This recipe started out with my husband’s craving for crepes. Now, I am all for crepes, but he does not like the general egg-y after taste of the regular ones. Plus, I wanted to avoid using regular flour. So, Vegan Oat Crepes it is. I chose Oats because they were readily available in my pantry and they are gluten-free. So, that’s a win. Oats, milk and flaxseed meal (egg replacement and binder) blended together to make a thin crepe batter. That’s how simple it is. These can be sweet or savory. The husband chose savory, and I ran with it!
Now, I seem to have a weird obsession with Tex Mex and I think that is because of the similarity of flavors with Indian cuisine and because of the ingredients that are typical of this cuisine such as black beans, peppers and tomatoes. Black beans, peppers and tomatoes are a fail-safe combination that work for a variety of recipes. They are readily available, easy and quick to prepare and carry good flavors. And, I added chopped jalapenos to the batter, just to give them a zing 😉
I am not going to lie, crepe making is not easy, so be prepared for a few flops. But, once you get the hang of it, you will want to try different variations of them i.e. with different flours and see which suits your palette the best. For instance, I heat= that buckwheat flour crepes work great, but I have yet to try them.
What I also love about this recipe is that it has some great nutrient benefits such as protein form the beans and oats and fiber from the oats. So, the basic crepes can be prepared the night before for a quick breakfast in the morning that will keep you satiated. This also makes for a great weekend brunch with a heavier filling that can be prepared in a large batch the previous night. All you have to do is gather the troop, get some delicious crepes, load them with the filling, top it as you please and just kick back and enjoy the brunch 🙂
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 10-15 minutes |
| Serves | 2 (4-6 crepes) |
Ingredients
Crepes
- Oats – 1 1/4 cups
- Plant Based Milk (Unsweetened) – 1 1/2 – 2 cups
- Flax Seed Meal – 1/2 – 3/4 tbsp
- Jalapenos – 1, finely chopped
- Salt – As per taste
Filling
- Garlic – 2-3 cloves, finely chopped
- Tri Colored Bell Peppers – 2 cups
- Black Beans – 1 15oz can
- Onions – 1/2 cup, finely chopped
- Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp
- Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
- Coriander Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Jalapenos – 1, thinly sliced in a round shape
- Salt – As per taste
Other
- Oil of choice – As required for cooking
- Cilantro – 1 handful for garnish (Optional)
- Jalapenos – 1, thinly sliced for garnish (Optional)
Method
- First, prepare the crepe batter. For this, add the oats, plant based milk and flax seed meal to a blender and make a thin batter. Transfer to a bowl, add salt, chopped jalapenos, mix and set aside
- Next prepare the filling. For this, add oil to a pan and heat it. Once hot, add the chopped onions and garlic and cook until the garlic has slightly browned and the onions are translucent. Then, add the peppers and cook for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Then add salt, cumin, coriander and red chili powder and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until all the spices are cooked and the peppers are only tender. The peppers should not be mushy. Take off the heat and set the filling aside
- Time to prepare the crepes. For this, warm up a skillet on medium heat. Once warm, remove the skillet from the heat and brush some oil on it. Then, place a ladle of the batter on the skillet and turn it in a circular motion to allow the batter to spread thinly. Cook until the edges are golden brown (2-3 minutes). Then, carefully flip the crepe and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer onto a plate and repeat with the remaining batter
- To prepare the brunch, lay a crepe on a plate, place a generous amount of filling on it and close both sides of it (as though you are preparing a wrap) and press gently to hold it in place. Garnish with additional filling, sliced jalapenos and maybe some hot sauce of your choice and enjoy a delicious brunch
Cooking, preparation and serving suggestions
- While the batter is sitting in between each round of crepe making, it may thicken (due to the flax used in it). So, you can add a splash of milk and mix it up to thin it as you go
- When preparing the crepe
- Don’t be impatient to flip them, otherwise they may break or you may get a pile of mushy batter
- I found that placing a lid on the skillet around the crepe for the first 1-2 minutes and then letting them get golden on the edges results in the sturdiest crepes
- When using oil on the skillet, brush the oil and spread it evenly. You don’t want any droplets of oil sitting around because too many of those will make the crepe batter turn into a mushy pile
- To prepare sweet crepes, eliminate the salt and jalapenos. Use sweetener of choice and some delicious sweet fillings. My favorite would be the classic banana-nutella or strawberry-banana 🙂
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Food For My Love 