Crispy Paleo Waffles (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Crispy Paleo Waffles – the most delicious and crispy waffle breakfast or brunch recipe! Made with almond flour. You’d never guess these were paleo, gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free!
I am SO excited to be sharing these crispy waffles with you today! I’ve been working on this recipe for over a month, and after many waffle breakfasts I’ve finally perfected them.
If you love light and crispy waffles, this is the waffle recipe for you. Is there anything worse that a squishy, soggy waffle? I like my waffles CRISP! I want to be able to hear myself cutting in to them. Hear an actual *tap tap* as I tap my fork on them. But also light and fluffy on the inside. And these beauties are them. And best of all they are paleo/gluten free/grain free!
I started off with my previous go to dairy free waffle recipe that uses almond milk and coconut oil. Tons of you have told me you love these waffles, especially those of you like me with dairy sensitivities.
The waffles are super light and crispy thanks to the beaten egg whites. The beaten egg whites are essential to a light waffle. They add air and lightness to the waffle, and make it fluffy as a cloud. If you skip this step, which I have on lazy mornings, the waffles are much thicker and denser.
I wanted to to tweak it so I could avoid using white flour all together and use paleo friendly flours so these waffles would be even more guilt free.
I finally found success using a combination of both almond flour and tapioca flour. Just almond flour alone was too dense and crumbly. But the addition of some tapioca flour made it the perfect paleo waffle batter.
I added another step to my original dairy free waffles that I love even more in these paleo waffles. Rather than using just plain almond milk, I make a paleo version of buttermilk by adding apple cider vinegar to the almond milk. It gives it that great tang you love in buttermilk waffles without having to use dairy.
I don’t like my waffle batter overly sweet. I like to get the sweetness from pure maple syrup and fresh berries. So I add just 1/4 cup of coconut sugar to the waffle batter so it has just a touch of sweetness to it.
I make these in my beloved double belgian waffle maker. It can make 2 waffles at once! And I love how deep the waffle pockets are. I cook them at the toastiest level, because I like my waffles crispy as can be. Sometimes even when the waffle iron beeps, I open it and they’re still not crispy enough so I’ll cook them even longer.
My husband did not believe when I served these and told him they were 100% paleo, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free. They are delicious!
I’ll be serving them for our Easter brunch, and basically every Sunday morning breakfast forever. Because Sunday breakfast is meant to be waffles.
Crispy Paleo Waffles (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 2 cups finely ground almond flour, this is my favorite
- 1 cup tapioca flour, this is my favorite
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, whites and yolks separated
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and room temperature (not piping hot)
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Coconut oil spray
Equipment needed:
- Waffle iron, this one is my favorite, it makes 2 waffles at once!
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Cooling rack
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle iron.
- In your stand mixer with the balloon whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the 3 egg whites over medium high until stiff peaks form.
- Combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and allow to sit for a few minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. This makes it similar to a buttermilk. The almond milk will get a little lumpy.
- In a small bowl, combine the almond milk/apple cider mixture, 3 egg yolks, coconut oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Whisk to combine.
- Use a spatula to spoon the beaten egg whites into the waffle batter. Very, VERY gently fold the egg whites into the batter until just combined. You want to keep the egg whites as fluffy as possible. This will keep the batter light, give you lots of bubbles in the batter, and will make the waffles light and crispy.
- Spray your waffle iron with coconut oil spray. Spoon the waffle batter into your waffle iron, and cook to desired doneness. I like mine crispy and golden brown.
- When the waffles are done cooking, transfer the cooked waffles to a cooling rack. Don't put them straight on a plate. The heat from the hot waffles will create steam on the plate, which leads to soggy waffle bottoms.
- Serve the waffles with your favorite toppings: pure maple syrup, fresh berries, bananas, almond butter, coconut whipped cream, honey, nuts, etc.
- Any leftover waffles can be frozen in a freezer safe ziploc bag for 6 months. You can reheat them in a toaster (if they fit), or bake them on a wire rack rimmed baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10ish minutes until crispy again.
More Paleo Breakfasts:
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139 Comments on “Crispy Paleo Waffles (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)”
Best Paleo recipe ever! Light, but crispy and AMAZING. We used coconut milk instead of almond and added 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to get it to curdle. I used only Monk sugar and no coconut sugar! They were perfect!
OH MY GOODNESS! I swear, I’ve tried every kind of paleo waffle, trying to achieve this texture. After years of terrible or mediocre waffle dinners, my gluten-free husband politely told me to just buy the ones from the store. I can’t wait to share these with him – I think they are a winner!
Love Love Love this recipe…the best tasting waffles!
My family requests these for breakfast all the time.
Thank you, Lisa! I’m honored!
These are the best. My super picky kids husband all love them! I wouldn’t change a single thing.
Yea! Love winning over the picky eaters! Thank you!
This is my go to paleo waffle recipe! Ive never had an issue with it and love its crispy outer texture 💗
So honored, thank you! Love this so much!
Honestly, these came out incredibly!! I added chocolate chips too to the batter and was NOT able to whip the egg whites til they formed stiff peaks. After beating them with the hand mixer on medium-high speed for 8 minutes, they were foamy but peaks still hadn’t formed, and I was running out of time before guests arrived for brunch, so I just folded them in and cooked the waffles. The waffles came out lightly crispy outside, but airy and slightly chewy inside — they were SO GOOD and I’m obsessed now! Thank you for this great recipe. :)
I’m so happy to hear this!! Crisis averted! :)
I didn’t separate the eggs so I was surprised that this recipe made the waffles crispy, what a joy! I made it on a Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker that is 7 1/4 inches in diameter. It made 6 waffles. Thank you!
So happy to hear this! Thank you, Debra!