Easy Gluten Free Oat Waffles
These crispy and fluffy oat flour waffles are the very best! They're light, healthy and gluten free. Best of all, they only require one flour—oat flour!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
I’m pretty particular about my waffles. I want light, whole grain, crisp-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside, Belgian-with-deep-pockets, quintessential WAFFLES. No soggy waffles allowed! Bonus points if they freeze well so I can pop them in the toaster like Eggo’s.
These waffles meet all of the aforementioned qualifications. After tweaking five batches of these waffles, I can confirm that oat flour waffles are the waffles I’ve been searching for all along. Oat waffles are the waffles of my dreams.
Best of all, these waffles are gluten free! That means that I can share them with all of my friends.
This gluten-free waffle recipe is so simple that I have it memorized. It only requires one flour—oat flour—which is the easiest flour to make at home. Just toss some old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats in your blender or food processor and blend until they are a fine flour.
Watch How to Make Gluten Free Waffles
The secret to these waffles’ success is letting the batter rest for 10 minutes while your waffle iron heats up. The resting time gives the oat flour time to soak up some of the moisture, so you get crisp, fluffy waffles when it’s go time. I learned this trick with my banana oat pancakes, a recipe that has quite a few fans.
I love these waffles so much that I included this recipe in my cookbook. I’m re-sharing the recipe today with better photos in case this recipe has slipped by you over the years.
If you, like me, have been disappointed by other gluten-free waffle recipes in the past (or waffle recipes in general, really), give these a try! They’re just right. Please let me know how they turn out in the comments.
Oat Waffle Variations
You can also make flavored versions of these waffles—check out my Gluten-Free Banana Oat Waffles and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Oat Waffles.
Oat-Based Pancake Recipes to Try
If you don’t have a waffle iron at home, you can make oat pancakes in a regular skillet. Try these recipes:
Easy Gluten Free Oat Waffles
These light, crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside, gluten-free waffles are my favorite waffles! They’re heart healthy, too. This waffle recipe requires just one flour, oat flour, which you can easily make yourself (see note). Recipe yields 3 to 4 round, 7-inch Belgian waffles, or 6 small, square Belgian waffles (the size shown here).
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (128 grams) oat flour*, certified gluten-free if necessary
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of cinnamon, optional
- ¾ cup room temperature milk of choice (light coconut milk, nut milk, cow’s milk)
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: oat flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: milk, melted coconut oil or butter, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla extract. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, gently heat the wet mixture in the microwave in ten seconds intervals, until it melts again.)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir with a big spoon until just combined (the batter will still be a little lumpy). Let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the oat flour has time to soak up some of the moisture. Plug in your waffle iron to preheat now (if your waffle iron has a temperature/browning dial, set it to medium-high).
- Once 10 minutes is up, give the batter one more swirl with your spoon. Pour batter onto the heated waffle iron, enough to cover the center and most of the central surface area, and close the lid. Once the waffle is deeply golden and crisp, transfer it to a cooling rack or baking sheet. Don’t stack your waffles on top of each other, or they’ll lose crispness. If desired, keep your waffles warm by placing them in a 200 degree oven until you’re ready to serve.
- Repeat with remaining batter. Serve waffles with maple syrup and nut butter, or any other toppings that sound good!
Notes
Recipe based on my oat pancakes and coconut waffles recipes.
*Make your own oat flour: Simply blend old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (be sure to buy certified gluten-free oats if necessary) in a food processor or blender until they are ground into fine flour. You’ll need to blend roughly 1 ½ cups oats to make enough flour for these waffles (you will probably end up with a little extra). Once you’ve blended the flour, measure it using the spoon and swoop method.
Make it egg free: You can omit the eggs. The waffles will be slightly more delicate, but they’ve turned out great for me.
Make it dairy free: Use non-dairy milk and coconut oil.
Make it vegan: Use non-dairy milk, coconut oil and omit the eggs.
Freeze it: These waffles freeze beautifully. Just store in freezer-safe plastic bags and pop individual waffles into the toaster until warmed through.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
oat flour is easily one of my favorite and soooo easy to make at home. these waffles with syrup look beyond delicious!
These look so yummy – perfect for this cold morning :)
best gf waffles I ever made…I used oat flour and the batter was a little think so added a bit of cocoanut flour and a bit of millet…worked great thank you for sharing this recipe
Ma
sorry wrong spelling meant to type thin
Ma
Thanks, Ma! Glad they turned out well for you.
They do look yummy sounds very easy compared to my old diehard recipe. Also live the sound of your new iron, may I ask what kind is it? As I am shopping around for a new one.
Hey Showshannah! It’s made by Calphalon, this one. It’s on the pricey side but I can make a batch of waffles in less than half the time.
I love oat flour in baked goods–it’s got a great texture and it gives them some staying power too. I also appreciate how simple this recipe is, because when I want waffles, I want them immediately without a trip to the grocery store!
This gets a resounding yaaaasss from me!
Could probably eat seventeen of these bad boys right now!
I love waffles but never made them at home – even after I received a waffle iron as a gift. After years, I gave it away, and now all of a sudden I’m seeing amazing waffle recipes like this one — and it’s gluten free! Maybe I can steal back my waffle iron………..
Get that waffle iron back! :) I love a good waffle every now and then.
It’s never even occurred to me to try oat flour waffles! yours look marvelous.
It’s really so good! Hope you give these a try, Emily.
I just love baked goodies with oat flour! Have yet to try waffles – recipe pinned! Also, reading this made me think of some waffles I had at a restaurant in your neck of the woods. It was the Waffles with Cherry Rye Syrup and Lemon Thyme Butter at Gram and Dun in Kansas City. If you are familiar w/ the restaurant you should def try them for brunch sometime – they were amazing and had a really unique flavor profile :)
Thanks, Whitney! I used to live close to Gram and Dun and I never tried those waffles! I’ll have to order them next time.
I followed the recipe to the T and the waffles came out heavy, soggy with grease, and had to practially burn them to get the inside to stay together enough to lift them out of the waffle maker. They went straight to the trash, now I have 2 very hungry, disappointed little boys. It felt like the recipe had way top much oil, so not fluffy but soggy with oil
Maybe it’s the type of flour you used or not letting it sit long enough? The first time I made these, I used Bob’s Gluten Free flour and they came out so incredibly perfect that I knew it was the only recipe i’ll ever need again. The next time, I tried almond flour with a bit of coconut flour tossed in (to help absorb the liquid) and it was skewed a bit more in the direction you mentioned (little heavier, little greasier)… my proportions of flour were off, but I think the recipe as written is solid.
The recipe has oat flour though, not Bob’s GF flour. I am in the middle of making these right now. I hope they turn out with the oat flour. I was thinking the oil was a lot. I came on here to the comments to see about oiling the waffle maker and what temp I needed to set it at, but I don’t see anything. I am used to having less oil in the mix and then oiling the maker. I have an All Clad waffle maker and it has settings from 1-7 on it. I have set mine on 4 (med high heat I guess). Did you ever make these as written with oat flour?
I used gluten free flour and it was clumpy I too used gluten free flour b c I can’t do anything with oats anymore (Lymes/premenapause /hypothyroid) on a strict diet. And so far the dough is lumpy. I put the first batch o and they came out HARD and crunchy…added more milk waiting till the next batch to see. I won’t be using this recipe again. Pretty bad when I have limited choices on what to eat but can’t use this and have to wait to get more g f flour
Me too. I don’t know what happened but I’m really frustrated.
I’m a total Goldilocks about my waffles and these look juuuuuuust right. Have an extra for me!
Yes! That’s the perfect analogy for these waffles. Come on over, I have so many extra waffles right now!
These look so good! And I just happen to have some oat flour kicking around :) Mmm…waffles forever.
Kate, have you ever tried to use waffle batter to make a pancake? I don’t have a waffle iron but have been craving the flavor of one! Curious if it would be disastrous and to what degree.
Good question! Pancake batter and waffle batter are very similar, just with slightly different proportions. Waffles requires a little more fat to get those crispy edges, and usually a little less moisture. I suspect that the cooking method provides the “waffle” vs. “pancake” flavor, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to achieve waffle-level caramelized deliciousness without an iron! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. :(
These look wonderful! Thank you! I’ve never thought to make my own flour before! Will definitely be trying these out this weekend.
xx gemma @ gemmachew.com
Eat all the waffles!! That is all. :)
You and I have very similar waffle criteria, Kate! These look fabulous, and I totally know what you mean about having to let the batter sit to thicken up a bit. I usually make my batter, then chop up a bunch of fruit while I wait for it to thicken. I’m sure your version is a million times better than any Eggo! :)
YES! Waffles. I love them. These would be perfect for brunch this weekend. Thanks!
They look delicious, Kate. I was wondering if you’d consider trying a good vegan waffle recipe for the blog at some point? I’ve had technical success with several different recipes (which use different flours/binders), but nothing so far that really screamed at me (in a good way… lol).
Just something to think about :) Have a great day!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Hey Ella! I’ve been getting more and more questions about egg substitutions lately, so it’s probably time to learn how that all works. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything good!
Yay! Thanks, I’m excited to see what you come up with!
hi ella and kate, I made these waffles today and they are delicious!!
I didn’t have any eggs so I substituted with chia seeds soaked in water for a few minutes and it worked great! Just had to add more milk (I used almond milk).
The recipe just made 6 waffles for me… Ended up doing triple recipe and plan to freeze them :)
Oh that’s awesome, thank you so much! I’ll be trying that ASAP :D
http://youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Kris, thank you so much for reporting back! Really glad to hear that the chia eggs worked.
I will definitely need to try to make my own oat flour for these!
These are just what I’ve been looking for!i take GF waffles on the go to eat at my desk every morning, but these look a million times better. Thank you, can’t wait to try them!
Perfect! I hope these waffles are just right!
Kate! These are perfection personified :) My grandmother recently gifted me her old cast iron waffle iron. Guess it was fate, and I was intended to eat waffles this weekend.
Thanks for an easy, delicious, gluten free recipe for a weekend breakfast treat :)
Hope Cookie got to sample these too!
I love using oat flour and I also love that oat flour is the only flour you used in these. It makes them much less intimidating! I’m also now certain, if I wasn’t already 100% certain before that I need a waffle maker asap :)
oh yeh!! I will totally be making these this weekend!! Perfection <3
These look so incredible, I’ve been looking for a good GF waffle recipe! Thank you :) PS- I love your blog, it is the source of 75% of all of our meals… my little family thanks you
Thank you, Jenna! Delighted to hear it. :D
I know what I’ll be having for breakfast tomorrow, or maybe dinner tonight. Looks great!
Waffles in the morning are one of my favourite treats and these make it something I can enjoy that ‘s not a guilty pleasure. Thanks so much!
I love that they are gluten free, and require only one flour! These look good enough to finally go out and buy a waffle iron :)
These were delicious! So light and airy. I had my doubts because the batter seemed runny but they turned out beautifully. They reminded me of oatmeal waffles that the Lazy Susan cafe is Cannon Beach, Oregon serves with orange butter maple syrup!
Thank you, Ali! I’m delighted to hear that the waffles turned out well for you. Orange butter maple syrup, YUM!
These look so amazing! What kind of Waffle Maker do you have?
Hey Whitney! I love this Cuisinart waffle maker.
That crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside texture is much harder to achieve than it seems like it should be! Amazed at these oat waffles…and pretty excited because I always have oats at home!
I am currently eating a gluten free diet due to stomach issues and I miss my waffles. I can’t wait to try these! My husband will be glad I found a good waffle recipe since he bought me a pricey waffle maker last year for Christmas :)
Jamie, I hope these waffles are the answer! They really are my favorite waffles, gluten free or not.
Beautiful… I need to get a waffle iron, quick smart! Definitely ditto on the crisp, deep-pocketed goodness. Those glistening shots of the maple syrup are completely drool-worthy (I always LOVE your photographs Kate. They’ve made this dull, cold Scottish autumn morning so much brighter) x
So happy to find this as I was very recently diagnosed as gluten intolerant. These look amazing!
Well, I’m glad you found them! Hope you enjoy these waffles as much as I do.
I love making waffles on Saturday mornings. I’ve always used whole wheat flour and thought they were pretty tasty. However, your recipe makes the best waffles I’ve ever tasted! I am very particular about the waffles I eat, too, so I was very intrigued to read your recipe. I love how hearty these are with the oat flour. They were crispy, as you said. I think you’re a genius. Thank you for sharing.
Hooray! Thank you, Lisa! :D
Holy – okay, these waffles taste sinfully good! And they’re pretty fun to experiment with too! I used quite a bit of cinnamon since I LOVE cinnamon and normal, cow milk since I didn’t have coconut milk (but if I did, I’d have used that), olive oil since I didn’t have coconut oil, and honey instead of maple syrup. Even with quite a few changes, these came out AH-MAZING. They were actually kind of sweet so I didn’t use any syrup or anything – just ate it plain. They’re okay to freeze too, which makes it 10x easier for me in the mornings. Thank you so much, Kate! You’re the reason I can eat waffles again (been trying to stay GF so…)!
Yes!!! Thanks, Ayesha! I’m so glad you appreciate those waffles. Your version sounds terrific!
These waffels are really the best glutenfree and wohle-grain ones I’ve ever made and tried. Very healthy choice for a pregnant woman with unhealthy cravings. So good Kate, as usual :)
Yes! Thank you, Sarah! :D
Thanks alot, for this delicious recipe. I made some, today (making my own oat flour at home, was just so easy) In one word GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amaizing Gluten Free Waffles recipe.
Yes! Thanks, Maria! Glad you’re enjoying the waffles.
Hi Kate!! I tried this recipe today, and I certainly enjoyed the more complex and hearty flavor of these waffles. Mine turned out quite soft though… is there something I didn’t do correctly? Maybe My baking powder was too old (hasn’t been used in some time). Or maybe my oats. This is what I did:
I ground Bob’s GF Steel cut oats with my coffee grinder, and think I got a decent flour. I followed the instructions, but I only had agave nectar versus maple syrup. I let the batter sit more than 10 min and it slightly thickened. I had to kind of eyeball the fat, as my 1/4 cup measuring cup has gone missing, but I used light coconut milk and the coconut oil recommended in the recipe.
Anyway, despite the softness, I enjoyed these a LOT. I have this fancy pants Calphalon waffle maker that I adore and have wanted to use, plus I am 95% GF!
Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated! :-)
Hey Jessica! I’m sorry your waffles didn’t turn out crispy. I have a few ideas for you. One, you might want to check the expiration date on your baking powder. Two, the flour needs to be ground into an even, fine flour. Three, and probably most likely—you didn’t use enough coconut oil. Fat is key to crispy waffles. I’ve made waffles with only two tablespoons oil and they never, ever crisp up. They just make sad, floppy waffles. Last but not least, it sounds like we might have the same fancy pants waffle maker, and I always set the dial to dark and still leave the waffles in there after the beep, until they’re deeply golden. Ok, hope your next batch turns out perfectly!
Going to try these tonight for a little Monday breakfast-for-dinner :) Do you think if I added some pumpkin and spices it would turn out ok for Pumpkin Waffles?
Hey Kate, I’m sorry I didn’t answer your question in time for dinner! Did you try it? I’ve been wanting to make a pumpkin version of these! I would suggest using some pumpkin in place of some of the milk (mix the pumpkin in with the other liquid ingredients), and yes, adding spices.
Hi, the recipe looks amazing. I’ve got a quick question: Do I have to make the dough freshly just before baking the waffles or can I also make the dough and then keep it for a few hours before making the waffles? (I want to prepare the dough with my son and then bring it to a lunch party where we can freshly bake the waffles, but I wonder if the dough thickens up too much if kept for too long?).
Also, I’m wondering if the dough would also work well with thinner style waffle makers (heart shaped waffles etc.)? Thanks so much for your help :)
Hey Rob! I don’t know how long the batter will keep. I would suggest mixing together the wet ingredients in one bowl, the dry in another, and waiting to combine them until your get to the party. I think the waffles will turn out well in any waffle maker. Sounds like fun!
Thanks! :)
Gorgeous, bring on the crisp fluffy waffles!
I’ve made these waffles twice now! Both me and my boyfriend love them! And they are super easy to make but still feel like a nice Sunday morning treat. Never using a boxed mix again!
Yes! Glad to hear it! Thank you, JD.
I made these as a treat for my little brother with some chocolate chips. The batter was too thin, so I threw in some flax. They were easy to make and only had one flour, and tasted pretty good and held together well. I will play with the recipe a bit. Thanks for posting!
Thanks, Anna! Glad you rescued the batter with flax. I’m not sure why some others have reported that my oat waffle batter is either too thin or thick—maybe discrepancies in our measuring methods? I use the spoon and swoop method, if that helps anything.
I use this entire recipe very precisely, but it only gives me two round waffles. What could I be doing wrong?
Hey Jessy, I’m sorry that happened. It’s kind of difficult to give a yield for waffles since there really isn’t a standard size of waffle makers. I’d suggest doubling the recipe next time if you need more waffles!
These waffles are fantastic! I have been making them on a regular basis since finding your recipe a couple of months ago. I add hemp hearts, flax and simply life chocolate chips for an amazing healthy treat for myself and my family. Thank you for sharing :-)
Thanks, Amanda! So glad you’re all enjoying the waffles! Your version sounds terrific!
Yum! The only dairy I had in the house is Greek Yofurt and heavy cream, so we went all out with the cream. I prefer butter in my waffles, so we used that instead of CO. A little stevia instead of syrup. My 1950’s cast iron waffle maker turned these out so well! Nice and crispy! We try to stay away from flour because of the glycemic impact. These were perfection!
Thanks, Cassie! Glad the waffles turned out well for you, especially with your substitutions! Awesome.
I tired these and found the recipe to be AWESOME!
Hooray! Thanks, Laurel!
Hi Kate! I was just wondering if you’ve ever attemped an egg-free version of these? My sister just asked me for a gf vegan waffle and I remembered seeing these on your blog awhile back (I’ve been meaning to try them but it never occurs to me when I have a lazy mornign to make breakfast!). We have Christmas brunch to host and a couple guests with egg allergies/vegan diets. Just thought it would be worth to check in with you to see if you’ve tried the recipe without eggs?
hank you & Merry Christmas!
Hey Christine, I’m so sorry I didn’t answer your question sooner. Actually, I wish I had a better answer for you—no, I haven’t tried these without eggs. I feel like the eggs are pretty important for keeping the oat flour together. I’ll try to work on an egg-free recipe for your future brunches.
Hi Kate! that’s okay – I think you’re right about the eggs for these. I ended up making them with eggs for another gathering this weekend, and they were so delicious! I couldn’t believe how much they resembled ego’s but with such a good ingredient list. I also wanted to let you know that my friend, who doesn’t avoid gluten, loved these so much that she asked for the recipe so I’ve sent her a link to your site :)
I just tried them with chia seeds soaked in water instead of eggs (1 egg = 1tsp chia seeds + 4tsps water approx) and they turned out great :)
That’s so good to know, thank you!! :)
Just got a waffle maker (not a fancy pants one like you though, lol) had a friend email us this recipe. So yummy!!!! We are gluten free and I love that these are oat flour vs rice! I was trying to make more for freezing but somehow they kept disappearing!!!! I added lots of cinnamon since we are fans of that!! I love to find something my daughter loves to eat!! Being a kid and gluten free isn’t always easy!! Thanks again!!
This are wonderful! Easy to make (although the coconut oil did harden up when I added it to cold milk – so that took a little fix, probably need room temperature milk!),
My kids and I ate every bite, next time I will make a double batch for freezing the leftovers as 6 waffles is a little small for a family of 4. Can’t wait to try the blueberry lemon oat pancakes next time!
wow this seems so simple yet delicous! I really dislike soggy waffles so i really have to try these once! I’m really amazed !
Are the 2 tbsp sod maple syrup in the oat waffles to go in with the wet ingredients or for use after waffles are cooked ?
I’m sorry for the delay, Laurie. The maple syrup goes in with the wet ingredients in step one.