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.
Watch How to Make Gluten Free Waffles
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.
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.
If you, like me, have been disappointed by other gluten-free waffle recipes in the past (or waffle recipes in general, really), give these a try! They’re just right. Please let me know how they turn out in the comments.
Oat Waffle Variations
You can also make flavored versions of these waffles—check out my Gluten-Free Banana Oat Waffles and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Oat Waffles.
Oat-Based Pancake Recipes to Try
If you don’t have a waffle iron at home, you can make oat pancakes in a regular skillet. Try these recipes:
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. 
Suz
Usually Cookie and Kate recipes are great, but this one falls short. I couldn’t even get the waffle out of the waffle maker without it falling apart completely. It just crumbled. It’s a sad morning. What did I do wrong?
★
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that. Did you use eggs? Does your waffle maker need oil prior to adding the batter?
Cindy
Finally, a gluten-free recipe that doesn’t call for a blend that contains rice flour, which I’m allergic to. I made these for the first time today and they were delicious! I used buttermilk which made it thick but not doughy. Followed the rest of the recipe as written, using melted butter and Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free oat flour. I am allergic to chicken eggs, but I can use duck eggs instead. Yielded 9 – 4” round waffles. Used Pampered Chef medium scoop and placed 2 scoops on waffle iron. Baked 5 – 5.5 minutes. I’ll be searching your blog for more gluten-free recipes. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Cindy! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Meg
Cookie+kate is one of my favirite recipe sites, but this one needs revisited. I followed the recipe, and am a seasoned cook. The waffles crumbled as I tried to remove them from my (well-oiled) waffle maker, and were unpleasantly bitter. This isn’t one we’ll make again.
★★
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that. Did you add the egg?
Meg
I did!
Jane L
I made these for the second time today (egg version), and second time round was much better!
I did add a little less Coconut oil (personal preference) which made the texture a bit better :) really nice with blueberries on the side! Thanks for the recipe :)
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Jane! I’m glad you enjoyed these waffles.
Beto
I love the recipe thank you for sharing
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, Beto!
SMH
These are my FAVORITE waffles. In response to the recent comment abou them falling apart- they are a little delicate. You just have to get a fork under and remove them quickly in one swoop. I don’t mind at all, I freeze all of the waffles and then reheat by toasting for breakfast each day with a little maple syrup and sliced banana. They are even better toasted later on! Best texture and taste. I’ll never go back to “regular” waffles.
Abigail Thomas
I used avocado oil instead of coconut oil (for ease) and buttermilk because I had some that needed used up, and they turned out just fine!
★★★★★
Veroca
I love this recipe. I’ve been doing for over a year and it never fails.
I do have one question. In Australia where I live I cannot get gluten free oats. My sister is visiting and she’s gluten intolerant. Is there any other type of gluten free flour I can use instead?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Veroca, You could try using a gluten free flour. Although I haven’t tried it myself.
Anne
These waffles are amazing…
★★★★★
Kate
I’m excited you enjoy them, Anne! I appreciate your review.
Kelly
Love this recipe! I’m always looking for more whole grain options. I blended my own oats, even leaving it a somewhat coarse blend, and let the whole batter soak for about 10 minutes, as you instructed. Tasty and SLIGHTLY crunchier than a normal cake-like waffle. It came out of the waffle-maker perfectly and was delicious! Even my husband, who doesn’t necessarily seek out healthy food, loved it. Thanks for the recipe!
I set my waffle maker to be a darker setting, and it made it slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. No problems at all with anything falling apart. Perfectly set.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Kelly! I Appreciate your review.
Liv
Worked perfectly! FYI, I used 100g of oat flour + 30g of vanilla protein powder (1 scoop) instead of 128g of oat flour and it worked like a charm!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s wonderful to hear, Liv! Thank you for sharing.
Nandi Edwards
Very easy and very delicious. I added almond extract to the batter. I topped my waffles with strawberries & maple syrup. Thank you for your creativity!
Kate
Great to hear, Nandi! I appreciate your review.
Barb
These waffles turned out GREAT! For the oat flour, I used Gluten Free oats from Trader Joes and ground them in a Magic Bullet. I used peanut oil. I used water instead of milk. I did not use any maple syrup or sweetner since I knew I would be putting some jam on later. I read the other comments—my waffles were not crumbly at all. Thanks for a super recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Barb! I appreciate your review.
Deborah Moen
I made these waffles this morning. They are the best waffles I ever made. These are also the best waffles I ever ate. I am so happy to have come across your website. I also tried one of these cold and I loved it. I will be making more to freeze and toast. You are awesome ! Thank you.
★★★★★
Patricia
Can I replace the oatmeal flour for wholemeal flour and leave everything the same?
Kate
I believe others have used wheat flour and didn’t mind the results. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.
Patricia Scarfe
If I were to swap to wholemeal flour would it be the same amount of flour and would I need to use self raising flour or wholemeal plain flour. Many thanks
Rene
Good recipe. Everything fell into place perfectly and the outcome came out even better
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, Rene! Thank you for your review.
Falon
Great recipe! I added a giant tablespoon of apple sauce and half a banana to sweeten it up a bit, turned out so good! Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Falon! I appreciate your review.
Merrie
I followed your recipe exactly and they turned out perfect. Light and delicious. I used almond milk and coconut oil. I have fresh blueberries from my garden to enjoy with them. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! That’s great to hear, Merrie.