The best waffle recipe ever! Soft and fluffy inside, with a slightly crisp exterior. Easy to make & perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!
Waffles! My family loves ’em. How could they not? There’s something so wonderful about a stack of piping hot, golden brown waffles, fresh off the waffle maker.
We mostly eat them for breakfast, but they’re REALLY good for dessert too. Waffles and ice cream is a total classic!
I’m big on make-ahead breakfast recipes for my kids. These chocolate chip muffins are a staple, and I’m a huge fan of scones too (check out these lemon blueberry scones, and these petite vanilla bean scones!).
And I always try to keep a batch of these homemade waffles in our freezer too.
In my opinion, this is the best waffle recipe ever! It’s easy to make and the waffles bake up perfect every time. The flavors are perfectly balanced (not too sweet!) and the texture is on point. Soft and fluffy in the middle, with a slightly crispy exterior.
Table of Contents
- What are waffles?
- What’s great about this waffle recipe
- What do these waffles taste like?
- Ingredients
- Special equipment
- How to make homemade waffles
- How to serve homemade waffles
- Expert tips
- FAQ’s
Jump to Recipe
What are waffles?
Waffles fall into the “quick bread” category of baking, which means they’re leavened with baking powder, and the method is super fast and super easy. With any kind of quick bread, you start by blending the dry ingredients, then the liquid ingredients, and then you stir everything together and bake it up.
They’re often enjoyed as a breakfast treat, but they work for dessert as well.
This is very similar to a pancake recipe, but instead of dropping the batter onto a skillet, it goes into a waffle maker. Then, you close the lid, and the waffles are baked into this grid pattern, which gives you deliciously crisp edges, and lots of little hollows for the syrup and butter to settle into.
It’s a really great contrast of textures!
What’s great about this waffle recipe
- Tastes amazing: These waffles bake up with the most incredible buttery flavor, and they’re just sweet enough.
- Few ingredients: It’s made with just a handful of pantry staples.
- Easy to make: The batter is made in around 15 minutes, and then it’s just a matter of baking them off, two at a time.
- Versatile: You can modify this recipe with different add-ins and flavorings, and really let your creativity shine!
What do these waffles taste like?
These waffles bake up deliciously crisp on the edges and pillowy soft in the middle.
They’re slightly sweet and really buttery. And there’s a hint of tanginess from the buttermilk, and a beautiful floral sweetness from vanilla.
Ingredients
Flour
This forms the bulk of the waffle batter and provides structure.
Swap it out for any kind of whole-grain option if you like. You may need slightly less if you go that route.
A gluten-free flour blend that can sub 1:1 for regular flour should also work just fine, if you’d like to make gluten-free waffles.
Sugar
A small amount of granulated sugar adds sweetness to the waffles, aids in browning, and keeps them moist.
Sub for another type of sweetener if you like. As long as it swaps 1:1 for granulated sugar it should work.
Baking Powder
This is the leavening agent that helps the waffles rise and become light and fluffy.
Baking powder is a double-acting leavener, so it starts the batter rising both when liquid is added to it, as well as when it hits the hot waffle maker.
Baking soda will not work in this recipe because there isn’t enough acidity to fully activate it.
Baking powder has a little bit of extra acid built in.
Salt
Salt carries the flavors and intensifies them. The end result won’t taste salty, but it will make everything so much more flavorful!
I like kosher salt best because it doesn’t have any additives (table salt usually contains iodine which can leave a bitter taste), so the flavor is pure. It’s also inexpensive and easy to find in a regular grocery store.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk adds moisture to the cake batter, resulting in a softer and more tender cake. It helps prevent the waffles from drying out during baking, and it also gives them a really unique, home-y flavor, as well as providing a little bit of acid to help them to bake up nice and pillowy.
If you don’t have buttermilk, you could also use the same amount of sour cream or plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt. or buttermilk.
Or you can create a reasonable facsimile by adding a little lemon juice or white vinegar to regular milk. Let it stand for about 5 minutes, and it will start to curdle and become thicker.
Butter
I like to use unsalted butter because it lets me control the amount of salt in the dish. Different brands of butter can contain different amounts of salt, so this way you get a more consistent result.
Melt the butter before adding it to the recipe, either in a small pot on the stove or in the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes on 30% power.
Eggs
Eggs provide structure to the waffles, as well as added richness.
Make sure you’re using large eggs or a vegan egg substitute that swaps for chicken eggs 1:1. It’s nice if the eggs are at room temp, but I don’t find this to be too critical.
Vanilla
Vanilla extractadds a subtly sweet flavor without being at all sugary.
For a more pronounced flavor, try usingvanilla bean paste. You could also split avanilla beandown the center lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add those.
Special equipment
- Waffle maker: If you want to make waffles, you need a waffle maker. Here’s a link to the kind I have: KitchenAid Pro Line Waffle Baker.
- Measuring cups and spoons: Follow this guide for accurate measuring: How to Measure Ingredients for Baking.
- Mixing bowls: One large for dry ingredients, and one smaller for liquid ingredients.
- Silicone spatula: For folding the batter together and getting every last drop out of the bowl.
- Batter scoop: I find this really handy for portioning the batter out onto the waffle maker, but you could use a spoon or measuring cup instead.
How to make homemade waffles
This recipe comes together in 4 simple steps.
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt all together in a big bowl.
Step 2: Combine the liquid ingredients
Whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
Step 3: Add the liquid to the dry
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry.
And fold everything together.
Don’t overmix the batter, or your waffles could come out tough. It’s perfectly ok (and even preferable!) if the batter is a bit lumpy.
Step 4: Cook the waffles
Now just scoop the batter into your preheated waffle maker, and let it do it’s thing! 
You’ll know your waffles are done when they’re golden brown and a little crisp on the outside.
How to serve homemade waffles
Waffles are so versatile! They can be topped in any number of different ways.
My family loves to eat them with butter and maple syrup. I think that is probably the most traditional way to enjoy waffles.
But they’re also great with fresh fruit or berries, and a dusting of powdered sugar!
We also like to top them with peanut butter, almond butter, or Nutella.
And they’re really good with fried chicken! It’s a thing, trust me. A very delicious thing.
For dessert, homemade waffles are the perfect vehicle for ice cream. There is nothing quite like a freshly baked, warm waffle with cold, creamy ice cream! Here are some of my favorite ice cream recipes:
- No-Churn Ice Cream
- Old-fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream
- Chocolate Ice Cream
- Strawberry Ice Cream
Don’t overmix: If you overmix your batter, it will develop the natural glutens in the flour and the waffles could come out tough. So just as few strokes as possible to get things combined, and don’t worry if there are lumps!
Bake right away: The baking powder will start activating the minute it hits the liquid. And those glorious bubbles that are created don’t last forever! So be sure to use the batter right away. Sadly it doesn’t keep for any extended period of time.
Get creative: You can add all sorts of different things to the waffle batter to create something really special! Think about tossing in a handful or two of fruit (such as blueberries, sliced bananas, or diced, drained, canned peaches, for example) nuts (I LOVE toasted pecan waffles), or a half teaspoon or so of spices (think cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom). You could also swap out the vanilla for something like rosewater, lemon zest, or almond extract, for a whole different flavor experience!
I hope you’ll give this homemade waffle recipe a try! I bet your family will love it just as much as mine does!
