Up your vegan breakfast game with these delicious Vegan Banana Waffles. They are tender on the inside, golden and crispy on the outside and full of perfectly spiced, sweet banana, flavour.
Enter my crispy and perfect Vegan Banana Waffles! When I published my Vegan Banana Pancakes I got so many messages asking if the recipe would work for waffles, so it was my duty to try it, and yes, with a minor tweak or two, the pancake batter worked perfectly when cooked up in a waffle maker and here we are!
And you really can't beat a good waffle with its crispy outsides, tender insides and all of that lovely pooling action going on in the perfect little square syrup holders.
How to make Vegan Banana Waffles
Making banana waffles without eggs and dairy is super simple. Here's how:
- Add all of the batter ingredients to a blender and blend them up.
- Let the batter sit while you grease (generously) and preheat the waffle iron.
- Pour the batter into the preheated iron, close it and let the waffles cook. Be sure to read my success tips for how to know when they are ready.
Success Tips
- It is really important to grease your waffle iron thoroughly. Don't use spray oil like Pam. It leaves a residue that is impossible to remove by washing, and over time it renders your nonstick surface useless. I use a silicone pastry brush and brush liquid oil such as melted coconut oil, vegetable oil, light olive oil or sunflower oil directly on to the iron or you can fill an empty spray bottle with pure oil and use that.
- Use very ripe, spotty bananas.
- The small amount of oil (or nut butter) in the recipe is important for the fluffy insides and the crisp outsides.
- Don't over-mix/over blend the batter. When you do this you activate the gluten in the flour and run the risk of making your waffles tough or gummy.
- And the most important success tip of all? Do not open the waffle iron when it tells you your waffles are ready. Do not be tempted. Even if has a beep or a light to tell you they are done, do not listen to it.
The way to tell they are done is to watch the steam coming out the sides of the iron. You will notice when they first start cooking lots of steam is pushed out. It will continue to come out the whole time they cook. Only open the waffle iron when all of the steam has disappeared. Not before. This could take up to 8 minutes. Don't rush them. - When you finally do open the iron, do it slowly to give the waffles time to release. Don't just tear it open quickly.
If you follow all of these tips they should turn out perfectly crispy and not stick.
Variations
Switch up the recipe by adding some dairy-free chocolate chips, chopped nuts or blueberries to the batter. Simply blend the batter up as instructed then stir your mix-ins through with a spatula before pouring the batter in the waffle iron.
How to serve
When it comes to serving, real maple syrup should be compulsory. It's like liquid gold and one of my favorite things. Some melty vegan butter, chopped banana and nuts like walnuts or pecans are the perfect match, but other toppings that work well are:
Storage, Freezing & Reheating Tips
Leftover vegan banana waffles are fine kept covered in the fridge for a day or two. Just warm them through in a toaster before serving. They also freeze perfectly. This means you can make up a massive batch for easy breakfasts throughout the week.
Follow the recipe, then place the cooked waffle on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before putting them in a freezer bag and stashing them away in the freezer. They will keep well for up to 3 months.
To reheat, remove from the freezer and pop straight in a toaster from frozen. If there's a "frozen" button on your toaster push it, if not, they might take 2 cycles to warm right through.
Recipe
Vegan Banana Waffles
Author:Ingredients
- 240 ml / 1 cup unsweetened non dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon oil of choice or cashew butter for oil free but they won't be quite as light and fluffy
- 1 medium banana peeled , weighing around 170 g in it's skin
- 200g / 1½ cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour or spelt flour (see the recipe notes re measuring the flour). If you are in the UK use plain flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda , bicarbonate of soda in the UK
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the batter in a blender
- Add all of the ingredients to the blender, starting with the liquids and the banana first.
- Blend the ingredients until smooth. Don't over blend. Turn it off as soon as everything is smooth and combined.
- Leave the batter to rest while you generously grease and preheat your waffle iron.
- Pour/spoon the batter onto the waffle maker and cook on a medium temperature (no higher) until steam stops coming out of the side. You must wait until there is absolutely no steam emerging so keep a careful watch. Ignore any signals from your machine if it tells you they are done earlier.Â
- Once all signs of steam have stopped open the iron slowly to give the waffles time to detach themselves. Serve immediately or keep warm on a plate in an oven on its lowest setting until you have finished cooking the entire batch.
To make the batter by hand
- Mash the banana really, really well until it is a very smooth puree consistency. Beat it together with the milk and oil until combined well.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl, whisk them together, then gradually pour in the milky banana mixture, stirring as you go to work out the lumps. Stir until all of the flour is absorbed and the batter is smooth, then leave to rest while you grease and preheat your waffle iron as per the instructions above.
NOTES
This recipe was originally published on October 26th, 2018. I've updated the post and now I am republishing it for you. The recipe itself remains the same. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!
Paige says
I've made these so many times, and they are always perfect!
Eva says
These are divine…my whole family loves them!