The fat in the oil helps waffles to cook and develop a slightly crispy texture, enhances flavor, and reduces sticking in conjunction with the oil you spray onto the iron. In a recipe that calls for no more than 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil, if you don’t mind experimenting a bit, you may be able to get it down to 1 tablespoon if you’re spraying a decent coat of oil on the iron before each waffle. If you want to eliminate it altogether, you might try the Vegan Coconut-Buckwheat Waffles or (again if you don’t mind experimenting–I’d suggest trying it with half a recipe to begin with) try substituting coconut milk (not the watered-down or low-fat variety) for at least half the liquid in another recipe. Coconut milk has a high fat content, so can do the trick in some cases. If you’re looking to eliminate the fat altogether, the safest recommendation I can make is to eliminate the oil and increase the liquid until you have a slightly thinner batter of desired consistency for vegan pancakes–you’ll still need a bit of oil for your pan or grill, and you will have a somewhat different flavor and texture than you would have had with a waffle, but will have very little oil. Hope that gives you a few ideas!

I’m rather new to the “science” of cooking and have a lot to learn about veganizing recipes I have. I have a question about the oil… what purpose it serves… I would like to reduce or eliminate it. Knowing what work it does while cooking away in the waffle iron would help me to devise an appropriate sub for it. Or, better yet, if you have a suggestion for me, that would be great. Thanks!

Also, using just all-purpose flour can create a slightly lighter waffle, but when removing some of the texture it becomes especially important to leave the batter slightly lumpy (which is good to do anyway), to avoid a somewhat toughened “cardboardish” consistency in the final product. Hope that helps a bit!