We love waffles at our house. There are some great waffle recipes out there, but a lot of them require you to whip egg whites or prepare the batter the night before, and sometimes you just want an easy waffle.
Enter Light and Crispy Waffles, also known at our house as the Waffles of Insane Greatness. I made them for the first time a few months ago after discovering them on the Food Network site and they have become a weekly deal for us. I mean, we pretty much always have the ingredients, they take a few minutes and a few dishes to whip up, and everyone’s happy with breakfast. Airy, crispy-tender, insanely great waffles. What more could you ask for?
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Table salt
- Buttermilk
- Vegetable oil
- Egg
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
Equipment
- Waffle iron – Waffle irons can vary a lot in size and capacity. Using a Belgian waffle iron (the round kind), this recipe will yield 7-8 4-inch Belgian waffles, or about 4 7-inch Belgian waffles. Does it have to be a Belgian waffle iron? Nope! Any waffle iron will do, your yield will just vary based on how much batter it needs.
How to Make Light and Airy Waffles
- These waffles are so simple! Whisk together the dry ingredients and then whisk in the wet ingredients. If you have time, you let the batter rest for a few minutes to allow the flour to fully absorb the wet ingredients, but you can also just cook it right away.
- Preheat your waffle iron. When hot add your batter and cook until golden brown. Serve immediately with chopped fresh fruit, whipped cream, maple syrup, or buttermilk syrup.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished, cooled waffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- You can make this batter smoother than you make pancake batter–don’t worry too much about over-mixing the ingredients!
- If possible, allow the batter to stand for 30 minutes. This allows the flour to fully hydrate, relaxes gluten, and allows air bubbles to form. All of these things help give the waffles their delicious light, airy texture.
- You can also refrigerate the batter overnight if you need to.
Frequently Asked Questions
To reheat from the fridge you can pop these in a toaster, or bake at 350°F for 5-8 minutes.
To reheat from frozen, you can toast straight from frozen or bake at 375° for 8-12 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200°F with a baking sheet inside and transfer waffles to the baking sheet as you take them out of the waffle iron. If you want to keep them extra crispy, place them directly on the oven rack and do not stack. You can keep them in there for 30-45 minutes before serving this way.
Yep. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack then freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet until firm (about an hour). Transfer to a freezer-safe bag and enjoy within 2 months for best results.
I can’t guarantee exactly how these waffles would turn out with substitutions but, in theory, you should be able to replace the flour with a good 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and the buttermilk with a dairy-free milk or yogurt. If you need to substitute both, you may need an extra egg to help with structure.
Light & Crispy Waffles
Equipment
- waffle iron – Waffle irons can vary a lot in size and capacity. Using a Belgian waffle iron (the round kind), this recipe will yield 7-8 4-inch Belgian waffles, or about 4 7-inch Belgian waffles. Any waffle iron will do, your yield will just vary based on how much batter it needs.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and whisk until combined. Allow to stand for 30 minutes, if possible.
- Heat a Belgian waffle iron. Make waffles by ladling a generous ⅓ cup of batter into the waffle iron and cooking until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per waffle. Serve with desired topping (Buttermilk Syrup is our favorite!)
Notes
- Store finished, cooled waffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- You can make this batter smoother than you make pancake batter–don’t worry too much about over-mixing the ingredients!
- If possible, allow the batter to stand for 30 minutes. This allows the flour to fully hydrate, relaxes gluten, and allows air bubbles to form. All of these things help give the waffles their delicious light, airy texture.
- You can also refrigerate the batter overnight if you need to.
Questions & Reviews
The waffles were delicious, though I omitted the vanilla as I tend to use waffles in more savory applications. They came off the iron crispy but softened up almost immediately. A quick trip to the toaster oven resulted in a lovely light, airy, crispy waffle. However, I did have trouble with the batter. It was very thin, more like a crepe batter. I added a few tablespoons of additional flour and it still wasn’t near as thick as usual pancake or waffle batter. I went with it anyway and just used a 1/4 cup of batter for each instead of 1/3 to prevent it from flowing out of my waffle maker. Next time, I think I will use a full cup of flour.
This is our family’s all-time, hands-down favorite waffle!
We had all the teenagers from church come to our house for a planning meeting/ beginning of the year breakfast, so we made this recipe x 8 and it was AMAZING. We had five different waffle makers going and they all turned out great and everyone loved them! When I need a recipe to work out and don’t have time for a test run, this is my go to site! Thank you!
We adore this recipe! We make it regulary. A guest came to our house for breakfast who I didn’t know didn’t like waffles but after eating these she was smitten and now makes them in her home. I have to triple this recipe for my young family of five. We love to top them with lemon curd and berry syrup or Nutella and berry syrup and whipped cream or cookie butter and maple syrup, half the fun is laying out all the topping options and letting everyone create their own. Thank you for this incredible recipe!
I just made it in the morning and my family loved this recipe. it is so crispy and airy. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
We make waffles all the time and this recipe is perfection in my books. The prep time is quick, the waffles have great flavor and they come out super crispy. My old recipe called for melted butter which I thought I would miss but the buttermilk & vanilla give these a wonderful, rich flavor. Thanks for my new go-to recipe! Love your blog!
What happens if I accidentally added 1/3 cup cornstarch instead of the 1/4 cup? Eek!
I THINK it would be okay…let us know! 🙂
Fabulous recipe! It was a real hit with my family. No more chewy, heavy waffles. So easy! Thanks for sharing.
As it goes with many others, I am always on the hunt for a great waffle recipe. I absolutely loved these! I tried two batches. The first was as written and the results were as promised. Crispy and light waffles. For the second batch, I added a 1/4 cup of powered peanut butter to the dry mix before adding the liquid ingredients. The results were great. My husband really enjoyed the p.b. waffle! Thanks for the great recipe.
We used this recipe to make waffles in our bubble waffle maker and they were a huge hit, even with super picky husband! This will be my go-to recipe, thank you so much! I didn’t have buttermilk (we try to be dairy-free as much as possible) and didn’t want to make a trip to the store for only one item, so substituted with 1 cup of almond milk with 1Tbsp lemon juice mixed in (let sit for 5-10min) and it turned out great!