These easy vegan waffles are crisp and fluffy - perfect with maple syrup and fresh fruit, or your favourite waffle toppings!
I'm not sure why, but our waffle machine lives in our airing cupboard. Whenever it comes downstairs there is so much excitement - what is it about waffles that make them feel like such a special treat?
For a fairly humble batter of flour, plant milk, vegan yoghurt and a little sugar, there's something about those crevices pooled with maple syrup, a knob of vegan butter or a little fresh fruit, that makes these vegan waffles a full on celebration breakfast for birthdays, a decadent weekend brunch or just a special weekday breakfast when everyone needs a bit of cheering up.
Waffle Wednesdays, anyone?!
They can be sweet or savoury, piled high with lovely things or just perfectly plain. I've suggested lots of toppings below, and also some flavour combinations to put into the batter itself.
And I would love to hear what you do with yours - leave a comment below or share a photo on social media. What is your ultimate waffle combination?
What you need to make your vegan waffles
Ingredients
Self-raising flour These waffles need lots of raising agent to make them both fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, hence the use of both self-raising flour and extra baking powder.
Caster sugar A little sweetness makes these waffles super-delicious and helps them to turn a lovely golden brown, but if you are using savoury toppings you can just leave this out or even add a pinch of salt instead.
Dairy-free milk An unsweetened milk is best here - I tend to use oat but soya or any nut milk would work fine too.
Dairy-free yoghurt Again go for an unsweetened yoghurt - soya or oat work well, or if you don't mind an extra background flavour, coconut yoghurt will work fine too.
Vanilla extract This gives a really lovely flavour to sweet waffles, but if you prefer you could use half a teaspoon of cinnamon or any other flavouring instead, or just skip it altogether, (particularly if you're making savoury waffles).
Equipment
A waffle iron (or waffle machine - they are the same thing), is essential for making waffles, of course! These vary a lot in price and functions, so it is really up to you as to what your budget is and how often you will use it.
Mine is a smaller and earlier version of this Sage Waffle Maker* which is pretty epic - it has a handy trough around the outside so if you over-fill (which I do ALL the time) the edges are caught and cooked so there's no mess or wastage.
However for a really budget-friendly machine, I like the look of this Salter 3-in-1 Snack Maker* that has interchangeable plates to become either a waffle maker, sandwich toaster or panini press. At £31 that's really good value.
Variations on your Vegan Waffle Recipe
You can use this basic waffle recipe to make all sorts of flavoured vegan waffles. How about:
- Double Choc Chip - sift 2 tbsp cocoa powder into the flour in step 2, then stir 50g dark chocolate chips through the finished batter just before cooking. (Check your chocolate chips are vegan, some contain milk).
- Pecan and Raisin - Stir 3 tbsp chopped pecans and 3 tbsp raisins through the finished batter before cooking.
- Coffee & Walnut - Add 2 tsp powdered coffee to the flour in step 2 (or 1 tbsp coffee essence to the wet ingredients), then stir 3 tbsp chopped walnuts through the finished batter before cooking. Leave out the vanilla extract. (I've always loved Camp Coffee and didn't know it was still made until I spotted some in a supermarket a few months ago - perfect for this, or any coffee-flavoured bake, like my Vegan Coffee & Walnut Cake!)
- Carrot Cake - Add 1 tsp cinnamon to the flour in step 2, then stir 1 small grated carrot and 3 tbsp raisins to the finished batter just before cooking. Leave out the vanilla extract.
Or come up with your own flavour combinations - please share your ideas in the comments below, I love hearing how you have tweaked the recipe!
Can I freeze my vegan waffles?
Yes! You can freeze these waffles, then toast them straight from frozen when you want to eat them. They aren't quite as good as they are freshly cooked, but still a lovely breakfast treat with maple syrup and fruit.
Freeze them as soon as they are cool - they start to turn a bit soggy after a while so you want to get them in the freezer ASAP.
Topping Ideas for your Vegan Waffles
We love experimenting with waffle toppings in our house. Here are a few of our favourites:
- Blueberries, sliced banana, thick greek oat yoghurt and maple syrup
- Melted dark chocolate and sliced banana
- Raspberries, dark chocolate chips and maple syrup
- Avocado, cherry tomatoes and spring onion with a squeeze of lime (I leave the sugar out of the waffle recipe for this one)
- Grated vegan cheese and crispy vegan bacon (again I leave out the sugar for this one). Maybe even a drizzle of brown sauce...
For more quick and easy vegan recipes take a look at my latest book Vegan in 15.
"Brilliant! Chock full of easy recipes and great tips and advice" Hello! Magazine
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I love hearing from you! Do send me pictures of your very own vegan waffles on:
tagging me @thevegspace or using the hashtag #thevegspace to show me how you got on!
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Vegan Waffle Recipe
Ingredients
- 150 g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 180 ml unsweetened dairy-free milk
- 100 g unsweetened dairy-free yoghurt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle iron / machine.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar in a large jug or bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix the plant milk, vegan yoghurt and vanilla extract.
- When the waffle iron is hot, tip the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Pour about a quarter of the mixture into the waffle machine, then cook until crispy and golden.
- Repeat until all the mixture has been used up, and serve immediately drizzled with maple syrup and fruit.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Nutrition
I'm linking this recipe with the CookBlogShare challenge, hosted this week by Karen at Lavender and Lovage
Hi. Would this recipe work for oven baked waffles? I only have a silicone waffle mould. Thankyou
Hi Heather, I've never tried this as I only have an electric waffle maker, so I can't say for sure either way but I don't see why not - I would say try to cook them at a fairly high heat so they cook as quickly as possible. Let me know how it goes!
I can't believe how little mixture you need for each waffle press! that's amazing. Loved the video too. Being intolerant to eggs and dairy this is the prefect recipe for me. Just need to give it a go with gluten free flour now so my daughter can eat them with me.
Fantastic, hope the gluten free version works out well! X
Oh wow these look amazing, I've never made waffles before as we don't have an iron but would love to try #CookBlogShare
Those look AMAZING Kate and I love waffles too! Thank you SO much for linking up to the first #CookBlogShare of 2021. Karen
Waffle wednesdays!! Count me in! These are look delicious.
I cannot wait to share this recipe with my best friend who is vegan! I bet she will love these waffles. Happy New Year,
Waffle Wednesdays sounds like a good plan! These waffles look incredible and I just know that they'd go down a treat in my house. Delicious!
I love a good crispy waffle and I love how these are vegan! Your tips make it look so easy - I'll be having these for breakfast this wekeend!
I am a huge waffle fan but usually too lazy to make them from scratch but after reading this I must make them thanks for the inspiration!