Healthy Waffle Recipe

This Healthy Waffle Recipe is the BEST! They’re flavorful, perfectly sweetened, with soft interiors and crisp exteriors. Made with natural ingredients and no refined sugars, flour, or butter. No need for a special trip—all ingredients are available at your local grocery store.

These waffles are also quick and easy to make — throw everything into the blender and let it rip! And voila — you’ve got waffle batter!

Can Waffles Be Healthy?

Let’s be honest: While waffles are downright delicious, they get a bad rap nutritionally. Waffles often are loaded with butter, lots of sugar, and refined flours — all ingredients that nutritionists tell us to limit.

BUT today I am telling you, yes waffles can be nutrient dense and I couldn’t be more excited to share.

While I have tried many (and many) waffles claiming to be healthy, they don’t end up getting made again. Hard as I try, I’m not one to give up flavor for nutritional purposes. So when I say I want a healthy waffle, I’m really saying it also has to be delicious — dare I say as delicious as the sugar and butter-laden counterparts.

And let me assure you — this Healthy Waffle recipe checks all the boxes. Nutrition: check. Delicious: check, check!

Recipe For Healthy Waffles: Nutritional Overview

Here’s a quick overview of this recipe*:

• No flour. We use old-fashioned oatmeal instead.
• No refined sugars. See the “quick tip” box below for more info.
• Cashews. These nuts contain lots of good-for-you fats, protein, and nutrients, among other benefits.
• Protein. This recipe packs in the protein, thanks to the nuts and eggs.
• Dairy-free. We use plant-based milk (almond milk).
• Anti-inflammatory spices. This recipe calls for cinnamon and nutmeg, which are surprisingly full of health benefits!

What Is Healthy To Eat With Waffles?

We are obsessed with making an easy (two-ingredient) “raspberry smash” to top the waffles with. All you do is smash some fresh, ripe, sweet raspberries with flax seed and top the waffles with it. A drizzle of pure maple syrup finishes everything off beautifully! (And, a scoop of coconut whipped cream will never be wrong here!)

What Are The Best Waffle Toppings And Sides For Breakfast?

• Our favorite way to top this Healthy Waffle Recipe: With a scoop of “raspberry smash” (discussed above), pure maple syrup, and a scoop of coconut whipped cream
  • Other topping ideas: A handful of granola, sautéed apples or a fruit compote, honey butter, fresh fruit, jam, toasted coconut, or chia seeds
• Our favorite breakfast sides: Eggs (scrambled, over-easy, poached, etc.), a side of fresh fruit, bacon, toast, or breakfast Roasted Potatoes.
• Add some chocolate chips: For an extra treat, add dark chocolate chips to the batter, or try out these healthy Chocolate Chip Waffles.

How To Make This Healthy Waffle Recipe

I told you this is an easy healthy waffle recipe and I’m not messing around — it’s truly so simple!

To make healthy waffles, we mix everything together in a blender!

I blend the waffle batter together all at once. Once the batter is done, it can be poured directly from the blender jar into a measuring cup into the waffle iron to cook.

Also, when making waffles with all-purpose flour, it’s always best to mix the batter as little as possible. But with this batter, it doesn’t matter — there is no gluten in the batter, so blend to your hearts’ content!

How To Keep Waffles From Getting Soggy

If you aren’t eating the waffles fresh from the waffle maker, you’ll want a foolproof way to keep them warm and crispy. (If you stack waffles on top of each other, you’ll end up creating steam, which makes the waffles soggy.)

To keep that crispy exterior, follow these steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Place a cooling rack on a large sheet pan. As soon as you remove the waffle from the waffle iron, place it on the cooling rack in a single layer.
• Place that sheet pan in the oven until ready to eat.

Top Healthy Waffle Recipe Tips

1. My number one tip for the best waffles? Use a good waffle iron. Here’s the exact waffle maker I use, and I can’t say enough good things about it!
2. If your waffle iron or pan has a nonstick surface, don’t use cooking spray. Cooking spray builds up on nonstick surfaces and eventually becomes tacky, ruining that non-stick coating.
3. Let waffles stand on a wire cooling rack for a few minutes before digging in — this gives a chance for the exteriors to crisp up nicely.
4. How do you know when your waffle is done? Most waffle irons tell you via a light or beep. If your waffle maker does neither, watch for the steam to stop coming out the sides. Never open your iron until the steam has stopped!

More Nutritious Breakfast Recipes:

• Avocado Toast with several variations
• Breakfast Toast with bananas and blueberries
• Healthy Carrot Muffins sweetened with dates
• Egg Skillet with peppers and onions
• Golden Milk Smoothie with cashews

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5 from 2 votes

Healthy Waffle Recipe

By Chelsea Lords

This Healthy Waffle Recipe is the BEST! They’re flavorful, perfectly sweetened, with soft interiors and crisp exteriors. Made with natural ingredients and no refined sugars, flour, or butter. No need for a special trip—all ingredients are available at your local grocery store.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 -8 waffles (depending on your waffle iron)

Equipment

• Waffle Iron

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Waffles

• ▢ 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• ▢ 3/4 cup dry roasted and lightly salted cashews (Note 1)
• ▢ 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (Note 2)
• ▢ 3/4 cup milk (Note 3)
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, optional
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
• ▢ Optional: 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ For topping: pure maple syrup, coconut whipped cream, fresh fruit, chia seeds, etc.

Optional: Raspberry Smash Topping

• ▢ 1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) fresh, ripe raspberries
• ▢ 2 tablespoons flax seeds

Instructions 

• PREP: Preheat the waffle iron. If you won't be eating waffles right away and want to keep waffles warm, see Note 5.
• BLEND: Add everything in the order listed to a high-powered blender. Blend until completely smooth, about 90-120 seconds. Scrape down sides and blend longer if needed. The batter is ready when there aren't any chunks of oats or cashews.
  
• COOK: If your waffle iron or pan has a nonstick surface, don't use cooking spray. (Cooking spray builds up on nonstick surfaces and eventually becomes tacky, ruining that non-stick coating.) If it doesn't have a nonstick surface, grease with cooking spray. Add a measured 1/3 cup of batter from the blender into each cavity. Use all the batter in the blender -- scraping it out with a spatula if needed.

  Most waffle irons will signal to let you know the waffle is done. If your waffle maker doesn't have that feature, watch for the steam to stop seeping out the sides. Never open your iron until the steam has stopped! Right out of the waffle iron, place each waffle on a wire cooling rack.
  
• ENJOY: Serve waffles enjoying as is or with a drizzle of syrup, a dollop of whipped cream, and/or fresh fruit (like bananas or strawberries).

  OPTIONAL RASPBERRY SMASH: Prepare while waffles are cooking. In a small bowl, mash the raspberries with a fork. Add in the flaxseeds and mix through. Serve atop waffles with a drizzle of syrup.
  
• FREEZE LEFTOVER WAFFLES: To freeze: Allow waffles to cool completely at room temperature. Place the cooled waffles on a parchment-paper-lined tray. Place that tray in the freezer until the waffles are fully frozen, about 1-2 hours. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. To thaw: Use the microwave, toaster, or oven to reheat. We like popping them in our toaster. Frozen waffles can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Cashews: We love roasted and lightly salted cashews best — more flavor without any extra effort on your part. Raw cashews won't deliver the right flavor.

Note 2: Coconut oil: Measure in the melted state. Butter or ghee (melted) can also be used. 

Note 3: Milk: Any plant-based milk will work in these waffles; we like unsweetened vanilla almond milk best. And if you prefer, regular dairy milk can be used as well.

Note 4: Pure maple syrup: Not to be confused with corn syrup or pancake syrup, pure maple syrup is the sap from a maple tree that has been boiled down to a thicker consistency. It’s just one ingredient -- a sugar naturally derived from nature! We tested honey and while it worked, the flavor was a bit overpowering.

Note 5: Keeping waffles warm:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Place a cooling rack on a large sheet pan. As soon as you pull the waffle from the waffle iron, place it on the cooling rack in a single layer.
• Place that sheet pan in the oven until ready to eat.
• If you'll be eating the waffles right away, just set them on a wire cooling rack right out of the waffle iron and serve from there.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.5g | Protein: 5.6g | Fat: 16.2g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 32.7mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 6.5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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