My dairy-free waffle or pancake recipe · Sunday July 9, 2006 by colin newell
Perhaps more than life itself, I love breakfast. If I fail to start my day with lots of carbs and a bit of protein, I might as well stay in bed.
A typical morning for me includes granola, fruit, yoghurt, multi-grain toast and water.
I know what you are thinking: No coffee and no juice? No. Never.
Coffee is a ritual that comes later – Almost always around 10AM.
Lately, I have been doing way more baking. Muffins. Cookies. Waffles.
I sous-chef for 100% of our home cooking, but I tend to nibble more at work. So, in addition to making all of my own coffee and the coffee for the lads in the lab, I make all my own baked goods for my weekdays.
But back to breakfast: I love breakfast and we all know that breakfast tends to include dairy in some form or another. It is hard to find a work-around. But you can. Here is my dairy free waffle recipe. This is not purely vegan, but I suppose with a bit of work it could be.
Ingredients and instructions.
1 3/4 cup of all-purpose unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Egg yolks
1 3/4 cups premium quality Soy, Coconut or Almond milk
1/2 cup cooking oil, ideally canola oil
2 Egg whites
In a large mixing bowl (which will ultimately hold several days worth of waffle mix) stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a smaller mixing bowl beat egg yolks. Add Soy, almond or coconut milk, cinnamon and oil.
Add your wet to the flour mix all at once. Stir or fold until mixed but still slightly lumpy.
In yet-another-bowl whip egg white to form a stiff peak.
Gently fold egg whites into soya-flour-oil mixture leaving a few whisps of egg white visible.
Heat waffle iron letting waffle mix work for about 7 minutes.
Pour batter onto preheated iron. Do not open while the waffles are cooking! Timing will vary depending on your iron.
Serve with butter, maple syrup, fresh blueberries and hot, hot coffee!
Enjoy! This recipe updated September 2016
Colin is a Victoria resident and food lover that is constantly searching for the perfect cup of coffee. His blog has been on the air since 1995… but who’s counting?
Mussels Marinara... goodbye my salty friends!
There are eggs in these… How does this constitute as dairy-free?
— Heather Dec 11, 11:16 am #
Isn’t Dairy milk based?
Help me out here.
— Colin Dec 12, 09:13 pm #
eggs are not dairy. dairy is anything that comes out of a cow, or has anything in it that came out of a cow – milk, butter, cheese, cream, yogurt….. diary is milk based, this is a dairy free and hence milk free recipe – the caviet I see is serving it with butter – anyone on a lactose free diet would not be happy. I was hoping to read about someone trying this recipe and their results
— Dec 29, 07:51 am #
I make a batch of these several times a week – and they are wonderful. Sometimes I sub in Lactose reduced milk – which works well. Lately, I have been putting tinned apple pie mix into the mix – say, a scoop of ground of apples. Very yummy.
— Colin Dec 29, 09:22 pm #
I was searching for a recipes this morning and I found yours. I loved them! Much better than a ready mix, but I you knew that…Thanks for sharing it.
— Desiree Ackerman Mar 21, 05:33 am #
Thanks for your recipe. I googled ‘dairy free waffles’ this morning and lo and behold yours appeared! We substituted the canola oil for extra virgin coconut oil (a delicious and nutritious oil) and added a little vanilla to the mix. The whipping took us a little longer as I underestimated the size of the bowl required so the wet mix sat for about 10 mins while we ‘whisked’ (with a fork) the egg whites. We didn’t have spray oil, so, unfortunately for us, the waffles turned out sticky and barely cooked… We decided to salvage the batter and make some ‘waffle/egg pancakes’ (this recipe is very ‘eggy’) – we added more vanilla, extra salt, some fresh blueberries and some powdered sugar to taste… They turned out a little dense (no surprises there) but the blueberry flavor with the coconut and vanilla was an interesting and tasty mix.
I have to stay, as a lactose intolerant, I’m always looking for good cooking alternatives to milk, but soy milk has consistently disappointed me…
I’m off to enjoy my salvaged eggwafflepancakes with some maple syrup!
Thanks anyway Colin – if I find another dairy free waffle recipe, I’ll let you know :)
— Hob and Reather Jul 6, 09:16 am #
Thank you for this great dairy free recipe. Since I have a friend that allergic to dairy I got a few tips. I substituted almond milk for the soy and added a touch more than a pinch of salt. Excellent! I did have to cook it longer than the waffle maker thought but no big deal there (most people don’t realize that the light is just a tool to help you get around the right time). Thanks again! I was beginning to give up hope I could have anything fun for my young son to eat.
— Pam Nov 9, 09:18 am #
Funny. I too switched over to Almond milk 2 weeks ago – you end up with seriously blond looking waffles – which is OK but they are more waffle like than when you use Soy – and they seem to have more food value. Thanks!
— colin Nov 9, 11:07 am #
I tried your waffle recipe using the soy milk and it turned out great. I think the soy add a nice taste to the waffle. Top it with strawberry sauce and you’re all set!
— Mississauga restaurants Nov 30, 04:20 pm #
Great recipe – it’s our new weekend favourite. I can’t have wheat either so I substituted the wheat flour with spelt flour and they turn out light, fluffy and very delicious. Thanks for sharing!
— Sheri Feb 22, 04:17 pm #
I made this with Vanilla Soymilk and they came out excellent.
— Michael Mar 20, 09:46 am #
Thanks for saving the morning with no milk in the house and everyone wanting waffles. I used unsweetened almond milk, threw in an extra egg & doubled the cinnamon. They were delicious, crispy on the outside, light and moist on the inside. I supposed we broke the dairy-free rule when we added fresh peaches & whipped cream. Yum!
— Jeanette Jun 14, 10:26 am #
super yummy!! substituted the all purpose flour for spelt flour and home made almond milk (un-filtered) for the soya milk. Delicious!!!
— cF Aug 18, 09:48 am #
If you make this with the cinnamon, then how does this constitute as dairy free?
— Gavin Sept 13, 07:25 am #
Since when does cinnamon come from a cow?!?
Yoiks!
Nurse!
— Colin Sept 13, 11:01 am #
For some reason my dairy free recipe is the most popular…
— Colin Newell Sept 18, 04:44 pm #
Hee, hee. This is where we all gather and drink coffee when you are busy else where.
— jeanie Sept 18, 10:57 pm #
Actually – I am going to sub in some rice flour to get away from the DEADLY white flour that it is in this recipe. Listen folks: Nothing kills faster than white flour and white sugar. Just say NO!
— Colin Sept 19, 09:08 am #
I am just cooking the waffels now they smell great. I am always looking for good recipes for our son that we will like too.I’ll let you know how they turn out.
— Tina Oct 18, 10:23 am #
Own a B&B. Have a lactose-intolerant guest. Had no idea what to serve for breakfast but searched online for non-dairy waffles. You saved my life! will let you know the response!
— Sally Nov 13, 04:22 pm #
Thank you so much! I have a sister and best friend who are lactose intolerant and it’s hard finding breakfast foods that work!
— Mia Apr 6, 02:31 pm #
I made this with Bob’s Red Mill GF All-Purpose flour and my kids still ate it. Thank you for the recipe!
— Andrea Aug 29, 07:27 am #
Thanks for your kind comments. I am working on a yummy Vegan update to this classic recipe. Stay tuned.
— Colin Newell Aug 29, 11:46 am #
yey! we just got a new waffle iron and are excited to to make parve (containing neither meat nor dairy product) waffles so that we can have kosher chicken and waffles! mmmmm, fried food with battery goodness and MAPLE SYRUP, yum!
— vilarulz Sept 4, 02:22 pm #
i want to use whole wheat flour = part or all – what’s the portion and ratio?
please help
thanks!
— John Niebuhr Sept 6, 01:19 pm #
I sub in 50% Whole wheat flour with success – using all whole wheat flour is risky. I would imagine you would have to up the baking powder a bit. Experiment.
— Colin Newell Sept 6, 07:28 pm #
Terrific recipe! I used 1 cup all purpose and 3/4 cup whole wheat (which when my husband found out thought I ruined waffle day- he ate and enjoyed them though).
I used almond milk, and four egg whites instead of two. They came out fluffy and best of all they were dairy free so my son could have them!
Also, I took frozen mixed berries and a bit of OJ (Tbsp or 2) and heated them together in a skillet. Makes a terrific topping with a bit of real maple syrup. Mmmm! Next time I may do some hot apple cinnamon slices on top.
Thanks so much. Once my son couldn’t have dairy anymore I decided that waffles were out of the question. After experimenting with other dairy free recipes I decided there must be something out there and this is the best one I’ve found!
As well, I had to cook them a bit longer than the waffle maker wanted me to to get them nice and toasty.
— Shelley Whynot Oct 11, 12:37 pm #
TO MAKE DELICIOUS EGG-FREE WAFFLES:
Follow the same recipe except substitute 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal + 6 tablespoons of water. Let the mixture sit for about 2 minutes, and then continue with the recipe as usual!
— Somesayimnot Jan 16, 09:17 am #
Best Waffles Ever!
I’ve played around with the recipe, tried a few substitutions and mix-ins (banana waffles today — wish me luck) but keep coming back to the original recipe.
I repeat: best waffles ever.
— cecilyg Mar 26, 09:52 am #
These turned out great. I doubled the recipe, used about half pearl soy milk and half almond milk. Hubby can’t have much cinnamon so I subbed nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice. The egg whites made them so fluffy and airy. Weren’t too sweet so we could top with super sweetness. Banana chocolate spread from cost plus, or homemade strawberry jelly, or peanut butter and/or syrup. I froze almost half of the waffles, hope they toast up well.
— Cyndi Apr 4, 10:47 am #
Worked great. My son’s on a gluten-free, casein-free diet, so I substituted a mix of flours — 75 percent rice flour, a little cornstarch, yuca flour, whole rice flour. I also used half clarified butter (ghee) in the oil. The family was very happy. The cinnamon is a great idea.
— John May 28, 07:27 am #
Threw some bacon in while cooking – turned out great.
— jeanie Jun 3, 10:59 pm #
I made this recipe with Dark Chocolate Almond milk. We ate them up…they almost didn’t make it to the table…
— Steph Feb 19, 05:33 am #
just made these with half/half spelt/white flour half/half vanilla/unsweetened soya milk and followed the suggestion to add an extra egg white & yolk. what a forgiving recipe. i even left the oil (grapeseed) out until the very end – stirred it in – cooked ‘em up. gorgeous.
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Editor: Really? Well thank you!— john Mar 1, 04:14 am #
Your recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder. Is this right or should it be a teaspoon? I haven’t searched all of the comments already posted to see if someone has asked this already, so sorry if you are answering this question again. Have used this recipe twice now and my son is loving it! Thank you!!!
— Julie Mar 6, 09:20 am #
This mixture made wonderful waffles and there is no sugar added; double bonus. This recipe is definately a keeper. Thank you, Colin
— Rhonda Jun 17, 12:06 pm #
We’ve been making these waffles every weekend for the last year. My whole family loves them. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
— Angela Jan 17, 09:14 am #
I have been making these for months and they are excellent! Thank you!! I have recently started trying to lose weight. Any idea how many calories two waffles would be? Not that I’m going to stop eating them, but so I know how many calories I need to burn at the gym. Ha ha.
— Sharise Grote Jul 28, 01:35 pm #
Good question on the calories Sharise — not sure – I think you would have to look at the ingredients – find out how many calories are in the whole batch and divide by the number of waffles made per batch -
Should not be too difficult to come up with a reasonably accurate number.
Good luck and that you for your comments!
— Colin Aug 3, 02:07 pm #
Can you sub coconut milk here?
— Sunshyneo8 Sept 14, 12:01 pm #
Coconut milk! Great idea – I have some coconut milk set aside for ice cream – I will give this a try.
Awesome idea!
— Colin Newell Sept 16, 09:47 pm #
Has anyone tried using part almond flour in these? I’m wondering if they would rise properly.
— Jeanie Mar 8, 02:01 pm #
I would try introducing these kinds of gluten free flours gradually…
— colin Mar 9, 09:27 am #