These vegan crêpes are based on Julia Child's French crêpes! These crêpes are made with aquafaba instead of eggs to create crêpes that are light and delicate, but still sturdy enough to flip and fold.
I've been a crêpe-oholic lately.
My mother-in-law's one innocent little crêpe request reminded me how wonderful these thin French pancakes are.
And here we are-- weeks later-- and I'm still holed away in the kitchen making traditional French crêpes and gluten-free crêpes.
I've become a crêpe-making machine!
But one crêpe eluded me. Taunted me.
Did NOT work the way I wanted it to.
That's right-- the VEGAN crêpe.
Why did I press on? Why did I keep trying?
Because you guys asked me for the recipe!
And I wasn't going to stop until I had a vegan crêpe that tasted just as delicious as traditional French crêpes.
What's In a Crêpe?
I based this recipe on Julia Child's recipe for traditional French crêpes, and I knew I'd have some challenges to make the recipe vegan.
What had to change?
In other words-- what's in a traditional crêpe that is not plant-based?
Eggs. In case you're wondering-- this is the one that gave me the most trouble.
Milk. This one is an easy fix!
Butter. I have thoughts on butter vs. oil. Keep reading.
Can I Just Skip the Egg in a Vegan Crêpe?
In my opinion, no.
The egg is what binds the batter together, and it also helps the crêpe rise slightly.
If you simply leave out the egg without replacing it, your crêpes will be extra fragile and hard to flip. They'll also be more brittle and cracker-like.
Brittle and cracker-like are not characteristics of a good crêpe!
And yes-- I realize that a lot of other vegan crêpe recipes out there will tell you to simply skip the egg.
Even though I was skeptical, I did test these crêpes without an egg replacement-- and those crêpes went in the compost bin.
What's the Best Egg Replacement for Vegan Crêpes?
Guys-- I tried SO MANY egg replacements.
I tried a flax egg, but it was too grainy.
I tried using unstrained homemade oat milk, because I hoped that the oats would act as a binder. That didn't work.
I tried using baking powder to help the crêpes rise gently-- but those crêpes stuck stubbornly to the well-oiled pan. I don't know why they stuck, but they did-- badly.
Happily, I was documenting all of my vegan crêpe failures in my Instagram stories, and two of you rushed to help me!
Thank you Maddie and Allison for all your troubleshooting and ideas!
Finally, Allison suggested the winner-- aquafaba.
What is Aquafaba?
Aquafaba, or chickpea brine, is the leftover liquid from cooked chickpeas.
You can cook your own chickpeas and save the brine, or buy a can of organic chickpeas and strain out the liquid.
Most commonly, aquafaba is whipped until it has stiff peaks and is used as an egg white replacement.
But here-- we're doing something easier. We're simply adding the (un-whipped) chickpea brine to the crêpe batter, and it acts as an egg binder in the vegan crêpes.
Want to learn more? Read A Guide to Aquafaba from Minimalist Baker
What's the Best Milk for Vegan Crêpes?
Pick your favorite non-dairy milk.
I tried it with a few, and it didn't seem to matter which I used.
Keep in mind that some non-dairy milks will be thicker than others. You want the crêpe batter to be thin and easy to pour (slightly thinner than pancake batter).
If your batter seems too thick, simply add a little more cold water.
Also keep in mind that your milk might change the flavor of the crêpes, but that's not always a bad thing.
For one test, I used coconut milk (from a carton, not from a can) from Trader Joe's, and the crêpes tasted a little like toasted coconut.
I love toasted coconut.
Should I Use Oil or Vegan Butter?
Usually, if a recipe calls for butter, and I want to make it dairy-free or vegan, I swap the butter for oil.
For example, in this vegan baklava, both olive oil and coconut oil work perfectly as a butter replacement.
However, swapping butter for oil didn't work well with these crêpes.
The texture was okay, but the flavor was lacking.
Instead of oil, go with vegan butter.
Vegan butter should be easy to find. Look for it next to the dairy butter in the grocery store.
I like to use Miyoko's cultured vegan butter, but Earth Balance is also easy to find.
What Pan Should I Use?
I either use a non-stick pan or a cast iron crêpe pan (like this Lodge crêpe pan).
Most recently, my favorite crêpe pan is one of those mini cast iron pans that come with chocolate chip cookie gift packets. It’s small, heats evenly, and is just completely perfect for crêpe making!
What Can I Serve with Vegan Crêpes?
My favorite way to eat crêpes is with some fresh fruit and a little powdered sugar.
Want more ideas? Try these:
- Serve with berries and kefir ice cream
- Serve with banana slices and Nutella
- Fill with strawberry chia seed jam from Natalie's Health
- Top with cashew whipped cream from Basil and Bubbly
- Fill with leftover vegan ratatouille
However you serve your crêpes-- bon appétit!
Vegan Crêpes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup cold non-dairy milk Such as coconut, almond, or soy milk
- ⅔ cup cold water
- ½ cup chickpea brine Drain from a can of organic chickpeas
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons melted vegan butter, plus more vegan butter or oil for brushing hot pan
Optional add-ins for savory crêpes:
- diced fresh herbs
Optional add-ins for sweet crêpes:
- dash sweet liqueur
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Instructions
- Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl.
- Let batter sit in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (or overnight).
- Pre-heat non-stick pan on high heat, and brush or spray with vegan oil or butter. Oil should shimmer on the pan.Tip: Vegan crêpes are less forgiving than traditional crêpes-- make sure the pan is hot before cooking or they may not cook correctly
- Holding pan just off heat, add 2-3 TB batter and swirl to coat pan. Place back on heat and cook for about 90 seconds, until the bottom of the crêpe is golden and slides off the pan easily.
- Flip and cook the other side for 5-10 seconds. Move crêpe to a wire rack or plate to cool, and repeat with remaining batter.
- Make Ahead: Stack with wax paper in between crêpes. Refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3-4 months in an airtight container. Don't skip the wax paper-- the crêpes will stick together.
Chrysa says
I have wonderful memories of my dad making raspberry crepes when I'm a kid. I’m so excited to try a vegan version- they look so fluffy and perfect!
Annissa Slusher says
What gorgeous crepes! They look so soft and tender it's hard to believe they are vegan! So many choices on what to put on them! Where do I start? I had never heard of aquafaba before. What an interesting way to use chick pea liquid!
Sarah says
Aw thank you! I hope you enjoy them 😁
Ameris says
I didn’t have any luck with this recipe!
It might be that I’m used to making Croatian crepes which require a lot of eggs, but I could not figure out why mine were failing so hard. I tried adding more oil to the pan, making the pan hotter, adding more flour. The crepe just clung to the pan and had no strength to it, completely falling apart as I tried to lift or gently scrape the underside. I almost thought I was going crazy until I was able to save the batter by adding eggs to it (which luckily I didn’t mind).
The only substitution I made was using 1/3 to 1/2 spelt flour. I doubled the recipe but am quite sure all my measurements were correct, and I let the batter sit overnight as suggested.
I think a video might have helped me troubleshoot, but otherwise I don’t know what happened
Alisha Trenalone says
Hello Ameris, yes, vegan crepes can get very tricky once you start swapping ingredients -- our guess is the flour substitution was the problem! Sorry that version didn’t work out!! If you’re okay using eggs, our standard French crepe recipe is a lot more forgiving with recipe changes, although we haven't tested it with spelt flour.
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
Mikea says
This is the first vegan crepe recipe that I have had success with.
I have tried many other recipes, including some using sourdough starter or chick pea flour, but they just always either fell apart on the pan or were too thick and doughy. This was the first recipe I've tried that used aqua faba, which in hindsight i should have thought of trying sooner. I had success on the first try and every time. I will continue to return to this recipe.
Tip for getting soft crepes without crispy edges: when taking the crepes off the pan, stack them in am airtight container. That way the crispy parts will reabsorb some of the moisture from the steam coming from the not crispy parts. Then the crispy parts get soft (overnight, maybe sooner, not sure).
Donna says
I am loving the use of aquafaba here instead of eggs, I would never have thought to do that but it works just perfecly. So light and fluffy.
MJ says
Hi! Looking forward to making these. Should batter be kept in fridge covered or uncovered or does it matter? Thank you!
Sarah Trenalone says
Hi! If you’re just leaving it in the fridge for a short rest it shouldn’t matter if it’s covered. Unless you’ve got something else stinky in your fridge 🙂 If you’re doing an overnight rest I’d probably cover.
Mj says
First time making crepes and these were so easy and turned out great! Thx for the easy-to-follow instructions and tips!
Allyssa says
I have tried a few different recipes for vegan crepes and this one is by far the best! They came out perfectly!
Sarah Trenalone says
Wahoo! Glad you loved them as much as we do ☺️
Innovative Cuisine says
Fabulous recipe... will give it a try very soon! A small query can I skip milk? If yes, what can be added insted of milk?
Sarah Trenalone says
I wouldn't skip the milk, but you can use any type of non-dairy milk that you like!
Carolina says
Absolutely delicious and easy to make. No one could tell they were vegan
Sarah Trenalone says
I'm so glad!!!
Santos Tonato says
This recipe looks terrific, could I use a non gluten flour or oat flour, same proportion? if yes I guess I dont need the batter to sit or rest right?
Sarah Trenalone says
I've tested gluten free crepes using Cup 4 Cup (and other similar all-purpose flours with xanthan gum) and it worked well! I have NOT attempted to do both gluten-free flour and aquafaba, but in theory it should work.
Here's a link to my gluten-free version (with lots of tips on GF flours): https://champagne-tastes.com/gluten-free-crepes/
And yes you can skip the rest period if you use GF flour.
Let me know how it turns out if you try it with GF flour and aquafaba!
Santos Tonat says
Thank you very much Sarah for the GF version!!
Just want to confirm that I could use 1/2 cup chickpea brine instead of 3 eggs
Sarah Trenalone says
You're very welcome! And yes, I don't see any reason that the chickpea brine wouldn't work as an egg replacement in the gluten-free version. (But again, I haven't specifically tested it like that, so def let me know how it turns out!) 😀
Funnhi says
Is it possible by just adding cocoa powder to this recipe in order to make chocolate Crêpe?
Alisha Trenalone says
Hello! Yes, the recipe card at the bottom of the post has a few different options for sweet or savory crepes! So you can add cocoa! Hope you enjoy.
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
Mikea says
This is the first vegan crepe recipe that I have had success with.
I have tried many other recipes, including some using sourdough starter or chick pea flour, but they just always either fell apart on the pan or were too thick and doughy. This was the first recipe I’ve tried that used aqua faba, which in hindsight i should have thought of trying sooner. I had success on the first try and every time. I will continue to return to this recipe.
Tip for getting soft crepes without crispy edges: when taking the crepes off the pan, stack them in am airtight container. That way the crispy parts will reabsorb some of the moisture from the steam coming from the not crispy parts. Then the crispy parts get soft (overnight, maybe sooner, not sure).
Alisha Trenalone says
So glad you found success with vegan crepes! Thanks for letting us know, and glad to hear about your tips for keeping them soft!
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
Alice says
I’m amazed! I halved the recipe because I fully expected them to taste like chickpea brine, and wanted to eat the whole batch. They were exactly what crepes should be, I found I needed to be generous with butter in the pan and let them crisp a little more than usual, and then they were easy to flip. And they tasted divine!
Alisha Trenalone says
Wonderful! So glad to hear that turned out deliciously. Thanks for trying them!
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes