Here I briefly review some cool vegan waffle recipes and concepts that have appeared elsewhere in recent months. I’m sure there are many more than this; feel free to add in the comments.
First, thanks to VegNews for recently spreading the love of vegan waffles to other occasions. Their most recent newsletter featured some yummy-looking Mexican Hot Chocolate Waffles for Cinco de Mayo. They appear to provide a different texture and experience than the Hot Chocolate Molasses Waffles and South of the Border Dark Chocolate Syrup,* because they creatively incorporate the cocoa via the syrup blended right into the waffles, and also utilize egg replacer powder. Thanks to Pittsburgh Vegan Meetup Member Rachel Z. for the heads up!
VegNews’ November-December 2011 (print edition) “Wild Waffles” brought our beloved food to the winter holidays. Its waffle and topping recipes featured dill and beets respectively, both flavors I love. And the poetic description of a vegan waffle-topping event is plenty to get one amped up:
“Without the syrup, waffles’ complex, subtly sweet flavor begs for savory experimentation, limited only by your global culinary imagination. During the holiday, brunch offers a superb opportunity for a casual yet lavish affair, with guests mingling in the kitchen as one freshly made waffle after another gets served up.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself! And of course, the recipes would work just as well for a May or June waffle party.
SheKnows Miso Vegan’s Five-Spice Vegan Waffles recipe, also incorporating grated lemon zest, presents an interesting flavor for a waffle. And I imagine the kitchen smells quite nice while baking them. Given the amount of waffle I like to have at one sitting, I might question the “serves 8.” And I’d probably dump even more spice into it, as I like a good kick in the tastebuds.
Perhaps the most interestingly named vegan waffles posted recently are “Padgett Waffles with a Fullerton Twist.” Quite a noble-sounding waffle! I’d love to see all the suggested vegan modifications incorporated into an actual recipe, especially as posting the readable page photo of a cookbook, unless it’s in the public domain, may ruffle some feathers. I appreciate the author’s recognition that one can still publicly explore and support vegan and vegetarian cooking without proclaiming a fully vegan lifestyle—it’s indeed a continuum, not a dichotomy.
The First Mess’s Banana Coconut Waffles (or pancakes) recipe stood out for a few reasons. First, I like that it emphasizes oiling the grids between each waffle—I’ve seen a few people get turned off by vegan waffles right off the bat because they often do require more frequent oiling than non-vegan waffles. That, of course, doesn’t make the vegan waffles inferior; it’s just a simple fact. The other interesting point is the use of either ground chia or flax seeds. I’ve talked to a few runners over the years who swear by chia pancakes as a great energy source (per the discussion of chia in Born to Run), but haven’t yet tried it as a waffle binder.
The above led me to an earlier (May 2010) Pre-Race Pinole and Chia Waffles recipe on No Meat Athlete—which also has a cool Vegetarian Guide to Conquering Your First 26.2 Miles. Do you know how many additional waffles you can gobble down while training for a marathon? Yum!
Also in March, Vegansaurus featured a guest post for “the greatest vegan waffle recipe in the world!” The title made me chuckle, and I really loved some of the instructions, like, “When mixing all the ingredients, be gentle, as if you were stroking a tiny kitten’s head.” The only change I might make is that I tend to prefer a slightly lumpy batter over a smooth and consistent one. The author’s waffle maker review site, mentioned at the bottom of the post, could be a very helpful resource once it’s developed. This would include comments based on real-life experience with vegan waffles. Although the GVWC also includes a short guide to waffle makers, I’m unable to answer questions about specific models that I sometimes receive, outside of the Waring Pro WMK300 and a few others.
While it goes back a few years, Go Dairy Free posted a brief but useful list of Global Vegan Waffle Party Approved Recipes.
If you’re planning vegan pancakes rather than waffles, particularly fitting for this year’s theme are some of the delicious-looking recipes in Chocolate-Covered Katie’s “Pancake Pandemonium.” And she has plenty of recipes that would work as vegan chocolate waffle toppings as well. Some, but certainly not all, pancake recipes will work as waffles either as-is or with adjustments including a bit of extra oil; I’m unable to comment on any specific recipe I haven’t actually tried.
Hopefully this gives you some additional resources for your vegan waffle event!
*From The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook and Vegan Chocolate Seduction
Thanks for this waffle recipe. Can you also try this Vegan Waffle Recipe so that we also may have options to consider in making waffles.
Don’t know if I’ll have a chance to review your vegan waffle recipe in the near future, but perhaps a visitor to this site will. It looks like an interesting and tasty flavor combination. Thank you for sharing, and best wishes with your site!