These apple crepes with cinnamon are simply perfect for the holiday season, but can be enjoyed all year round. The recipe is vegan (dairy-free, egg-free), gluten-free, and easy to make. They taste best with homemade salted caramel sauce.
Flavorful Apple Cinnamon Crepes
The holiday season is close and what I love most about it, is the amazing scent in my kitchen when I bake desserts with apples and cinnamon! Some of my favorite vegan apple desserts include apple cinnamon baked oatmeal, caramel apple cheesecake, apple cinnamon rolls, and apple pie cookies, and of course these apple cinnamon crepes!
I always get into a festive mood when I make these tasty apple crepes! For me, they are seriously a must-have breakfast or dessert for fall and winter. My parents are from the Czech Republic, and we call them “palačinky” (palacinky) but they are also popular in Croatia (palacinke) and many other Slavic countries.
If you are tired of eating PB & Jelly pancakes for breakfast and want to try something new, then give these apple cinnamon crepes a try.
The Ingredients
Not only are these apple crepes vegan, I also made the recipe gluten-free. Here are the ingredients that you will need:
- Gluten-Free Flour: I used a combination of oat flour, rice flour, and cornstarch. However, a gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour blend, regular wheat flour, or spelt flour (if you aren’t gluten-free) instead of oat flour and rice flour should be fine too. Buckwheat flour and quinoa flour might work great as well! You can use arrowroot flour instead of cornstarch.
- Sweetener: Use coconut sugar, organic brown sugar, or cane sugar. They all add a lovely caramel flavor.
- Ground flax seeds: It’s fine to use ground chia seeds.
- Plant-based milk: I like using canned lite coconut milk (or regular canned coconut milk thinned with water) as it will make the apple crepes more flavorful. If you use boxed almond milk, oat milk, or any other dairy-free milk that is low-fat, I would suggest adding 3 tbsp oil to the batter, otherwise, the gluten-free crepes might stick to the pan.
- Banana: You can use applesauce instead of banana.
- Lemon juice: Or use lime juice.
- Vanilla extract: Or use vanilla bean paste.
- Apples: You can use your favorite baking/cooking apples. Some examples, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jonathon, Gala, or Braeburn.
- Baking powder
- Oil for frying
For the full ingredients list, ingredient measurements, and nutritional information, read the recipe card below.
How To Make Apple Crepes
Below, I will show you step-by-step how easy it is to make these apple crepes. You can also watch the video for visual instructions! The printable recipe is below in the recipe card.
Step 1: Add all dry ingredients for the crepes into a bowl and stir with a whisk.
Step 2: Process the wet ingredients (except the oil) in a food processor or blender. If using applesauce, you can mix them in a bowl.
Step 3: Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and stir with a whisk to combine.
Step 4: Let the batter rest for a few minutes. Heat a little oil in a small/medium-sized non-stick pan.
Step 5: Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the skillet and swirl it around to coat the pan evenly. Cook the crepe for about 2-4 minutes, or until you can easily lift a side of the crepe (please don’t try to flip it too early). After you flipped the crepe, cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
Note: After a while, the batter will thicken, so you might need to add more milk, up to 50 ml. Continue until there is no batter left.
Step 6: To make the apple pie filling, simply add all ingredients to a skillet or saucepan and stir (without heat). Then turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it simmer for a few minutes over low/medium heat.
Step 7: Add a few tsp of the filling onto each crepe, roll it up, sprinkle with granulated sugar (of choice), and cinnamon (this step is optional). I like to add a drizzle of caramel sauce. Enjoy!
Apple Crepe Filling
The filling reminds me of an apple pie which is one of my favorite pies! I sometimes also add raisins, rum extract, and vanilla extract. Pumpkin spice or allspice is also a nice addition. You can peel the apples (like I did) or leave the peel on if you prefer.
It’s possible to make the apple crepe filling sugar-free, by using a low-carb (keto) sweetener like Erythritol. But then it won’t have this yummy caramel flavor.
Recipe Notes
- I recommend using a non-stick pan since you will need very little oil to cook the vegan crepes.
- Cook them at medium heat. Low won’t make them brown, and high heat will brown the edges too much but won’t cook the inside properly.
- You can experiment with other flours (as mentioned above), however, please note that the recipe turned out perfectly with the flours that I used.
- Use two pans to speed up the cooking process.
- Stack the cooked crepes and cover them with a kitchen towel to keep them warm and prevent them from drying out.
Storing Instructions
To make in advance: You can make the crepes and the apple filling in advance and store both separately covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
To reheat the vegan crepes: Reheat each crepe in a pan with a lid over medium heat for 20-30 seconds. They will dry out in the fridge and become a little hard, but reheating with a lid will make them softer again.
Caramel Sauce
I love to eat these apple cinnamon crepes with a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce which literally contains just 3 ingredients! They are coconut sugar (you can use organic cane sugar or brown sugar), water, and nut butter of choice. I actually used sunflower seed butter (Sunbutter) but any nut butter like peanut butter will work. Check the recipe notes to find out how I made it. Alternatively, check out my vegan salted caramel sauce.
More Vegan Apple Recipes
Do you want to try more vegan and gluten-free apple recipes for the holiday season? Check out some of my favorite desserts below:
- Apple Crisp Without Oats
- Apple Pie With Streusel
- Easy Apple Strudel
- Apple Crumble Muffins
- Plum And Apple Crumble
- Blueberry Apple Crumble
- Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
Should you give these tasty apple crepes a try, please leave a comment and rating below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your recreations.
Apple Cinnamon Crepes
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup (90 g) oats ground into flour or oat flour (see notes)
- 1/2 cup (80 g) rice flour (see notes)
- 4 tbsp (32 g) cornstarch or arrowroot flour
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tbsp flax seeds ground or chia seeds
- 1 tsp baking powder
Wet ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) plant-based milk I used canned lite coconut milk (see notes)
- 1 small (80 g) banana (see notes)
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- oil for frying
Apple Filling
- 3 apples peeled, cored, and chopped
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tbsp plant-based milk
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- To make the crepes simply put all dry ingredients into a bowl and stir with a whisk.
- Process all wet ingredients (except the oil) in a food processor or blender.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir with a whisk to combine.
- Let the batter rest for a few minutes. Heat a little oil in a small/medium-sized non-stick skillet over medium heat.
- Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the skillet, and spread it with the back of a ladle. Cook for about 2-4 minutes or until you can easily lift a side of the crepe (don't try to flip the crepe too early). After you flipped the crepe, cook for a further 1-2 minutes.Note: After a while, the batter will get thicker, so you might need to add more milk. I typically add up to 50 ml in addition once the batter thickens. Continue until you have no batter left.
- For the apple filling, simply add all ingredients to a skillet or saucepan and stir (without heat). Then turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Let simmer for a few minutes over low/medium heat.
- Place a few tsp of filling onto each crepe, roll it up and serve with a drizzle of caramel sauce (see recipe below in the notes). Enjoy!
Notes
Video Of The Recipe
- Oats: You can use regular oats or gluten-free oats. To make oat flour, simply process the oats in a blender or in an electric coffee/spice grinder.
- Rice flour: Instead of rice flour, you should be able to use buckwheat flour, quinoa flour, or even all-purpose flour (if not gluten-free). Do not use coconut flour though as it's very absorbent. Almond flour probably won't work either, but I never tried it.
- Cornstarch: Arrowroot flour should be fine too.
- Banana: You can use 80 g of applesauce instead of banana.
- Milk: If you use boxed almond milk, oat milk, or any other dairy-free milk that is low-fat, I would suggest adding 3 tbsp oil to the batter, otherwise, the crepes might stick to the pan.
- Use two pans to speed up the cooking process.
- Stack the cooked crepes and cover them with a kitchen towel to keep them warm and prevent them from drying out.
- Watch the video above for easy visual instructions.
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar (30 g)
- 2 tbsp water (20 g)
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter or sunflower seed butter (30 g)
- Add peanut butter to a small bowl.
- Heat water and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the nut butter and mix with a whisk
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Kathleen
Desperately wanted to make these for Christmas brunch, even bought a highly-reviewed French crepe pan and it was a complete disaster ???? any advice for making crepes that don’t stick to the pan without using Teflon or a whole jar of coconut oil is much appreciated! The apples and drizzle were delicious together, so I can’t imagine how good they’d been IN the actual crepe!
Ela
Hi Kathleen, I am so sorry the crepes didn’t turn out as they should. Did you use cornstarch or tapioca flour? Also, did you measure the ingredients in cups or grams? 🙂
Brooke
Creeps is on the menu today. Problem is I still make them with gluten because every time I try to make them gluten free they fall apart. Your recipe looks a little different than those I’ve tried. I’ll give it a shot… hoping for the best
Ela
I know, gluten-free crepes can be tricky but I hope you will love my recipe!
Basma dorgham
Hi Ela
Thank you for this amazing recipe ! I tried it and really like it .. Please check your Instagram and see the mention I have done for you
Ela
Thank you dear! I will check it out. So glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
barbara hofilena
Hi Ela,
I would like to I as for the Nutritional Information of this recipe. Thank you.
Baxter @ Apple Peeler
Looks and sounds so yummy! Can’t wait to try it!
Brend
I’m in love with these????????????????will Definately try it!
Ela
Great! Hope you will like them. 🙂
Kealoha
Delicious! Made these for my family this morning! Definitely will make these again and again
Ela
So glad you liked my recipe! 🙂
Silvie
I was so excited to try these as they look super firm and delicious in the picture but the reality of ours was quite different. I followed the recipe to a dot but couldn’t even flip the pancakes because how brittle they were. In the end I ended up with one big mess. We still ate them and they were delicious just not as great looking xxx
Ela
Sorry to hear they turned out brittle. I made the recipe many times and they always turned out elastic and not brittle at all. Did you measure the ingredients in grams?
Much love, Ela ❤️
Silvie
Yes I measured everything in grams. I think maybe different flour brands can have different results? Not sure. On the bright side I blended the caramel sauce with soaked cashew nuts and it turned into the most delicious peanuty cream which is now our favourite lol
R
Sometime crepes can turn brittle if they are allowed to dry out. An essay fix is to cover them with a dish towel until they’re ready to be served. If you forget and they turn brittle, simply cover with a damp paper towel for a few minutes to return the dried out moisture.
Tanya
Made these for breakfast and they were delicious! Mine were more pancake then crepe but it was probably the gf flour I used. Will definitely be making them again. Thank you.
Ela
I am so glad they turned out delicious, Tanya! Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Jennifer
This looks sooo good! Do you think this recipe would work well using chickpea flour?
Ela
Chickpea flour should work, I am not sure if it will taste as good though. Please report back if you give it a try. 🙂
Heike Puiulet
A wintery day here in Canada, so I decided to cook, bake and make your crepes. It urned out to be the best idea for today. The crepes are so good and satisfying for that sweet graving. We ate the dessert/crepes first , because we couldn’t resist that warm apple/cinnamon smell and now we’re not hungry anymore for lunch.. haha.. Tolles Rezept, vielen lieben Dank.
Ela
Awesome, Heike! I am so glad you enjoyed them!
Liebe Grüße, Ela ❤️
Brenda Weissberg
Can the crepes be made ahead of time and frozen? Can we omit the flax or chia seeds.? If not, what can I substitute instead.?
Ela
Hey, I never made them ahead of time and froze them. But if you put them in zip lock bags I guess they should be freezable. Flax/chia is an egg replacer but the recipe might work without it because of the banana. Let me know how they turn out if you make them. 🙂
Jess @choosingchia
That’s my favourite about the holiday season too! The kitchen smells so wonderful. Looks amazing Ela!:)
Ela
Thank you Jess! And yes, the smell is the best. 🙂
Dee | Green Smoothie Gourmet
Ela! These apple crepes look absolutely amazing, perfect for a holiday breakfast! Dee xx
Ela
Thanks so much, Dee! I hope you’ll give them a try. 🙂
Bianca Zapatka
They look super delicious, my dear Ela!
You know, I also love Apple cinnamon flavors! ????
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
Ela
Thank you, Bianca! Yes, apple cinnamon is the best combo ever.
Much love, Ela ❤️
Malinna
Hi, is the crepe rolled in cinnamon and sugar before putting drizzled Carmel?
Ela
No, I just sprinkled it on top but you can do it either way. 🙂
AJ
Nut Allergies not But
Karen
If you have a nut allergy just make your caramel with coconut cream, it’ll be extra delicious!
Aj
Yummy!!!
I have to try this today.
Thanks for always thinking of everyone. It’s nice to have options with but allergies while being vegan ,fairy free and gluten free,at the same time..
Bravo!
Ela
You are welcome, Aj! I hope you’ll like my recipe. 🙂