These Gluten-Free Crêpes feature a combination of almond flour and buckwheat flour rather than traditional all-purpose flour. The result is light and tender crêpes perfect for both savory and sweet fillings!
Table of contents
Why Make This Recipe
- Classic Recipe but Gluten-Free: Traditional crêpe recipes contain flour, milk, eggs, and butter. My gluten-free version uses all of the traditional ingredients, but replaces the all-purpose flour with almond flour and buckwheat flour.
- So Versatile: You can fill these crêpes with savory ingredients or sweet, and serve them for any meal of the day. In fact, they’re really just a fancy delivery mechanism for whatever filling you have on hand. See below for ideas.
- Easy to Make: Crêpes sound fancy, but they are actually easy to make. Just follow the instructions and photos below, and you’ll be making perfect crêpes in no time.
🥗 Ingredients
- Almond Flour: Almond flour is made from ground up raw almonds. Almonds are low in carbs and high in fiber, protein, manganese, magnesium, and Vitamin E. They are also high in omega-3 fatty acids. You can buy almond flour at the grocery store or make your own in a food processor. Feel free to substitute hazelnut flour in this recipe.
- Buckwheat Flour: Buckwheat is not a grain, and so crêpes made with buckwheat flour are gluten-free and can be enjoyed by people with gluten allergy or intolerance. Buckwheat flour is high in fiber, protein, iron, and zinc, so it is significantly healthier than regular all-purpose flour.
- Milk and Butter: For a non-dairy version of these crêpes, replace the milk with water and the butter with olive oil, as in this Dairy-Free Crêpes recipe. You can also use the non-dairy milk of your choosing (for example, soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk).
🥣 Instructions
Whisk ½ cup almond flour, ¼ cup buckwheat flour, 2 eggs, and 2 tablespoons melted butter together in a medium bowl.
Then slowly whisk in 1 cup milk and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously until well-combined (about a minute). You can also use a blender for this step—blend for about 10 seconds. The goal is to have the batter well-incorporated with no chunks of flour.
The batter will be thinner than pancake batter—though not as thin as a traditional crêpe batter. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes. After resting the batter, give it another quick whisking.
Now heat a 9- or 10-inch crêpe pan or nonstick skillet on medium-high heat, cut off a sliver of butter, and swirl it around your pan. Use a paper towel to coat the pan evenly.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter directly in the center of the pan, then quickly lift the pan up and roll your wrist around as you hold it, so that the batter spreads out into a circle. (A large measuring cup with a spout or a ladle can be helpful here!)
These almond flour crêpes are quite delicate so go for a smaller crêpe size—smaller crêpes are easier to flip without tearing them. Cook without disturbing the crepe until it looses that raw batter appearance on top. Use a non-scratch spatula to peel up the edges to gently see whether the crepe is cooked enough to flip. If it is, then flip and cook the other side.
Keep an eye on your heat—if it is too hot, it will quickly brown the entire crêpe, and if it is not hot enough, the batter will spread out too thinly, and the crêpe will be too delicate to flip.
Repeat with the rest of your crepes, including whisking the batter first and lightly buttering the pan between each one. As you finish your crepes, stack them on a plate separated by squares of wax paper or parchment paper.
To serve the crêpes, roll up gently, then garnish with fresh berries and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
If you have leftover crêpes, wrap them (unfilled) in plastic wrap or in a ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator or freezer. It’s best to keep a piece of parchment or wax paper between each crêpe so that they don’t stick together.
🧐 Recipe FAQs
Yes! Crêpes are excellent for make-ahead. They will store for several days in the refrigerator in a ziplock bag or airtight container. And, you can freeze crêpes for up to 3 months. Use a piece of parchment or wax paper between each crêpe so that they don’t stick together, then put in a ziplock bag or airtight container. If you freeze them, thaw in the refrigerator before using. When you’re ready to eat one, heat it gently in the microwave for 15-30 seconds before filling.
Crêpes are slightly healthier than pancakes because while they often are made with the same ingredients (flour, milk, eggs, and butter), there is usually less flour in a crêpe batter. And, most pancake recipes include sugar in the batter, which is not necessary in a crêpe recipe. However, this crêpe recipe is actually much healthier than a pancake because of the substitution of nutritious almond and buckwheat flours for all-purpose flour.
In France, most savory crêpes are known as galettes, and are made entirely with buckwheat flour. These are a specialty of the Bretagne region in France. Traditional all-purpose white flour is used for sweet crêpes. This version of a gluten-free crêpe is kind of a combination of the two!
Yes! And since almond flour is expensive both to buy and to make, you should definitely freeze any leftovers for your next batch. According to Bob’s Red Mill, you can even freeze almond flour for 4-5 months after its sell by date, as long as you keep it in an airtight container. You can also keep it in the fridge if you prefer, and in fact, if you are planning to store almond flour for over a few weeks, you should keep it in the refrigerator or freezer. Almond flour (and other nut flours) can turn rancid more quickly than traditional flour.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
In this recipe, I recommend letting the crêpe batter rest for 30 minutes before using. This is a common step in all crêpe batters, though normally the main reason is to allow the gluten in regular flour to relax so that you don’t have a chewy crepe.
In this recipe, gluten isn’t a problem as the crêpes are gluten-free; however, the 30-minute rest time allows the flours to absorb the liquid in the batter, making for a smoother crêpe.
Note that the lack of gluten in these crêpes makes them quite delicate to work with you, and you may need to play with your heat settings to find what works best.
If your crêpes keep tearing when you flip them, your pan may not be hot enough. Keeping the pan hot will ensure the crêpe batter sets fairly quickly so that it remains thick enough to flip. A little practice and patience is recommended!
If you enjoy making crêpes, you might want to invest in a pan like this Cuisinart brand crêpe pan. Crêpe pans have a nice weight to them and conduct heat nicely so you get an even cook on your crêpes. And the sides on a crêpe pan are fairly low, which helps you get your spatula under the crêpe to flip it.
The other tool you might want is a wooden crêpe turner—these are long and flat, and make it easy to lift your crêpes and flip them without damaging them. Again, they aren’t necessary for crêpe making, but they do make the job a little easier if you find yourself making crêpes frequently.
Options for Filling Crêpes
Crêpes are delicious with both savory and sweet fillings. The batter itself can also be tweaked. For savory crêpes, omit the vanilla extract from the recipe, and add a pinch of salt and/or some fresh herbs. Both sweet and savory crêpe batter can be delicious with lemon, orange, or lime zest added as well. As for the fillings, here are some ideas:
- Brush with melted butter and sprinkle on granulated sugar
- Spread with jam or fill with Homemade Cherry Compote
- Garnish with fresh berries and whipped cream
- Spread with Nutella, as in these Banana Nutella Crêpes
- Drizzle with caramel or chocolate sauce
- Spread with ricotta cheese and top with blueberry sauce, as in these Lemon Blueberry Crêpes
- Fill with lemon curd with berries or whipped cream
- Make a breakfast version like these French Crêpes with Eggs and Cheddar
- In the summer, use ripe tomatoes in these Caprese Crêpes
- Spread with crème fraîche, then a layer of smoked salmon, then top with chopped chives
- Use leftover rotisserie chicken in your filling as in these Creamy Dijon Chicken and Mushroom Crêpes
Keep in mind that depending on your filling, you may want to roll or fold your crepe in a different way. You can sprinkle or spread the filling across the entire crepe and then roll up starting at one side and continuing to the other side. This method is best for thin fillings like a layer of Nutella or butter and sugar.
For heartier fillings, I recommend the triangle method. Fill one half of a crêpe, then fold over the empty side. Fold over again into a stacked triangle shape. If you are making very large crêpes, you can also put the filling in the middle of the crêpe and then fold up each edge slightly to form a square with the filling exposed in the middle. This is the most common presentation for the Bretagne buckwheat galettes.
Other Gluten-Free Recipes
I love to bake with almond flour, as it adds nutritional value and great flavor to baked goods. Here are few of my favorite gluten-free dessert recipes you might want to check out:
And, if you're looking for another gluten-free breakfast option, go check out these Rice Flour Pancakes from our friends at The Honour System. Or try these Lemony Almond Flour Muffins or Banana Almond Flour Muffins from our recipe archive!
If you try this Gluten-Free Crêpe recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Gluten-Free Crêpes with Almond Flour
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond flour 48g
- ¼ cup buckwheat flour 34g
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter cooled slightly
- 1 cup milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Butter for pan (about 1-2 tablespoons total)
- Powdered sugar and berries to garnish
Instructions
- Whisk the almond flour, buckwheat flour, eggs, and butter together in a medium bowl.
- Slowly whisk in milk and vanilla extract.
- Whisk vigorously until well-combined (about a minute). You can also use a blender for this step—blend for about 10 seconds. The goal is to have the batter well-incorporated with no chunks of flour. The batter will be thinner than pancake batter—though not as thin as a traditional crêpe batter.
- Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
- After resting the batter, give it another quick whisking.
- Heat a 9- or 10-inch crêpe pan or nonstick skillet on medium-high heat, cut off a sliver of butter, and swirl it around your pan. Use a paper towel to coat the pan evenly.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter directly in the center of the pan, then quickly lift the pan up and roll your wrist around as you hold it, so that the batter spreads out into a circle. These crêpes are quite delicate—smaller crêpes are easier to flip without tearing them.
- Cook without disturbing the crêpe until it looses that raw batter appearance on top.
- Use a non-scratch spatula to peel up the edges to gently see whether the crêpe is cooked enough to flip.
- If it is, then flip and cook the other side.
- Repeat with the rest of your crêpes, including whisking the batter first and lightly buttering the pan between each one.
- As you finish your crêpes, stack them on a plate separated by squares of wax paper or parchment paper.
- To serve the crêpes, roll up gently, then garnish with fresh berries and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
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