This is it: The recipe from The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook that tastes like cheesy pizza. And it happens to be one of my favorite waffle recipes.

The great photo is from friend and very cool Pittsburgh Vegan Meetup Member Lisa Tirmenstein, who captured the colorful array of some of the ingredients prior to mixing. Add savory Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and yeast-raised aroma. Enjoy!

Makes 4 (7-inch) round Belgian vegan waffles

Because the dough needs time to rise, begin at least 3 hours in advance of baking the waffles or 1 1/2 hours in advance if you are using quick-rise yeast.

• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup pitted and finely chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/3 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, preserved in olive oil or rehydrated
• 1 cup soymilk or other nondairy milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light or chickpea miso
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a large non-metal bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and salt until well blended. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm location until the flour mixture has almost doubled. (You can use your oven for this. Make sure the oven rack is low enough for the bowl to fit. Turn the oven on for one to two minutes at 200 degrees F. Turn off the oven, place the covered bowl on the rack, and close the oven door. If you wish to let the batter stand overnight, covering the bowl and leaving it at room temperature will work fine.)

After the flour mixture has risen, chop the olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and set aside. Combine the soymilk, oil, nutritional yeast, miso, flaxseed, sugar, garlic, baking powder, basil, onion powder, oregano, and cayenne in a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly, breaking up any clumps of miso. Pour into the raised flour mixture and stir until well blended. Fold in the olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat the waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes while the batter is standing. Spray both grids of the waffle iron with oil. Pour or ladle the batter into the center of the iron, covering no more than two-thirds of the iron’s surface for the first waffle. Adjust the amount as needed for subsequent waffles. Bake each waffle for 4 to 6 minutes, or until it can be removed easily.

Makes 5 servings (1 serving = 1 1/2 cups waffle cubes with 1/2 cup sauce, shown in photo)

Vegan Waffle Stuffing with cranberry sauce

Whether you’re looking for a creative way to serve vegan waffles, or simply need to use up some leftover waffles stored in the freezer, this recipe will do the trick. Because the sauce is added right before serving, it has extra sauciness without sogginess. Also, it’s a little unusual in that it has a hint of ginger and sweetness. Yummmah!

It works best with waffles that have a relatively neutral flavor. Two possibilities: Molasses Yeast Feast Waffles (tested with this recipe, and blended very well), and Naked Vegan Waffles. The texture and flavor of yeast-raised waffles will be closer to that of traditional bread-based stuffings.

To be baked or reheated and then chopped right after the vegan waffle stuffing sauce is made:

7 to 8 cups of bite-sized waffle pieces (roughly four 7-inch round Belgian waffles, or around 1 batch), using your favorite recipe

Vegan waffle stuffing sauce:

• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine, divided
• 1 cup peeled and finely chopped apple
• 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• salt to taste (see note)

If using freshly baked waffles that need time to rise, such as yeast-raised waffles, start the batter in advance of making the sauce.

For the sauce, combine the onion and 2 tablespoons of the margarine in a large saucepan. Sauté covered over medium heat for 5 minutes or until slightly browned, stirring once per minute to avoid burning. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of margarine, apple, celery, and ground ginger. Sauté covered for 3-5 more minutes, continuing to stir at least once per minute. Stir in the vegetable stock and brown sugar.

In a cup or very small bowl, whisk the corn starch with the hot water until the corn starch is completely dissolved. Pour the corn starch mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the ingredients, and stir rapidly to incorporate and break up any clumps. Stir constantly while heating for another 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is hot and has thickened slightly. Taste and add salt if necessary. Cover the sauce, and turn off the heat or reduce it to simmer/keep warm.

Bake or reheat your waffles (see note), and chop them into bite-size pieces.

Spoon waffle pieces onto serving plates, and spoon warm sauce onto each pile of waffle pieces just before serving.

Note: If you’re making fresh waffles, you can leave them in the waffle iron 1 minute longer than normal if you’d like to make them a bit toastier. However, if you’re putting the sauce on right before serving this is optional. If the waffles have been frozen, and you don’t wish to use the toaster, you can also reheat them by placing them back in the hot waffle iron for 1-2 minutes.

Note: Start with 1/8 teaspoon salt if margarine and vegetable stock don’t provide enough saltiness.

These crispy vegan waffles have a subtler sweetness and greater saltiness than your average cornbread, with the uncommon addition of sourdough-like overtones from yeast. Because the dough needs time to rise, begin at least three hours in advance of baking the waffles or one and a half hours in advance if you are using quick-rise yeast.

Some of our very cool neighbors recently hosted a potluck with several great vegan dishes. Jen S. actually prepared two different styles of homemade vegan chili, and asked that we bring something like cornbread. After a test waffle batch worked well with a popular store-bought vegan chili, we showed up with a waffle iron and a bowl of batter. Even better yet with the homemade chili! They also blend nicely with maple syrup and molasses.

• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup soymilk or other nondairy milk
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespooons molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a large non-metal bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and salt until well blended. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm location until the flour mixture has almost doubled.  (You can use your oven for this. Make sure the oven rack is low enough for the bowl to fit. Turn the oven on for one to two minutes at 200 degrees F. Turn off the oven, place the covered bowl on the rack, and close the oven door. If you wish to let the batter stand overnight, covering the bowl and leaving it at room temperature will work fine.)

After the flour mixture has risen, combine the soymilk, oil, brown sugar, molasses, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl. Break up any clumps of baking powder or baking soda. Pour into the raised flour mixture and stir until well blended. Let stand for 15 minutes. Preheat the waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes while the batter is standing. Spray both grids of the waffle iron with oil. Pour or ladle the batter into the center of the iron, covering no more than two-thirds of the iron’s surface for the first waffle. Adjust the amount as needed for subsequent waffles. Bake each waffle for 3 to 5 minutes, or until it can be easily removed. Makes 4 (7-inch) round Belgian waffles.

This vegan waffle recipe goes well with a modest topping of vanilla soy yogurt or applesauce.

I decided it would be fun to have a “recipe for two” because the avocados and pecans seem somewhat decadent. Perhaps you could even hold a romantic candlelit waffle dinner. Also, because it doesn’t use the cheapest ingredients, it’s probably best to try a small batch first to make sure you like them as well as we do! And even if you don’t have a date, you can always make up a big batch of them for your friends on St. Patty’s day alongside some of the Vegan Orange Basil Cornmeal Waffles. Can’t pinch these waffles!

These were inspired by a homemade crafts and food fair where a local vegan bakery offered avocado cupcakes. While somewhat hesitant at first, I bought one and found it pleasantly taste-bud-popping. Just like any average person, I then thought, “Hey, avocados would be great in a waffle!” After exploring which ingredients had been combined with the mighty green avocado in various other recipes, I settled on pecans, cinnamon and fresh nutmeg. They seem to complement one another quite well.

Although I often utilize healthier whole grain flour, I used plain old white all purpose flour for these so that the more subtle flavors would come through, and so the waffles wouldn’t be too dense given the avocado. However, I still used some whole wheat flour because I find waffles “cardboardy” if they don’t have a little bit of texture. If you try other flours, I’d love to hear how it worked for you!

Ingredients (for two round belgian-style waffles)

• 1/4 C finely chopped raw pecans
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground or grated nutmeg
• 1 ripe avocado, mashed until smooth (Haas other variety)
• 1/2 cup soymilk or other nondairy milk
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions

Chop the pecans and set aside. Combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl and stir with a whisk. Mash the avocado in a medium bowl, and thoroughly mix with the soymilk, sugar, water oil, and lime juice. Pour into the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in the pecans.

Preheat the waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes and spray both grids with oil. Pour or ladle the batter into the center of the iron, covering no more than two-thirds of the iron’s surface for the first waffle. Adjust the amount as needed for subsequent waffles. Bake each waffle for 4 to 5 minutes, or until it can be removed easily.

This eggless, dairy-free, wheat-free waffle recipe was inspired by a “baby carrots with ginger and sage butter” recipe that I originally found at Astray.com, attributed to Shepherd’s Garden Seeds Newsletter. Jen and I both enjoyed the recipe so much that I decided it needed a waffle counterpart! Also, winter is a great time for root vegetable waffles.

I decided to test these on more than one waffle iron, so you get to see both the round (from the Waring WMK300 waffle iron) and the square (from the Magic Chef TSK-293W waffle iron) versions. I think the orange and brown blend together nicely, perhaps catalyzing a new trend in waffle fashion!

We didn’t have fresh sage in our front yard garden or fresh ginger in stock, so I used rubbed sage and ginger powder from our local food co-op. They still came out very tasty, with just enough gingery snap to warm up the palate. (If you try it with fresh sage and ginger before I do, post your comments on how it came out!) These are on the “savory” end and have a relatively dense, healthy and wholesome feel to them. The 2 T of brown sugar is just enough to add a slight sweetness.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C buckwheat flour
• 1/2 C rolled oats
• 1 C grated carrot, measured after grating (I used the food processor)
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t ginger powder
• 2 1/2 t rubbed sage (or substitute 2 1/2 t dried sage or 2 t ground sage)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/2 C unsweetened plain soymilk
• 3 T canola oil
• 1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
• 1 t lemon juice (optional–adds a slight amount of additional “zing”)
• 2 packed T brown sugar (I used light brown)

Sift together the dry ingredients in one bowl, and whisk together the wet ingredients (including brown sugar) in another. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Cook on a generously oiled waffle iron and enjoy!

Makes just under four Belgian-style vegan waffles.

A local grocer was recently giving away some starting-to-wilt basil, so I had to find a use for it! Who can turn down fresh basil? I certainly won’t be the one to start that trend!

This waffle is about subtle style. The orange and the basil aren’t excessively pronounced, but they blend with the cornmeal, spelt flour and toasted overtones in perfect harmony.

These are inspired by a few sources: Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s delicious Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Waffles from Vegan with a Vengeance, a vegan orange pecan cornmeal waffle recipe at Bryanna Clark Grogan’s blog, and this vegan basil ice cream recipe courtesy of the Vivacious Vegan. The latter led me to concoct orange basil ice cream, which led to the idea of applying the flavor to the waffle…

These came very close to remaining stuck to the iron, but a very generous spraying of canola oil resolved the issue. If you try it with a higher-gluten flour like whole wheat, or with a tsp. of Ener-g egg replacer to increase binding, I’d love to hear how that worked for you. Increasing the oil content in the batter from 3 T to 1/4 C is another possibility. One or more of these adjustments may be necessary for a waffle iron under 1,000 watts.

You’ll want to cook these soon after mixing the batter, as the orange juice/baking soda reaction really puffs up the batter initially, and it soon looses some of this added puffiness. They’ll still come out great, just not quite as fluffy.

Orange zest, orange extract or increased basil are other possibilities. As always, your comments and suggestions are much appreciated!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C whole grain spelt flour
• 3/4 C cornmeal
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 C plain soymilk
• 1 C orange juice
• 1/4 C vanilla or plain soy yogurt
• 3 T canola oil
• 2 T sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/4 C packed finely chopped fresh basil

Sift together the dry ingredients in one bowl, and whisk together the wet ingredients (including sugar) in another. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Cook on a very generously oiled waffle iron.

Jen and I enjoyed these with a dollop of the remaining vanilla soy yogurt on top!

These would also make great waffles for St. Patrick’s day, with the green flecks of basil in them.

Imagine if you took cheese crackers and made them vegan, and then puffed them up into a fluffy, crispy waffle. That’s about the best description I can come up with for these! This recipe was inspired by Jo Stepaniak’s “crock cheez” recipe from her Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, which I highly recommend. These could make a great snack served in quarters for a Super Bowl party or other gathering; if you’re planning on using them for a meal you may wish to decrease the salt from 3/4 t to 1/2 t, as they are relatively salty (just like cheese crackers).

I was trying to come up with a catchy name blending the words “cheese” and “waffle,” but that yielded things like “weesle,” “chaffle” and “wacheese.” These, of course, sound like a sneaky animal, a painful injury, and a reaction to airborne irritants. Not very appetizing! So, they’re just “cheddar cheesy vegan waffles” for now.

Along with being pretty tasty on their own, they’re great served with additional applesauce on top, and you might also try them smothered with a generous portion of vegan chili.

Ingredients

• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C rolled oats
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 3T nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 1/2 T miso (light or chickpea)
• 1 t onion powder
• 3/4 t salt (if you don’t want them as salty as cheese crackers, reduce this to 1/2 t)
• 1/2 t paprika
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t dry mustard powder
• 2 C soymilk
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 C canola oil
• optional: 1 T prepared horseradish

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate medium bowl. Be sure to break up the clumps of miso very well, as it has a strong flavor. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Allow the batter to sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Cook on a generously oiled waffle iron, generously sparying both grills with oil before each waffle.

These are a crazy hybrid of several other recipes that worked pretty well. Jen also gave a “thumbs” up, eating more than one for dinner.

And you can instantly get a souped-up, spicier and even more flavorful version just by signing up for the Waffleparty.com Update List.  (Hint, hint – and please tell your friends!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C whole wheat or all-purpose flour (I originally suggested buckwheat, but this may not provide adequate binding or may cause sticking on some irons)
• 1 C cornmeal
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 can (15 oz.) refried beans (I used Amy’s brand refried black beans)
• 1 3/4 C soymilk
• 1/4 C canola oil

Stir together the dry ingredients and whisk together the wet ingredients (include the beans in the wet ingredients. Stir the wet into the dry until just blended. Cook on a waffle iron sprayed generously with oil. Add a few additional T of water or soymilk if the batter seems too dry near the end.

Top with salsa, vegan sour cream, guacamole, and vegan cheese. Eat and enjoy your new superpowers of levitation!

Makes roughly 4 waffles in our Waring Pro WMK300 waffle iron.

This spelt-oat-banana-walnut-spice vegan waffle recipe is a variation/combination of a few other recipes posted here, and is currently my favorite. I’ve actually eaten a few of these without any toppings, or just a little hot maple syrup. These are a bit lighter and fluffier than the buckwheat waffles, but still very filling. You’ll have to experiment a little to get the right combination of crispiness on the outside vs. moistness on the inside.

• 1 ripe banana, very well mashed
• 1/2 cup + 2T water (you can omit the addt’l 2T of water if you’re omitting the walnuts)
• 1 1/2 cups soymilk (we use Silk unsweetened)
• 1 T vanilla extract (most recipes use only a tsp.–I love vanilla!)
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil (this is a little more than most recipes here)
• 1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer powder (optional–adds a slight amount of binding and slightly more fluffiness)
• 1/3 cup raw finely chopped walnuts (measure before chopping-you can add slightly more or less if you wish)
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger (or you can use some chopped fresh ginger squeezed through a *sturdy* garlic press)
• 1/2 pod freshly ground nutmeg

Mix together the mashed banana and liquid. Stir together dry ingredients and mix in wet ingredients. Cook on a waffle iron sprayed generously with oil (we generally use canola). My recommendation is to cook the first one roughly a minute longer than you normally cook waffles to avoid sticking, esp. if you don’t add the egg replacer powder, and then adjust the time for subsequent waffles if necessary.