Chickpea crepes are the vegan version of savory French pancakes. They are truly delicious and easy to make, perfect when you feel like eating something different.
These savory pancakes are gluten-free and they're made with simple ingredients, yet they are delicious and fulfilling.
Check out our best chickpea recipe collection!
What to expect
Chickpea pancakes are savory pancakes made with chickpea flour.
They are also known as vegan crepes, as they are made with plant-based ingredients, without butter, dairy milk, or eggs, unlike traditional French crepes.
We fill the crepes with a mushroom and white sauce filling, but you can change it up and use your favorite vegetables.
Note: The crepes are gluten-free, the white sauce is not, as it's made with all-purpose flour.
Instructions
Start with the savory crepe filling
In a pan warm up a drizzle of olive oil. Add in a crushed clove of garlic, then the sliced mushrooms.
For 6 crepes I use about 1 kilogram or 35 ounces of mushrooms to stuff them fully. You can use white mushrooms, brown mushrooms, or any other mushrooms really.
Then I also like to add 130 grams or 4.5 ounces of kale, without the woody part. You can sub the kale with spinach if you prefer.
Season with salt and pepper and let cook for about 10 minutes until the pan is dry, we want the vegetable cooking water to be gone!
In the meantime make a quick white sauce. Into a small saucepan over medium heat add 40 grams or 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 40 grams or ¼ cup of all-purpose flour.
Warm it up and stir till the mixture starts to bubble, then add 500 grams or 2 cups of unsweetened soy milk, at room temperature is fine, and a pinch of salt.
Keep stirring over medium heat, until the white sauce thickens, it should only take about 5 minutes. For this recipe we want a fairly liquid bechamel sauce, so don't overcook it, as it will keep getting thicker as it cools down.
Set aside, remembering to stir it from time to time to avoid lumps, then prepare the batter for the crepes.
Make the savory crepe batter
To a bowl add 130 grams or 1 cup of chickpea flour, 300 grams or 1¼ cup of water, 15 grams or 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and two pinches of salt.
Blend for a few seconds until the batter is smooth and without lumps. The batter will be a little foamy, but don't worry. The foam will go away after a couple of minutes.
Then warm up a non-stick pan and brush it with oil. Our pan is 28 cm or 11 inches but a smaller one will do too.
When the pan is hot, lower the heat and pour a ladleful of the batter in the center, rotating the pan to distribute the mixture.
Cook on low heat for about 1.5 to 2 minutes, then turn the crepe and cook for another 30 to 60 seconds, without letting it get too dry.
Once cooked, we place the pancakes on a plate and repeat the process until you run out of batter. With our doses and with an 11inch pan (28 cm) we will get 6 pancakes.
Serve the chickpea flour pancakes
There are two ways you can serve vegan crepes. The first, and the quickest, is to spread two tablespoons of white sauce onto half a pancake, then add two to three tablespoons of mushroom filling, a sprinkle of pepper, and roll the pancake on itself.
The picture shows mushrooms first, but actually, it's better to put the white sauce first, then the mushrooms, then roll.
Arrange the pancakes on a plate, I put two crepes on each plate for me, while for Louise one is usually enough. Drizzle them with some more béchamel, then some mushrooms, and another drizzle of béchamel.
Top it off with a sprinkle of parsley and dinner is ready. These crepes are beautiful, soft, nutritious, and full of flavor. It's one of our favorite recipes for a slightly more romantic but still quick dinner.
Variations
Take an oven dish, cover the base with white sauce, then roll the crepes as before, first white sauce, then mushrooms, then roll them a little tighter.
Arrange them into the baking dish, one next to the other, cover with white sauce, then mushrooms on top, and more white sauce.
To finish I also put a sprinkling of our fake parmesan cheese and gratin in the oven at max temp and with the broiler function on for 10 - 15 minutes.
Storage
You can store the vegan crepes either with the filling or without. To store them without the filling, put them on a plate, one on top of each other, then cover with film and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To store the filling, put in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, then reheat in the microwave or in a preheated oven at 350F or 180C for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Serving suggestions
These crepes are perfect for an easy dinner, and you can fill them with your favorite veggies and dressings. Even leftover stews and salads are brilliant in the pancakes:
- Eggplant caponata
- Melty vegan cheese
- Vegan ricotta cheese
- Italian bean stew
- Chipotle sauce
- Sun-dried tomato pesto
- Tomato cucumber salad
- Guacamole
- Tzatziki
And the list goes on and on 🙂 We strongly recommend using a sauce or a dressing, it's just more pleasant to eat.
Similar recipes
If you're new to cooking without eggs, take a peek at these easy egg-free recipes:
- Vegan frittata
- Pasta carbonara
- Salty frittata muffins
- Socca with chickpea flour
- Zucchini pie
- Vegan egg salad
- Scrambled tofu
- Vegan mayo
PSST! If dessert and sweets are your guilty pleasures, we feel you! Our egg-free plant-based desserts might also be of interest to you 🙂
Recipe
Chickpea crepes | Savoury mushroom pancakes
Equipment
- Immersion blender or regular blender
- non-stick pan or crepes pan 9" to 11" - 24 to 28 cm - is best. Ours is 11"/28cm.
- Whisk
Ingredients
For the crepes batter
- 1 cup chickpea flour or garbanzo bean flour
- 1¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pinches salt
For the mushroom filling
- 35 ounces mushrooms I like to mix some white mushrooms, brown mushrooms, and portobello mushrooms.
- 4.5 ounces kale or spinach
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
For the white sauce
- 2 cups unsweetened plant milk soy or oat
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pinches salt
Instructions
Cook the mushrooms
- In a pan, warm up the olive oil with two cloves of crushed garlic, then add chopped mushrooms and chopped kale. Season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, till the mushrooms are cooked and the pan is dry.
Make the crepe batter
- Blend together all ingredients for the batter: chickpea flour, olive oil, water and salt. Set aside.You can use a regular blender or an immersion blender.
Make the white sauce
- To a pot add the olive oil and the flour. Let warm up on medium heat till it bubbles, while stirring. Cook the mixture for a minute, then add the soy milk and a pinch of salt.Cook on medium heat, while stirring continuously with a whisk, till the sauce thickens. It should take about 5 minutes.You should aim for a creamy, smooth, and not-too-thick white sauce.
Cook the pancakes
- Warm up a non-stick pan and brush it with oil. When the pan is hot, set the heat to low.Pour a ladleful or about ⅓ of a cup of the batter in the centre of the pan. Swiftly rotate the pan to distribute the batter across the pan. Add more batter if necessary.
- Cook for about 4½ minutes before gently turning the pancake. Cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute on the other side. Do not overcook the crepe, or it'll get dry and hard to roll.Transfer the crepe onto a clean plate, and repeat till you run out of batter.
Serve
- OPTION 1: Add a tablespoon or two of white sauce on half the crepe. Then add two tablespoons of mushrooms on top. Roll the pancakes and arrange on a plate. Drizzle with some white sauce and mushrooms on top.
- OPTION 2: You'll need an oven dish. Cover the bottom of the oven dish with 4 tablespoons of white sauce.Then, add 1½ tablespoons of white sauce on half of the crepe. Add mushrooms on top of the white sauce, roll the pancake, and arrange it in the oven dish. Repeat until your oven dish is full, then drizzle some white sauce and some mushrooms on top of the crepes. You can even top with some vegan cheese, then bake in the oven with the broiler function till golden on top. It should take about 10 minutes.
Anonymous
I’ll make it, it looks delicious!
Chef Nico
Thank you for your comment 🙂
Geetha
Interesting recipe. Made it, with 2 variaions. I added cooked butterbeans to the mushrooms to add protein.I also used rice flour instead of plain flour in the sauce to make it entirely gluten free. Grazie Nico.
Chef Nico
Thanks, Geetha - and wonderful idea with the rice flour, thanks for letting me know! Nico