This Healthy Waffle Recipe cheers, “Weeeeeeeekend!!” Those lightly crisp outsides, tender, fluffy insides, and pockets so clearly intended for filling with melty butter and ripples of pure maple syrup make any morning instantly special.
You deserve a (healthy) waffle breakfast!
Waffles have the vibe of being more effort than pancakes, so they leave you feeling pampered, but as you’ll see, this particular healthy waffle recipe comes together in one bowl (your blender!).
The batter is ready to go in 10 minutes, which is conveniently about how long your waffle maker will need to preheat.
In fact, go run over and plug your waffle maker in now. It’s probably hiding in the back of a cupboard, wedged behind the toaster oven and the single-serving smoothie maker you keep promising yourself you’ll use.
Smoothies can start Monday. Today it’s all about healthy waffles!
Ingredients and Substitutions
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Unsweetened Applesauce. One of the oldest healthy baking tricks in the book, and one of the best! Despite being low fat whole wheat waffles (a feat usually achieved via melted butter), these waffles are incredibly tender. I swapped more than half of the butter for applesauce with great results.
- Milk. Use any milk you like—dairy or non-dairy both work well.
- Butter. Yes, you do need some. Butter is what allows the waffles to crisp on the outside. If you prefer not to use butter, you can swap melted, cooled coconut oil instead.
- Eggs. Give the waffles structure and lift.
- Maple Syrup. You don’t need much, since you’ll be adding more when you serve your waffles!
- Vanilla Extract and Cinnamon. Add cozy warmth and depth.
- White Whole Wheat Flour. It’s 100% whole grain and has all the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour, but its flavor is far more mild.
- Baking Powder. Helps the waffles rise and stay fluffy.
How to Make This Healthy Waffle Recipe
Preheat the Waffle Maker. Turn on your waffle iron so it’s ready to go. If you’re making multiple batches, you can also preheat your oven to 200°F to keep waffles warm.
Blend the Batter. Add the applesauce, milk, melted (and cooled) butter, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla to a blender (photo 1). Sprinkle in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Blend just until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed (photo 2).
Cook the Waffles (photo 3). Pour the batter into your waffle maker and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Keep Warm (Optional). Place cooked waffles on a baking sheet in the oven while you finish the remaining batter.
Serve. Enjoy warm with your favorite toppings. ENJOY!
How to Freeze Waffles
- Arrange cooked waffles on a cooling rack and let cool completely. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you’d like smaller portions (or want to scale the waffles down so that they fit in your toaster), break them into sections first.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the waffles harden.
- Transfer to a ziptop bag, squeezing out as much air as possible before you seal it.
- Label the bag with the date (I always thank myself later when I do this), then freeze for up to 3 months.
To Reheat Frozen Waffles in the Oven
- Preheat your oven or a toaster oven to 350 degrees F.
- Arrange the frozen waffles on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until the waffles are crisp and warmed through.
To Reheat Frozen Waffles in a Regular Toaster
- I find that unless you have a toaster with really wide slots and fancy temperature settings, the outsides tend to burn before the middles are hot.
- As a workaround, to reheat the frozen waffles using your regular toaster, place the waffle on a plate and microwave it for a minute or two first to warm it through. From there, crisp up the outsides in your regular toaster.
Healthy Waffles
Video
Email Me the Recipe!
From time to time, we’ll send you Well Plated emails. You can unsubscribe anytime. Have an account? Log In.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup skim milk or milk of choice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder I prefer aluminum free
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle maker. If desired, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F to keep batches of waffles warm.
- Place the applesauce, milk, butter, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a blender. Sprinkle in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Blend just until combined, pausing the blender to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Cook the batter according to your waffle maker’s instructions. If desired, place the waffles on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Enjoy immediately with your favorite waffle toppings.
Notes
- TO STORE: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze waffles in a single layer, then transfer to a container for up to 3 months.
- TO REHEAT: Toast in a toaster or warm in the oven for best texture.
This is my go-to waffle recipe for the weekends!! Loved it.
YAY Claudia! I am so pleased to hear this, thank you!
Ooooo nice they look perfect! And I love how you added the apple sauce!
Do you the no I could make these using my oven waffle pan? I don’t have a waffle maker. Thanks so much
Hi Marcia, I’m not familiar with oven waffle pans, but if you’ve successfully used other waffle recipes in it, I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t give this one a try! I hope you enjoy it if you do decide to experiment.
Can I substitute 100% Whole Wheat Flour instead of the WHITE whole wheat flour?
Thank you.
Hi Denise! Regular whole wheat flour will have a more pronounced wheat taste and will make the waffles a little more dense, but you can definitely make the swap. Enjoy!
This recipe sounds fantastic! the problem is I don’t own (and don’t have the space for) a waffle iron. Could this recipe be used as is for a pancake batter vs a waffle or would I need to make any adjustments?
Hi Tara, I haven’t tried that myself, but you could certainly experiment. I also have a blender pancake recipe if you’re interested in checking that out! https://www.wellplated.com/banana-oatmeal-pancakes/
I’m diabetic and have tried many of ur recipes all of which fantastic. I just got taken off of my diabetic meds since I’m controlling my numbers so well so hopefully when I go back to the doctors in six weeks it will be permanent wish me luck marle58
Good luck, Lauri! I’m glad to hear you’ve been enjoying my recipes—thank you so much!
These were delicious
Used dairy free milk ( cashew) and butter. Also used fresh milled Einkorn flour.
Also used my kitchen aid and made a double batch
I’m so happy to hear that this was a hit, Sandra! Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review!
We love these waffles! They freeze well and taste delicious.
The ease of putting everything into the blender is great!
Thanks Erin
Hey, I forgot to mention that instead of using butter, coconut oil was used. So yummy :-)
When I made these waffles I let them cook just enough to be able to pull them off of the waffle iron and let them cool. We stored them in the refrigerator between sheets of parchment paper and reheated them on the waffle iron. My husband & I love them!
I’m so happy to hear that this was a hit, Jett! Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review!
I subbed 1/2 of the flour for 1/4 flaxmeal and 1/4 plain protein powder, and these came out great! Making these my go to waffle recipe ☺
Hi Richelle! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Hi Erin, Will this batter keep in the refrigerator for a few days?
Thank you,
Julie
Hi Julie! I’d actually recommend preparing the waffles in advance and freezing them instead. I hope this helps!
I prepped the wet ingredients in my blender & refrigerated them overnight.
Added Melted coconut oil & dry ingredients (also pre-prepped) to the blender in the morning. Worked out wonderfully.
So great to hear! Thank you Michelle!
I decided to try this recipe because I had extra applesauce, though for years, I’ve said I don’t like waffles. After eating these waffles, now I’m a waffle lover.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Walter! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Hi Erin, what substitutes can you recommend in place of the applesauce?
Thank you
Hi Tobi! I’ve only tested this recipe with the applesauce, so anything else would be a complete experiment. If you decide to play around with it, I’d love to hear how it goes!
Thanks, Erin! I added the applesauce and it was really good!
I’m so happy to hear that, Tobi! Thanks for reporting back!
These waffles are so easy to blend up and taste delicious! We make extra and keep in the freezer.
Instead of using butter we used coconut oil and it worked great.
Thank you for a great recipe!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for your kind review Jett!
Quinoa can be substituted for the wheat for Gluten Free Waffles. I cannot express how good those are, they are so uniquely yummy!!
So glad you to have your feedback Carma! Thank you for this kind review!
So good! I added frozen blueberries and used almond milk
Hi Sharon! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
I made this recipe as is. I didn’t have a waffle maker, so I made pancakes instead. I am happy to say that they were delicious! For anyone that was asking if these could be made into pancakes… The definite answer is YES 😍
Great to hear Tricia! Thank you so much for the feedback on making these into pancakes!
I did not have whole wheat flour, so I substituted for 1 cup oat flour and 1 cup all purpose. Turned out delicious!
Hi Amanda! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
These waffles were amazing! I made them with all purpose flour, not whole wheat and they were still delicious. My old waffle recipe was really time intensive and it wasn’t as good as these. They were fluffy and the flavor was perfect. There was only 2 sets of dishes to do — the blender and the waffle iron, which made my husband happy. These waffles are amazing!!
YAY, so glad to hear it, thanks for the feedback Liz!!!