May 13, 2013
updated
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Need a waffle recipe that’s free from dairy, gluten, eggs, and nuts? Look no further. The perfect allergy-friendly waffle recipe exists and it’s the one I’m sharing with you today!
Now that I’ve perfected an allergy-friendly recipe for waffles, everyone has requested them on back-to-back weeks with emphatic “yums” and “more, please!”. Music to my ears.
Allergy-Friendly Waffles
It’s time to dust off that waffle maker in the back of your cupboard and start using it again! You won’t regret it.
These waffles are light and fluffy, with just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar. No chewy rubber here, folks! They’re also gluten-free and free from all top 8 allergens. Say what? Yes, and you probably have all the ingredients already in your pantry.
My daughter has always loved waffles, but since going gluten-free, we’ve not been able to find a store-bought kind that was somewhat healthy and didn’t taste like chewy rubber. Bleh!
After failed attempts to find a storebought mix that was delicious and free from allergens, I went on a mission to get a waffle maker and come up with an amazing recipe of my own!
MOM Tip: Learn how to grease and clean your waffle maker in this post.
Ingredients
When it comes to gluten-free waffles the type of flour you use is important. Out of all the gluten-free flour options out there, it can be hard to know which one is best to use for different recipes.
My favorite one for this recipe is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour. A lot of people have commented that they’ve successfully made this recipe using King Arthur’s Gluten-Free flour too.
With that being said, here is everything you’ll need to make these allergy-friendly Cinnamon Waffles happen:
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour: Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur’s work best for this recipe.
- Ground flax: helps bind the ingredients without using eggs.
- Ground cinnamon: makes these waffles tasty and golden.
- Baking powder: essential for gluten-free fluffy waffles. Check it’s fresh!
- Baking soda: adds more fluffiness!
- Salt: brings out the other ingredient flavors.
- Brown sugar: to sweeten the waffles.
- Applesauce: adds moisture to the mix.
- Vanilla: since the recipe has no milk, it adds extra taste!
- Water: the liquid we need for the batter.
You’ll find the measurements in the recipe card below.
Want to really kick your waffles up a notch? Pair them with my Copy-Cat IHOP’s Homemade Blueberry Syrup! Hello! Drooling over here.
No Egg Waffle Recipe
If you can make pancakes without eggs, then you can do the same with waffles. Instead of eggs, we use ground flaxseed to bind the ingredients into a thick batter that will yield tall and fluffy waffles.
- Preheat and grease a waffle maker.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.
- Add the applesauce and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
- Slowly pour the water into the bowl, and mix to form a batter. If the batter is too thick, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Spoon some of the batter into the center of the hot waffle maker. Spread until it’s within ¼ inch of the edge of the grids.
- Close the lid, and cook until golden brown.
Now that you have a fresh stack of waffles, let’s talk about toppings!
Toppings for Eggless Waffles
While maple syrup and butter will always suffice for morning waffles, it’s sometimes fun to go big or go home. Below I’ve shared a few ideas from my 50+ pancake, and waffle toppings ideas post just to get you started.
- Peaches & Cream – Sliced peaches & whipped cream
- Apple Pie – Baked apples and cinnamon
- Cinnamon Roll – Vanilla glaze and cinnamon
- PB&J – Peanut butter and jelly or strawberry syrup
- White Raspberry – Raspberries and white chocolate chips
Saturday mornings are always our “family breakfast day.” I usually whip up a table full of waffles or pancakes with fruit and bacon. It’s a tradition and our one morning during the week when we can all take our time and dine together, a perfect kickoff to the weekend.
The best part? Make extra, and freeze them for a quick and delicious breakfast during the week.
You can also pack leftovers for lunches! My daughter never turns down breakfast for lunch- yum! All you have to do is pack some syrup in a mini sauce container and send it along with the waffles and fruit.
Allergy-Friendly Cinnamon Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup ground flax
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¾ cup applesauce
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat and grease a waffle maker.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.
- Add the applesauce and vanilla, and mix.
- Slowly pour the water into the bowl, and mix to form a batter. If the batter is too thick, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Spoon some of the batter into the center of the hot waffle maker. Spread until it’s within ¼ inch of the edge of the grids.
- Close the lid, and cook until golden brown.
Erin
Amazing recipe so super yummy advance out beautifully I followed the recipe to a T and had no issues. Thank you so much I’ve finally got a tasty go to my whole family can and will happily eat.
Stephanie
I cant getbthese to stop sticking to my waffle maker. I’ve tried coconut oil, butter, and vegetable oil but they always tear apart. Please advise.
Monique
I added a teaspoon or so of coconut oil to the mix and used spray on avocado oil. It worked like a dream on my new waffle iron
Bethany
Made this recipe and followed it to a tee and it came out great! The waffles were way less dense then my previous experience of making gluten free, dairy free and egg free waffles. This is my new go to recipe as it tastes great with or without toppings or syrup. I didn’t have the problem some other people experienced with sticking but I always spray my waffle maker with non stick spray. I will recommend this to people for sure!
Fayza
may I know, if I don’t have applesauce, can I replace it with other ingredients?
MOMables - Laura
Mashed banana or canned pumpkin.
Brianne
Why haven’t you responded about the waffles sticking? This is also my issue with gluten free waffles.
MOMables-Laura
I am not sure why they stuck to your pan. As you can see in the video they lift just fine. Is your waffle iron non-stick? You can try substituting a little oil in the batter for the apple sauce.
Nicky
Thank you for this recipe! My son is allergic to milk and eggs. I used Spelt flour since it’s was I had at the moment and the waffle were nice an fluffy
I might try subbing about a 1/4cup of the flour with potato starch to get the waffle a little crunchy next time since my son likes crunchy textures.
Sarah
SO excited to try this for breakfast/dinner tonight :) It’s a relief to find a website like this, my daughter suffers from so many food allergies! Thank you!!!
MOMables - Laura
I’m so glad this was helpful, Sarah!
Kim C
I made these today and substituted coconut sugar for brown sugar and they came out so delicious! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Ellen
I’m making this tomorrow. If you don’t have egg sensitivity, can you sub eggs or the applesauce?
MOMables-Laura
Yes, 2 eggs with an additional 1/4 cup water will do the trick!
C
Can I make these with almond flour?
MOMables
You can definitely try although they might be a little dense.
C
If I wanted to substitute almond flour would I need to increase the flax or another ingredient? If so by how much? Thanks!
MOMables
I have not tried these with almond flour but I imagine you can do a 1:1 substitution leaving the other ingredients intact. They might be a little more dense.
Mindi
Made these today, the batter was really thick, almost like dough. They were dense, but my kids all loved them even the ones without allergies. Thank you for the recipe, its always much easier to feed all my kids the same meal so ai really appreciate a delicious allergy free meal we all enjoy.
MOMables
I’m so happy you all loved it! We have tons of allergy-friendly meals on the site, so look around! :)
Sonia
Can I make these with regular all purpose flour?
MOMables-Laura
Yes, this recipe should work with regular flour as well.
Maria
Going to try these out this weekend! I was wondering if you know how many waffles this recipe makes?
Thanks!
MOMables
it depends on the size of your waffle iron. 4-6 in mine
Tatiana
I tried making these today, and used ground chia instead of flax (my son can not tolerate flax) – they stuck to the iron horribly! When I tried to open the iron, although nice and brown, they separated immediately in the iron – one half was stuck to the bottom, the other half – to top of the iron. I had to scrape them out with the knife. Very disappointed, as lots of expensive ingredients were used. I greased the iron on both sides, and preheated it properly before use, so not sure what the problem is. Taste was great (I tried some pieces that came off) however I couldn’t make the recipe work. Any suggestions??
MOMables
Tatiana, I am not sure why they stuck to your pan. Is it a non-stick? As you can see in the video they lift just fine. Perhaps try substituting a little oil in the batter for the apple sauce. Flax has natural fats that might help. sorry.
leslie
I am excited about trying these. I have all the ingredients in my pantry. My son is allergic to wheat, eggs and nuts, so these will work perfectly for us. Thanks!
Carolina
My daughter has recently had a food panel and is has all the major allergies. Being new to this whole elimination diet is new and difficult for me! I just wanted to thank you for posting these recipes. It’s so very helpful, thank you!!!!
MOMables
I am so glad some of our allergy friendly recipes help Carolina! We have more in the allergy friendly section in the recipe index!
Debbie
Can you freeze these after they are cooked?
MOMables
Absolutely!
Ilissa
I just tried to make these and they stuck to the top and bottom of my waffle maker! I had to scrape off the burnt parts with a knife. Now I am afraid to try again. What could be the problem here?
mf
The recipe here is missing. Where it should be it just says [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:188]
4HungryBunnies
Otherwise your recipe looks great! I want to try it sometime. I would have to make sure I get a big dose of healthy fat somewhere else in the meal, but it could work.
MOMables
you can omit the vanilla here if you like.
4HungryBunnies
I started reacting to vanilla extract and began research about it only to find that it contains corn in some form (is corn syrup, contaminated in glycerin, in the alcohol made from corn). Short of using a real vanilla bean to flavor your cooking, you won’t get vanilla without corn. Even making it yourself from Vodka which the alcohol can be made from corn you can’t escape it. Google an article : All About Vanilla (or fake if you are a beaver).
Melissa
I am having trouble getting them cooked all the way through, they are tacky! My son is on the elimination diet so I am new to all of the top 8 free cooking & baking tricks! I have the Costco Gluten Free ‘perfect flour blend’.
KeeleyMcGuire
Hi Melissa, try cooking them on a lower temperature to let them cook up longer if they’re burning on the outside before completion in the center. You can also try thinning out the batter a little – they might be too thick.
Melissa
Oh and I substituted coconut nectar for brown sugar, added 1 T. Coconut oil and it is Namaste Foods brand for the flour–purchased at Costco! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Dani
I was wondering if I could use a different flour because I have white rice flour
MOMables
Hi Dani!
this will not work with all rice flour. You can create your own baking mix or an all purpose mix with rice flour.
KeeleyMcGuire
Hi Dani, using a white rice flour will not work well alone as it produces a more grainy texture in baked goods (or “bread like” items). It’s best to blend it with other gluten free flours. Thanks!
Michelle
Is it necessary to use the flax seed? After researching flax seed and the use of it while breastfeeding, every article I have read says to stay away from it. Could I use something in place of it? Thank you!
MOMables
Michelle, in this case the flax acts as a binder replacing the egg. I you don’t have egg allergies, you can use eggs instead. Otherwise, use an egg replacer.
Jennifer
You could replace the ground flax seed with ground chia seeds, it works as an egg replacement as well.
Dena
How many eggs?
MOMables
Dena, there are no eggs in this recipe. It’s an egg free recipe.
Elizabeth
it seems Dena was asking because in the post above, it mentioned replacing flax with eggs
January
do you have a favorite gf ap flour blend? Not all are created equal and I wouldnt want to try this recipe with a blend that won’t come out right.
KeeleyMcGuire
You’re absolutely right, they’re not all created equal. My go to is King Arthur Flour’s GF All Purpose Flour. It’s made in a Top8 free facility. Thanks!
Mike
Your recipe seems to lack any kind of fat, which would suggest to me it is never going to come out of the iron, even if it is greased beforehand. Is there a reason there is no canola oil or something similar added?
Keeley McGuire
Hi Mike,
I have made this recipe on numerous occasions for my daughter and it does not stick with a greased iron. If you’re worried, feel free to add but it’s not necessary.
These are not your typical hard and crunchy waffles – they’re light and airy and easily removed.
There is no oil because it’s simply not needed and it keeps the recipe healthier and more adaptable for allergy needs.
Good question though! Thanks!
~Keeley
Keeley McGuire
Also, I failed to mention the applesauce essentially takes the place of any oil you’d normally see in a waffle recipe. Thanks!