What a week! On Sunday, our house became temporary home to an extra 5 people, two dogs, one cat, and a bird when my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and her three children had to evacuate New Orleans because of Hurricane Gustav. This is not a big house, and things were a little cozy. Some of the kids were sleeping on the sofa bed and the floor, pets were held in separate bedrooms, and at times we were in danger of tripping over each other, but we were all relieved that the worst didn’t happen, New Orleans didn’t flood. Still, after several rainy days spent cooped up in someone else’s house, my in-laws were happy to be allowed to go back home yesterday afternoon–even though their house is still without power, water, or sewage.
So I awoke this morning to a much quieter home and–surprise!–a George Foreman Next Grilleration Removable-Plate Grill, a birthday present from my husband and daughter. Yes, during all the chaos, I had forgotten my own birthday, but my sweet family did not; E even remembered the exact grill I had pointed out to her in Target and took D there to buy it for me. I am definitely not one of those people who dislikes practical gifts; give me a nice blender or a grill any day–I can pick out my own jewelry. (Note to D: that link to the Vitamix is a hint for future birthdays!)
Part of the reason I wanted this particular grill is that it comes with plates you can remove, making it much more versatile than other electric grills and the plates easy to clean. The grill came with two plates called omelet/snack plates, and I’m looking forward to finding out if I can cook my tofu omelette in them. I’ll get to that soon, but what I really wanted to make right away was waffles. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a waffle iron–or a waffle, for that matter–so first thing this morning I whipped up a batch of waffles, half of them plain (which I prefer to think of as “vanilla”) and the other half with blueberries. Both were a delicious way start the day in my once again quiet house.
Fat-free Vanilla or Blueberry Waffles
Fat-free waffles are softer and less crispy than traditional waffles, but if you want them crispier, simply pop the cooked waffles into the toaster for a minute or two. This is also a great way to reheat leftovers.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups flour (I used white whole wheat)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon potato starch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 3/4 cup blueberries (optional)
- canola oil spray
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Combine the soy milk, cider vinegar, and agave in a smaller bowl. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the liquid ingredients (or add vanilla extract). Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until all flour is moistened. If blueberry waffles, fold in blueberries. Set batter aside while you heat your waffle iron.
- Spray your waffle iron with canola oil, if necessary, and follow your iron’s instructions for making the waffles, cooking until golden brown. Makes approximately 12 waffles.
Preparation time: 20 minute(s) | Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Nutrition Facts
Per serving, without blueberries: 128 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (9% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 542mg Sodium; 4g Fiber.
With blueberries: 138 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (9% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 543mg Sodium; 4g Fiber.
Share This Recipe:
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
I have made these waffles a number of times with wheat flour. Last month I went on a wheat-free diet and made them with gluten-free flour (Bob's Redmill, all-purpose). They crisp up much more with the GF flour. Much more like a standard waffle.
These are fantastic! I always read that vegan waffles "need" fat to work out, but am glad that doesn't have to be the case. Using this recipe as a base, I made a few changes–
-added pumpkin pie spice
-added 2 TB pumpkin
-maple syrup instead of agave
-added 1/4 cup quick oats, used half each AP and whole wheat flour
-used half vanilla extract, half almond
So tasty.
How important is the potato starch? If I omitted that would it still come out?
You could use other starches–corn starch, arrowroot, or tapioca.
Perfect! Thank you! I have cornstarch in my pantry! I will make these tomorrow morning!!
Could you use this as a pancake recipe instead of in a waffle maker?
I made these this morning (without blueberries). I told Grumpy they were fat free (but omitted the vegan part!). He really enjoyed them – said they reminded him somewhat of raisin bran flavor. Thanks for a great vegan waffle recipe!
I made this this morning for my boys, and they were very good. I have a big belgian waffle maker, so it only made like 4 waffles, but they tasted good and my boys like them. My older one (3 1/2) liked the plain ones, but my little one (1 year) loved the blueberry ones.
You are AMAZING!!
You’re site is supremely awesome, I am not Vegan but am seriously considering becoming one, and the prospect seems less daunting now that I have discovered your website.
Amazing food, recipes, content, simple easy to navigate website and SUPERB photography.
Please keep up the good work, need more people like you in the world.
With love and respect
Tamara Coles – Australia.
Made these this morning (SO GOOD!) and tried them on my omnivorous son who liked the plain ones with vegan spread (there goes the fat free
) and cinnamon sugar. Next time I’ll do the blueberry ones and see if he still needs spread 
. Once I worked them out to perfection I’ll serve them to my husband. These days I do sneaky things, like making something special to eat for him and our son for those days when I’m on my 24hour shifts – which makes him think it’s not vegan (and therefore ‘safe’ to enjoy 
). I haven’t quite told him yet how many vegan things he’s had this week. =D
These were delicious! They were a bit more floppy than waffles with fat, but leaving them a few minutes to let the steam escape really helped.
Delicious! My husband wanted crispy waffles, so I added a little bit of oil. They came out divine (though not fat free!) and we decided to make a double batch next time so we can freeze some for weekday breakfasts.
Thank You!
What is the taste difference (besides vanilla and blueberries) with these ingredients versus your traditional waffle/pancake recipe? There are a few more ingredients in this one like potato starch and cider vinegar….. Thanks!
They taste a lot alike, but this one rises better in the waffle iron. So I like this one for waffles and the other one for pancakes.
Hello:
These waffles have a wonderful flavor! My whole family loved them. I have a question though; the recipe made 3 waffles not 12. You said there were 6 servings at 128 calories per serving. Do you mean each whole waffle is 128 calories? Each waffle can be divided into 4 sections. Are you calling one serving one of those sections?
Thanks for a great recipe!
Katie
It depends on the individual waffle iron. It sounds like for yours, two sections would be a serving, 128 calories.
I made these with no sweetener and no salt. I used pumpkin pie spice blend and two shredded yellow squash instead of the vanilla & blueberries. They were fabulous.
WOW , my boyfriend has been raised on meat and potatoes and ive been slowly bringing him round as he suffers from arthritus and i am trying to get him healthy . He loves waffles LOVES THEM , i made these on sunday and couvered them in fresh peaches !!! they were a hit . Thanks so much , every sunday i will be making these.
Love, love your site!
I just tried this recipe, tonight. I’m trying to find a good waffle recipe for freezing. Unfortunately, my waffles were too soft & the taste of the cider vinegar was too potent for me. I used pastry flour, rice milk, & arrow root powder. Could these substitutions have caused my problems?? Any suggestions??
Thanks!
I don’t think those substitutions could have caused real problems, though the lighter flavor of the rice milk could have let too much of the cider vinegar flavor come through. They’re definitely softer waffles than the kind you buy frozen, but usually they’ll crisp up if you put them in the toaster or oven for a few minutes. I’m sorry they weren’t to your liking, but if you do try them again, try using white vinegar instead of cider and see how that tastes.
Well who would have thought that without the egg and oil these waffles would be so delicious. Thanks again for another great recipe.
What does the potato starch do? I don’t have any around and would love to know if I could still make it.
nevermind, I just read the comments!
My husband and I wanted waffles tonight so we tried your recipe. Delicious, Susan. In fact, every recipe of yours I’ve tried has hit the spot. Thank you for sharing these with all of us who want to eat whole foods plant based no added oil diets. Annie
These turned out nice, I used corn starch instead and didn’t have blueberries so opted out of that. Next time I might sweeten them a little more but overall very happy to have an oil free waffle recipe. Thanks Susan, you never fail to deliver!
forgot I use WW pastry flour because that is what I had, they were soft, but the last ones I left in the waffle iron a little longer and they were browner and crisper.
These were a hit! My first attempt at any kind of waffles and they were amazing. Thanks so much for posting.
All of the times I’ve made this recipe, I never thought to replace the blueberries (when I actually did use them). This time, I decided to peel and grate a small apple (it came to be about 2/3 cup) and add in a teaspoon of cinnamon into the dry ingredients to good results. Next time, I’ll tweak it a bit more (more apple; other spices), but overall, it was a good variation.
This time, I made this, but sub’ing sweet potato for pumpkin, I used your gluten-free pumpkin waffle recipe spices (basically, the same recipe, but with wheat flour). Served with apple slices, walnut pieces, and a little warm maple syrup on top, they were were a big hit, probably the most well-received variation I’ve made.
Thanks much, ma’m!
{ 2 trackbacks }