Waffles with Strawberries & Cacao Nibs

Nothing beats crisp homemade waffles on a weekend morning, and this waffle recipe is the best one I know. Freeze extras for busy mornings!

Homemade Waffle Recipe

It’s national doughnut day, so obviously, I have a waffle recipe. The thing about doughnuts is that I like them best when other people make them. But homemade waffles – I like them, well, right at home, piping hot off of the waffle maker. (Or the next day out of the toaster).

These are vegan, because I actually like how they get crispier around the edges without any eggs in the batter. Though this recipe calls for spelt flour, these will turn out equally well with all-purpose flour or a white/wheat mix.

Best Homemade Waffles

How to Make Waffles

Never made waffles? It’s super easy, but it does require a good waffle iron. If you don’t have one, I just got this new one, and I’m pretty excited about it. It flips so the top and bottom of your waffle cook evenly, it’s pretty affordable, and, best of all, you can store it standing upright! I was always mad at my last waffle maker because it took up an entire shelf, but this one can slide in right next to your cereal box. Let me know if you try it!

If you already have a waffle iron, then you’re ready to cook! Just follow these easy steps:

  1. Preheat your waffle iron.
  2. Combine your wet ingredients.
  3. Combine your dry ingredients.
  4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix, or your waffles will be dense, not light & fluffy.
  5. Scoop the batter onto the preheated waffle iron. (The amount you use will depend on the size of your iron.) Then, cook according to the time suggested by your waffle iron – mine typically takes 3-4 minutes.
  6. Top your waffles, and dig in!

If you have waffles left over, let them cool and freeze them for quick breakfasts on busy mornings!

Homemade Waffle Recipe Variations

I love being able to decide what goes in my waffles – this time I folded cacao nibs into the batter and topped them with strawberries and a little bit of mint. Cacao nibs are like little crunchy pieces of dark chocolate. I like them in here for their chocolatey flavor & crunch (plus they’re supposedly healthy!). Feel free to sub in chocolate chips if you like or omit them entirely.

If you’re not in the mood for strawberries & mint, top these with any fresh fruit you have – banana slices, peaches, or blueberries would all be excellent. Not in the mood for fruit? Don’t worry about it. Like all waffles, these are divine with butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and even whipped cream if you’re feeling decadent.

For more waffle ideas, try these ones with pumpkin, these ones with whole wheat flour, or these carrot cake waffles!

Homemade Waffle Recipe with strawberries

If you love these homemade waffles…

Then you have to try my other favorite brunch recipes:


4.7 from 7 reviews

Best Homemade Waffle Recipe

 
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These homemade waffles are the best way to start the weekend! Feel free to get creative with your mix-ins and toppings, and freeze extras for busy weekday mornings.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups almond milk, at room temp
  • 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups loose-packed spelt flour (or white/wheat mix)
  • 2½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons ground flax meal
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Teeny pinch of sea salt
  • ¼ cup cacao nibs (optional)
Top with:
  • Strawberries
  • Sliced mint (optional)
  • Maple syrup
Instructions
  1. Preheat your waffle iron.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the almond milk, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, flax meal, cinnamon, salt and cacao nibs.
  4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix until just combined.
  5. Scoop batter into your waffle maker and cook for the length of time required by your waffle maker (mine takes 3-4 minutes).
  6. Serve with strawberries and maple syrup. These are best hot.
  7. Let extra waffles cool, then store them in the freezer and pop them into the toaster to reheat.
Notes
For a gluten free version, check out this waffle recipe.

 

33 comments

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  1. Jennifer from deliciousevery.com
    06.10.2015

    Strawberries + chocolate = love then + the mint = sensational!
    Oh add the yoghurt – I will be in gustatory heaven!

    Thanks for sharing, Jeanine!

  2. Looks delicious! Beautiful photos and great recipe 🙂

  3. These look divine! Love that they’re vegan, I agree with the lovely crispy texture they get without the eggs. Cacao nibs are my new favorite ingredient (I like to sprinkle them on my acai bowls), but I’ve never tried them in waffles before. Guess it’s time to get back in the kitchen! Do you ever have a problem with vegan waffles sticking to the iron? 90% of the time they come out no problem, but once in a while, they will completely stick… Any tips?

    • jeanine
      06.08.2015

      Hi Maddy, I’ve never had a problem with them sticking – I preheat the waffle iron until it’s very hot. After I put the batter in and close it, I don’t open it for awhile (3-4 minutes). Sometimes I’ll brush the waffle iron lightly with oil (or spray oil), before I start the first waffle. Hope that helps, happy waffling!

  4. Awesome !!! I will try this at home. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Your recipe looks so beautiful and delicious.It makes my mouth water.I am so excited to make this recipe and I will try this very soon..Thanks for sharing such delicious recipe.

  6. Emma from thathealthykitchen.com
    06.08.2015

    Ahh these look so good! I wish I had a waffle iron to make these. Luckily it is my birthday soon 🙂 Do you think it would also work if I would turn these into pancakes?

    • jeanine
      06.08.2015

      I’m not sure, I haven’t tried, so I can’t guess… I’ll try next time and report back…

  7. Gemma from cinnamongirldelights.blogspot.com
    06.07.2015

    Should I be seeing this delicious recipe late at night and hungry as a wolf? Probably not! hahaha, but once I opened my e-mail inbox and saw your newsletters I couldn’t help myself. These waffles look so good, oh my goodness!
    I must get a waffle maker ASAP.
    xoxox

  8. Love the sound of adding cacao nibs for a bit of crunch and deep chocolate flavour! The sweetness of strawberries must work super well and I bet it would be delicious with a dollop of coconut yoghurt!

    • jeanine
      06.08.2015

      Thanks Millie! it would be – great idea 🙂

  9. Rosemary from slimandtrimmeals.com
    06.05.2015

    Really beautiful waffles! Lovely to include fresh and in season fruit with them.

  10. Sarah from thegourmetgourmand.com
    06.05.2015

    Wow these look awesome! I was just looking for a good brunch recipe for this weekend…

  11. Rachel
    06.05.2015

    Hi there. these look great. I’m from NZ so I don’t know a lot about waffles and the batter – would this recipe be ok for pancakes? I’ve been looking for an egg-free, GF, DF pancake recipe forever. Many thanks.

    • jeanine
      06.08.2015

      I haven’t tried it with pancakes, so I can’t say…

  12. Erin from clevergirlreviews.com
    06.05.2015

    Oh, saving this one!

  13. Kelly
    06.05.2015

    This will be perfect for my post run meal tomorrow! Do you think almond or coconut flour would work just as well as spelt? I haven’t experimented enough with these different gluten free flours yet. Thanks!

    • jeanine
      06.05.2015

      Hi Kelly, here are some suggestions!
      – a 50/50 mix of almond/oat flour since almond flour is so dense by itself.
      – Coconut flour would require a different dry-to-liquid ratio, so I would skip that or find a recipe that specifically uses it.
      – Check out this recipe where I used a mix of rice flours and oat flour: http://www.loveandlemons.com/2013/05/17/mango-salsa-waffle/
      – or a good gf mix could sub in well – I like Pamela’s Artisan flour.
      hope that helps!

  14. oh i love the addition of cacao nibs to this! they are one of my favourite things especially with strawberries. great idea. xo

  15. I’m happy to see waffles on donut day! Honestly, if given the choice between the two of them I would be hard pressed to decide!! These look lovely!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.