These savory chickpea crepes are a healthy, delicious, and faux-fancy weeknight meal or brunch dish.
These paper-thin, savory chickpea crepes with creamy spinach and mushrooms are a seemingly-highbrow-but-actually-not meal, simple enough even for a weeknight. It’s one to tackle when you feel like treating yourself a little and are willing to get slightly more adventurous with dinner than usual. Seeing as we’re dealing with crêpes here (accent added for emphasis), this meal feels fancy-French and that’s always a good idea.
This recipe also works well as a brunch dish. And it goes without saying, it’s such a fun way to eat your greens!
Ingredient Notes + Substitutions
- Chickpea Flour: The star ingredient of this recipe is chickpea flour – i.e. ground-up dried chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo bean flour, gram flour, and besan). It’s vegan, gluten-free, and high in protein. It’s available at most supermarkets these days, either in the baking or health foods aisle.
- Mushrooms: Caramelized mushrooms give this vegan filling its foundational flavor. Feel free to use other types of mushrooms, like shiitake or oyster. I don’t recommend white button mushrooms since they don’t have much flavor.
- Flour: To make this filling gluten-free, use an all-purpose GF flour blend.
- Non-Dairy Milk: Be sure to use a neutral-flavored milk, like unsweetened cashew or oat milk. Do not use almond milk, since its nutty flavor will overpower and ruin the sauce.
- Miso: Miso gives this sauce a savory, slightly “cheesy” flavor. If you don’t have any, use a tiny amount of soy sauce (start with 1/2 teaspoon) instead.
- Spinach: I like mature spinach here because it retains some texture after cooking. But you can use baby spinach if it’s all you have.
Chickpea Crepes with Mushroom Filling Step-by-Step
Make the Crepe Batter: In a bowl, whisk up the chickpea flour, water, oil, and salt. When you’ve got a smooth batter without lumps, set it aside for at least 30 minutes. Resting the batter is important for any kind of crepe because it gives the flour time to hydrate, resulting in lighter, more delicate crepes. This batter can also be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Make the Filling: While the batter rests, sauté the mushrooms until they’re nicely browned. Then stir in the flour and cook it for just a few seconds to eliminate the chalky flavor (the flour will thicken the sauce). Next, stir in a mixture of non-dairy milk, veg broth, and miso, and cook it for a few minutes until it thickens into a creamy gravy. Finally, wilt in the spinach and turn the heat off.
Cook the Crepes: Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat and coat it lightly with oil. Pour in some batter and immediately swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the crepe looks dry, then gently flip and briefly cook the other side. Remove the crepe and continue cooking the rest of the batter.
Serve the Chickpea Crepes: You can serve these family-style – kinda like tacos. Put out the stack of crepes and the filling, and invite people to fill their own crepes. Or you can serve them pre-assembled: fill the crepes and roll them into cigars, fold into triangles, or in half like tacos. These are best eaten right away, since they get a little stiff after cooling.
Tips for Cooking Chickpea Crepes
If you’ve made any kind of crepes, you know the process requires a bit of practice and patience to get it right. Here are some tips to guide you along…
- Chickpea crepes should be thin, lightly crispy around the edges, and chewy in the center.
- It is very important to use a non-stick pan that’s well-greased, but doesn’t have so much oil that you can swirl it around. I recommend brushing the oil on with a pastry brush or a folded paper towel.
- Use moderate heat. The batter should sizzle as soon as it hits the pan, but the pan should not be hot enough to make the crepes brown.
- When the top of the crepe looks dry, run a small offset spatula or butter knife around the edges to loosen the crepe. Then slide the spatula underneath the crepe and quickly flip it.
- Avoid browning chickpea crepes, as they will take on a funky bitter flavor.
- The first 1-2 crepes are practice; they never turn out right since you’re still figuring out how much batter and what temperature to use. Consider these chef snacks and move on with the remaining batter.
If you like chickpea crepes, check out…
- Savory Cabbage Pancakes (with Chickpea Flour)
- Red Lentil Pancakes
- Easy Chana Masala
- Chickpea Flour “Frittata”
Let me know if you try this recipe! Give it a rating below and leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag your creation with @thenewbaguette on Instagram.
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Savory Chickpea Crepes (Vegan)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: About 12 crepes 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French, Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These vegan chickpea crepes are a healthy, delicious, and faux-fancy weeknight meal or brunch dish.
Ingredients
For the Crepes
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for cooking
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Filling
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- Fine sea salt + freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup mushroom or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup unsweetened unflavored non-dairy milk* (see note)
- 1 tablespoon white miso*
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 large bunch spinach (about 8 ounces), roughly chopped*
Instructions
- Make the batter: in a large bowl, combine 1 cup chickpea flour, 1 1/4 cups water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk until completely smooth. Let stand at room temp for at least 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours in the fridge).
- Meanwhile, start the filling: heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook until they’re browned all over, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
- In a bowl or measuring cup, combine 1 cup broth, 1/2 cup milk, and 1 tablespoon miso, and whisk to dissolve the miso. Set aside.
- Stir 1 minced garlic clove and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the mushrooms and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the broth mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the spinach a handful at a time, stirring until it wilts before each addition. Continue cooking until the spinach is completely wilted, 1 to 2 minutes more. Set the sauce aside and keep warm.
- To cook the crepes, heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Using a pastry brush or folded paper towel, lightly brush the skillet with oil. Pour in a scant 1/4 cup of the batter and immediately swirl it around to coat the skillet – the batter should sizzle right away; if it doesn’t, the skillet isn’t hot enough. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the crepe looks dry. Run a small spatula or butter knife around the crepe to loosen it, then slip the spatula underneath and flip the crepe. Cook for another minute or so.
- Transfer to a plate and continue cooking the rest of the batter, brushing the skillet with more oil before each crepe. (You may keep the cooked crepes warm in a low-temp oven.)
- Divide the filling among the crepes and serve immediately.
Notes
- Be sure to use a neutral-flavored milk, like cashew or oat milk. Do not use almond milk, since its nutty flavor will overpower and ruin the sauce.
- If you don’t have miso, use a tiny amount of soy sauce (start with 1/2 teaspoon) instead.
- I like to use mature spinach in this dish because it retains some texture after cooking. But you can use baby spinach if it’s all you have – there’s no need to chop baby spinach.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 crepes w/ filling
- Calories: 240
- Fat: 12.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.7 g
- Fiber: 4.4 g
- Protein: 9.1 g
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