You need just 25 minutes for super customizable vegan waffles that are gluten-free, perfectly crispy on the outside, and fluffy in the middle. Plus, these oatmeal waffles can be meal-prepped, frozen, and then popped in the toaster for a treat every single day!
Vegan Chocolate Swirl Waffles
There isn’t much better than a heaping pile of waffles in the morning, topped with berries, syrup, and possibly even a cheeky drizzle of chocolate. Unfortunately, finding the perfect vegan waffles that are gluten-free and both crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside can be a bit of a nightmare.
Luckily, this recipe not only provides you with a great base vanilla waffle recipe, but I’ve even included a chocolate swirl option. I mean, who needs an excuse to add extra chocolate to their waffles?
After lots of testing (and lots of batter sticking to my poor waffle iron), I’ve now found the perfect recipe for gluten free and vegan waffles that never gives me issues, isn’t rubbery, and never sticks to the waffle iron.
Plus, you can even freeze the leftover waffles to pop into the toaster/oven for a treat any day of the week. Or even use this batter to make delicious pancakes (if you’re not too busy making Delicious Chocolate Stuffed Pancakes).
Healthy Vegan And Gluten Free Waffles
What I love about this oat flour waffles recipe, is that all the ingredient swaps that make them incredibly allergen-friendly for those who have different dietary restrictions. As well as those I’ve already mentioned above, these eggless waffles are also nut-free and soy-free.
All this combined leads to waffles that are still delicious, but far healthier than the ‘originals.’ There are no cholesterol-filled eggs, less fat, and fewer calories. I even managed to make this recipe oil-free to shave off tons of additional fat content.
That way, I don’t feel as bad when I absolutely slather them in syrup or chocolate sauce (which is inevitable, haha!).
Vanilla, Chocolate, or a mix of both
This dairy free waffle recipe is great because regardless of whether you want to make vanilla, chocolate, or mixed waffles – then this is the recipe for you.
If you’d prefer to omit the chocolate part of the batter, then feel free. You’ll still have a delicious base vegan waffle recipe. You can also use this plain batter to customize to your liking with tons of different flavor options. Check out my notes section below for some ideas.
Although, personally, I suggest giving the two-tone waffles a try at least once. They taste just as good as they look, and children will love them. In fact, my friend Kirsten @thehealthyhazelnut has let me know that these are the only waffles her children ask (or even demand) for now!
This Vegan Waffle Recipe Is:
- Dairy-free & egg-free
- Refined sugar-free
- Low fat
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle
- Easy to make
- Healthier than regular waffles
- Customizable
- Perfect for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or a snack!
How To Make Gluten Free Vegan Waffles
All that’s required to end up with a plate full of delicious non-dairy waffles is to mix up the batter, pour it into the waffle iron, wait impatiently, and then eat. In fact, this entire recipe is made up of just five super-simple steps.
Step One: Combine all the wet ingredients in a mug or small bowl, mix, and set aside.
Step Two: Meanwhile, place the oats in your blender/food processor or electric coffee/spice grinder. Grind into flour (or use store-bought oat flour).
Step Three: Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine.
Step Four: Pour in the wet ingredients. Lightly mix with a spoon or fork, making sure not to over-mix. The batter will form some bubbles due to the lime/lemon juice reacting to the baking soda- this is normal.
If you’re making chocolate vanilla waffles, then simply split the batter in half and add the cacao powder, maple syrup, and plant milk into one of the bowls.
Step Five: Heat your waffle iron. Once hot, spoon some batter into the waffle machine. For two-toned waffles, swap out spoonfuls of the plain and chocolate mixture. Cook for around five minutes, or as instructed for your particular waffle machine. Opening the lid too soon will lead to a batter that sticks to the machine.
Your gluten free waffles are now ready to serve. Pile up with your favorite toppings and enjoy! If you’re making a large batch of these egg free waffles and want to keep them warm and crispy before serving, place in the oven at 200C/ 400F straight onto the oven rack.
For the full ingredients list, ingredient measurements, and nutritional information, then please read the recipe card below.
Storing Instructions
These vegan and gluten free waffles are freezer-friendly and can be stored for up to two months (although best in the first two weeks). It’s best to lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet and flash-freeze, before transferring to a freezer-safe, airtight container. This will stop them from sticking together.
You can then just pull them out as needed and pop in the toaster or oven (at 400F/200C) to re-heat.
How To Serve & Customize
There are tons of ways to customize these vegan waffles to your liking. Whether it’s adding something directly to the batter or what you serve them with.
I couldn’t possibly list all the ways you can customize the waffle batter. But here are a few of my top ideas.
- Combine lemon zest and blueberries or raspberries.
- Swirl in a bit of nut butter to the batter
- Add in some dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Add hemp seeds for additional protein and nutrients (about 1 tbsp)
- Make the waffles savory by omitting the maple syrup + vanilla and blending in greens like spinach to the batter—possibly even nutritional yeast, etc.
How to serve
Along with some of your favorite fruits, some maple syrup and/or chocolate sauce (like the one I mention in this post) are some traditional options.
You could also serve with a quick homemade fruit coulis/compote, like this Strawberry Compote recipe. Just combine fruit (like blueberries, or raspberries) with a little water, starch, sweetener, and lemon/lime juice in a pan and simmer into a thick sauce.
Other options include whipped coconut cream, ice-cream, coconut flakes, crushed nuts, etc. Treat your waffles like a Sundae, and you have a never-ending list of toppings to choose from.
Recipe Notes
- I recommend measuring out all the ingredients using kitchen scales and grams.
- You can use cornstarch or possibly also tapioca starch in the place of the potato starch.
- This batter doubles up like a pancake batter, too.
- You can substitute the plant-based milk of your choice. However, any low-fat milk will require 1 tbsp of oil to be added to the batter, to avoid sticking.
- This particular gluten-free flour blend, which includes rice flour, has always given me consistent, successful results. While it is possible to substitute other GF flour blends, they will all affect the batter differently, so I can’t guarantee the results.
- I’ve never had this issue – however, a friend once let me know that if you find that your waffles aren’t quite crisp enough to your liking. Put them in the toaster after the waffle maker, and they will crisp right up.
- If you have the time, I suggest leaving the waffle batter to rest for 5-10 minutes while the waffle iron heats up. This gives your oats a chance to soak up some moisture and will make an even better interior texture.
If you give these gluten-free vegan waffles a try, I’d really appreciate a comment and rating below. Also, don’t forget to tag me in re-creations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan #elavegan.
Vegan Waffles
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (80 g) white rice flour or brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup (45 g) oat flour GF if needed (or simply grind oats in your blender)
- 1/3 cup (52 g) potato starch or cornstarch
- 1 tbsp chia seeds ground (or flax seeds)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Wet ingredients:
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) light coconut milk (see notes)
- 1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or agave syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For two colored waffles:
- 2 tbsp (12 g) cocoa powder or cacao powder
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or agave syrup
- 1 tbsp plant-based milk
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams on a kitchen scale.
- Combine the wet ingredients in a mug and put aside.
- Process the oats in an electric coffee grinder/blender or blender. Blend until they turn into flour (or just use store-bought oat flour).
- Add all dry ingredients to a bowl.
- Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir with a spoon or whisk until just combined (don't overmix). The batter should form some bubbles because the baking soda will react with the lime/lemon juice.
- Heat your waffle machine (I use low to medium heat). Once it's hot, lightly brush it with oil, spoon 2-3 tbsp batter (per waffle) in it, and cook for about 5 minutes (or as per the instructions of your waffle machine).
- For two-colored waffles, split the batter into two parts. Add the remaining ingredients (cocoa or cacao powder, maple syrup, plant milk) to one-half of the batter and whisk. Spoon a little light batter into your heated waffle machine and then some chocolate batter.
- Serve your waffles with maple syrup, a chocolate sauce or fruits, and enjoy!
Notes
- If you're not a fan of coconut milk, simply use your favorite plant-based milk. However, any low-fat milk will require 1 tbsp of oil to be added to the batter, to avoid sticking.
- The recipe makes 4 thick, large waffles. Nutrition facts are for one plain waffle (without the chocolate part).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
This is the best waffle I ever had. Though I can eat wheat and eggs, I tried this for my son who is allergic to those. But to be frank we all liked this better than the traditional ones. It’s crispy and crunchy. I used tapioca starch instead of potato starch and had to use little more plant based milk than mentioned in the recipe. Overall a big hit in my family !! BIG thanks!!
That’s wonderful, Nisha! I am so glad you loved the recipe. 🙂
Эла!!!! Это лучшие , полезные вафли во всем мире! Вы волшебница!!!! спасибо большое!!!!
Aww, you are so kind! Thanks for your sweet comment, I am glad you liked the waffles. 🙂
Hi Ella
I didn’t rate it because wasn’t sure. My batter turned like a dough than batter ????.
I followed the recipe as it is, 2/3 of the coconut milk.
Not sure what happed there ? Could I add more milk ?
Thank you
Hi Mindi, some flour brands are finer than others and can absorb more liquid. You can definitely add more plant-based milk if the batter turns out too thick. 🙂
Hi Elsa, I stumbled across your blog thanks to Instagram, I’m so thankful, your recipes look absolutely amazing, I’m trying to move my family and I to a plant based way of life for the health benefits and they can be fussy sometimes.
Breakfast is probably one of the hard meals to do GF but I can’t make in bulk and freeze so I’m a little excited about this recipe, and a few others.
I don’t want to use rice so is it ok to use oat flour in replacement do you think?
Thank you so much.
Hi Stacey, I once tried just oat flour and the waffles came out too soft. You probably could use buckwheat flour or quinoa flour but I haven’t made these versions yet because this recipe works for me. Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
I have tried this and it was simply amazing! Dough so fluffly and moist!
Thank you for another grear recipe
Wonderful! Thanks so much for your feedback, Christiane! 🙂
This recipe looks amazing! How much plain flour could I use instead if it doesn’t need to be gf?
Good question. I haven’t tried it since I don’t consume wheat but I would suggest maybe 1 cup AP flour plus 1/3 cup potato starch. Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
We have someone in the fam with an allergy to coconut. How do I replace the coconut milk in your awesome recipe?
Hey Tina! You can actually use any other plant-based milk. Since coconut milk is normally higher in fat (than boxed almond milk or soy milk), it might be a good idea to add a tsp or two of oil if you don’t mind. 🙂
Meine Liebe, your waffles are absolutely delicious!
Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. I think I’ll make a big batch and freeze some for busy mornings! 🙂
Thank you so much, Aryane! I am so glad they turned out delicious. 🙂
Lots of love, Ela ❤️
Hi what flour would you recommend to substitute instead of the oat flour? I can’t find a good recipe for gf waffles that doesn’t include oats but I’m extremely allergic to them 🙁
Hi Lisa, you could try buckwheat flour instead of oat flour! 🙂
My daughter is also allergic to oats. Would the buckwheat flower work as a substitute in ANY recipe that you have that calls for oat flower? Thank you for your help!!!
I haven’t tried using buckwheat flour for all of my recipes that call for oat flour, but most recipes like pancakes, crepes, waffles work pretty well with buckwheat flour.
Yum, they look amazing!
Thanks so much for your comment, Katie
These are truly delicious! All my kids loved them and asked me to make only these from now on… they don’t like eggs so these were perfect With ground chia seeds. I’ve made couple changes so I could use what I had on hand: I made them with a home made cashew milk; for rice flour I just put 1/2c of brown rice into my bullet and it worked perfect; I didn’t have potato starch so I used tapioka flour. ; I added some Himalayan salt and almond essence. They were perfect! Thank you for such an awesome recipe Ela !!!
Yay, that’s awesome, Elka! So happy your kids love them as well. Thanks for your amazing feedback 🙂
Thanks Ela for sharing this recipe. I made them last week and I was really surprised by the taste for vegan waffles. I am not vegan but I am lactose and fructose intolerant, also when I can replace eggs with something else it’s even better! So far I was making my waffles with Bananas, it’s ok but I like the fact that yours don’t need any, because I like my waffles to have a non banana taste! They are crispy but not too much and so delicious! Easy to make! I give this recipe 5/5. I replaced the agave syrup from the recipe with rice syrup because of the fructose. I will try other recipes from this blog for sure because I am really impressed by this one and I am looking forward to discover more more and more!
Thanks! Danke!!!
Wow, you are such a sweetheart! 🙂 Thank you so much for this incredible feedback. I am very excited that you love my recipe and your review makes me seriously so happy. Positive reviews like this keep me going and give me the energy to create new recipes. Much love to you ❤️
These taste really good, but they always stuck to my waffle iron. Even when I oiled it. I even bought a new waffle iron and they still stuck. So after a lot of reading I ended up adding a tablespoon of oil to the batter and now they never stick. So anyone having the problem of sticking, if you don’t mind a little fat, try putting oil in the batter. These taste so good and make great pancakes as well, they freeze amazingly well and heat in in the toaster. I have a child with many food allergies and these waffles have been a favorite for her. Thank you.
Hello Mindi, I am so glad you and your child love my waffles. They are my favorite as well. I have made them many times now and the batter never stuck to my waffle iron, not once. Which plant milk did you use? I used canned coconut milk, maybe that’s why my waffles always turned out perfect 🙂 So happy to hear you love the taste of the waffles. 🙂
I used Ripple, which is made with yellow peas. I will try canned coconut milk, maybe the fat content in the coconut milk made the difference. Thank you
You are welcome! Have a great day 🙂
You have the best vegan/gluten free recipes that I have found. All of your recipes are delicious are far-surpass my expectations. Thank you!
Aww, you are so kind, Leah! Thank you so much for your positive feedback, I really appreciate it 🙂
I just used this recipe to make pancakes because my waffle maker is broken!! I substituted rice flour with almond flour, used almond milk, and used corn starch instead of potato starch. They were AMAZING. I always want to make all of your recipes. You are an inspiration 🙂
That’s amazing! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, Melissa. Much love to you 🙂
Your blogs are just next level Ela! Literally so informative and I really love how you’re making something so sweet and delicious so healthy x
Thank you so much Ashley! Very happy about your comment 🙂
Ela, I swear you are waffle queen! They always look absolutely incredible!
Last time I made waffles, they came out so bad, I couldn’t even take a photo of them! 🙂
Saving this recipe for sure!
Awww you are a sweetheart Anna! Thanks so much, I hope you will like my waffles if you try out my recipe. 🙂 Much love to you
You make the most beautiful waffles, Ela! They come out perfectly every time.
Thank you Nisha, I love eating waffles so I have been practising a lot, haha 😀
You have so amazing recipes Ela! 🙂
I’m totally impressed! ❤️
Thank you so much Bianca, you are a sweetheart ❤️❤️❤️
Ela waffles !!! Yes never again am I allowed to make anything but ” Ela ” waffles ! They are so fun and my kiddos love them , what a great recipe ???? They all are
Aww you are a doll, thank you for stopping by. So happy your kids love my waffles. Much love 🙂