Healthy Oatmeal Waffles Recipe (Gluten-Free)
Are you a waffle or pancake person? In my book, waffles are clearly the superior breakfast food. They have their own little pockets to catch toppings, and their crisp, yet airy texture is the perfect combination. I recently had an Eggo for the first time in years, which inspired me to try and replicate these mini waffles, but healthier. These oatmeal waffles aren’t quite as sweet, but they’re just as satisfying! I use the Dash mini waffle maker to create 4 inch circular waffles, but any waffle maker will work.
This oatmeal waffle recipe is gluten-free.
How to Make Oatmeal Waffles
The first step for these oat waffles is making your oatmeal flour. Just throw some old fashioned oats in a blender and blend until they are a flour-like powder. This should only take a minute.
Then, mix all your dry ingredients: oat flour, baking powder, salt, and flax seed if you’re adding it. You can substitute ¼ cup of oat flour for ¼ cup of cornstarch to make the waffles extra crispy, but remember that cornstarch is less nutrient dense than oats and contains more calories.
In a separate bowl mix all your wet ingredients except for the egg whites: almond milk, Greek yogurt, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and honey. Pro tip: the apple cider vinegar will help make the waffle’s texture light and fluffy because it reacts with the baking soda.
Combine dry and wet ingredients. Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold them into your batter and add any final ingredients, like berries or chocolate chips. I like the consistency of my batter to be slightly runny. It should be thicker than pancake batter.
Once your waffle maker is heated, you’re ready to start cooking!
If I want to make a single serving, I cut the recipe in half and that’s typically the perfect portion.
How Much Batter To Use
We’ve all had the experience where you close your waffle maker and batter drips over the sides and all over the counter. Not fun.
Here are general guidelines for how much batter to use. Your waffle iron’s manual will have more detailed information on this.
- Mini waffle maker: ¼ – ⅓ cup batter
- Belgian waffle maker: ¾ – 1 cup batter
- 4 slice waffle maker: 1½ cup batter
How Long to Cook Waffles
These gluten-free waffles are typically ready in 5-6 minutes, though the exact time may vary depending on your waffle iron. As a general rule, once steam stops coming out of the sides of the waffle iron, your waffle is done.
Oatmeal Waffle Variation Ideas
Here’s the fun part! While classic oatmeal waffles will never disappoint, these variations will keep your waffles interesting. They may not all be “healthy” per se, but they’re all delicious.
- Protein waffles: Add a scoop or two or protein powder to your mix. If the batter is too thick, add a little more milk.
- Banana waffles: Substitute Greek yogurt for half a mashed banana. Add cinnamon to top it off.
- Matcha waffles: Add 1-2 tablespoons of matcha powder. Shredded coconut compliments this flavor.
- Chocolate chocolate waffles: Throw in 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and some chocolate chips. Yum!
- Chives waffles: Go savory by adding chives. If you’re a cheese person, you can also throw in some cheddar. These are great for a chicken and waffle sandwich.
How to Store and Reheat Extra Waffles
If you learned your directions (NESW = never eat soggy waffles) like I did, then you’re probably a die-hard fresh off the waffle iron person. But if you do happen to have extra waffles, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
When reheating your waffles, microwave them in 30 second intervals or pop them in the toaster. I personally prefer the toaster because it makes them extra crispy.
You could also make extra batter and store that in the fridge for a couple days, but the leavening will go flat meaning your waffles won’t be as light and fluffy from day old batter.
How to Freeze Waffles
Freezing waffles is useful if you meal prep or like to have grab and go meals on hand. Similar to reheating fresh waffles, you can quickly microwave or heat them in the toaster. Here’s how to freeze waffles:
- Let your waffles cool completely.
- Line a tray with parchment paper and place waffles on the tray in a single layer.
- Put the tray in the freezer to pre-freeze the waffles so they don’t all stick together. This should take about two hours.
- Place waffles in a freezer-safe container. Waffles can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you don’t want to wait for waffles to pre-freeze, you could place them directly in a freezer-safe bag. Adding parchment paper between each helps them not to stick together.
More Oat-Based Breakfast Ideas
- Banana protein pancakes
- Oat flour banana bread
- Banana oatmeal breakfast cookies
- Protein overnight oats
- Carrot cake overnight oats
Oatmeal Waffles (Gluten-Free)
Equipment
- Waffle iron
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp flax seed (optional)
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup egg whites (whipped to form stiff peak)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat waffle iron.
- Mix together dry ingredients (oat flour, baking powder, flax seed, and salt).
- In a separate bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients except the egg whites (almond milk, Greek yogurt, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and honey).
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
- Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
- Slowly add the egg whites one scoop at a time and fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Here's what the final waffle batter texture should look like.
- Pour batter into your greased waffle iron and cook for 5-6 minutes (or as directed by your waffle iron). Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Top with your favorite fruit and enjoy!
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