Healthy Pumpkin Waffles

These healthy pumpkin waffles combine whole grain flour, pumpkin puree, fall spices and vanilla to make for your new favorite fall breakfast recipe!

They're fluffy, tender and flavorful and taste delicious with a smattering of pure maple syrup on top. Add them to your menu and you won't be disappointed.

How to make pumpkin spice waffles

Featured Ingredients

• Flour: This recipe works with whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oat flour or gluten free all-purpose flour.
• Ground Flax: Whether you grind the seeds yourself in a designated spice grinder, or you buy them pre-ground, you know just how great flax tastes and how great it is for you!
  • Flax has a naturally nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with these waffles.
  • And because it’s loaded with fiber and high in omega-3 fatty acids, it’s the perfect ingredient to help you start your day off on healthy footing!
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: This miraculous little blend of warming spices is perfect in cookies, sweet potato pie, muffins, maple pumpkin butter, pumpkin bars, and even alfredo sauce!
  • It really rounds out sweet and savory flavors because it’s the perfect combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
  • So, when it comes to this spice blend, remember that it wears more hats than just a simple “pumpkin latte.”  
• Milk: We use regular milk in this recipe, but feel free to improvise!
  • Oat milk brings a lovely, sweet subtlety to the waffles.
  • Also, unflavored almond milk is great – and of course you could use vanilla almond milk to give it an extra double kiss of vanilla flavor.
  • Also, soy or rice milk is fabulous too!
  • And don’t forget you can always just use water, but we really love the rich flavor that dairy brings to these waffles!
• Pumpkin Puree: This is a pantry ingredient that you want to keep on hand all year long!
  • It’s wonderful in both sweet recipes (think cookies, bars, cakes, or sweet quick breads) and savory applications too!
  • It’s great in soup, stews, savory quick breads, and it’s outstanding in curries! Just please note that pumpkin puree is a totally different ingredient than pumpkin pie filling!
  • The latter is very sweet and really won’t work in savory applications. So, to sum up: Pumpkin puree works in a ton of applications, whereas pumpkin pie filling is more of specific flavor.
• Vanilla Extract: We love the sumptuous elegance that vanilla brings to waffles!
  • But, feel free to add in other flavors as well.
  • Almond extract would be fantastic here, as would a touch of citrus extract.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat Belgian waffle iron to medium.
2. Combine dry ingredients in mixer. In separate bowl, combine wet ingredients (through butter).
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.
4. Spray hot waffle iron with cooking spray.
5. Add about ½ cup of waffle mix; spread mixture evenly on waffle iron and close the lid.
6. Cook waffle for about 1 minute and 45 seconds, or until browned and fluffy.
7. Remove waffle and repeat with remaining waffles.
8. Top with butter and maple syrup. Enjoy!

Recipe Substitutions and Alternatives

• Add berries: Feel free to add in fresh or frozen-and-thawed berries to the waffles for a pop of color and textural contrast!
  • Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries would all be perfect here!
  • Or, of course, you could serve berries on the top of the waffles or on the side. Either way, fruit and waffles are best friends!
• Make it savory: Cooked and diced bacon would be a surprising salty delicious addition to these waffles.
• Swap the pumpkin: Try these waffles with pureed sweet potatoes or butternut squash.

Nutrition Considerations

• To make them gluten free: Use gluten free all-purpose flour. Be sure all other packaged ingredients are gluten free.
• To make them dairy free: Use dairy free milk, such as soy, almond or coconut. Use melted coconut oil instead of butter.
• To make them vegan: Use dairy free milk, such as soy, almond or coconut. Use an egg replacer or flax 'egg' instead of eggs. Use melted coconut oil instead of butter.

Try these festive pumpkin recipes:

• Pumpkin Pasta with Bacon
• Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites
• Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Bread
• Pumpkin Muffins with Pistachio Crumble
• Pumpkin Spice Waffles
• Maple Pumpkin Butter
• Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

Print