Thin, delicate and perfect for filling with a multitude of toppings: these delicious gluten free crepes (French-style gluten free pancakes) are easy and quick to prepare, and make an absolutely amazing breakfast treat!
It was 9 pm on a Monday, and I wanted some gluten free crepes. Not thick, American-style fluffy pancakes. No, the French version. The thin, delicate pancakes perfect for filling and rolling and folding.
People have all these misconceptions about crepes (or, more accurately, crêpes). How they’re difficult to make, and fragile, and easy to tear, and impossible to flip… surely, then, making a gluten free version of these thin pancakes has to be an impossible task.
Not. At. All. You see, I grew up on French-style crepes. They were a thing you would quickly throw together on a weekend, for a lazy breakfast. There was always a multitude of toppings to choose from. Sour cream and sugar (absolutely divine), jams and marmalades, Nutella (of course), chopped nuts for the crunch… it was a DIY pancake feast, and it was always always incredibly fun.
Later on, when gluten free became something I had to think about, I didn’t give up my crepes. Heavens, no! And adapting the original recipe was truly a piece of (pan)cake. Just swap the normal wheat flour for a shop-bought gluten free flour blend, and throw in a pinch of xanthan gum. That’s all there is to it.
But anyway, there I was, at 9 pm, with my stack of… actually rather pretty gluten free crepes… and I could hardly wait to tuck into them. But, of course, because they were oh-so-pretty, I simply had to take just a few pictures.
“Just a few pictures” evolved into a full-out photoshoot – as you do, living a food blogging life. But I am actually super happy I took that time: because I can now share this SUPER EASY (and incredibly delicious) gluten free crepe recipe with you!
Seriously, you can have these crepes made in about 15 minutes! And even though they’re gluten free, they taste (and look and smell) just like any well-made French crepes.
The toppings… those, I leave to you. Get as creative as you want. I actually had a few gluten free crepes just straight-up plain – they are delicious whichever way you eat them.
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Gluten Free Crepes (French Style Gluten Free Pancakes)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (150 g) plain gluten free flour blend (I've used a simple store-bought blend of rice, potato and maize flour with no added xanthan gum)
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together GF flour, xanthan gum, sugar & salt.
- Add the eggs, melted butter & 1/2 cup milk. Whisk well until you get a smooth thick batter. Add the rest of the milk gradually, whisking continuously.If needed (if there are any flour clumps), pass the batter through a sieve.
- Heat up a non-stick pan and, once hot, butter it slightly.
- Add 1/2 cup of batter to the pan: as you pour the batter, swirl the pan around to get an even thin coating of the batter.
- Cook on medium-high heat for ~1 minute, or until the crêpe loosens from the pan & is golden brown on the bottom.
- Flip & cook for a further 30 seconds - 1 minute, then place on a plate to cool.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- Serve with fillings/toppings of choice.
Looking for more delicious GLUTEN FREE desserts? I’ve got you covered!
Super Fudgy Raspberry Stuffed Brownie Cookies
Gluten Free Vegan Vanilla Cake with Summer Berries
Chocolate Dipped Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
AMAZING. I have made these many many times now and they always turn out wonderful. Just letting everyone know who wants to make these, don’t be afraid to add more milk (I use almond milk) when the batter thickens as it sits. For flour, I used a mixture of white rice, millet, potato starch, and tapioca starch. Also used granulated golden monk fruit sweetener (1Tbsp) instead of white sugar. Thanks again for the recipe, these are seriously top notch.
I have just tried them and oh my goodness, they are definitely restaurant-quality pancakes. We couldn’t tell they are gluten-free, in fact they turned out better than our standard pancakes. I substituted xantham gum for corn flour 1:1 and they are perfect. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Do you have a crepe recipe that’s gluten dairy and egg free
Unfortunately not yet, sorry!
This recipe was amazing. I made it in the evening and put cheese in them for a savoury crepe then put the leftover mix in the fridge and make sweet ones in the morning. The mix was really runny in the morning and I was worried they wouldn’t work out but they did. I served mine with homemade caramel sauce and candied walnuts. Everyone thought they looked restaurant quality and tasted like it too. I live finding new gluten free recipes that taste this good. Thanks
I started to have GF diet and found your blog and Instagram. Hallelujah… I can make brownies GF version now. Kat, what about skipping xanthan gum? Thanks a lot, im happy and my stomach is also happy.
Hi Ria – yay, so glad you found your way here! In my experience, leaving out the xanthan gum can give GF bakes a drier and crumblier texture, which is why I use it in most of my recipes.
yum what about using coconut flour
Just coconut flour on its own won’t give the best results, as it absorbs too much moisture and doesn’t give a good texture to the crepes – they tend to fall apart or not bake at all.
Just started following you on Instagram. You have amazing recipes. Thank you for sharing. Now it will be so easy to make different gf desserts for when my daughter in law visits.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Pat! 🙂
Thanks for great tasting, simple making receptors for gluten free people eaters.
You’re super welcome, Pattie! 🙂