Think making tasty grain-free waffles is impossible? Think again. If you want the delightfully crispy outside, fluffy inside, and mild sweetness of waffles, but don’t want to eat grains, this is the recipe for you!
If I wanted to make regular waffles, I’d have to soak some sprouted flour overnight in buttermilk or yogurt. I’d have to (GASP) plan ahead. A week before eating the waffles, I’d have to soak some whole grain kernels overnight then drain them and keep them moist enough to sprout. Then I’d have to dry those sprouted kernels and grind them up into a flour. The night before I wanted to eat the waffles, I’d have to soak my whole grain flour overnight in buttermilk. (After all, soaking is one of the few ways to make a whole grain flour light and fluffy.) And then, finally, after all this diligent effort, I’d be able to wake up one morning and make waffles.
I’m not saying all that work is hard. It can be done, particularly if you work it into the routine of your life. Heck, I even used to do it! But somewhere between baby number two and baby number three, I got lazy. Why do all that work? Wouldn’t it just be easier to skip on the grains? That’s when I started making grain-free pancakes.
But grain-free pancake batter doesn’t make good waffle batter. I could never get that perfect waffle texture. So, I have lived a pretty much waffle-less life for the past few years.
Thankfully, my friend Jill at Real Food Forager has rescued me with her upcoming Go Grain-Free E-Course!
As a clinical nutritionist specializing in the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and the Gut And Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Diet, she’s collected hundreds of grain-free recipes over the years.
She’ll be sharing more than 150 of them in Go Grain-Free!, including the fabulous Grain-Free Waffle recipe below.
Grain-Free Waffles
The Players
- 4 large eggs, separated (from pastured hens)
- 1 1/4 ripe medium banana, mashed or pureed (or one large banana)
- 2 heaping tablespoon applesauce
- 2 tablespoon raw honey (where to find real honey)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup coconut flour (where to find coconut flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (where to find REAL salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
The How-To
Separate the eggs. Whip up the whites with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining wet ingredients together: add the honey, vanilla and mashed banana to the egg yolks and mix by hand.
In yet another bowl, add baking soda and salt to the coconut flour and mix.
Add the dry mixture to the wet and stir together by hand. If the dry mixture is very thick add water (up to 1/2 cup).
Fold in the whites being careful not to over mix. The batter should be loose. Using a large serving spoon, add the batter to the preheated and oiled waffle iron. (I use this cast iron waffle iron that works on my electric stove top. No dangerous teflon or aluminum!) Remove when indicated by the waffle iron.
ENJOY!
Want even more grain-free recipes?
If you want even more grain-free recipes, why not check out Jill’s Go Grain-Free E-Course?
In her online course, you’ll watch more than 80 video tutorials so you can see exactly how it’s done. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions, learn from other people’s mistakes (instead of your own!), and get access to more than 150 tried and true grain-free recipes.
This e-course normally sells for $199. But for this holiday season, the price is dramatically reduced to just $135. And Jill is throwing in two bonus e-books at no extra cost to you: Grain-Free Breads, Snacks, and Desserts (29.95 value) and Beyond Broth (9.95 value).
Click here to use coupon code NOGRAINS and save!
(photo by Real Food Forager)
Caroline Lunger via Facebook says
Ohh Thanks so much! My family was experimenting with lots of fails over the past year..and these are just in time to make for my brothers 13th b-day! I will have to make a whole stack like yours to feed him though 🙂 hah
Probono Eyecandy via Facebook says
We made these grain-free coconut flour/egg pancakes this weekend. They were perfect. http://thingsmybellylikes.com/2012/02/20/putting-the-fat-in-fat-tuesday-coconut-pancakes-dark-treacle-sauce/
Deena Barselah via Facebook says
do you think this batter would also be good for grain free pancakes? Thanks!
[email protected] says
Hi Deena,
Yes it would probably work — I do have a great recipe for pancakes in my class, go grain-free as well!
Katie-Jo Gracie via Facebook says
Now I just need a waffle iron…
Petra Canup via Facebook says
Oh they sound so yummy but we cant do coconut flour (or nut flour). Make it real challenging to have a grain free waffle, thats for sure.
Tawnya Barrington via Facebook says
My goal is to find a grain free recipe that doesn’t call fro 2 dozen eggs, and makes at least 10 :). Do you know the yield on this recipe?
[email protected] says
Hi Tawnya,
I usually get about 6 waffles for this recipe. I generally double it to get 12 – 13.
Food Renegade via Facebook says
Deena Barselah — Yes, but I have simpler recipes that I use for grain free pancakes. https://www.foodrenegade.com/grain-free-pancakes/
Forest Sidhe via Facebook says
It sucks to be allergic to nuts with all these luscious looking grain free recipies lol!
Food Renegade via Facebook says
Forest Sidhe — This one isn’t made with a nut flour, but coconut flour. Coconuts are usually safe for people with tree nut allergies.
Probono Eyecandy via Facebook says
My son is highly allergic to peanuts and all tree nuts and he eats coconut all day long without issue. It’s worth looking into– coconut is a seed in the palm family, not a nut. It was a mistake for it to be classified as a nut allergen.
Vincent DiClaudio Lobascio via Facebook says
wow…interesting.
Probono Eyecandy via Facebook says
Food Renegade, the pancake recipe I posted is taken from the pancake recipe you posted! We added dark chocolate chips to ours and maple syrup. My toddler loved them.
Daisy Raine Adkins via Facebook says
Yay! A grain-free waffle we can eat! So many grain-free recipes use almond flour, and my hubby is allergic (while me and the youngest have the gluten and dairy intolerances). Of course, I’m sure I could sub something else for almond flour (does coconut flour usually work in place of almond ok??). These are going on the to-make list NOW! 🙂 Thanks!!
Amy Urbanek via Facebook says
Can’t wait to try these!
Food Renegade via Facebook says
Daisy Raine Adkins — No. Coconut flour doesn’t sub for ANYTHING else. It’s far too fibrous and absorbent. That’s why you can make a half a dozen decent-sized pancakes with just 3 tbs. of the stuff.
Theresa ~SCD Griddle says
Those pancakes look fantastic. I will have to try them out!
Thanks,
Theresa ~ SCD Griddle
Kaye Kittrell says
Does almond meal qualify as grain-free? It does, doesn’t it? I’m just working on going gluten-free at present, so I made cornbread last night with organic corn meal and almond meal. It tasted great. Great post! I look forward to more! Please visit latebloomershow.com. I’m a beginning urban gardener, but, I’ve learned a lot this year. – Kaye
KristenM says
Yes, since almonds are nuts and not grains, they’re totally grain free! The comments above are all because some people who are sensitive to grains are also sensitive to tree nuts, so almond flour isn’t a good choice for them.
Elizabeth says
What would you suggest in place of the banana? My son cant have banana.
Mark Cheney says
My kids loved these – said they were better than regular waffles. Any tips on how to get these more crispy?
KristenM says
I’ve found crispiness has more to do with the waffle maker than the recipe. The crispiest waffles I’ve had are cooked in a cast iron griddle on the stove, re-oiling the the griddle between each waffle.
Krasi says
Thank you so much for posting this wonderful waffle recipe. Our waffle maker had been collecting dust ever since we kicked out the grains (as the few attempts with other recipes did not turn out well). A variation without the banana (we ran out quickly :)) – 4 heaping TBSP of applesauce + a bit more water than the recipe calls was delicious too.
However, we’re using a non stick waffle maker (Willaware), and want to switch to a cast iron one. The one suggested in the post is made in China, but the only waffle makers made in USA i can find are cast aluminum. So the question comes – what is healthier – cast iron waffle maker made in China (your recommendation) OR cast aluminum waffle maker made in USA (http://www.amazon.com/NordicWare-15040-Aluminum-Stovetop-Belgium/dp/B00004W4UE )? Please help
Sandy says
Can you use almond flour in place of the coconut flour with success on these waffles?
KristenM says
No, nothing substitutes for coconut flour! It is far to fibrous and absorbent a flour. So, if you remove it and use something else instead, you’d also have to adjust the levels of every other ingredient and liquid — essentially coming up with an all new recipe.
SavannahS says
Yum! I made these for my whole family yesterday and everyone loved them, although I am the only one that needs grain free. They were so good I even took them for lunch. We used scd legal bacon, yogurt, and berries to top these. I can’t believe how delicious they were! Thank you!
Gene says
One of my very favorite grain free recipes of all time! Thank you! We add 1/2-1 teaspoon of cinnamon which helps hide the strong banana flavor. Yummy!
Melanie says
This looks amazing! We are grain/dairy/egg free. Any suggestions on how to substitute the eggs? Thanks!
Dawn says
I’m so grateful for you and others who do all this wonderful legwork for the rest of us! Thank you for your passion and willingness to share HEALTH with others.
Health & Organic Wellbeing (H.O.W ) says
Thanks for sharing!
tiffany says
Made these this morning and all three boys loved them! I got 4, okay 3 good waffles and one mess of a waffle out of this recipe :). Thanks for sharing!
Kathleen E W Bailey says
Oh, bummer! I was hoping to see a grain free, sugar free recipe. Back to the drawing board for me!
Kristen says
I guess your definition of sugar-free is different than mine! Considering that this recipe does not use refined sugar, but instead uses honey and bananas, I can’t imagine it getting more natural than that.
Laura says
I just made these and left the honey out, if it’s the honey that you want to avoid. (I was afraid it would cause the batter to stick to my waffle iron.)
If it’s the sugars in the applesauce and banana as well, you could try pureed squash, although that still has some sugar as well.
Hallie Doyle says
I’m excited to try these! They look wonderful, and I just am getting into using coconut flour. I found out about your site through Lauren at Empowered Sustenance. I was wondering if you had any substitutions you could recommend for banana. Unfortunately, my boys don’t like the taste of banana, and sneaking it in always is caught. Would it be o.k. to add extra apple sauce or maybe some pumpkin? Thanks so much!
Cassie says
Just made these w/ 1/4 cup water. Turned out okay–but not up to par with my tasting 😉 One of the better recipes out there though, and VERY healthy!
Laura says
Finally, a gluten free waffle recipe that didn’t stick to my waffle iron! Hurrah! They weren’t crispy for me, they were more cake-y — could be my waffle iron. They were very delicious. Thank you!
Amy Em via Facebook says
Is there such thing as a waffle iron that doesn’t contain non stick like Teflon?
Loyda Pacheco Coulombe via Facebook says
Jessica Woodward Alan Woodward
Kylee says
I have tried countless grain-free waffle recipes and this one makes the top of the list! Delicious! It’s totally worth the few extra steps of seperating the ingredients. I swapped the applesauce with a 1/4 c of pumpkin purée, added a dash of pumpkin spice and cinnamon and about 1/4c more of the coconut flour for a fall rendition. 😉 Thanm you for the stellar recipe!
Lily says
Would love to try this recipe as we are on GAPS diet. What can I use to substitute the eggs in this recipe? My son is allergic to eggs 🙁