy cream).
Transfer the batter to a large spouted measuring cup.
* Heat a heavy-bottom nonstick 9 inch skillet (or a well-seasoned 9 inch cast
iron skillet) over medium heat for 2 minutes. Grease it lightly with cooking
* Holding the warm skillet just above the flame, carefully pour about 5
tablespoons (a bit more than 1/4 cup) of batter right into the center of the
skillet and swirl the pan to distribute the batter evenly across the entire
flat surface of the pan.
* Once you get a rhythm going, you should be able to begin swirling as soon as
the first drop of batter hits the pan. Cook over medium heat until the edges
and underside of the crêpe are lightly golden brown (about 90 seconds).
* With a wide spatula (and/or your fingers, carefully), turn the crêpe over and
cook until the other side is lightly golden brown (about another 30 seconds).
Slide the crêpe out of the skillet onto a parchment-lined plate.
* Repeat with the remaining batter, stacking the finished crêpes on top of one
* The crêpes may be covered well with a moist towel and kept at room
temperature for about 2 hours until you are ready to serve them, or wrapped
tightly in freezer-safe wrap and frozen until ready to use.
* Defrost at room temperature, and refresh the crêpes in a warm, nonstick
skillet for a few moments per side, per crêpe.
Originally posted in 2013. Video new in 2017; new photos and text added 2022.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an
Gluten free crêpes come out best when you make the batter ahead of time, and let
it rest first in the refrigerator. It gives the flours a chance to absorb the
milk, making a more stable batter that’s easier to shape and swirl.
You can make these crêpes themselves, too, up to a couple of hours ahead of
time. Just cover them, and then serve them at room temperature. They’ll still be
soft and pliable and delicious.
Feel like freezing them? You can do that, too. Place the stack of pancakes in an
air-tight zip-top bag, and freeze on a flat surface. Defrost the refrigerator or kitchen counter.
You can warm them in a hot, dry skillet, or add your favorite fillings and warm
them in the oven or microwave.
Should they be served hot or cold?
Crepes are delicious hot off the griddle, at room temperature, or even cold when
made right. You can’t go wrong!
Can I use pancake batter to make crêpes?
No, pancake batter has very similar ingredients, but in very different
proportions. You need this gluten free recipe to make gf crepes.
Why is my mixture lumpy?
Did you blend the ingredients well? Were your ingredients cold, especially the
butter? If so, it will clump and stay that way until warmed and reblended.
When should I flip my crêpe?
Cook each crêpe on the first side over medium heat until the edges and underside
are lightly golden brown. It only takes about 90 seconds or less, and you can
use your spatula to lift an edge a bit to peek under, but the edges usually give
Why did they turn out rubbery?
Rubbery crepes are typically made with the wrong gf flour blend, especially if
yours contained xanthan gum. We need to use something that doesn’t contain
xanthan gum already in the blend, since it will always contain too much. You may
also have poured too much batter in the pan at once, leading to crepes that are
Gluten free crêpes are simple, light, French-style pancakes. Light, airy and
delicate but not fragile, so easy to make with basic GF ingredients!
free crêpes are simple, light, French-style pancakes. Light, airy and delicate
but not fragile, so easy to make with basic GF ingredients!