Easy Gluten-Free Waffles Recipe (Dairy-Free)

These delicious and easy gluten-free waffles are crispy and golden on the outside, and light and airy on the inside. Inspired by my fluffy gluten-free pancakes, these waffles are perfect for a luxurious breakfast, brunch or even as dessert! They’re dairy-free too, but no one would know!

Jump to:

• Waffles for Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert or Dinner!
• Perfect Homemade Gluten-Free Waffles
• Why This Recipe Works:
• Ingredients You’ll Need:
• Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:
• How to Make Gluten-Free Waffles
• Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:
• Recipe FAQs:
• You’ll Also Love These Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes:
• Brunch Recipes to Enjoy:
• Easy Gluten-Free Waffles (Dairy-Free)

Waffles for Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert or Dinner!

Apart from a big stack of fluffy pancakes, waffles are the perfect breakfast or brunch food in my opinion. Whenever I have some spare time during the weekends, I like to take out my waffle maker and make some gluten-free waffles for Juan and myself to enjoy.

There’s nothing that feels more luxurious than waking up to a plate full of waffles, but I know that waffles can also be enjoyed as dessert (with a big scoop of ice cream!) or even dinner (think breakfast for dinner). It’s totally up to you when you choose to eat your waffles, no judgment here!

Perfect Homemade Gluten-Free Waffles

I’ll tell you straight off the bat that this gluten-free waffle recipe was totally inspired by my fluffy gluten-free pancakes recipe.

Juan and I had just finished up yet another pancake breakfast one Saturday morning when I thought that since the pancake batter was so darn good, it might probably work as waffle batter too, and lo and behold, I was right!

(Goodbye Eggo waffles!! These gluten-free waffles will beat any regular waffle recipe hands down, so keep this delicious waffle recipe handy for the next time you’re craving waffles!).

Why This Recipe Works:

• Simple Ingredients: This easy waffles recipe only requires non-complicated and easily accessible ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!

• Crispy Outside, Light and Fluffy Inside: These gluten-free waffles come out golden brown and amazingly crispy on the outside, while they are light and fluffy on the inside. Now that’s definitely a combination that can’t be beat!

• Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free: The best part is that these waffles are totally gluten-free and dairy-free, which means that even if those on a gluten-free diet, or those with Celiac disease or are gluten or lactose-intolerant can enjoy these waffles without any worries!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Here’s a visual overview of the ingredient you’ll need for this delicious gluten-free waffles recipe. For exact measurements and quantities, please scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:

• Eggs: Eggs are necessary as a binder to bind the ingredients together. If you don’t want to use egg yolks, you may use 3 egg whites instead of the 2 large eggs as specified in the recipe. I have not tried this recipe without eggs, but if you are allergic to eggs, you may try using aquafaba or an egg replacer instead.

• Sugar: I used white sugar in this waffles recipe, but you may also use brown sugar if you prefer. If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, I strongly recommend that you use Lakanto monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute that has zero glycemic index).

• Sunflower Oil: I like using sunflower oil because I almost always have a bottle on hand. You may also use other neutral-flavored vegetable oils or even melted coconut oil too. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, you may also used melted butter in equal quantity too.

• Vanilla Extract: I like adding a bit of vanilla extract for extra flavor. However, if you don’t like vanilla or don’t happen to have it on hand, you can leave it out.

• Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I highly recommend using a good-quality gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that is made up of lighter flours and starches (such as white rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch or potato starch) to ensure a lighter and fluffier final texture. I do NOT recommend using flour blends that are made up of heavier flours such as garbanzo bean flours as that will result in a denser final texture.

• Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is what replaces gluten in gluten-free waffles recipe, and helps the ingredients to bind better together. Make sure you add xanthan gum if your gluten-free flour blend does not already include it.

• Baking Powder: In this waffles recipe, baking powder helps to add more rise to the batter and make it fluffier and lighter. If you are Celiac or are gluten-intolerant, make sure you use certified gluten-free baking powder. 

• Almond Milk: I used unsweetened almond milk in this recipe, but you can use other dairy-free milk alternatives such as cashew milk, rice milk, soy milk, coconut milk, sunflower seed milk, or oat milk. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, you may also use normal dairy milk if you prefer.

How to Make Gluten-Free Waffles

1. Whisk Eggs, Sugar, Oil and Vanilla:

Whisk the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl until you get a light and frothy yellow mixture.

2. Add Dry Ingredients to Get Batter:

Add the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum (if using), baking powder, and salt into the large bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour in the milk and whisk until you get a thick, pale yellow waffle batter.

3. Preheat and Grease Waffle Iron

Heat up the waffle maker until the indicator light turns green. For best results, use a brush to grease the waffle iron with oil so the batter doesn’t stick to the iron once cooked.

4. Pour Batter onto Waffle Iron

Pour enough waffle batter to fill up 3/4 of the surface area (I used a measuring cup to scoop out 1/4 cup of batter for each waffle).

5. Cook Until Ready

Close the waffle maker and let the batter cook until no more steam comes out from the waffle maker (this ensures you get waffles that are cooked in the middle and do not stick to the iron). Do not use the indicator light as a reference as the waffles will probably not be done yet.

6. Repeat Until All Batter is Used Up

Repeat until all the batter is ready (I made 8 waffles using 1/4 cup of batter per waffle).

7. Serve and Enjoy

Serve gluten-free waffles with fresh fruit or fresh berries and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:

• Optional Mix-In ideas: Since this is a basic gluten-free waffles recipe, you could change it up slightly to add in cacao powder, or a pinch of cinnamon or even apple pie spice! Play around and have fun!

• Mix Up the Flours: If you would like to have a bit more fiber and texture, you can replace 1/4 cup of the gluten-free flour blend with almond flour, brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, millet flour, or sorghum flour.

• Square or Round Waffles: You can choose whether you prefer square or round waffles. I personally find small round waffles prettier – and used about 1/4 cup of batter per waffle to get 8 round waffles.

• Brush Waffle Iron with Oil: By using a silicon brush to grease your waffle iron with oil before pouring the batter and cooking the waffles, it helps to ensure that your batter doesn’t stick to the iron once it’s cooked.

• Cook Until There’s No More Steam: My biggest and most helpful tip for making perfect waffles that come out crispy and golden brown and are not uncooked in the middle is to let the waffle batter cook until you don’t see any more steam coming out from the waffle maker (don’t bother about the indicator light on your waffle iron – that usually is not a good estimate). It’s very important that you let the waffles cook fully – or you might just end up with waffles that break apart and have a raw inside. Depending on how powerful your waffle maker is, and how much batter you’ve used per waffle, it might take shorter or longer. Just for reference, my waffle maker lets me cook 2 waffles each time, and that takes me approximately 8-10 minutes.

• Keep Waffles Crisp: To keep the waffles crisp until ready to eat, place cooked waffles on a rack in the oven at 300F until all your waffles are cooked.

• Toast Waffles in Toaster: Here’s a tip: If you keep a stash of these waffles in your freezer, simply pop frozen waffles in your toaster on busy mornings and viola! You can enjoy homemade waffles in no time at all!

Recipe FAQs:

You’ll Also Love These Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes:

• 10 Delicious Gluten-Free Brunch Recipes
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Waffles
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P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!

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