Perhaps you’re in the mood for hot, homemade vegan Belgian waffles, but just don’t feel like whipping up your own batch of batter. And toaster waffles just aren’t cuttin’ it. No need to fret, as Isaac at Surprisingly Vegan has already done much of the work for you.
Surprisingly Vegan’s just-add-water vegan waffle mix is also gluten-free, and is made with an interesting blend of delicious ingredients: oats, English walnuts, flaxseed, coconut palm nectar, salt, and vanilla bean. I really appreciate the relatively uncommon use of nutmeal in the mix, especially as I’ve had some success using almond meal in baked goods, including pancakes and microwave mug cakes.
Both gluten-free and vegan baked goods aren’t always the easiest thing to pull off, especially with waffles. Given this, I was impressed overall with how the waffles came out in my Waring Pro WMK300 waffle maker. The flavor was very nice, as was the outside texture.
The only complaints I have was that they could have been slightly fluffier, and that the inside still seemed a bit too moist after a good 6 minutes or so on relatively high heat. But they were still very tasty and edible, and the time-saving just-add-water preparation makes up for the longer cook time.
I know that with some of my own waffle recipes, a bit of fluffliness is sacrificed when using somewhat denser and wholesome ingredients. Actually, I was surprised that they got as fluffy as they did, given that neither baking powder nor baking soda was listed in the ingredients.
I also tinkered a bit and tried the mix as vegan pancakes, adding a bit of water to achieve the desired thinness, and using a dab of vegan margarine in the iron skillet for each pancake. I was pretty happy with them; they had a nice wholesome–but not too wholesome–taste. They were a bit less gritty than vegan and gluten-free pancakes I’ve made with rice flour, had a more neutral flavor than ones I’ve done with bean-based flours, and were a bit chewier than what I’m accustomed to, with the exception of yeast-raised waffles–probably due to a relatively high flaxseed content. But the high flaxseed content is good for binding; just remember to spray your iron grids with a thin coat of oil prior to each waffle.
I didn’t have time to experiment systematically, but I had a bit of success adding small amounts of baking powder, baking soda, and blackstrap molasses, to increase fluffiness, sweetness, and crispiness slightly. Not essential, though; I’m quite a waffle and pancake snob, so you may be perfectly happy with the results without any modifications. I’d recommend trying it yourself to see what you think!
Overall, Surprisingly Vegan Waffle Mix offers a decently tasty and nutritious alternative to entirely homemade vegan waffle recipes, whether you’re planning to host a vegan waffle party or otherwise. Many thanks to Isaac and others for developing this product.