Belgian Waffles – Gluten Free, Vegan, & Refined Sugar Free
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Belgian waffles have been one of my all time favorite foods to have for breakfast for a really long time. When my brother and I were younger, we played on competitive sports teams.
My brother played hockey and I played volleyball. So needless to say, we were always busy and on the move. One really cool thing I loved about playing on competitive sports teams was that we got to travel a lot as a family.
We traveled more for my brothers hockey than for my volleyball but I still really enjoyed that time with my family.
It seemed like every other weekend we were all packing up in our mini van and my brother and I were playing video games and watching movies on the tube TV my dad hooked up in between the two front seats.
It was a pretty impressive setup at the time and it kept us entertained even on the 10 hour car rides to Colorado. The other part about traveling that I loved was staying in a hotel.
When you are a kid, staying in a hotel seems like the ultimate adventure (at least it did for me). Especially when the hotel has a pool!
Probably my very favorite part about staying in a hotel though, was the complimentary breakfast. Why yes, I think I will have a cream cheese danish, blueberry muffin, chocolate doughnut, and Belgian waffle.
Where else can you get away with eating that much for breakfast?!
Writing all this as an adult makes me laugh because complimentary breakfast at a hotel sounds pretty terrible now a days, but it was magical as a kid.
The one thing about all of this that is still magical for me as an adult is being able to make Belgian waffles at home!
I honestly thought Belgian waffle makers were like this crazy industrialized appliance you could only have if you owned a restaurant or hotel. When I found out you could get smaller ones for your house I was so excited.
I actually got my first one when my brother moved to California. He didn’t want to take it so I jumped at the chance to have my own fancy waffle maker. I used that waffle maker to make all kinds of things before I had food allergies.
Waffles of course, but you could also cook cinnamon rolls in it and make waffle cinnamon rolls, hash browns, and even brownies.
When my food allergies came along after I had my daughter, I thought my waffle making days were behind me and for a long time they were.
I was focused on finding recipes so I could feed my family dinner. There was no time for the luxury of figuring out allergy friendly breakfast food for quite a while. The first breakfast food I tried to perfect was the pancake.
How do you make pancakes when you are literally allergic to every ingredient in a pancake? Well you do a whole lot of research and make a whole lot of nasty pancakes.
When I finally got the perfect recipe though it was worth it. It also got me thinking that I could probably use the exact same recipe for Belgian waffles. So I asked for a new waffle maker for my birthday and gave it a try.
Hello childhood nostalgia! Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, they were absolutely perfect. Producing the prettiest and tastiest Belgian waffles I had ever had really made me feel proud.
It had been a long road of recipe failures trying to teach myself how to cook allergy friendly food so when I finally started to get them right it really was a wonderful feeling.
Now when my daughter gets older and says she wants pancakes or waffles for breakfast, I can make her some from scratch and I can eat them with her.
I would love to hear about some recipes you loved as a kid and have made allergy friendly as an adult. My list is getting longer and longer and I’m getting better at it with practice.
So if you are new to all of this allergy friendly cooking, keep your chin up and know that it can be done and you will figure it out!! I hope you all enjoy these Belgian Waffles as much as my family does!
Belgian Waffles – Gluten Free, Vegan, & Refined Sugar Free
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Flour Blend for the Best Results
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup millet flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- or
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour*
Remaining Ingredients
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt (I use “Lite Salt”)
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already contains xanthan gum)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup unsweetened dairy free milk of choice (I use So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk)
- 2/3 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup refined coconut oil melted (avocado oil will work as well)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and cinnamon)
- Add liquid ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth (maple syrup, milk, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract)
- Heat greased waffle maker on medium heat or around 250-300 degrees
- Pour batter into the waffle maker, about 1 cup for each waffle
- Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the light on your waffle maker says they are ready
- Remove from the waffle maker and serve with your favorite waffle toppings
Notes
- *I have tried this recipe with Better Batter, Bobs Red Mill 1-1 All Purpose Flour, and Bobs Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour. Each give a different result, but the absolute BEST result is using the flour mixture provided in the recipe. I also use this flour mixture for cinnamon rolls, pizza crust, and bread sticks.
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What could I substitute the applesauce for? Would flax eggs or pumpkin work?
Hi Geoff, you could try using the same amount of pumpkin purée, mashed banana, or flax eggs. I would recommend trying 2 flax eggs if you go that route. So 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and 6 tablespoons of water. Mix together and let sit 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken to an egg consistency.