One Ingredient Socca! Amazing, crispy, golden brown, flaky flatbread that requires just ONE ingredient. Just mix, pour, bake, and done.
One Ingredient Socca
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I made this tonight to accompany a corn chowder. I usually make corn bread but switched it up. It was just as described and my whole family devoured it and asked for more!
Hello and welcome and I’m happy to report that, yes! you CAN make the most amazing, crispy, golden brown, flaky, bready, versatile dipping / scooping / rolling / topping flatbread called socca with just one ingredient.
Thank you for asking.
Socca is brand new to me as of a few months ago when some friends made it for us. It is kind of like a thinner, more crispy naan, or a thicker, more crispy tortilla. It’s French, I believe? It’s what I’m dipping in my chili in that first photo. Because I’m sure the French would love that?
Socca is:
- golden and crispy
- nice and thin
- still bready enough to not feel like a cracker
- embarrassingly easy
- gluten free
- my new obsession
I know the sticklers are out there, and yes, technically, it’s four ingredients. But there’s a very good chance that water, olive oil, and salt are already in your pantry, right?
So our singular ingredient focus is on this guy: CHICKPEA FLOUR.
I have been heavily influenced by my friend Melissa and her Minimalist Kitchen movement, and buying a different / new-to-me ingredient just for one recipe (like chickpea flour for socca) is not how I roll.
But I make exceptions to that new-ingredient rule. Such as:
- Chinese five-spice for egg roll bowls
- Harina blanca (pre-cooked cornmeal) for arepas
- Good quality canned salmon for salmon burgers
- Espresso powder for brownies and peanut butter pies
And now, chickpea flour for socca.
Here we go. You ready?
How To Make Socca:
Whisk your (basically one) ingredients together.
Now, pour into a pan with hot oil.
Bake, and done.
You guys, I could list almost every Pinch of Yum recipe here as something that socca would go perfectly with. Soups, salads, wraps, bowls… the whole fridge, pretty much?
So far, I’ve used socca as my scooper for this ancho turkey chili, a nice little side-carb-action for these roasted veg bowls with green tahini, a salad-crisper for this avocado kale caesar, and an excellent dipper for this ridiculous tomato soup.
Or there’s always the eat-it-straight-out-of-the-hot-pan option. Golden brown flaky shards all over your shirt, that mix of crispy and bready in each bite, and melt-in-your-mouth savory flavor… hard yes.
One ingredient socca, here you come.
Check Out Our Video For How To Make One-Ingredient Socca:
One Ingredient Socca
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
One Ingredient Socca! Amazing, crispy, golden brown, flaky flatbread that requires just ONE ingredient. Just mix, pour, bake, and done!
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpea flour (affiliate link)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (and extra for the pan)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Whisk all ingredients until smooth.
- Pour 1-2 tablespoons additional olive oil into a large cast iron skillet. Pop the skillet in the oven for five minutes to heat the oil. (See notes on skillet sizing.)
- Pour the batter into the hot, oiled pan and swirl to spread evenly across the pan. Depending on pan size, you might want to do this in two batches (see notes). Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden and crispy around the edges. Annnnd you’re done! Good luck not eating the whole hot, crispy thing in one sitting!
Notes
Pan size: The size of your cast iron greatly impacts the end product and how thick / thin / crispy it will be. I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet and I actually split the batter in half and made two separate soccas in order to get them extra thin and crispy. In theory, you could pour all of the batter in and cook it all in one shot. But personal preference: those crispy, thin edges are EVERYTHING. So I prefer to split it into two batches when working with my 10-inch cast iron skillet.
Pan type: I have only used my cast iron for this. (affiliate link) I think it could work with another oven-safe skillet but I have not tried it. Let us know in the comments if you try it!
How To Clean a Cast Iron Pan After Cooking: (My Go-To, Everyday Method)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Side
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: French
Keywords: socca, socca bread, chickpea flour bread
Link above is an affiliate link!
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy baking recipes. Check it out!
That looks like good old school Cornbread if you ask me! 🙂
That’s because it’s not quite right. Look for an authentic socca recipe from Nice, France.
You are right 0n Jackie I’am from NI
I had the same thought until I saw the chickpea flour. If you didn’t want to be vegetarian you could always use bacon grease in the pan…
That looks amazing! I’ve always liked cornbread w/chili, but this sounds very intriguing. I love the idea of the thin, crispy version.
Delicious.Its look tasty.
Wondering if it could be used as a pizza crust.
Hi Sara! A lot of people online have mentioned using it for pizza, so it could definitely work! We’d probably recommend baking it for longer to make sure it’s really crispy.
Saw the post and knew I needed to make this ASAP. Just finished making it and it’s amazing! I Put some avocado on top for lunch, but it’s also amazing plain!
Does this specifically need to be chickpea flour? Would another gluten-free flour work?
We’ve never tried it with another, but socca is typically made with chickpea flour. If you give it a shot with another type, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Do you know how many carbs this has?
The macros are listed with the recipe information.
This is something new to me. I would be very curious to try it.
I am HOPELESS (as in, I’ve given up) with cast iron….but I’m going to try this in my 12 inch Lagostina non-stick skillet. If it works, I can envision myself using this for everything under the sun. ♥
Google on how to season a cast iron skillet with flax seed oil. It will change the way you think about cast iron!!
I know this recipe as Farinata which originates from Italy! It seems they are the same, but the Farinata recipe I had said you had to leave it overnight once the batter was mixed – this messed with my spontaneous mojo! So I’m going to give this a go … I made it with a pinch of smoked paprika and chestnut mushrooms (sautéed before adding the batter to the pan) and it was Lush!!
I’m excited to try this! I read about it in a british chick lit book I just finished. The main character is a baker. I was going to look it up and then here you are with a recipe! Are you reading over my shoulder? Just kidding.
Which book was that? It sounds good (so does this recipe!) 😉
Excited to give this recipe a try. Coincidentally I ordered some chick pea flour from Thrive Market for another recipe I want to test. Thanks for sharing!
I love socca! It’s popular in both France and Italy…they fight over its origins. Regardless of where it was invented, it’s an amazing treat. I usually make the batter the night before and let it sit overnight and fry it in the morning. I love adding spice and very finely chopped aromatic into the mixture too. My favourite is curry socca or Italian herbs and garlic.
I would love to try this, but I don’t own a cast iron skillet. Would this work in another pan?
Can’t wait to try this!
If you’re looking for some other ways to use your chickpea flour, give this “cromlet” recipe from Bon Appetit a try! I skip the fennel/olive salad but generally make a pared down version of the rest. It’s absolutely delicious!
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cromlet-with-wilted-greens-and-fennel-and-olive-salad
Socca is amazing — I’ve never seen it in the US before, though! I first had it in the South of France, fresh from a market stall on the Mediterranean. It is absolutely a delicacy and a street food there! I am so excited to try making my own here — thank you for the reminder of good travel memories 🙂
Made this to go with chili tonight – the hubs LOVED it, but it was a bit rich for me. Loved the taste but couldn’t eat the whole pan (which should prob be a good thing!) I used EVOO, maybe it would be less rich with regular olive oil?
I have a friend who made what she called pakoras with chickpea flour. There are multiple variations but one is with a potato filling sandwiched between bread slices, dipped in chickpea batter and deep fried. Another version is to cut up veggies (onions, peppers, potatoes), mix with garam masala and chickpea flour to make fritters and fry them. Both are delicious uses of chickpea flour.
Forget gluten-free, this is grain free! That means I could eat this – a game changer indeed! Thank you
I’m obsessed with soca! Love the idea of putting it ontop of soup.
This was posted with perfect timing as I needed some food inspiration to bulk up our leftover soup dinner so my husband wouldn’t be starving an hour later. I’m gluten-free so that ruled out the normal crusty bread, but I happened to have a bag of chickpea flour in my pantry. I’ve been meaning to make socca for awhile so this was a great reminder! I had a little trouble with it sticking in my cast iron pan, but it still tasted great. My husband inhaled it and asked what other dinners we could have it with. Thanks for the winner!
Glad to hear it, Rosie!
So good – I can’t wait to have it again!!!
Your recipe is one of the best !
Hats off ! !
Glad you enjoyed the socca, Maria!
Yum!! Will this also work in enameled cast iron?
I have successfully used my enamel dutch oven for a couple of recipes that have called for a cast iron skillet. It seems like it should work – and maybe with less of a chance of sticking, as one reader posted. I’m going to give it a try!
If anyone is wondering, this recipe reduces well. I quartered it last night and made it in a 6″ cast iron skillet. Perfect single portion!
Thanks for sharing! ❤️. I think I’ll try it!!!
I have to try this! Is the nutritional info based on making one batch in a 10 inch skillet?
I love Socca so much! It’s such a great alternative for gluten free eaters. Thanks for reminding me how tasty this is…I need comfort food for this winter. Can you believe it is snowing again today here in Minnesota? Gah! Happy Tuesday to you!
I tried it just minutes ago in s different skillet, worked great! I heated as recommended. I will definetly make again! Loved it!
hmmm… mine came out stuck to my 10-inch cast iron, and it was super bland despite the addition of cilantro, cumin and chile powder. I’ve never been disappointed by a recipe on this site before (LIKE EVER!) – any suggestions on what went wrong?
Sorry to hear that, Anne! Generally, it’s a bit of a blander taste – you could add some more salt. I’d also add more oil to the pan next time!
I have seen in other websites (Minimalist Baker for example) that you can change the ingredients from US Customary to Metric by just clicking one button. So helpful! What about Pinch of Yum doing the same? Would that be possible?
This was delish, and so easy! Added some rainbow pepper and garlic granules, very nice, ate it with turkey chili. I cooked half the quality in a 7 inch glass casserole dish and it turned out fine, it stuck a little in the middle but I think another couple of minutes cooking would have sorted that out, but I was too impatient, lol. I think I’ll be making this again tomorrow. 😀
Glad you enjoyed it, Jackie!
Hi Lindsay and Co,
I made this tonight AND it was amazing, simple, delicious, comfort food. I plonked the whole lot in a big oven friendly pan (Swiss Diamond) just as instructed and it turned out perfect, crispy around the edges and soft and tender in the middle. Hubby loved it so much, I felt like a genius❤️Fi
Glad to hear it, Fiona!
Is it possible to use canned chickpeas or dried chickpeas and grind to make flour? I don’t have any flour available
Dried chickpeas blended into a flour works!