Many of my childhood mornings, at least the ones I remember, started with a kiss from my mom and a plate of cut-up freezer waffles. Not only were the waffles fun to pronounce (hint hint), they were also an easy and fast way for my mom to serve breakfast. <–Something I now understand as a mom of two young children…mornings are crazy!
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Today, if you open my freezer (and my mom’s freezer), you’ll still find waffles hiding beneath the frozen fruit and (homemade) popsicles. The waffles no longer come from a box. They’re now made in my kitchen, on a lazy weekend, when there’s time to scoop flour, whisk ingredients, make messes, and spend a few extra minutes cleaning up the morning dishes.
Making homemade waffles means I have complete control over the ingredients. That, my friend, is the beauty of stocking a home with good ingredients and learning to cook for yourself (and a family)–we can turn something that is “bad” (yeah, I’m thinking about you fun-to-pronounce, overly-processed freezer waffles) into something that’s incredibly nourishing, wholesome, and delicious!
Shall we make some waffles today? Nourishing, good-for-you, wholesome, absolutely scrumptious waffles?
Let’s do this…
I’ve shared a couple of waffle recipes on the blog before. First, there was this gluten-free version, and then this einkorn version. Both are really good–you should make them.
I shared one of my waffle-making sessions on Instagram Story a few weeks ago (making the einkorn recipe). After viewing the Story, a few reader friends messaged me asking for an almond flour/gluten-free/sans rolled oats (even though oats are naturally gluten-free) recipe. Challenge accepted!
I love using almond flour to make pancakes, so I figured an almond flour waffle recipe would be just as good. Boy was I right!
Today’s almond flour-based recipe has quickly become a favorite in our house. In fact, I’ve made this recipe nine times over the past three weeks. I would like to blame recipe testing/perfecting, but that would be a big lie. This recipe was a winner on the first try (a rare event), so every other “test” has been made out of love–love for these waffles, that is.
These waffles are really easy to make (just one bowl and about ten or fifteen minutes of hands-on time), fairly inexpensive (when you calculate the price of gluten-free freezer waffles versus this homemade version), and time-friendly (you can make a double batch on the weekend and freeze the extras for later in the week). The waffles are also flavorful (thanks to the almonds and cinnamon), naturally sweet, and slightly crispy but also fluffy. Even if you can consume gluten (raises hand), I definitely recommend trying this recipe.
Gluten-Free Almond Flour Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cup blanched almond flour (170g)
- 1/2 cup arrowroot flour starch (60g)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup whole milk (238g)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (78g) or honey
- 3 TB butter melted; alternative: coconut oil, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat a waffle iron (I use this Belgian waffle maker from Waring Pro).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: almond flour, arrowroot flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients: milk, maple syrup, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine all the ingredients (and beat the eggs). Let the batter rest for about 5-10 minutes, then give the batter a stir and proceed on…
- Spray the waffle maker with oil (or grease it with your preferred method–oil, butter, or ghee) to prevent the waffles from sticking to the waffle maker. I use Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray (found in many grocery stores).
- The amount of batter you’ll need to make one waffle will depend on your waffle maker. For my waffle maker, I use 1/3-1/2 cup of batter per waffle. Pour the batter into the waffle maker, close the lid, and cook the waffle for a few minutes (on each side if your waffle maker flips). I use the 4-5 temperature setting on my waffle maker. All of this will depend on your waffle maker, so pay close attention to your first waffle–how quickly it cooks, how much batter is required, etc. Always stir the batter before scooping the amount needed for the next waffle–this will prevent any of the ingredients from settling at the bottom.
- Serve the waffles warm or at room temperature. Or, allow the waffles to cool and then freeze them in a storage bag or container for up to 3-4 months, or place them in the fridge, in a storage bag or container, for up to a week. I like to warm the waffles, if they’re cold from storage, in the toaster.
Nutrition
Try these simple, reader-favorite recipes that are naturally gluten-free.
Tried these for the first time this morning! Delicious! Crispy!
Yay, so happy to hear that Gen!
Thank you for creating content like this! I am planning on making them but want to substitute milk for another nut one, which one would you advise to work best?
Hey Tamara, Any type of milk will work great.
WHAT IS THE NUTRITION ON THE WAFFLES
Hey Karen, we don’t provide nutrition facts as our focus is on real food that’s nourishing versus breaking down nutrient counts. You can input the ingredients in a nutritional calculator online.
LS Team
Our waffle maker and I have been stuck in a messy affair for as long as we have known each other (and it has been more than a decade). So I decided to rather use this batter to make pancakes instead, which I served with vanilla ice cream, syrup and frozen black berries… and it was a delicious hit in our home!
Oh my…these are amazing. I made these out of curiosity and my kids went nuts for them. I was hoping for leftovers to freeze but I’ll have to double the recipe next time because they ate the whole batch. They are truly delicious. You’ve got another hit!
Yay, Katie! I’m so glad they were a hit! Yes, double the recipe–you’ll have leftovers then. I do this regularly.
Hello Kristin. Excellent waffles! I didn’t have arrowroot, so used tapioca flour instead and 3/4 cup of milk. Crispy outside and tender inside. Waiting 5-10 minutes is essential – great idea. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
That’s awesome, Paula!
Hello, it’s hard to find arrowroot starch flour, do you recommend any substitutions for this?
Hey Megan, You could try tapioca starch in place of the arrowroot. I haven’t tested this, but I think it should sub 1:1.
Kristin! I made these into pancakes and had great success! I cut the recipe in half just in case they didn’t work for me. I added a little baking powder and even 1/4 tsp of soda. I also used coconut oil instead of butter (avoiding dairy right now) and used less than half of the amount of milk (almond). They look and act like normal pancakes!! Oh I also used honey instead of maple syrup! I know, I totally tweeked it but I am so happy! Thanks for a great base to start with!!
That’s awesome, Debbie!!
These tasted amazing even without enough arrowroot flour – still good. Only bad thing is they stuck like crazy to my waffle iron! boo. I oiled the heck out of it but no luck. I don’t care I’m going to eat them anyway, I’m currently doing a gutoverhaul and haven’t had any grains or gluten for 2 weeks so these taste like little cookies! yay!
Hey Debbie, I’m so glad you liked them. Yay! I’m sorry to hear they stuck to your waffle iron. The arrowroot should keep the waffles from sticking to the waffle iron. If you have the full amount of arrowroot next time, I don’t think you’ll have that issue.
Hello. I would love to try this recipe – I just need to know if you think I can substitute xanthan gum for the arrowroot flour starch. And if so how much to use. I have seen that I might be able to use it one to one and I know that I need to dissolve it in an oil first. I plan on using coconut oil. My husband can not have any starches and he really misses waffles. Thanks so much!
Hey Loraine, Unfortunately, I don’t think xanthan gum will work as a sub. I think you’d only need a small amount of the gum, if you did use it, but I don’t know how much or what the results would be.
oops. Kristin. Sorry – typo!!
Hello Kristen!
Can the same batter be used for pancakes?
I am gluten free and would love to try.
thanks,
Mihela
Hey Mihela, They come out really flat as pancakes (at least they did when I tested them)–more like crepes. You can definitely try and see what happens. Here’s my gluten-free pancake recipe: https://livesimply.me/2016/05/31/almond-oat-pancakes-made-blender/
Wow this is stunning! This is such a beautiful treat to serve for the holidays! It is looking very delicious.
Thanks!
Thank you for posting this! I was coming to the blog for a different recipe and saw this post just as I was getting out ingredients for a paleo pancake recipe experiment. Since your recipes are always so well tested and come out perfect I quickly switched to make this instead. And they were not only perfect (even with a double batch), they were delicious! Only my daughter is GF and dairy free, but my husband and I both enjoyed them very much as well! A win!
Thank you Kristen! Making these today ❤️
I started sharing a few pictures of your recipes I make on my Instagram account. I would love to link your recipe and give you credit but honestly I’m not sure how to do it. ?
Also, when you develop new recipes, do you use existing recipes to start with and just make adjustments?
Happy Mothers Day?
Awesome, Bonnie! I hope you love them as much as we do :). Thank you for sharing the love. On Instagram, the only way to link externally is to change the link in your profile (click on edit profile and the drop the link in the website space). It’s kind of a pain to do this, so hopefully IG will change this in the future.
Also, use the hashtag #livesimplyblog when you make something and share it on IG. If your account is public, I’ll be able to see it. I love to see what people are making.
At this point, I have formulas/ratios for basic recipes (muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc) and then tweak the amounts each time I create a new recipe. The tricky part is getting the ratios right for various flours, since each flour can greatly differ. For this recipe, I knew almond flour would be the dominant flour, but a starch would be needed as well. So I just started playing around with amounts.