Vegan Crepes

No fake eggs, no egg replacer! It’s really not needed for vegan crêpes, just a bit of a binding agent and very minimal ingredients. These need just seven ingredients, with spelt flour, arrowroot, and non-dairy milk.

I’ve had more egg-free crêpe failures over the past few years than I care to count. I’ve tried using chia, flax, banana, nut butter, agar, potato… they either didn’t work or tasted like the bottom of a shoe (potato was the worst).

Turns out the easiest, foolproof way to make healthy vegan crêpes is with a little arrowroot flour! My favourite vegan pancake recipe also uses arrowroot, so why not?

I also find the vegan version to be a little lighter than making them with eggs, and they sit easier in the stomach. These are, of course, not the very fatty and buttery crêpes I grew up with (my mom loves butter) but I definitely prefer them this way. 

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Spelt flour: use light spelt flour for the best results. Plain white flour can be substituted 1:1 and I don’t recommend using gluten-free flour for this recipe (make gluten-free banana pancakes instead).
• Coconut sugar: use can sugar instead of coconut if preferred.
• Coconut oil: a good vegan butter can be subbed for the coconut oil, and use a refined oil if you don’t want any slight coconut flavour.
• Arrowroot: cornstarch and tapioca starch can be used interchangeably for arrowroot.
• Milk: a thinner non-dairy milk like oat or cashew is best here, not canned coconut milk.

Recipe Notes

Flip confidently! If they break it may be either that your pan was too cold, or that you flipped too slowly, or that they didn’t cook long enough before flipping – they’ll still taste good if they break, but you might want to try making them once before showing off to your friends. I always use a cast-iron pan, so you don’t need a special nonstick pan for this.

Use a thin spatula to flip, make sure you can get in on the edges of your pan (shallower is better), and, to reiterate, cook in a hot pan. I don’t mean screaming hot, but be certain the pan is heated before adding any batter.

If you find that they are tending to break anyway, let the batter rest for a half hour before trying again. You can add another tablespoon of arrowroot as a last resort. I have never, in about a decade of making these, had any real problems with breaking unless my pan was cold.

How to Store

Storage: these will keep for a couple of days in a sealed container, and can be gently reheated if you don’t want to eat them cold.

Freezing: place cooled crepes into a large airtight container, separated by pieces of wax paper or parchment paper, and freeze for up to three months. They will be very fragile when frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating if preferred.

Expert Tips

• Use a seasoned pan: depending on how well-seasoned (i.e. non-stick) your cast iron pan is, you might have a hard time using cast iron. If you are, add a little extra coconut oil when cooking.
• Don’t over-mix: spelt flour is a little delicate and, if over-mixed, will make for a tougher texture. Whisk until just combined.
• Keep the oil in: this is not the time to make an oil-free recipe, and that added fat is key to crêpes that don’t break when flipped.

How should I eat them?

This is a sweet recipe, but I often cut the sugar down to a pinch and fill them with vegetables for a quick and easy dinner. They’re already healthy crêpes so it makes sense to have them at all times of day with different fillings. I’ve included some other topping ideas below if you don’t want to use strawberries or if they’re out of season.

You can just have them very simply with a little maple syrup if you’d like, but it makes it a little special to add something extra. The actual crêpes are not extremely sweet on their own.

Suggested Toppings

• Any type of berries
• Applesauce and cinnamon
• Raw chocolate and peanut butter
• Chopped nuts
• Coconut whipped cream or yogurt
• Vegan labneh
• Lemon curd or go nuts with rhubarb curd
• Roasted fruits (peaches, rhubarb, etc.)
• Coconut butter and toasted coconut
• Maple syrup
• Hazelnut butter
• Do a savoury version with fried mushrooms, caramelised onions, and greens

More Vegan Breakfast Recipes

Vegan Carrot Bread
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Vegan Saffron Buns
Lemon Pancakes

If you make these Vegan Crepes or any other vegetarian breakfast recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.

This post was first published in July 2017. It has been updated with no changes to the recipe as of January 2023.