I’m pretty particular about my waffles. I want light, whole grain, crisp-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside, Belgian-with-deep-pockets, quintessential WAFFLES. No soggy waffles allowed! Bonus points if they freeze well so I can pop them in the toaster like Eggo’s.
These waffles meet all of the aforementioned qualifications. After tweaking five batches of these waffles, I can confirm that oat flour waffles are the waffles I’ve been searching for all along. Oat waffles are the waffles of my dreams.
Best of all, these waffles are gluten free! That means that I can share them with all of my friends.
This gluten-free waffle recipe is so simple that I have it memorized. It only requires one flour—oat flour—which is the easiest flour to make at home. Just toss some old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats in your blender or food processor and blend until they are a fine flour.
The secret to these waffles’ success is letting the batter rest for 10 minutes while your waffle iron heats up. The resting time gives the oat flour time to soak up some of the moisture, so you get crisp, fluffy waffles when it’s go time. I learned this trick with my banana oat pancakes, a recipe that has quite a few fans.
If you, like me, have been disappointed by other gluten-free waffle recipes in the past (or waffle recipes in general, really), please give these a try! They’re just right. Please let me know how they turn out in the comments.
I love these waffles so much that I included this recipe in my cookbook. I’m re-sharing the recipe today with better photos in case this recipe has slipped by you over the years.
You can also make flavored versions of these waffles—check out my gluten-free banana oat waffles and gluten-free pumpkin oat waffles.
If you don’t have a waffle iron at home, you can make oat pancakes in a regular skillet. Check out my blueberry oat pancakes, banana oat pancakes, pumpkin pancakes and caramelized peach oat pancakes.
Easy Gluten Free Oat Waffles
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 Belgian-style waffles 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: By hand
- Cuisine: Gluten free
These light, crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside, gluten-free waffles are my favorite waffles! They’re heart healthy, too. This waffle recipe requires just one flour, oat flour, which you can easily make yourself (see note). Recipe yields 3 to 4 round, 7-inch Belgian waffles, or 6 small, square Belgian waffles (the size shown here).
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (128 grams) oat flour*, certified gluten-free if necessary
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of cinnamon, optional
- ¾ cup room temperature milk of choice (light coconut milk, nut milk, cow’s milk)
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: oat flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: milk, melted coconut oil or butter, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla extract. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, gently heat the wet mixture in the microwave in ten seconds intervals, until it melts again.)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir with a big spoon until just combined (the batter will still be a little lumpy). Let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the oat flour has time to soak up some of the moisture. Plug in your waffle iron to preheat now (if your waffle iron has a temperature/browning dial, set it to medium-high).
- Once 10 minutes is up, give the batter one more swirl with your spoon. Pour batter onto the heated waffle iron, enough to cover the center and most of the central surface area, and close the lid. Once the waffle is deeply golden and crisp, transfer it to a cooling rack or baking sheet. Don’t stack your waffles on top of each other, or they’ll lose crispness. If desired, keep your waffles warm by placing them in a 200 degree oven until you’re ready to serve.
- Repeat with remaining batter. Serve waffles with maple syrup and nut butter, or any other toppings that sound good!
Notes
Recipe based on my oat pancakes and coconut waffles recipes.
*Make your own oat flour: Simply blend old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (be sure to buy certified gluten-free oats if necessary) in a food processor or blender until they are ground into a fine flour. You’ll need to blend roughly 1 ½ cups oats to make enough flour for these waffles (you will probably end up with a little extra). Once you’ve blended the flour, measure it using the spoon and swoop method to make sure you have the right amount.
Make it egg free: You can actually just omit the eggs. The waffles will be slightly more delicate, but they’ve turned out great for me.
Make it dairy free: Use non-dairy milk and coconut oil.
Make it vegan: Use non-dairy milk, coconut oil and omit the eggs.
Freeze it: These waffles freeze beautifully. Just store in freezer-safe plastic bags and pop individual waffles into the toaster until warmed through.
The best waffle iron ever: I had no idea how much of an improvement my new fancy-pants waffle maker would be over my hand-me-down waffle iron. This thing cooks crispy waffles that never stick to the surface area. The best part is that it has a large cooking surface, which means you can cook an entire batch of waffles with just two presses.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Aimee
These are amazing! My whole family loves them. I used butter and savored every bite! Thanks!!!!!
★★★★★
Fran
Easy recipe, made great crispy gluten free waffles!
Would it still work to let the batter eat more than 10 minutes, perhaps even overnight?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Fran! I’m not sure letting it set for too long will get you the desired results and be mindful for refrigeration.
Ingrid Druwe
I have been looking for a gluten free waffle recipe and came across this one. It needed to be kid approved and so I followed every step and I am thrilled to say I was not disappointed! These are delicious AND my kids LOVED them!
★★★★★
Geoff
1.5 cups of my oat flour weighs 180 grams, not 128. Should I go by volume or weight here?
Kate
Hi Geoff! It sounds like you aren’t leveling it off. I would go with the weight to ensure a good result.
Tess
These were so good!
★★★★★
Mark
Love these! I am gluten free, my family isn’t but still loves these!
★★★★★
Rachel
Absolute perfection!!! Put the oats and then the rest of the mix in my food processor. Only difficult part is waiting 10min to cook them… Didn’t manage to get a picture yet. But considering contacting Cuisinart to get this recipe in their waffle maker booklet (no GF recipes currently). Thanks a million.
★★★★★
Carolyn
These waffles are wonderful. I’ve made them several times and each time they were great. I decided to double the recipe using your calculator and the batter came out too wet thus changing the texture. If it is too wet, should I add more flour? Thank you.
Kate
Hi Carolyn! I’m sorry to hear that. So you doubled everything in the recipe? How long did you let the batter rest? It should have came out the same. I make these in a double batch without issue.
Sandy
I have followed your recipe and never had a problem. Make them i ce per week. I substituted eggs for flax eggs today and they came out awful. Stuck to the waffle maker and mad a huge mess. Any recommendations?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Sandy! I’m sorry to hear that. I believe just omitting the eggs works better for this one. Checkout my vegan and egg free notes.
Kat
The best waffles, ever. SO so good
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Kat!
Sheila Lankford
Delicious! When I made the first waffle it stuck horribly and fell apart when I tried to pry it free and I thought “oh no it’s not going to work for me”! But I increased the heat on the iron and oiled it aggressively and the the remaining waffles came out great! (Side note i really tried to get my flour from rolled oats fine but they still ended up coarse but it didn’t seem to affect the final product) I will definitely make these again!
Kate
I’m happy to hear they ended up great for you! Yes, the temperature of the waffle iron matters.
MJ
Made it for the second time with coconut milk this time and they’re even better. They taste really good.
★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you loved them, MJ! Thank you for sharing.
Barb
These waffles are amazing!! I have been looking for a good GF waffle recipe and these exceeded my expectation! They are soft in the middle and crispy on the outside unlike most GF recipes and which seem to be soggy! Thank you so much Katie for this recipe
★★★★★
Barb
These waffles are amazing!! I have been looking for a good GF waffle recipe and these exceeded my expectation! They are soft in the middle and crispy on the outside unlike most GF recipes and which seem to be soggy! Thank you so much Kate for this recipe
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved them, Barb! Thank you for your review.
Tami
Superb! I added a little more cinnamon. Perfect texture to freeze & pop in toaster for quick breakfast.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing! Yes, these are a great freezer option to have on hand for weekdays.
Rose Hercher
First time I have made waffles from scratch. Made the oat flour – it couldn’t have been easier. Used coconut oil and added pecans. They turned out fantastic. My husband ate four of them!
★★★★★
Kate
I love it! Thank you for letting me know this was a hit for your family, Rose.
Ruth Wallace
Great waffles!!! First time i ever made them. I bought a tiny little waffle maker for 8 dollars at Walmart i used oat and brown rice flour,coconut oil and the rest of the ingredients you listed. They are so much healthier than the store bought frozen waffles, i will never buy them again! Thanks so much he grest reciepe!!!
★★★★★
Kate
Great, Ruth! I’m happy you loved them.