One of the hardest parts of eating a gluten-free, refined sugar free, dairy free diet is the lack of easy access to delicious bread products. Need a grain free, paleo friendly option? Even harder. The challenge is that gluten-free flours lose moisture very quickly, so shelf stable products that taste delicious are hard to find in stores. While there are some good options on the market (visit my blog post here on the subject), I have found that making bread products at home is the best way most of the time.
When I learned the ingenious idea of making waffles a day-to-day bread option, it changed my satisfaction with my paleo-ish diet immensely! It is a quick, easy, budget-friendly option for bread that you can freeze and toast. You can also make different varieties: sweet, savory, cheesy, filled with herbs, and the list goes on! Waffles make having a delicious paleo bread product much more accessible, and I love that.
Tips for Making Waffles (Jump to Recipe Button)
What waffle maker do you use? I LOVE this Dash Waffle Maker. It makes 4 round, individual waffles that are the perfect size. The nonstick works so well you don’t even need to use oil. But any waffle maker will do!
This is messy! How can I keep things clean? I have 2 tips for you to manage the mess:
- Put a piece of parchment paper down under your waffle maker with enough on each side that your tools can sit on parchment paper. This makes cleanup a breeze! Catches all of the drips of batter, overflow bits and bobs, and crumbs.
- Use a liquid measuring cup to both measure your ingredients and pour the batter. I find it much easier than trying to spoon the batter in.
How much batter do you put in each well of the waffle maker?
An overfilled well is actually a well that is full. You want a little bit of room in each well and you want to start seeing bubbles almost as you pour. The difference between the two looks like this:
How do you know when the waffles are done? You want to keep the waffle maker closed the whole time and not open and shut it several times. The waffle maker has an indicator light that will come on when the waffles are near completion. That indicator light is not 100% accurate, though. The best thing to do is to pay attention to the steam! The steam will ramp up and then slow down as the waffles cook. As the steam really starts to slow down but before it stops is the sweet spot when your waffles should be done. The indicator light will usually go off while the waffles are still steaming pretty good, so use that as your warning to start paying attention.
Can you freeze these waffles? YES! That is one of the best parts. This recipe freezes beautifully. When the waffles come out of the waffle maker, lay them on a cooling rack in a single layer until they cool completely. Then you can stack them together in a storage dish or gallon sized ziplock bag. I usually microwave them for 30 seconds to defrost then pop in the toaster.
Paleo Waffles – Gluten and Grain Free
Waffles are a quick, easy, budget-friendly gluten free/grain free option for bread that you can freeze and toast. You can also make different varieties: sweet, savory, cheesy, filled with herbs, and the list goes on! Waffles make having a delicious paleo bread product much more accessible. This recipe is a snap!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 – 4 inch waffles 1x
- Category: Breads
Ingredients
1 cup (114g) almond flour
1 cup (134g) tapioca flour (can use arrowroot starch/flour)
1/2 cup (45g) coconut flour
1 TBS (14g) coconut sugar
1TBS (14g) baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup (98g) avocado oil
1 1/2 cup (325g) almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract (if making sweet waffles)
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- In a liquid measuring cup, measure the oil, then the milk. You should end up with 2 cups of liquid. Crack the two eggs into the measuring cup. Add vanilla if making sweet waffles. Stir gently; you are just trying to get the egg yolks to break open so it is easier to mix the batter.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine. Your batter should be the consistency of cake mix: thick but pourable. It should not be runny and drippy such that it doesn’t hold together when cooking – add a little more almond flour, a TBS at a time. It also shouldn’t be so thick that it is difficult to pour – thin it down with more almond milk. Set the batter aside.
- Place a long piece of parchment paper on your work surface and plug in your waffle iron to preheat. I save this step until after the batter is prepared to give the batter a chance to set up and the flours to hydrate a bit.
- When your waffle iron is ready, pour batter from the bowl into the liquid measuring cup so it is easier to pour into the waffle maker. Do not overfill the wells (see photos above in the post for guidance).
- Most waffle irons will not require you to spray them with oil first, especially with the fat content of this recipe. I suggest testing your waffle iron with a small batch first, however, to ensure you do not need to spray the waffle maker.
- Follow your waffle maker’s instructions for cooking. Also pay attention to the steam that comes as the waffles cook. The steam will ramp up and then slow down. As the steam really starts to slow down but before it stops is the sweet spot when your waffles should be done.
- If freezing, lay the waffles on a cooling rack and let completely cool prior to storing. Reheat in the toaster or toaster oven.
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