Traditional, English or French style pancakes (crepes) are surprisingly easy to make vegan. Egg & dairy free but as delicious & perfect for Pancake Day!
If you thought that you cannot make traditional crepes without dairy milk and eggs, think again!
I can totally understand why you would think that as when we first embarked on our plant based journey I was under the same impression.
I knew you could make variety of wonderful fluffy pancakes but crepes, that's a completely different story.
I'm glad to report that I ended up eating my own words and after quite a few more or less successful attempts I finally have my ultimate vegan crepes recipe!
What are crepes?
Crepe is a type of a very think pancake which originated in Brittany, a region in the west of France and they are usually served with variety of sweet or savoury fillings. [source: Wikipedia]
In the UK, we enjoy these classic, thin pancakes on Shrove Tuesday also known as Pancake Day which falls on a day before Ash Wednesday which in Christian countries marks the first day of Lent.
Classic Crepes are usually made with dairy milk and eggs and are therefore very rich and indulgent. Having said that, they can be extremely easy to adapt to plant based, vegan, egg and dairy free diets and I will show you how.
Vegan Crepes - Ingredients
Initially, I thought that to make my pancakes a success I will need some sort of egg substitute or they simply won't come out right.
I experimented with aqufaba (liquid from the tin of chickpeas), baking powder, egg replacer only to realise that I can make perfect vegan pancakes (crepes) with only 5 ingredients (4 if you don't count water)!
Plain Flour
Plant Milk
Water
Salt
Oil
Which plant based milk works best in vegan crepes?
I am an avid user of oat milk as thanks to its neutral flavour it has many uses in my kitchen and has successfully replaced dairy milk for us even before we decided to go fully plant based.
I also make it myself (it couldn't be easier, recipe coming soon) and I always have plenty of it in my fridge.
Because of all the above, oat milk was the one I started with when trialing my vegan crepes recipe and the overall verdict is that it worked just fine!
I then decided to go with my favourite plant milk No2 - soy milk which again worked really well if not slightly better.
Oat vs Soya Milk - Verdict
After my plant milk experiments, the overall winner is Soya Milk.
The main reason for that is that soya milk will give you slightly better results that oat. It is a slight difference but in my opinion noticeable enough.
- With soya milk you can reduce batter resting time or even omit it altogether whereas with oat milk minimum of half an hour rest before frying is highly recommended.
- When using oat milk my first couple of pancakes fell apart which isn't something unusual even when it comes to crepes made with eggs and dairy. However, when I used soya milk I had no failed pancakes whatsoever, result!
Pro Tips for vegan pancakes (crepes) success!
- Use neutral tasting plant milk like oat or soya. I would not advise using nut milks here (even if they're your usual go to ones) as they will affect both flavour and texture of your pancakes.
- Using half plant milk and half water in your batter will result in lighter pancakes.
- Perfect vegan crepes batter consistency is that of single cream (just a little tip for visual reference) - see below.
- Using jug with a spout for your pancake batter will make your life pouring it onto the pan much easier although a soup ladle will work well too.
- I like to grease my frying pan tiny bit before frying my pancakes and little oil spray bottle comes really handy here. It makes you use very little oil too.
- Good, non-stick pan makes all the difference especially if you like to enjoy your pancakes not just on Shrove Tuesday!
I used smaller 18 cm non-stick pan on this occasion which yielded 10 small crepes. For large crepes make sure to use at least 24 cm one. You will get less pancakes but this recipe is supper easy to double. - Last but not least! Definitely don't get discouraged if your first pancake leaves a lot to be desired. It happens a lot with crepe style pancakes so just keep going and you'll see they'll get better!
Can I make these vegan crepes in advance?
You can definitely prepare the batter ahead of time. If you'd like to enjoy these crepes for breakfast or dessert the following day, simply prepare it the night before. You will need to give it a bit of a whisk and might also need to loosen it up with a drop of water as it is likely to thicken whilst in the fridge.
As these crepes refrigerate really well too, you can fry them up and once cooled, cover tightly (to prevent from drying) and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can reheat your pancakes in a frying pan sprayed with a touch of oil or pop them in a microwave for a few seconds to warm up.
Freezing vegan pancakes (crepes)
You can freeze your vegan crepes too, simply make sure they are completely cold before you do it.
I like to wrap mine in some baking paper followed by aluminium foil.
Defrost in the fridge overnight.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many fantastic options when it comes to fillings for your crepes!
I must say, I definitely belong to the sweet crepes camp and my favourite are the simplest ones with lemon juice and sugar!
Having said that, they will go wonderfully with variety of spreads and I'm sure you already know what you're having yours with, am I right?
Just in case you don't, you might want to try some of yummy sauces, spreads & preserves you can find on the blog:
Easy Strawberry Coulis
Easy Blackberry Jam
How to make vegan crepes - step-by-step tutorial
- In a large bowl mix together flour with a small pinch of salt.
- Pour plant milk, water and oil into a large jug (or another bowl) and whisk together.
- Slowly start pouring your milk, water and oil mixture into the flour whisking as you go.
- You want to make sure you have nice, smooth looking pancake batter without lumps that has consistency of single cream.
- Once ready, let your batter rest for approximately 30 minutes before frying your crepes (you can omit that step if you are using soya milk instead of oat).
- When you're ready to fry your pancakes, transfer the batter into a jug with a spout which will make it easier for you to pour the batter onto a pan (you can also use soup ladle if you prefer).
- Heat up your frying pan or pancake pan until hot and sprinkle a teaspoon or so of oil (I like to use oil in spray bottle here).
- Pour a small amount of batter directly onto a hot pan, swirling it around to make sure it coats the entire surface evenly (you might need to patch small holes with some more batter).
- Fry for approximately 3 minutes until your pancake starts coming away from the edges.
- If you see large bubbles forming, gently lift the edge of the pancake to let the air out and allow the pancake to cook evenly.
- Using the spatula, gently flip your pancake and fry for another 1-2 minutes on the other side.
- Transfer your pancake onto a plate and cover with a clean tea towel as you continue frying more pancakes. Repeat the process until all the batter is used up.
Have you tried my Vegan Crepes Recipe?
Please leave a comment to let me know what you thought, share your tips, tricks etc. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away too and I'll try and respond as soon as I can.
If you’ve made this recipe please rate it too! Thank you in advance!
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Some more pancake recipes you might want to try!
Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
Perfect Pancakes For Pancake Day (Non-Vegan)
Pancakes with Mascarpone & Cranberry Compote
Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
Vegan Crepes Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 150 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 250 ml oat or soya milk
- 250 ml water
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed/sunflower oil
- pinch of salt I use Fine Pink Himalayan Salt
- more oil for frying use spray bottle for ease
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together flour with a small pinch of salt.
- Pour plant milk, water and oil into a large jug (or another bowl) and whisk together.
- Slowly start pouring your milk, water and oil mixture into the flour whisking as you go. You want to make sure you have nice, smooth looking pancake batter without lumps and consistency of single cream.
- Once ready, let your batter rest for approximately 30 minutes before frying your crepes (you can omit that step if you are using soya milk instead of oat).
- When you’re ready to fry your pancakes, transfer the batter into a jug with a spout. It will make it easier for you to pour the batter onto a pan but you could also use a soup ladle.
- Heat up your frying pan or pancake pan until hot and sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of oil (I like to use oil in spray bottle here).
- Pour a small amount of batter directly onto a hot pan, swirling it around to make sure it coats the entire surface evenly (you might need to patch small holes with some more batter).
- Fry for approximately 3 minutes until your pancake starts coming away from the edges.
- If you see large bubbles forming, gently lift the edge of the pancake to let the air out and allow the pancake to cook evenly.
- Using pancake turner or spatula, gently flip your pancake and fry for another 1-2 minutes on the other side.
- Transfer your pancake onto a plate and cover with a clean tea towel as you continue frying more pancakes. Repeat the process until all the batter is used up.
- Serve with your favourite fillings.
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per pancake and should be treated as a guideline only.
- I used small 18cm frying pan which yielded me 10 crepes. For large crepes use at least 24cm/19.5 inches pan or special pancake/crepe pan.
- This recipe is easily doubled, batter can be made in advance and pancakes are freezer friendly (details above).
- Use neutral tasting plant milk like oat or soya. I would not advise using nut milks here as they will affect both flavour and texture of your pancakes.
- Using half plant milk and half water in your batter will result in lighter pancakes.
- Perfect vegan crepes batter consistency is that of single cream.
- Using jug with a spout for your pancake batter will make your life pouring it onto the pan much easier although a soup ladle will work well too.
- Oil in spray bottle comes really handy. It makes you use very little oil too.
- Good, non-stick pan makes all the difference. Make sure it is really hot before you pour in your batter.
Please leave a comment & rating if you've made my recipe! Feel free to ask questions too, I reply to all!