Gluten free crêpes are so, so easy to make. They make an everyday meal extraordinary!
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What are crêpes?
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 warm.
What is gluten free crêpe batter like?
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 good at it—fast.
The first pancake is always for the cook, as it may be rather unfortunate looking. It will still taste great!
Why this is the best gluten free crêpes recipe
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 specific. Just how I like it!
Gluten free crêpes ingredients
Since the ingredients are so important in this recipe, it's worth taking some time to talk about what each does. The more you know before you begin, the more successful you'll be.
- 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?
You can serve gluten free crêpes in so many ways, whether sweet or savory. There's no sugar in the batter, so they start out quite neutral in flavor.
Simple syrups for serving gluten free sweet crêpes
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, and more versatile, too!
More ideas for serving sweet crêpes
You can wrap crêpes around fillings, or sprinkle them on top with more than just a simple syrup. Try:
- 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 or strawberry syrup
Serving ideas for gluten free savory crêpes
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 seasoning
- Fill with scrambled eggs and bacon
- Smoked salmon and chives make a hearty breakfast
- Try filling your crêpes with sliced lunch meats for a light dinner; ham and cheese savory gf crepes sound just about perfect!
Tips for making the best gluten free crêpes
The right gluten free flour blend for gf crêpes
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 by weight, not volume is needed for precise, reliable results.
Avoid tears by resting your gluten free crêpes 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 more tear-resitant.
Deciding between a 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.
Making gluten free crêpes in advance
Even 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.
Storing leftover gluten free crêpes
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.
Freezing gluten free crêpes
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 by placing them in the refrigerator or kitchen counter.
Reheating gluten free crêpes
You can warm them in a hot, dry skillet, or add your favorite fillings and warm them in the oven or microwave. They're one of our best gluten free flatbread recipes.
Gluten free crêpes ingredients and substitutions
Gluten free, dairy free crêpes
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).
Can you make gluten free, egg free crêpes?
There are 3 eggs in this recipe. That's simply too many eggs to be able to successfully replace them with something like a “chia egg.”
FAQs
Generally, no, crepes are made with wheat flour of one sort or another, so they're not gluten free. To make gluten free crêpes, you need a gluten free recipe like this one!
Crepes are made without any sugar in the batter, and can be served as a light, savory dinner when filled with delicious savories like we discussed above. If you serve them sweet, though, they're not healthier than pancakes.
Crepes are made of basic gluten free pantry ingredients: the lightest gluten free flour blend, salt, eggs, milk, and a touch of butter.
Crepes are delicious hot off the griddle, at room temperature, or even cold when made right. You can't go wrong!
No, pancake batter has very similar ingredients, but in very different proportions. You need this gluten free recipe to make gf crepes.
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.
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 it away!
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 just too thick.
Gluten Free Crêpes Recipe
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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 combine well.
- 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 oil spray.
- 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 another.
- 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.
Notes
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Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Mary L Bergland says
Going to try these !! Any idea how many calories they are ??
Nicole Hunn says
I don’t provide nutrition information, Mary, but feel free to plug the individual ingredients into an online nutrition calculator.
carol says
Can I use Better Batter
Nicole Hunn says
No, you can’t make this recipe with Better Batter, Carol. Please see the discussion of the flour blend in the post.
Marie says
Where can this flour be purchased…please
Nicole Hunn says
It can’t be purchased as blended, Marie. It’s my own blend, and you need to purchase the 3 individual flours (superfine white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch/flour) and build the blend using a simple digital scale. Please click through the link in each place the blend is mentioned for all the details.
Marie says
I cannot make your gluten free recipes if I do not know where to buy the the flour without Xanthan gum and guar gum.
Nicole Hunn says
Marie, as I already explained, you can’t buy this particular gum-free gf flour blend, because no one makes it. I wish they would, and I would buy it! Most of my recipes are made using an “all purpose gluten free flour blend,” which is different. It’s all discussed extensively on the page that is linked in the previous sentence. If you are looking for gluten free recipes that work well enough with anything, but aren’t the highest quality, then my blog will not suit you.
Karen says
Egg question for you! What is the weight of egg prior to cracking it open? I get eggs from my son and their weight varies greatly. I could waste eggs trying to get to the correct weight. Love that you provide weights for ingredients the only way to bake!
Thanks looking forward to making your Paleo recipes.
Alyssa M. says
Is it necessary to use unsalted butter?
Nancy says
I made these last night, they are lighter and better than the ones I used to make with glutenous flour. I filled them with honey sweetened mascarpone and topped them with blueberry sauce, yum! They were so good I ordered a Cuisinart electric crepe maker, we’ll see how that works out.
Valerie Thompson says
Hi Nicole I’m also sugar free what are your suggestions on cooking with your recipes so I can still maintain a sugar free diet? Which would be best honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup. Thank you Valerie Thompson
Holly Walker says
For sugar substitutions I think it depends on the recipe. Some can take a liquid sweetener like honey, agave or maple syrup quite well if they have enough dry ingredients to balance out the added moisture if you don’t mind the finished product being slightly more dense if it’s a baked good. I’ve made a simple syrup with agave many times and it works well. I do need to reduce the amount of water to get the correct consistency. For breads I find you can easily substitute any of those sweeteners you mentioned with great results. You might need to reduce slightly another liquid ingredient (water or milk) or add a touch more flour. Other recipes, especially those with a high ratio of sugar or no other liquid ingredients won’t work as well and I’d try another granulated sweetener like coconut sugar (more of a brown sugar flavor, slightly less sweet), erythritol or xylitol or one of those in combination with stevia (I have great luck with 1/2 erythritol and 1/2 sweetness equivalency of stevia–it does not measure anywhere near what sugar does, it’s very concentrated so you miss out on the “bulk” sugar gives and using too much can lead to a bitter taste. I’ve got a dairy, gluten and sugar free daughter and a type 1 diabetic son so we do a lot of recipe adaptation at our home. It takes some experimentation to get your favorites recipes to work correctly, so please be patient with yourself and try very small batches at first to keep frustration to a minimum. Good luck! Hope this helps.
Allison says
Mmmmm! Can’t wait to try these. I was hooked from the get go, and then I saw the lemon syrup and I needed them even more!
Nicole Hunn says
They’re all yours, Allison! ?
Deorah says
I’m not drinking regular milk and need to substitute almond or coconut. Which is better for crepe?
Nicole Hunn says
I’d go with unsweetened almond milk, Deorah.
Heather Soler says
Hi Nicole, I have both your cookbooks and visit your blog whenever the urge to bake hits. I noticed that in your cookbook recipes and your older blog recipes, you always use extra large eggs but in your newer blog recipes, you just list eggs and a gram weight. Do you no longer use xl eggs? Or is 60g what an xl egg, out of the shell would weigh if I were to ever bother doing it? On another note, I read your oatmeal chocolate chip cookie blog this morning (yum) and can’t believe that someone would take the time to tell you that you’re not funny!! Your commentary is the only one of the 3 blogs I regularly visit that doesn’t bug me! :). I can’t WAIT for your all bread cookbook to come out!? Thx, Heather
superfcbear says
I made these last night – extremely easy. But the initial batter has a ton of lumps. took a while to smooth them out. they were sooo delicious, soft. It’s interesting to me that 1CUP of this gum-free flour blend is not 140g, but 245g ! can this gum-free blend be used for general baking? and if so, should it be 245g/CUP always?
gfshoestring says
Oh my gosh, superfcbear, you just caught a dangerous typo! The correct weight of flour is, in fact, 245 grams, but the corresponding volume measurement is 1 3/4 cups (not 1 cup)! 1 cup of the flour blend is, indeed, 140 grams. I have corrected the error. So sorry about that! Oh, and if your batter has a tendency to start out lumpy, just incorporate the liquid a bit at a time, first forming a paste. Or, just blend in a blender.
xoxo Nicole
Maryjo B says
I can’t wait to try these as soon as I get the right flours. Superfine white rice flour isn’t something I have on hand. Thank you for the recipe!
Peggy says
I would love to know how to make lemon simple syrup…wish I knew how to make lemon curd as well.
gfshoestring says
I love lemon curd, too, Peggy. I have a great recipe for it, too, that I make rather often. Maybe a post on both…
xoxo Nicole
Michele says
Please tell me how you make your lemon simple syrup. I love lemon and I love crepes.
gfshoestring says
Maybe I’ll do a post on various types of simple syrup (varying proportions create syrups of varying thicknesses, good for different things), if there’s enough interest?
Lady says
Yes yes yes please. I’m thinking these r great in cocktails too right? Also these creeps look awesome. My great grandma made a Hungarian version very similar she called pah-la-chink-kas. I miss them since going gf and miss her even more. She served them w jam or jelly and powdered sugar. Sometimes cinnamon sugar too. She was such a good swirler and rocked 2 pans at once for us kids. I can close my eyes and see her standing at the stove and swirling and dipping into the batter w a small ladle! Thanks for the happy memory!
Michelle says
I love simple syrup in all kinds of flavors! I store it in the freezer in freezer jam containers, and scoop some out as I need it. (it freezes to a slushy consistency) I even made sweet and sour mix a few months ago. I am always up for new ideas for things like that, so please do share away!
Caisey T says
These look great. I will have to get the ingredients pronto. I have both your books and have tried lots of recipes from the books and the blog. I have a question though. I cannot get the recipes involving yeast to work for me, especially the pizza dough it does not rise. I have tried a few of your recipes and since every other non yeast recipe has worked for me, I figure I am messing up somewhere. I purchase the yeast in packets and it is in date. Could the yeast still be the problem? Thanks, Caisey
gfshoestring says
If you are having trouble baking yeast bread, Caisey, I would suggest reading this blog post about baking the best gluten free bread. Generally, though, the issue is one of three things: (1) time (not allowing it enough time to rise – especially with pizza dough you will not likely overproof, so that’s not a worry), (2) a too-starchy flour blend, like King Arthur or Tom Sawyer (or Trader Joe’s all purpose, which I think is just white-labeled King Arthur), which may rise little if at all, or (3) temperature/humidity of the rising environment. It is very unusual for the yeast itself to be the problem, particularly if it is within its freshness date and hasn’t been left open & outside the refrigerator.
xoxo Nicole