I must confess that I had tried to make vegan crepes with chickpea flour before but they didn’t turn out well: they remained floury and stuck to the pan. Then in my Facebook group I saw a recipe posted by a dear reader of mine, Katia, who had made cecine. I was intrigued and read carefully how she made them. It might be a simple discovery, but I understood my mistake: I hadn’t let the batter rest… Once I corrected the mistake, I ended up with not cecine but crepes, since I preferred to spread the batter well in the pan.
Beautiful, aren’t they? They turned out great, soft, just like crepes made with eggs, not at all floury, and with a delicate flavor that makes them perfect for sweet or savory recipes. And they are so simple to prepare, really child’s play…
And you don’t need much: just chickpea flour, water, a pinch of salt, and a little oil. A good non-stick pan and you’re set. With these quantities, you get 8 crepes not too large, about 6.5 inches in diameter, and 1.5 Weight Watchers points each: let’s see how I prepared them and thanks again to Katia for the recipe!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
Ingredients
- 1 cup cup chickpea flour
- 3/4 cup cup water
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (2 measuring teaspoons)
- Total points = 12 WW points
- Points per 1 crepe = 1.5 WW points
Tools
- 1 Pan
- 1 Spatula (silicone)
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Sieve – optional
Steps
I suggest making the batter for vegan crepes in the evening so you can cook them in the morning: the batter needs to rest for a few hours. Start by measuring the water in the bowl: remember that 3/4 cup of water is equal to 3/4 cup weight. Then add a pinch of salt (even if the crepes are for sweet recipes, trust me) and mix with the whisk to dissolve it a bit.
Then add the chickpea flour little by little, sifting it through a sieve. You can skip this step, but I do it because I’m always afraid of lumps.
Once you have a fairly liquid and lump-free batter, cover the bowl and leave it out of the fridge overnight. This is a crucial step: as I explained at the beginning of the recipe, in the past I didn’t let the batter rest, and the vegan crepes never turned out well.
The next day, add 2 teaspoons of oil to the batter and whisk again to mix well. Even just 1 teaspoon of oil is enough, but it doesn’t change much in terms of WW points.
Then heat a 8-inch non-stick pan thoroughly. I use this one: the Ballarini Cortina Granitium, but you can use any as long as it is truly non-stick. Mine has a little circle on the handle that turns red when the pan is heated, which I find very useful.
Pour a ladleful of batter into the center of the pan and quickly swirl the pan to cover the entire bottom. Lower the heat a bit and wait for it to cook underneath.
When to flip it? You’ll notice because if you try to detach the crepe from the edges of the pan with a silicone spatula, it should come off very easily without forcing. Don’t insist too much and be patient: they won’t stick even if the pan hasn’t been greased. Obviously, this is if the non-stick is of good quality… The first crepe is always the hardest, the others cook much more easily.
Then cook the crepe on both sides until you see it slightly golden and then place it on a plate. I use a paper towel underneath to absorb moisture.
Repeat this operation for all the crepes.
Once all the vegan crepes are cooked, you can proceed directly to filling them or store them out of the fridge for a day (I kept them in the turned-off oven) or even freeze them, but separate them with some parchment paper so you can easily detach them.
Aren’t these vegan crepes made with chickpea flour beautiful? I was so surprised: they stay soft, so perfect for filling and rolling or folding. I immediately made one with some vegan quark I find here in the Netherlands and some banana slices: delicious!
And then I prepared a savory recipe that I will show you shortly. I’ll give you a hint that it will be perfect for the Easter table and is prepared with asparagus! Really delicious.
Here we delighted ourselves, even the Dutch approved, which is always a good sign since we don’t always have the same tastes. Let me know if you prepare them, leave me a comment below or on Facebook, below you’ll find the link to my group, the Eat Without Belly Club.
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
Tips
If you find it difficult to cook these vegan crepes because they stick to the pan, just add 1 teaspoon of oil to the batter. Then before starting to cook them, put the second teaspoon of oil in a small dish and brush the pan before cooking each crepe. This way, the WW points won’t change!
Katia made them this way as cecine or a bit more like pancakes but with the same batter. Just don’t let the batter slide to the edges of the pan! I’ll definitely try making these cecine…
For all my crepes recipes, here is the complete collection on my blog: Light Pancakes and Crepes.
