Healthy smoked salmon flaxseed crepes

The best healthy crepes for lunch boxes, picnic baskets, and party platters

With a batter made of flour, eggs and butter and some sugar-laden toppings, crepes have been off the table, literally, for many people living on restricted diets. Fortunately, this easy healthy crepe recipe makes them more accessible than ever. Made with only four ingredients, these spelt flour crepes have a tender texture and an earthy nutty flavour to provide the perfect base for fillings and toppings both sweet and savoury. We’ve gone the savoury route with smoked salmon, peppery rocket and cool, crisp cucumber. Our healthy savoury crepe recipe is perfect for all types of occasions – as canapes, work or school lunch boxes, or taken on a picnic. Since these are dairy free crepes, they also freeze well, so make a batch to have on hand for any meal and occasion.

How to make healthy crepes

To make flaxseed crepes, wholemeal spelt flour is blended with flaxseed meal then combined with almond milk and egg to create a smooth crepe batter. Flaxseed meal is made from ground flaxseeds and is packed with protein, fibre and omega-3 fatty acids. Ground flaxseeds are more easily digested than whole seeds and are often mixed with spelt flour to make nutrient-filled bread. Where crepes are traditionally made with milk, using dairy-free almond milk in our healthy crepe batter makes the slightly sweet and nutty flavour shine. You can sub the almond milk for any milk of your choice (oat is great for nut-free folks). 

Here are our easy tips for how to make crepes thin and even. Use a 1/3-cup measure to scoop up some of the batter and pour it in the middle of your non-stick pan. We suggest using an offset spatula to smooth the spelt crepes batter into an even circle. Offset spatulas have a flexible metal blade with an angled handle that allows you to hold your hand above the pan while spreading the mixture out to the edges. Cook your crepes over medium-low heat to ensure the bases don’t burn before the batter is completely cooked through. When the top of the crepe looks dry, use the spatula to gently lift part of the edge. If it is looking golden underneath, grab the edge and with the help of the spatula, turn to flip.

How to roll a crepe with filling

Whether using sweet or savoury crepe fillings, there are no real secrets to rolled crepes. Just be gentle with them. First, place your crepe with its best-looking side facing down on your work surface. Scatter over the filling. Using your thumb to guide and your fingers to ensure the filling stays intact, gently roll from the bottom of the crepe to the top. Then place seam-side down on your chopping board. Trim the ends slightly and then cut into four pieces. Pile onto a platter and serve with lemon wedges.

The great debate: crepe vs pancake

Okay, the gloves are off. In one corner you have the crepe: wafer thin and delicate, crepes are about 20cm in diameter and soft and pliable, making them easy to fold into quarters, or rolled like we’ve done in this salmon crepe recipe. In the other corner we have the pancake. Unlike crepes, pancakes are made from a thicker batter with a rising agent which makes them light and fluffy. When making crepes, the batter is swirled into the pan. Pancake batter, however, is dolloped in small amounts and cooked for longer. The thicker batter also means ingredients like berries or choc chips can be stirred through before cooking, whereas they are added to crepes as a filling after the crepes are cooked. The winner? They’re both completely delicious and it all depends on where your taste buds decide to take you. Give our healthy crepe recipe a go for a better-for-you option.

How do I serve my easy healthy crepes?

Where sweet crepes are often served stacked, savoury crepes are perfect for filling and rolling. When it comes to a healthy crepe filling, there are plenty of options. Try a simple spread of low-sugar jam, banana and peanut butter for breakfast, or spinach and cheese and roasted vegetables at lunchtime. Be careful not to overfill your crepe as it may break upon rolling, but if you want to go for a more generous filling like this vegetable and ricotta one you can just fold the crepe in half like an omelette. Some other healthy crepe filling ideas include avocado and scrambled eggs, spinach and tuna, or a mixed mushroom filling for mushie fans. Get the kids involved in making these crepes and then make this hammy omelette filling, perfect for the school lunch box. You could also fill them with dinner’s leftovers, or shred a rotisserie chicken and pack with coleslaw for an easy, light supper. The options are endless.