Add some sugar & spice to your life with these deliciously dark, rich & fluffy Gingerbread Waffles. Full of warm & comforting gingerbread flavour & surprisingly healthy!
Can anything beat waffles for breakfast? I am obsessed with these Gingerbread Waffles and also with my Banana Waffles. They are both super yum and a great way to get your day started.
As for eating gingerbread for breakfast … How good is that?
These Gingerbread Waffles are full of healthy ingredients with only one and a half tablespoons of oil in the entire batch. I did try to make them oil free, but for ultimate fluffiness it really helps.
I used spelt flour as it gives a lovely nutty flavour as well as great texture. It’s one of my favourite flours to cook with. It also has some great health benefits which you do not get with regular white or wholewheat flour.
Spelt is an ancient grain which is packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients which are not found in wheat. It is also high in fibre and protein (up to 15% depending on the source) and this protein is complete, meaning that it contains the nine essential amino acids needed by our bodies. Spelt aids digestive health, helps lower cholesterol and helps regulate insulin and glucose levels due to its high fibre content. It also boosts circulation, aids bone health, helps regulate hormones and helps boost your immune system.
You can almost call these Gingerbread Waffles a superfood! ;o)
And they taste just like gingerbread. It’s like eating cake for breakfast! Honestly, I’m not kidding. Cake for breakfast is the stuff only dreams are made of…..Until now!
These Gingerbread Waffles are deliciously dark and tender and are full of warm, comforting gingerbread flavour. They are crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and will make the perfect breakfast or brunch over the holiday season.
We enjoyed these Gingerbread Waffles so much when I finally perfected the recipe last week. You might well have seen the picture I posted on Instagram as a teaser. I took it with my cell phone while I was tucking into a couple of them and it sure got a lot of attention!
These Gingerbread Waffles are amazing just served simply with some maple syrup. They are also fantastic served with poached or gently pan fried pears. Banana goes well with them to.
Please note that I have only made these waffles with spelt flour. You might not get the same results if you use another kind of flour. Spelt can easily be found in most grocery stores and is well worth purchasing. It is great for making pancakes and waffles but also for making other baked goods such as cakes and cookies. If you have never cooked with it before it is well worth experimenting with as it gives great results. (Note that I have since heard from a reader that wholewheat flour works well too although I haven’t tested this myself).
HOW TO COOK PERFECT WAFFLES
My trick for the most perfect waffles, is to not open the waffle maker. Do not be tempted. Even if has a beep or a light to tell you they are ready. Do not listen to it.
When they first start to cook, lots of steam will start coming out the sides of the waffle iron. It will continue to come out the whole time they cook. Only open the waffle iron when all the steam has disappeared. Not before. And when you do, do it slowly to give them time to release.
If you don’t have a waffle maker then just make pancakes with the batter instead. It works great!
I would love it if you could share your waffle pictures with me on Instagram or Twitter. I am @avirtualvegan on both. On Instagram use the hashtag #avirtualvegan too so that I don’t miss them. Your Cranberry, Walnut & Apple Smoothie pictures have been awesome this week. I am glad that you are all enjoying it so much!
If you love waffles then try my Apple Pie Waffles next!
A NOTE ON MEASURING FLOUR FOR BEST RESULTS
As always with any of my recipes involving flour, I highly recommend that you weigh it. Cup measurements are not accurate enough to get the best results.
If you do need to use cups, spoon the flour into the cup then level off the top with a knife without compacting it or shaking it down. By doing it like this you will get roughly the correct amount. If you scoop the flour up into the cup, you will end up with much more than is needed and it will affect the outcome of the recipe. Digital scales are available at most big superstores now and you can pick one up for around $10. They are a great investment and are so worth having!
I have this one:
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you did, be a ☆ and let me know what you think by rating it and commenting below. Tag me on Instagram too. I am @avirtualvegan and my hashtag is #avirtualvegan 
Gingerbread Waffles
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 125g | 1 slightly heaping cup spelt flour
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 4 tablespoons coconut sugar (you may sub this for any other brown sugar)
Wet ingredients
- 240 mls | 1 cups non dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons black strap molasses
- 1½ tablespoons liquid oil ( I used a light olive oil but coconut oil would also be good as would any other liquid cooking oil)
Instructions
- Grease and preheat your waffle iron. I used setting 4 on my Cuisinart Waffle Iron .
- If you don't have a waffle iron then use a non stick fry pan and make them into pancakes.
- Put all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and stir well.
- Put all of the wet ingredients into a jug or bowl (one with a lip is easier to pour). Stir until well combined.
- Pour the mixed wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix using a spoon, until just combined. Do not over mix. A few small lumps are fine. You just want it to get to the stage that you can't see any dry bits of flour through it. The batter should be a thick dropping consistency, kind of like thick cake batter. If it feels too thick, add an extra tablespoon or two of milk at this stage but don't make it too thin.
- When your waffle iron is ready pour in your mixture and cook on a medium temperature until steam stops coming out of the side. As soon as it does remove them. Ignore any signals from your machine if it tells you they are done earlier.
- When ready open your waffle iron carefully and remove.
- If making as pancakes pour the batter into the pan and cook over a medium heat until bubbles start forming on the surface. Once you see bubble flip and cook for a minute or two more.
- Serve immediately (see recipe notes for storage instructions)
Notes
Nutrition
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Danny Cathey says
January 3, 2019 at 6:25 pmMy family and I love waffles. We’re not vegan, but I like great recipes. This recipe definitely fills the bill. (I sprinkle a little extra organic brown sugar on them before I close the lid. The sugar carmelizes and gives a little extra crunch. I also use coconut oil.) Did I mention this is an excellent recipe? Thank you Melanie!
A Virtual Vegan says
January 4, 2019 at 9:47 amThank you so much Danny. I’m glad you and your family are enjoying them!
Amelia Suarez says
December 25, 2018 at 12:06 pmCan you substitute something for the oil? I’m doing oil free.
A Virtual Vegan says
December 26, 2018 at 4:55 pmThe oil really makes a difference to the texture of the waffles. They become much fluffier with it. You can omit it if you don’t mind them losing a little fluffiness. They will also be more likely to stick in the waffle iron without the iron so keep that in mind.
NICOLE says
November 7, 2018 at 6:34 amJUAT STARTED A VEGAN DIET WITH HOPES TO HELP A NEWLY DIAGNOSED AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER AND MADE THESE WAFFLES…. THEY WERE DELICIOUS! I DID NOT HAVE SPELT FLOUR AND GROUND GINGER ON HAND SO I USED BROWN RICE FLOUR AND GRATED FRESH GINGER INTO WET INGREDIENTS AND THEY STILL CAME OUT AMAZING! THANK YOU FOR THE DELICIOUS RECIPE!!
Brian says
November 2, 2018 at 10:58 amI followed the recipe exactly (using SoDelicious unsweetened Coconutmilk for the milk), and the batter was far too thin for a waffle maker. I ended up with thin baked-on layer of crustiness on top and bottom, not waffles. I used the remainder of the batter to make pancakes, and they were fine–excellent flavor, and my non-vegan husband liked them. The problem must be in the kind of milk, because that was the only variable.
Sandy says
January 31, 2018 at 2:29 pmI’m not a fan of the milk substitutes. Would apple cider work in this recipe?
A Virtual Vegan says
January 31, 2018 at 3:46 pmI have no idea whether apple cider would work. It’s not something I have ever tried. To guarantee good results you will need to use milk of some kind. If you don’t like store bought milks you could make a small quantity of oat milk just for this recipe. https://avirtualvegan.com/oat-milk/
Sandy says
February 12, 2018 at 11:35 amOMG! These are so delicious! I did make my own oat milk like you suggested to use in the recipe and I substituted 1 TBSP of brown sugar for the coconut sugar. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly and made pancakes and they were amazing! I’m not a vegan, but I have a B&B and had vegan guests this past weekend and they were a huge hit! I had three left, so I refrigerated them and put them in the toaster today and they were still delicious! I’m going to make more and freeze them because I have oat milk leftover. The oat milk is great by the way. Great recipe with normal ingredients! Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
February 12, 2018 at 4:43 pmThank you Sandy. I’m so glad you and your guests enjoyed them. It’s great that you are enjoying the oat milk too. It’s so handy to be able to whip some up at the drop of a hat. It’s saved me many trips to the store! I love that you are so accommodating to vegan guests too. Good for you!
Tina - The Worktop says
December 9, 2017 at 1:44 amHi! Just made these and they are delicious! My little toddler loved them. I ended up using just one teaspoon of brown sugar in the recipe and it worked well. Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
December 9, 2017 at 3:49 pmI’m so glad you both enjoyed them!
Gail says
October 12, 2017 at 11:43 amJust made these into pancakes. They were great. Definitely a keeper!
A Virtual Vegan says
October 12, 2017 at 1:57 pmSo glad you enjoyed them!
Ashlyn says
September 28, 2017 at 8:20 amThese look fabulous!! Love gingerbread and so ready for fall!
A Virtual Vegan says
September 28, 2017 at 8:54 pmThank you. I hope you enjoy them!
Laura says
August 22, 2017 at 1:39 pmLoved them thank you!
Linsey says
August 10, 2017 at 2:04 pmJust tried these as pancakes – absolutely delicious. And so easy too!
I’m wondering if the mix would keep in the fridge overnight if prepared in advance for breakfast…. only one way to find out!
A Virtual Vegan says
August 10, 2017 at 2:12 pmSo glad you enjoyed them! In the fall I must recycle this recipe and get them on here as pancakes too. A lot of people don’t realize that if they don’t have a waffle maker, they can make them as pancakes. I have never tried making the batter the night before. I hope it works out for you!
Kristie says
December 27, 2016 at 10:07 amThese are sooo tasty which made it even more heart breaking that they stuck to absolutely everything !!! I regularly make waffles and have never had anything stick. I tried these 3 tines, with all sorts of methods and nothing helped. What a nightmare. I just tried then as pancakes and thy stuck horribly there too…. I’m not sure why so am having such trouble but I have never been so frustrated……. :'(
A Virtual Vegan says
December 27, 2016 at 11:51 amHi Kristie,
So sorry to hear that. There is nothing worse than sticking waffles :O( I have never personally had a problem with them sticking in my waffle iron and haven’t had any complaints from other readers. I also make them as pancakes, usually with no oil and they don’t stick on my non-stick griddle. However, because they have a very low oil content there is a risk they will stick if your non-stick surface isn’t so good, or if the iron isn’t greased really, really well. If you are used to cooking waffles with more oil in the batter, that is probably why they don’t stick and these do. You could increase the oil in this recipe and I am sure it will help. Perhaps try 1/4 cup or you could even increase to 1/3 cup. You would need to reduce the milk to make up for the extra liquid though.
The other thing that might help is cooking them for longer. There is a chance that your waffle irons cooks slightly cooler than mine and needs a bit longer. If they aren’t quite cooked enough then they will stick.
Just another note, I always grease my waffle iron with coconut oil and a pastry brush. I don’t know how true it is but I have heard that using cooking spray (such as PAM etc) ruins your waffle irons over time as the residue builds up and counteracts the non-stick surface.
Hope that helps :O)
Janet says
September 10, 2017 at 9:32 amLots of times waffles stick because there isn’t much oil in the batter. I learned this the hard way decades ago when making sour dough waffles. In those days brushing oil on the waffle plates helped–and I did ok when alternating batches of sour dough and regular butter loaded waffles–none of my recipes were vegan during that unenlightened time. These days, we have cooking spray in either pump bottles or aerosol cans. Even though your waffle maker plates might be “non-stick,” I think it a good idea to give them a quick spritz or spray from time to time before adding the batter. I haven’t had residue build up, but I don’t do it for every waffle, and don’t spray heavily. I still time my waffles the way my mom did it back in the 1950s–watch the steam coming out around the edges. When it slows to almost nothing, the waffles are done. Cooking them a little longer and making the release more certain won’t make them dry, just crunchier on the outside.
Mansi says
December 17, 2016 at 8:36 amThese are great. If using fresh ginger, how much do you recommend using?
Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
December 17, 2016 at 11:50 amI have never made them with fresh ginger so wouldn’t like to say. Ground dried ginger is really best. If you use fresh it might not cook well in the waffle iron and might taste too harsh. Fresh ginger is also quite wet so the texture might not turn out as well either.
Mansi says
December 18, 2016 at 7:43 amI actually just made them with fresh ginger yesterday. I used about 2-3 tbsp. They still turned out great – similar, if not the same as I had made them the first time.
Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
December 18, 2016 at 12:00 pmThat’s great! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know :O)
[email protected] says
January 22, 2016 at 10:50 pmlook delicious, i like eat gingerbread waffles, that amazing food for winter
Robin says
December 28, 2015 at 11:02 amWhat a perfect Christmas-themed breakfast! I tripled this recipe for my family and all seven of us gobbled them up with no leftovers. My uncle is still talking about them a couple hours later.
I used all purpose flour since that’s all my grandpa had. My only tip would be to reduce the milk by 1/4-1/2c if using all purpose since spelt absorbs more than AP. Great recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
December 28, 2015 at 11:07 amI am so glad you and your family enjoyed them Robin and it’s good to hear they work with all purpose flour. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!
Debbie Woodruff says
December 28, 2015 at 5:53 amThese look amazing. I really need a waffle maker.
A Virtual Vegan says
December 28, 2015 at 7:02 amThanks Debbie. They work as pancakes too!
Melanie Lamoreaux says
December 27, 2015 at 2:11 pmThis recipe is perfect; I couldn’t improve upon it if I tried! I have made this recipe twice now (the second time I doubled the recipe). It’s just so good. It tastes just like gingerbread, but with a lovely, fluffy waffle consistency. I made them on Christmas morning and my boyfriend, mom, and dad all loved them so much. I am going to be making this recipe regularly, and especially every Christmas as a new tradition. Thank you, Melanie!
A Virtual Vegan says
December 27, 2015 at 2:19 pmThis makes me so happy to read! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback and I am so glad that you and your family enjoyed the waffles at Christmas. They were actually my most viewed recipe on Christmas morning. It’s great to know that so many people were sharing their gifts then eating my waffles! I hope you had a fabulous Christmas Melanie and that you have a very happy (waffle filled) New Year!
Tina Jui | The Worktop says
December 13, 2015 at 10:44 pmThis looks great! I love using spelt flour, and these waffles are perfect for the holidays!
A Virtual Vegan says
December 13, 2015 at 11:14 pmThank you Tina. Who could resist gingerbread waffles during the holidays!?!
Natalie Tamara says
December 8, 2015 at 4:34 amOoh these look seriously good! I know what my waffle maker is making this weekend ;)
A Virtual Vegan says
December 8, 2015 at 5:53 amThanks Natalie! Enjoy!
Amy (Lemon and Coconut) says
December 6, 2015 at 11:57 amGingerbread for breakfast sounds good to me!! :)
A Virtual Vegan says
December 6, 2015 at 12:51 pmAnd lunch and dinner……. Lol
athleticavocado says
December 6, 2015 at 10:47 amnow only if i had a waffle maker, my life would be complete!
A Virtual Vegan says
December 6, 2015 at 10:47 amThey work as pancakes too!