These vegan waffles are light and fluffy – you’ll never guess that they’re free of eggs and dairy! A perfect weekend breakfast, especially when topped with blueberry sauce.
Let’s talk breakfast.
For those with food allergies or dietary needs, breakfast can be the most difficult meal of the day. If you used to eat eggs for breakfast, but can’t do that anymore, breakfast is the meal where you can get into a rut.
You can drink smoothies, eat granola, eat steel-cut oats, etc., but you may miss being able to have that easy form of protein that is an egg.
If you don’t eat eggs, you may wonder about pancakes and waffles as well. How will you make those? Will they still taste good?
Can vegans eat waffles?
Yes, vegans can certainly eat waffles, provided they are free of eggs and dairy!
Thankfully, egg-free pancakes and vegan waffles are easy to make with lots of baking powder to make them light and fluffy.
We make pancakes on the weekends here, but only rarely make waffles. Every time we make waffles I change the recipe a little bit, and I finally have a recipe that is light and fluffy, and perfect topped with blueberries! If you aren’t a fruit fan, try these cinnamon sugar egg free waffles.
What kind of egg replacer do you need to make vegan waffles?
A generous amount of baking powder will allow the batter to rise and create the perfect fluffy waffles. Once you mix the batter, you need to let it sit for a couple of minutes so that the lemon juice and the baking powder react. The batter will rise pretty quickly due to the chemical reaction. That reaction is what makes these vegan waffles light and fluffy!
See how the batter looks thick and fluffy in the photo below? That’s how you want it to look.
What is the right milk substitute to use in vegan waffles?
I use water in this vegan waffle recipe. However, you can use pretty much any non-dairy milk that works for your dietary needs. Soy milk, coconut milk, rice milk, etc. If I use milk, I use So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk, and I find that it is very neutral tasting.
How do you make vegan waffles?
- Preheat your waffle iron.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients.
- Spoon the batter onto the hot waffle iron – the batter will be thick!
- Cook according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- Enjoy with maple syrup or blueberry sauce!
Tips for how to make vegan waffles from scratch:
- make sure your baking powder is fresh – that’s the secret to fluffy vegan waffles
- let the batter rest for a few minutes so it can rise
- use a good waffle iron – one that heats evenly and doesn’t stick.
- gently remove the waffles from the iron – don’t rush – you don’t want them to tear
Can you freeze waffles?
Yes, you can freeze these waffles in a ziploc freezer bag for up to 3 months.
How do you reheat frozen waffles?
Just pop them into a toaster or toaster oven to reheat!
This is a smaller batch of vegan waffles, but this recipe can easily be doubled.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Light and Fluffy Vegan Waffles with Blueberry Sauce.
Ingredients
For the waffles:
- 1 1/2 cups white spelt flour all-purpose flour works, too
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons organic canola oil
- 1 cup water
For the blueberry sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar or other sweetener of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle iron.
- Whisk together the spelt flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and lemon zest.
- Add the organic canola oil, water, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.
- Let the batter sit for a couple of minutes while it rises.
- Spoon batter into your waffle iron and cook according to your waffle iron's instructions.
Make the blueberry sauce:
- Place the blueberries into a small pan and add the sugar or other sweetener. (If the blueberries are super sweet, you may not need much).
- Heat over medium low heat until the blueberries are soft and release their juices. Taste and add more sweetener if needed.
- Serve waffles with vegan buttery spread and blueberry sauce.
Recipe Notes
The number of waffles you get from this recipe will depend on the size and style of your waffle iron. This recipe is easily doubled if necessary.
You can refrigerate leftover waffles for 2-3 days, although they are best eaten fresh.
You can freeze these waffles in a ziploc freezer bag for up to 3 months. Reheat in a toaster or a toaster oven.
If you want a stronger lemon flavor, you can add more lemon zest or a 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract. I have not tried this recipe with gluten free flour. If you try it, let me know!
If you need more vegan breakfast ideas, try these fluffy vegan banana pancakes!
This recipe was originally published in May 2015. It has been updated.
These came out SO. GOOD. You weren’t wrong in saying the baking powder is key as well as letting the batter rest so that the air bubbles can form. I put the airy batter in without mixing it and got the perfect spongy yet crisp on the outside waffles. Thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked them! Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you so much for this recipe, I’ve been trying to find a good vegan waffle for 2 years now with no luck, every recipe I’ve tried either ended up very very dense or they fell apart really bad. Plus most of them required some type of egg-substitute such as flax seed that not only required extra work, but made the waffles not look as nice. This one has none of those problems, it was the quickest, easiest, fluffiest, and tastiest waffles I’ve ever had, even before going vegan! Thanks again, I will definitely be printing this out and keeping it in my permanent recipe book.
Perfect! Only changes are: used a whole lemon for zesting and split it between the two batches I made. Used almond milk instead of water. Also skipped the blueberry sauce and just tossed on whole blueberries.
Makes a super easy and really tasty waffle… I followed the recipe exactly the first time and they turned out great – my only complaint was they were way too sweet. I’m going to only use 1 tablespoon of sugar per batch next time. Made 4 square belgium style waffles for me.
We have tried many vegan waffle recipes but this is BY FAR is the best!!! My grandkids loved them, and the hubby loved them.
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you for letting me know! :)
Thank you so much for this recipe, I’ve been trying to find a good vegan waffle for 2 years now with no luck, every recipe I’ve tried either ended up very very dense or they fell apart really bad. Plus most of them required some type of egg-substitute such as flax seed that not only required extra work, but made the waffles not look as nice. This one has none of those problems, it was the quickest, easiest, fluffiest, and tastiest waffles I’ve ever had, even before going vegan! Thanks again, I will definitely be printing this out and keeping it in my permanent recipe book.
I’m so happy you like them! Thank you for letting me know!
These are the BEST waffles I’ve ever made. My family occasionally has vegan week, so I sought out some breakfast recipes to make for my kids ahead of time so I wasn’t scrambling every morning to figure out breakfast for them. This will be my new go-to waffle recipe for sure. Same with your pancake recipe…DELICIOUS!!! I need to make double of both when I do them because a single batch doesn’t last.
I’m so glad that you liked these! Thanks for letting me know!
This is the first comment I have ever made on one of these, but I loved these!! I opted out the lemon zest because I didn’t have any and just used lemon juice from the bottle. I’m sure they are even more amazing with all fresh ingredients. I also used strawberries because that’s what fruit I had! Thanks for these!
Hi, I’m a recently tried this recipe with gluten free flour, and they seem great !!
Yes, finally a truly fluffy vegan waffle recipe! I didn’t have any lemons on hand, so I subbed OJ and it came out great. I cannot wait to try it next time with the lemon and blueberry combo. I normally do not like fruit on my waffles, but this was amazing with the warm blueberries. I also subbed maple syrup for the sugar with the blueberries and I didn’t use any syrup on my waffle. I’m a bit odd though and don’t love syrup.
Thanks so much for sharing this yummy recipe and I’m so glad I found you.
I attempted making these and the batter was left crumbly and when I tried to make the consistency smoother it still didn’t work
These waffles are absolutely delicious. I used applesauce as an oil replacement and it worked perfectly. The addition of lemon zest is just perfect. Kids love them too.
Can this waffle recipe be used to make pancakes instead??
I have not tried that, but I do have a vegan pancake recipe here: https://theprettybee.com/basic-vegan-pancake-recipe/
These waffles are so delicious! This made 3 large waffles. Perfect for the kids and me! I used hazelnut milk instead of water. The batter had me drooling! So thick and smelled heavenly! Thanks for sharing this recipe ❤
What brand hazelnut milk do you use?
We made these GF in silicon molds in the oven. 350F for about 20 minutes and they came out great! It was my son’s first time to be able to eat waffles due to his many allergies and he loved them! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
YUM!! these waffles are so tasty. I am not vegan myself, so as an omnivore i can say that these waffles are delicious!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!
Good Morning!! Can you replace the canola oil with coconut oil??
Yes you can!
Figured it out! I had the stand mixer going when I added liquid ingredients one at a time, resulting in immediately clumping since I added oil first. Re-did it and this time I fully mixed dry ingredients together then fully mixed wet ingredients before combining the two and there were no clumps. YAY!
Happy to hear that!
OMG thank you for this recipe! I tried other recipes that came out horrible. This recipe is perfect and wow the waffle are so fluffy it’s unbelievable! My waffle maker and I thank you!!!
Yay! So glad you liked these! Thanks for letting me know!
We’ve been on a plant based diet for about three months now and miss the Sunday morning waffles which were often part of our weekend breakfast tradition. Not wanting to make aquafaba or a flax egg substitute as so many vegan waffles call for, I was looking for a quick and easy recipe and that is exactly what I found. This recipe is interesting. Although when eating these the waffles taste light and fluffy, they feel as dense as a rock when taking them out of the waffle iron, its kind of strange. Either way, these made for a delicious, quick easy to whip up breakfast and they did not stick to the waffle iron. Not the light fluffy buttermilk waffles as traditionally made but an acceptable substitute. My family enjoyed the taste. I made these twice, once with half almond milk and water and the other with just water as the recipe states. I thought the water may make these bland, but they were fine either way. I used coconut oil instead of canola…I rather like the taste of coconut oil in the waffles. This made a great breakfast for Father’s Day! This recipe is a keeper!
Glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for letting me know!
soooo good!!!! we subbed Bobs Red Mill GF and added xanthan gum worked out perfectly!!! love it, thanks my kiddos are so sick of chia seeds.
Yay! So glad that you loved them, thanks for letting me know!
Would ommiting the oil be a problem?
They may be more chewy without oil.
Wonderful vegan recipe! I substitute apple cider vinegar for the lemon juice and add a little cinnamon to the dry mix. We make these weekly – thank you for sharing!
I have tried it with gluten free flour! It turns out great!! I love this recipe, and the lemon gives it a nice sweet taste.
I just made these with unbleached flour, almond milk, a little ground flaxseed and concentrated powder stevia and they are incredible. The lemon flavor takes it to a whole new level. 11/10 would make again. I cut the recipe in half since it said 6 servings but then I went ahead and added ingredients to make it the full recipe since it didn’t look like a lot of batter. It made 2.5 large waffles for 2 people. I just dressed mine with maple syrup but next time I’ll have to try the blueberry sauce!
So glad that you liked these! I think the size of the waffle iron may contribute to the serving size. I will take a look and adjust the recipe details. Thank you!
Hi there! We made and love your awesome waffles today and they were a huge hit with our two year old son, who has never had waffles because we don’t own an iron (; but yesterday we chanced upon a silicone waffle tray for the oven and decided to make some. For your readers who may use the same thing I thought I’d share oven temp and baking times because these are so fabulous! And happy to say the recipe made exactly for our six waffle tray.
We baked at 175C for 13 minutes and they came out perfect! (:
THanks for letting me know they worked for you and for sharing the temp and time!
Made these for lunch for my friends and everyone loved them! Thank you so much for this recipe! Pure waffle perfection.
It’s my first time making vegan waffles and im so happy with the way they turned out! Now i know that it actually works, eggs are unnecessary and overrated. Also super easy when all I need is simple, everyday ingredients
Yay! That’s great news! Thank you for letting me know!
I just have to say thanks for the great recipe. We make a lot of waffles using different grains, but this recipe is our favorite! They are just right…fluffy and super crisp.
Yay! So glad to hear that!
Hi,
I would like to make these waffles for breakfast tomorrow but I can’t seem to locate the blueberry sauce recipe. Can I get a link? Looks delicious! Thanks!
It’s just sugar and blueberries, it’s printed in the waffle recipe! Super easy to make. :)
These turned out so yummy. Thank you for the great recipe it is a keeper!
Yay! So glad you like it! Thanks for letting me know!
I have been making these for months now and they are so amazing. Perfectly crisp and fluffy. These are so amazing and have made being vegan and dealing with my waffle addiction so much easier! :) thank you so much for this delicious addition to the waffle world.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you letting me know, your comment made my day! :)
I have never really had issues of recipes not working out for me, so I’m not sure what went wrong here. They were not fluffy and had a terrible taste. Family refused to eat them. I dumped the batter and remade thinking that perhaps I forgot an ingredient. I checked off ingredients as I went with the same results. Dissapointed, blueberry sauce was amazing tho!
I’m glad I’m not the only one. All the other reviews are great, thought it must just be me! This is the second time I’ve made them, word-for-word, and both times they’ve come out inedible and tasting like baking powder. :(
If you are detecting a strong baking powder taste, your baking powder may be too old.
Have you ever tried to freeze a batch of the waffles? If so, any suggestions?
i never once commented on anyone recipe even when I liked it. I felt like I really needed to say a big thank you for this waffle recipe. I get so upset sometimes with my food allergies when everyone goes out to eat or can eat what they want so I felt like when I make these waffles I am giving myself a big treat.
I was worried about this recipe once I had the batter mixed up because it was so gluey, but these cooked up wonderfully. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Perfect texture and taste was spot on. Thank you for a vegan waffle recipe that actually worked!
Yay, glad you had a good experience! Thanks for letting me know! :)
Is there anything I can substitute for the lemon juice and the lemon zest
Leave the lemon zest out and lemon juice out and just use 1 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar in it’s place. If the batter is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water to thin it out.
I would love to make these gluten free – could i swap out the spelt flour for a gluten free flour blend?
Hi there…among other things I am sensitive to spelt. Would any other flour work well?
You can try a gluten free flour blend, but the waffles will probably be a bit more dense.
I’m convinced that if the whole world was to awake to a plate of these waffles for breakfast – it would be one happy place. Just divine Kelly.
Thank you so much, Thalia! :)
Can’t believe how fluffy you got these waffles without any egg! Amazing Kelly! You are the best vegan baker : )
You are too kind, Natalie!
These waffles sound so flavorful! love the combo of lemon and blueberries. With all the amazing waffle recipes I’ve been seeing lately I think I need to finally get a waffle maker!
You definitely nailed these waffles, Kelly! That is seriously my dream stack right there! Lovin’ that gorgeous blueberry sauce too and the fact that these are egg-less!
Thanks, Sarah!
These waffles look perfect, Kelly! And I love that blueberry sauce. Looks like the perfect touch!
Oh yes, I’d be concerned about my pancake and waffle intake too if I had to cut out eggs, but it looks like you’ve got the recipe down, sista! iI’ll have to try these waffles over the weekend! Those blueberries?!! JUST YUM!
Spelt flour is one of my favorites to cook with. So glad I now have a waffle maker so I can enjoy these!
This is looking delicious. I would love to bake this for the coming occasion Thanks for sharing the recipe