Brazilian Tapioca Crepes (3 Colors)
User Reviews
5
Brazilian Tapioca Crepes (3 Colors)
Description
Brazilian Tapioca Crepes are made by blending vegetable juices—like spinach for green, beets for pink, or carrots for yellow coloring—with tapioca flour and a pinch of salt. The liquid hydrates the tapioca flour but does not impart flavor, instead providing natural color. The moistened tapioca is cooked quickly in a nonstick skillet, allowing the starch to bind into a crepe that is slightly chewy with a pliable texture. Careful control of moisture and quick cooking prevents the crepe from breaking or sticking.
These versatile crepes serve as a gluten-free base to be filled with either savory ingredients such as tuna salad, chicken salad, or melted cheese, or sweet toppings like Nutella and fruits. The neutral-tasting crepe allows diverse fillings to shine. The recipe advises avoiding fillings that are too wet to prevent the crepes from breaking apart, recommending placing a bed of greens underneath wetter fillings for stability.
Though best enjoyed freshly made to maintain softness, leftovers without fillings can be stored at room temperature for up to one day but will harden and lose their supple texture. The recipe provides practical tips on dough consistency testing, skillet preparation including heating and cleaning between crepes, and various filling suggestions, making it a flexible and colorful option for creative home cooks seeking an alternative flatbread or wrap.
Ingredients
For the Vegetable Juice
- ¾ cup water if you prefer to make your tapioca crepe white, use water only and skip making any vegetable juice.
- 1 cup baby spinach fully packed -- chopped kale (for the GREEN crepes). Or, peeled chopped beets (pink tapioca crepes) or baby carrots (yellow crepes). For making brown crepes, use prepared black coffee (liquid), unsweetened.
- ground turmeric optional (only if using carrots, a pinch
For the Tapioca Crepes
- ½ cup tapioca flour If using pre-hydrated tapioca flour, you'll need less juice, about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons, to color your crepes. Alternatively, you can swap tapioca flour with sour starch, or polvilho azedo, a by-product of the cassava root
- salt a pinch
Instructions
- Prepare the juice to color the tapioca crepes: In a blender, blend one of the vegetables (spinach, beets, or carrots) with water until smooth. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the liquid and discard the pulp (or use it to make something else). Reserve the strained juice. NOTE: If you prefer to prepare the most common type of tapioca which is white, simply use water instead of juice. The vegetable juices won't flavor the crepes. They only color the tapioca flour with natural food coloring.
- Prepare the tapioca crepes: Add the tapioca flour to a medium bowl. Then, combine a pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons of the strained juice, mixing them well with your fingers until homogeneous and moistened but not to the point of forming a uniform liquid slurry.
- Place a spoonful of the tapioca mixture in one of your hands and press it tightly. If it forms a fairly moist yet well-set dough that can crumble when placed back into the bowl, the consistency is correct. TIP: However, if it gets too soft or liquid like a slurry, stir in a little bit of the tapioca flour. If too dry, combine just a little bit more of the juice.
- Sieve the tapioca flour mixture and cook: Heat a small (5-½ inch diameter) non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for about 1-2 minutes or until hot. Place the wet tapioca flour in a medium sieve. Use one hand to hold the sieve over the skillet and the other to press/rub the starch through the sieve into the skillet.
- Sieve the starch in such a way that when it falls into the pan from the sieve it will form a uniform circle. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Let the heat bind and glue the grains so that the starch solidifies and forms a crepe/tortilla (pay close attention, because the crepe/tortilla will be ready in 15-30 seconds).
- Make sure that the edges have as much starch as the center- that way, the edges will not be prone to breakage. Flip the tapioca over using a metal spatula with thin edges and cook very briefly on the other side, or simply slide the tapioca crepe onto a plate.
- Fill the Brazilian crepes: Place on a plate, spread butter on one of the sides of the tapioca crepe, and fill with any filling of your choice such as chicken or tuna salad (with less mayo), scrambled eggs, melted cheese, shredded meats, Nutella with sliced strawberries, or peanut butter with sliced bananas, etc. TIP: If the filling is too wet, it will make the crepe break apart.
- If filling with shredded mozzarella cheese, place the tapioca crepe on a plate, spread butter on both sides, fill with shredded cheese, roll the tapioca crepes up (like an enchilada), or simply fold it like a taco, return to the skillet over medium heat, and let the cheese melt. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
- NOTE: Between making one tapioca crepe and the next, please remove the skillet from heat and wipe both the bottom and sides of the skillet clean with a wad of paper towels (being careful to not burn yourself), so that the next tapioca won't be browned by the singed leftover grains of starch.
- MEAL PREP AHEAD TIP: Store any leftover juice for later use in a Mason jar for up to 3-4 days in the fridge. Or, mix each juice with enough tapioca flour and store each in a separate airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Notes
- Store non-filled tapioca crepes in airtight containers at room temperature up to one day; they will harden and lose softness after cooling.
- Ensure the tapioca dough is moist but crumbly; test by pressing a spoonful into a dough ball that holds shape but crumbles easily.
- Use a nonstick skillet preheated over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium when cooking crepes to prevent sticking and promote even cooking.
- After each crepe, clean the skillet bottom and sides to avoid leftover starch browning and sticking the next crepe.
- Fill crepes with fillings that are not too wet; if needed, add a layer of mixed greens or spinach beneath wet fillings to preserve integrity.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 1Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 2067 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 206.7kcal | 10% |
| Carbohydrates | 53.3g | 18% |
| Protein | 0.9g | 2% |
| Fat | 0.1g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat | 0.02g | 0% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.1g | 1% |
| Sodium | 23.7mg | 1% |
| Potassium | 179.4mg | 4% |
| Fiber | 0.7g | 3% |
| Sugar | 0.1g | 0% |
| Vitamin A | 2813.1IU | 56% |
| Vitamin C | 8.4mg | 9% |
| Calcium | 29.7mg | 3% |
| Iron | 1.5mg | 8% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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