Get ready to elevate your gluten-free game with this delicious gluten-free blintzes recipe. You won’t believe homemade blintzes are this easy to make and this delicious sans gluten! This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
A blintz is a breakfast treat popular among Ashkenazi Jews. It consists of a thin, crepe-like pancake that is filled with a sweet and creamy cheese mixture and pan-fried until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Today, some crepes are filled with fruit or potatoes instead of a sweet cheese mixture.
In this article, I’ll show you how to make the perfect homemade gluten-free blintzes. These tasty golden-brown crepes are perfect for celebrating and elevating your Jewish holiday celebrations, including Shavuot, Yom Kippur (break-fast), and Purim. You could also enjoy them for a cozy weekend brunch at home or Shabbat afternoon kiddush.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make gluten-free blintzes from scratch at home:
Gluten-Free Flour: You’ll need two cups of your favorite gluten-free flour blend. I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill’s 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour, but you could also use another one-to-one flour blend that contains xanthan gum, such as Hand + Heart All Purpose Flour or Better Batter All Purpose Flour.
I also tested this recipe using equal parts by volume (½ cup each) of brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch.
Milk: I highly recommend using whole milk for this recipe for the best results, but you could also use dairy-free milk if needed.
Eggs: You’ll need two large eggs to make the crepe and another egg for the sweet cheese filling.
Salt: A little salt will enhance the flavors of any pancake or crepe, so make sure you add a pinch to the batter.
Cooking Spray: I recommend using a good cooking spray to ensure the crepe batter doesn’t stick to your pan. I typically use Pam cooking spray when I need to ensure nothing sticks to a pan.
Ricotta Cheese: For the cheese filling, you’ll need 1 ½ cups of ricotta cheese. You’ll combine the mild and creamy cheese with an egg and sugar to make the sweet and creamy blintz filling. Some people use ½ ricotta and ½ cream cheese to create a thicker cheese filling.
Sugar: You’ll need ¼ cup of white granulated sugar to sweeten the cheese filling.
Cherry Pie Filling: To make a fruit-filled crepe instead of or in addition to a cheese-filled crepe, you’ll need one can of cherry pie filling or a fruit pie filling of choice.
Butter: You’ll fry the blintzes in butter until the tops and bottoms are golden brown. You’ll need about ⅓ of a cup of butter for the job.
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the crepe ingredients until smooth. Set the mixture aside and let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. The batter will be very thin and will have the consistency of heavy cream.
Heat a non-stick 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles and dances across the surface. This is how you know the pot is hot. Lightly spray the hot surface with non-stick cooking spray or add only enough oil to the pan to coat the surface. Wipe off any excess oil with a paper towel.
Moving quickly, pour ¼-⅓ cup of the crepe batter into the center of the pan, then swirl and tip the pan in a circular motion to help the batter evenly spread into a thin layer that coats the entire surface of the 10″ pan.
Once the crepe is dry around the edges and barely golden, about 2-3 minutes, carefully flip it using a heat-proof silicone spatula. Cook the second side for an additional 1-2 minutes or until golden brown.
Set aside each finished crepe to cool while you finish making the rest of the batter. You’ll have enough batter to make 10-12 crepes. Set aside the prepared crepes until you’re ready to assemble the blintzes.
If making cheese blintzes, mix all the ingredients for the cheese filling in a small bowl until well combined. If making fruit blintzes, prepare your can of cherry pie filling.
Fill each crepe by spooning 2-3 tablespoons of the filling (cheese or fruit) into the middle of the lower third of the crepe. Fold in the sides towards the center and then roll it up starting from the bottom. Repeat until all the crepes are filled with the chosen filling.
Heat the skillet pan over medium heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of butter into the hot pan to melt and bubble. Add the filled blintzes seam-side down and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on the first side, then flip it to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes on the other side.
If desired, serve fruit-filled blintzes with a dusting of powdered sugar and/or top with more fruit filling. You can also add the fruit filling on top of the cheese blintzes. The flavor combination is lovely. Blintzes are best enjoyed warm.
Leftover blintzes can be stored in an airtight sealed container in the fridge for 2-4 days. Reheat before serving.
A Few Notes
Flour: You can use any 1-to-1 gluten-free blend of choice; however, ensure it contains xanthan gum. Xanthan gum will help hold the crepe together when gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, is missing.
No Egg Wash? Some blintze recipes instruct you to seal the seam edge of your blintzes by brushing the edge with an egg wash before you roll it up. I didn’t think it was necessary. Just be sure to fill the blintzes (do not overfill them) lightly, and they will seal just fine. If you still want to seal your blintzes with an egg wash, whisk one whole egg and brush it on the seam edge before you roll it up.
Alternative Fillings: Cheese and fruit-filled blintzes are popular, but some blintzes are made with a savory mashed potato filling. If you want to make potato blintzes, you can use the potato filling found in my gluten-free potato knish recipe.
What Jewish Holidays Would You Serve Blintzes? Blintzes are not native to one Jewish holiday in particular, but they are often enjoyed for Shavuot, where it’s a tradition to eat dairy vs. meat meals. I also think blintzes are perfect for breaking a long Yom Kippur fast and on Purim when Jews eat hidden foods, like hamantaschen cookies, because there are many “hidden” themes in the megillah.
More Recipes
Love Jewish foods? Check out my list of 18+ Gluten-Free Recipes For People Who Love Jewish Food. You’ll find everything from chewy New York Bagels and gluten-free challah to matzo ball soup and kreplach.
Gluten-Free Blintzes with Cheese and Fruit Filling
Print Pin RateEquipment
- 10" Non-stick pan
- 1 heat-proof silicone spatula
- 2 Mixing bowls
Ingredients
For the crepes:
- 2 cups gluten-free flour tested with Bob’s Red Mill’s 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour and also with equal parts by volume, ½ cup each, of brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch
- 2 cups milk I used whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Cooking spray to grease the pan or vegetable oil
For the cheese filling:
- 1 ½ cups ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
For the fruit filling:
- 1 can of cherry pie filling or your favorite gluten-free canned pie filling
For frying the blintzes:
- ⅓ cup butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the crepe ingredients until smooth. Set the mixture aside and let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. The batter will be very thin and will have the consistency of heavy cream.
- Heat a non-stick 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles and dances across the surface. This is how you know the pan is hot. Lightly spray the hot surface with non-stick cooking spray or add only enough oil to coat the surface. Wipe off any excess oil with a paper towel.
- Moving quickly, pour ¼-⅓ cup of the crepe batter into the center of the pan, then swirl and tip the pan in a circular motion to help the batter evenly spread in a thin layer that coats the entire surface of the 10" pan.
- Once the crepe is dry around the edges and barely golden, about 2-3 minutes, carefully flip it using a heat-proof silicone spatula. Cook the second side for an additional 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside each finished crepe to cool while you finish making the rest of the batter. You'll have enough batter to make 10-12 crepes. Set aside the crepes until you're ready to assemble the blintzes.
- If making cheese blintzes, mix all the ingredients for the cheese filling in a small bowl until well combined. If making fruit blintzes, prepare your can of cherry pie filling.
- Fill each crepe by spooning 2-3 tablespoons of the filling (cheese or fruit) into the middle of the lower third of the crepe. Fold in the sides towards the center and then roll it up starting from the bottom. Repeat until all the crepes are filled with the chosen filling.
- Heat the skillet pan over medium heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of butter into the hot pan to melt and bubble. Add the filled blintzes seam-side down and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on the first side, then flip it to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes on the other side.
- If desired, serve fruit-filled blintzes with a dusting of powdered sugar or top with more fruit filling. You can also add the fruit filling on top of the cheese blintzes. The flavor combination is lovely. Blintzes are best enjoyed warm.
Yes I’ve tried recipes with potato starch. I guess I just like this recipe better. But there are options and potato starch works. Hope that helps!
Just wondering why you don’t use potato starch instead of flour?