Use your sourdough starter or sourdough discard to make these airy, crispy vegan sourdough waffles! Not only are these waffles egg-free, but you'll get to enjoy all the benefits of fermented grains first thing in the morning!
I haven't always owned a waffle maker, but whenever I have access to one, I love to experiment with different flavors and grains. We love these whole grain vegan waffles. For a more decadent, yet wholesome breakfast, I often use oat flour to make these vegan chocolate waffles. However, now that I've entered the world of sourdough and am now a sourdough mom, I've been making these vegan sourdough waffles non-stop. My kids can't get enough of them and they are so easy to make!
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❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe!
- I hate wasting food and these vegan sourdough waffles are the perfect recipe for making sure you don't throw away any of your sourdough starter. They can be made with fluffy, bubbly, fed sourdough starter or sourdough discard!
- Requiring just 7 ingredients and about 30 minutes from start to finish, these waffles are my go-to easy breakfast recipe.
- Adults and children alike will adore these waffles! They are crispy on the outside and airy on the inside. We always re-toast our waffles in a toaster right before enjoying them to keep them extra crispy.
- This vegan sourdough waffle recipe is the perfect sourdough recipe for beginners. If you can feed your sourdough, you can make these sourdough waffles!
- These vegan waffles are great for anyone with allergies as they don't contain any dairy or eggs. In addition, the fermented grains in sourdough can often be more easily consumed by people who can't tolerate gluten.
Ingredients
- Sourdough Starter - When it comes to these vegan sourdough waffles, I like to make them with fed sourdough starter. That means I've stirred fresh flour and water into my starter about 4-8 about hours (depending on the temperature) before I start making these waffles. You can also use sourdough discard that has been in the refrigerator and I'll touch on that in the "substitutions" section.
- Coconut Oil - Coconut oil is my favorite oil to use in this recipe. Its subtly sweet and gives these waffles the perfect crispy texture.
- Flax Eggs - To make a flax egg, you'll simply need to mix together ground flaxseed with water about 5 minutes before you start the batter for these sourdough waffles. Once your flax mixture has thickened, you can continue with the recipe.
- Maple Syrup - We always have pure maple syrup on hand. Not only for creating the batter for these vegan waffles, but also to drizzle on top once they are finished cooking. Pure maple syrup adds the perfect amount of sweetness and a delicious flavor.
- Cinnamon - I add cinnamon to all my baked goods and cinnamon provides so much flavor to these waffles. You can always omit this spice if you desire.
- Baking Soda - This might not seem like a major ingredient in this recipe, but adding baking soda to the batter right at the end is crucial for making these perfect vegan sourdough waffles. The baking soda reacts with the strong acidity of sourdough and makes the batter super light and fluffy. It also helps to remove the super sour taste from these waffles. Trust me! I've forgotten to add the baking soda once before and these waffles did not turn out well!
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
🔀 Flax Eggs - If you aren't vegan, you can use 2 chicken eggs instead of flax eggs.
🔀 Fed Sourdough Starter - I love to make these waffles with fed sourdough starter, but if needed, you can also use sourdough discard. However, be sure to let your cold sourdough discard sit at room temperature for a few hours before using it so that it mixes together well with the other ingredients.
🔀 Maple Syrup - Any kind of liquid sweetener should work in this recipe. Agave, brown rice syrup or honey, if your not vegan, are all good substitutes.
🔀 Coconut Oil - I've also made these waffles with vegetable oil and lite olive oil and both worked great!
Variations
🍫 Chocolate Chip Waffles - Add in a handful of chocolate chips to the batter!
🫐 Blueberry Waffles - Throw in some blueberries...although the juice in the berries may cause the waffles to stick more easily.
🧂 Savory Waffles - Omit the maple syrup and add in some vegan cheese or herbs. Then these savory waffles would make the best sandwich bread!
How to Make Vegan Sourdough Waffles
Step 1: Stir together all of the ingredients from the sourdough starter to the salt until well combined and no clumps of sourdough starter are left.
Step 2: Sprinkle over the baking soda and stir it into the batter well. Again, you don't want to end up with any clumps of baking soda in your waffles.
Step 3: Allow the batter to sit and foam for about 5 minutes while you preheat your waffle maker.
Step 4: Scoop ½ cup or so of batter into your hot waffle maker and close the lid. Allow the batter to cook for at least 4 minutes, up to 6 if you add more batter. If the waffle is sticking when you try to open the waffle maker, it needs to cook longer. Enjoy your waffle immediately or place it on a wire rack to cool.
Hint: Cook these waffles longer than you think you should. It will keep them from breaking in half when you open the waffle maker and will give them the perfect crispy exterior.
Storage
We usually store these waffles in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple days (they don't last longer than that!). To reheat them, we always break each waffle into quarters so that we can toast them in our toaster. Toasting them is definitely the best way to reheat these waffles so that they are crispy and not super soft or chewy.
You can also freeze these waffles and stick them straight in the toaster to reheat them.
Expert Tips
👉 Ideally I make these waffles with warm, fed sourdough starter when it's nice and bubbly. However, you can also use sourdough discard that's been in the fridge. You will just need to remove your sourdough discard from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for a couple of hours before making these waffles.
👉 The warmer your sourdough starter, the easier it will be to combine it with the other ingredients.
👉 Baking soda is one of the most important ingredients in this recipe, so don't leave it out! If you do (which I've done), you'll end up with super sour waffles.
👉 Make sure your baking soda is fresh. Did you know you're supposed to change your baking soda every 30 days?! I would keep mine for years in the past, but now I try to replace it every month or two to make sure it stays fresh.
FAQ
Before feeding a sourdough starter, a portion of the starter has to be removed. This portion is called sourdough discard. Thankfully, instead of wasting a bunch of flour and sourdough starter, you can make a lot of recipes using unfed, sourdough discard...like these vegan sourdough waffles!
Usually not! But it really depends on which flour you use to make your sourdough starter. Most sourdough is made with a sourdough starter that is fed with all-purpose flour, which has gluten. If you have a gluten allergy, only consume sourdough that is specifically labeled gluten-free.
These vegan sourdough waffles are easiest to make if you use fed sourdough starter. The warmer and more bubbly your sourdough starter is, the easier it is to mix all of the ingredients together into a cohesive dough.
This vegan sourdough waffle recipe works great in a Belgian waffle maker. It should make 4 full Belgian waffles or 5-6 smaller waffles. I'm sure it would work on a regular square waffle maker or cast iron waffle maker as well.
If you have a non-stick waffle maker, you shouldn't need to grease your waffle maker. If your waffles are sticking when you try to open your waffle maker, it means they need to cook longer.
What To Eat With Sourdough Waffles
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Sourdough Waffles
Equipment
- 1 Waffle Maker
Ingredients
- 2 cups fed sourdough starter (see notes for tips!)
- 5 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoons water)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (don't omit this!)
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle iron.
- Combine the fed sourdough starter, coconut oil, thickened flax eggs, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl until fully combined.
- Sprinkle over the baking soda and stir well to incorporate. You want to make sure there are no clumps of baking soda in your batter. Allow this mixture to foam up for a few minutes.
- Pour the batter by ½ cup amounts onto your waffle maker and cook for 4-6 minutes until brown and crispy. If the dough is separating when you try to open the waffle maker, you need to let the waffles cook longer.
- Continue cooking waffles until all the batter is used up. You should get about 4-6 waffles.
Tami says
These are amazing! I don't use coconut oil so subbed avacado, otherwise followed exactly. Made 13 small waffles with the dash waffle iron. So very good and easy! Thank you!
Faith VanderMolen says
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for leaving a review!