Breakfast, lunch, or dinner… Now you can have waffles whenever you’d like with these freezer-friendly, Crispy Grain-Free Waffles.
This post was created in partnership with our friends at King Arthur Flour.
Leggo that Eggo and make yourself these Crispy Grain-Free Waffles instead.
It’s true that frozen toaster waffles are convenient and they get the job done when you want a quick breakfast or snack, but let’s be honest, they’re not the BEST waffles. Their texture, especially the gluten-free ones, can range from gummy to cardboard-like. And their flavor, well, let’s just say they’re convenient and leave it at that, shall we?
It’s also true that I’m a waffle snob. Growing up, my dad refused to buy frozen waffles, citing their lackluster taste and texture and the high price tag for what you get. Wait, what? I guess the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.
In all seriousness though, he’s to blame for my waffle snobbery. While all of my friends enjoyed frozen toaster waffles in front of the television on Saturday mornings, my dad had me in the kitchen making sourdough waffles and overnight yeasted waffles with him. As steam billowed from the sides of the waffle iron, he’d lean over it and say “Free facials!” while inhaling deeply and wrinkling his nose in a way that always made me laugh. He loved making waffles and I loved our time in the kitchen, so it’s no surprise that I have a very special connection to waffles – specifically these Crispy Grain-Free Waffles.
Why these waffles? Because even though they’re free of gluten, grains, dairy, and eggs, they’re every bit as good as the ones I grew up with. After years of ‘healthy waffle fails,’ I finally perfected the recipe and now I’m in the kitchen with my own kids on the weekend offering up free facials.
These waffles are a grain-free game-changer.
Seriously, you just have to make these waffles. And once you do, I guarantee you’ll never buy another waffle-d cardboard disk in a cardboard box again. Because these are what waffles are supposed to taste like.
Crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. The smell of vanilla and almond, while they’re baking, is utterly intoxicating. A smell that’s un-mistakenly ‘waffle’.
Crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, these vegan Crispy Grain-Free Waffles are everything (and more!) #sponsored @kingarthurflour Share on X
Thanks to the super-fine texture of King Arthur Grain-Free Almond FlourKing Arthur Grain-Free Almond Flour, these are the grain-free waffles you’ve been looking for. No more sad, soggy coconut flour concoctions trying to pass as a real waffle.
Their fine-textured, certified gluten-free ground almond flour seamlessly blends into sweet and savory baked goods. It’s full of protein, fiber, and healthy fats from blanched almonds and has a pleasant almond flavor that makes these Crispy Grain-Free Waffles absolutely irresistible.
Cook once, eat (at least) twice!
While this recipe already makes a pretty big batch of waffles (about eight) don’t be afraid to double the recipe to make extras. Having a stash on hand in the freezer means you can say goodbye to those waffles in a box and hello to homemade waffles whenever the mood hits – breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Once completely cooled, they can be frozen in a single layer on a baking sheet before being transferred to a freezer-safe bag or container for storage.
To reheat them, simply pop them back into the preheated waffle iron, toaster, or toaster oven. You can use a microwave but you won’t get that nice crispy exterior that makes these Crispy Grain-Free Waffles so amazing.
Ready, Set, Serve
Here’s the best part. The part where you get to choose your own topping adventure. Pure maple syrup is always a winner, but might I also suggest:
- Fresh berries or peaches in the summer
- Thinly sliced pears or sautéed apples in the fall and winter
- Apple or pumpkin butter and toasted pecans
- Sliced bananas, toasted walnuts, and chocolate chips any time of year
- Peanut butter and jelly (maybe go all out and make it a waffle PB&J)
- Whipped cream and sprinkles for a special birthday treat
- Pure maple syrup when you just want to keep it simple
Crispy Grain-Free Waffles
These are the grain-free waffles you’ve been waiting for. Light, crispy and perfectly golden brown. Top with pure maple syrup and fresh fruit for the most heavenly breakfast you can imagine.
Ingredients
- 2 cups King Arthur Flour Almond FlourKing Arthur Flour Almond Flour (172 grams)
- 1 cup tapioca starch (113 grams)
- 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 Tbsp. flax meal* + 6 Tbsp. water
- 1 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice)
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together flax meal and water to make the ‘flax eggs’. Set aside for 5 minutes while the mixture thickens. Skip this step if you’re using regular eggs.
- In a measuring cup, combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and allow this rest until slightly thickened (about 15 minutes, depending on the milk you are using).
- Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca starch, and baking powder. Whisk or stir to combine well.
- To the dry ingredients, add the almond milk and apple cider vinegar mixture, flax eggs (or eggs, if using), maple syrup, vanilla, and melted coconut oil. Whisk just until batter is smooth.
- Using a ¼ cup scoop (or size recommended by waffle iron manufacturer), pour batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook until golden brown and steam is no longer coming from the waffle iron. NOTE: It’s important to wait for the steam to stop before attempting to open the waffle iron. Opening it too soon will cause the waffles to stick.
- Serve with pure maple syrup, if desired.
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Notes
*May also be labeled tapioca flour – May substitute Arrowroot starch or Potato Starch (not potato flour) for the tapioca starch
**May substitute 2 large eggs for the flax meal + water, for a non-vegan version if desired
**Note: number of waffles made will depend on the size of the waffle iron you use.
Stored cooled waffles in a covered container or in a sealed zip-top bag on the counter for up to 2 days. May also be frozen for longer storage. Reheat frozen waffles in a waffle iron set to low heat.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1 large waffle
- Calories: 340
- Fat: 25g
- (Sat Fat: 12g)
- Sodium: 280mg
- Carbohydrate: 23g
- (Fiber: 3g
- Sugar: 7g)
- Protein: 5g
Dietary
What’s your favorite waffle toppings? Let it all hang out and share your most loved toppings in the comments below.
Pin it now & make ’em later!
This post was made possible by our friends at King Arthur FlourKing Arthur Flour. Although we received compensation for this post, the opinions expressed here are – as always – 100% our own. Thank you for supporting the great companies we work with thereby allowing us to continue creating great recipes and content for you.
Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter.
Ann says
We are trying to make these and while they taste delicious, they are sticking to the waffle maker and we have only crumbles. The waffle maker is well oiled and has worked fine with other recipes. We even tried adding extra oil to the batter but it didn’t change the result. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Ann- I’m sorry to hear about your waffles sticking. I’ve not had that problem to that degree though when I use the flax gel (vs. 1 egg) they do stick more because they are less pliable using the flax. If you can eat eggs, try making them again using 1 large egg in place of the flax gel. They should release much easier.
Carmel says
Hi Jessica, I want to try these and have everything on hand except the tapioca starch/flour. Can I sub regular AP flour, semolina flour or another type of flour? Thanks!
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Carmel,
According to this article, http://www.livestrong.com/article/522938-how-to-replace-tapioca/ – you can replace the 1 cup of tapioca with ½ cup rice or potato starch (to keep them gluten-free) or 1 cup all-purpose wheat flour (contains gluten), though I’ve not tried either.
I’d love to hear how they turn out for you!
Jim says
Hi Jessica,
We made these waffles this morning and they were delicious! We couldn’t find tapioca starch so we substituted Arrowroot starch and they came out perfect with no sticking issues. We have the same All-clad waffle maker that you used for the recipe. Perhaps the sticking issue with previous comments is simply the type of waffle maker.
These waffles were tasty with almond butter, maple syrup, egg, turkey…many choices. Yummy!
Jessica Beacom says
Thanks, Jim! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. I think there’s something to your observation about the type of waffle iron – temperature, type of coating, etc. as they seem to work great for some and not so great for others and I’ve tested them, literally, about 100 times.
Jen says
Oh a whim I used Arrowroot starch. It worked great!
Shannon Mosier says
My husband helped me make these for breakfast this morning, I made a couple adaptions as to the ingredients I had on hand and what I can have. I used unsweetened hemp milk instead if almond, I also added natural almond flour so their was the pretty brown specs of skin throughout them. I cannot have vanilla extract, so I left that out, to give it more flavor I used buttery flavored coconut oil. I didnt have any problems with them sticking. They are very good, very hearty, next id like to try them with quinoa or hazelnut flour. I would definitely recommend these! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Jessica Beacom says
Great use of substitutions, Shannon! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. I’ve made them with hazelnut flour before and they were fantastic. I’d love to hear how they work with quinoa flour if you make them again.
Angela says
I as well had a horrible time with these sticking. I can’t use egg instead of flax seed because of allergies. My non-stick waffle maker was well oiled. So I tried to salvage the recipe using a ceramic non-stick skillet, diluted the mix a little, and tried to make pancakes. Stuck so bad I had to soak them off, as with the waffle maker. I followed the recipe exactly so I’m wondering what I am doing differently to have such different results. Maybe my waffle maker gets too hot? Looks like it would have been a delicious recipe though if I could get it to work. If anyone has some suggestions about the sticking, I would try again.
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Angela,
I’m sorry to hear that your waffles stuck so badly! Mine are a little hard to remove (both when I make them with and without eggs) but they never get really stuck and mangled like yours did. It could be that the temp of your iron is too hot – mine has a temp control knob so I keep it on the lower end. You could also try spraying the pan with spray oil before adding the batter – I’ve been using the Chosen Foods spray oils and love them (either the avocado oil or oil blend are great). Other than that, I don’t have any other thoughts – perhaps someone else has a hack that’s worked for them?
Mandy says
I just made these & the first time they completely stuck and fell apart too. However the next ones worked! my waffle iron was set on 400. The first time I oiled the iron with avocado oil since I ran out of spray oil. I spread them like you would a normal waffle across the iron. I also only let them cook 4 minutes- it was a disaster.
The second time I didn’t oil the iron. I didn’t spread it across the full iron (square one) and put it in very thick over just one area. I also cooked them much longer. When I opened to check it actually formed the waffle shape and was good- my gluten / dairy allergic toddler loved them.
Substitutions – I didn’t have tapioca flour so I subbed in half the amount of coconut flour. It was super thick so I ended up adding around 1/4 cup more milk.
Thanks for the recipe!
Mandy says
Forgot to add that I subbed unsweetened applesauce for the maple syrup. I’m not sure if that’s also why they ended up so thick!
Jessica Beacom says
I do believe that, combined with coconut flour in place of the tapioca flour, is what made your batter so thick.
Jessica Beacom says
Hey Mandy,
Glad to hear you found a way to make them work despite the substitutions and that your toddler gobbled them up. We do test our recipes numerous times (I’ve made this one weekly for about 3 years now) so when the recipe is followed as written you should have a good result.
Jamie says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I am on an extremely restricted diet due to breastfeeding an allergic baby, so I often miss out on old favorites. These have been SUCH a lifesaver! I definitely don’t feel like I’m missing out when I get to make these. They are so perfectly crisp and lightly sweet. Well done!
Jessica Beacom says
You are sooooooo welcome! As a fellow mama who’s been through the nursing-the-highly-allergic baby I can totally relate!
I’m so glad you found a recipe that you love and can feel good about eating (and have baby feel good too) – I remember how frustrating it was when everything seemed to be off limits and I was always so hungry.
Thanks for taking the time to share this – all the best!