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.
So santa brought me a waffle iron, and I made these yesterday!! Super delicious, and also incredibly filling! They didn’t look quite as neat and pretty as yours though…!
Oh, exciting! Glad you enjoyed these, Emma! :)
Absolutely yummy recipe! I love oats staying power to get me through to lunch time! I used pecan syrup instead of maple and added 1 cup of chopped pecans. I paired them up with some lean, skinless chicken made in my pressure cooker and had my own version of chicken and waffles! Thank you for the great recipe!!
Thank you thank you thank you! My son has had to go gluten fee recently and I was at a loss about what to give him when we eat waffles! These are life saving! Delicious and light. And so easy to make using just oat flour. Thank you!
Hooray! Happy to help, Debbie!
I am not gluten-restricted, but had an out of town guest who is. I offered waffles for breakfast, and she said “only if they’re made with oat flour.” I googled, and yours was the first that came up (and I recognized your site from a muffin recipe I enjoyed).
These waffles are hands down the most delicious I’ve ever had–and that includes everything from Waffle House to my own mother’s efforts. These are just seriously good waffles, even for someone who is completely unconcerned about gluten.
Yessss! Thank you, Dan! They’re my favorite, too, and I eat wheat as well.
This is my absolute favorite waffle recipe! So much more filling than waffles made with white flour.
I made them over the weekend and added blueberries and lemon zest..delish!
Yay! Thanks, Kate!
I just made these tonight for dinner so I could see if we liked them before making a batch to freeze for breakfast and they are delicious and easy to make! I hope they freeze well.
Thank you, Kayla! They should freeze well!
Hi Kate
I make these waffles often and our family lives them. But they often stick to the waffle maker and break (top and bottom get separated) my theory is that I’m screwing up the oat flour measure. Could you weigh it the next time and upload the measure?
I’m sorry to hear that! My oat waffles have never done that. I suspect it might be the surface of your waffle maker. I will try to weigh the flour for you soon.
These are amazing!!
we made these tonight (breakfast for dinner!!) and they were a HUGE HIT! everyone loved them and wanted more! :) this will be our new favorite recipe! thank you!
Hooray! Thanks, JJ!
Hi! They look so good! But oat it’s not gluten free… I’m celiac and we can’t eat wheat, oat, barley nor rye. So it’s not a gluten free recipe :( sorry…
I have celiac too. Oats are naturally gluten free. It’s the processing of oats on machines that also process wheat that gets gluten cross contaminated. Just make sure you buy gluten-free oats (these haven’t been cross-contaminated). There are a bunch of brands, and they aren’t too much more expensive than regular oats.
Hi Camila, certified gluten-free oats are gluten free. Some celiacs are sensitive to a protein in oats, too, but there’s no gluten in them as long as they’re certified.
I’ve tried a bunch of gluten free waffles recipes. My family all agreed that these are the best! We just double the recipe. Love them!
Yay! Thank you, Barb!
These are simply amazing! I keep remaking them every weekend so I have left overs for the upcoming week. I love them so much!
I like to replace the maple syrup with honey and it’s just so delicious!
Oh good, I’m glad to hear they turn out well with honey! Someone just asked!
Hello! I found this recipe delicious! I have a question, can I substitute the maple syrup for honey?
I think you can, but I’m a little hesitant to say “Yes!” because honey browns more quickly than maple syrup. If you try, please let me know! Also, brown sugar or regular sugar will definitely work.
Actually, I just read another comment that confirmed that honey works great!
Absolutely amazing!!! I am blown away by how delicious these were and without the added white sugar! Great consistency and the coconut oil and maple syrup with a pinch of cinnamon blended so beautifully!
Thank you, Shaida! :)
Made these for the first time today and they were yummy and very filling. Thanks for sharing! We don’t have gluten issues, but I’m constantly trying different grains for variety. These will definitely go on my do again list – which currently only has one other recipe! There was a glitch in the star rating – won’t let me select more than 4, but I would definitely give this a 5!
Thank you, Debbie! I’m glad to hear you appreciated these waffles. I’m not gluten free, either, but these are my favorite!
Kate,
These are so good I dont tell my kids they are gluten free – love them with maple syrup and they are better next week in a toaster oven!
Thanks
Thank you, Steve! Happy to hear that you all enjoy the waffles!
I am so excited to try these! Would they work if I added some ground flaxseeds to the mix?
I rarely leave comments, but I just wanted to write to say thank you! This recipe was amazing.. delicious, filling, easy to make, and family approved. Typically, gluten free recipes have a million obscure ingredients and can be quite labor intensive. This recipe was super simple with only one flour. This is a new staple in my household! My boyfriend has no issue with gluten and said these were the best waffles he has ever had!! Thank you again for sharing!
Kate,
I’ve made many of your recipes—sweet and savoury— and I always love them!!! Thank you :-)
These waffles were wonderful and they got me thinking about oat flour muffins. I’ve tried oat flour muffin recipes from other sites, but I’m sure if you developed a recipe they would be amazing ;-)
We got a new waffle maker, the first I have ever owned. I tried the recipe tonight and made my own flour from old fashioned oats. I don’t like the taste or consistency of the gluten free baking mixes with all the rice, tapioca and lots of other ingredients, so I was anxious to try this recipe. I really enjoyed these! The taste and texture were perfect! I added a few pecans to my mix which just kicked it up a notch. Thank you for this recipe. I will use this often!
This is a wonderful recipe! We make these waffles are delicious for breakfast, but our new favorite way to enjoy them…as sandwich “bread”. I simply eliminate any sweetener and the vanilla and cinnamon. I’ve also had nice results when using olive oil as the fat. It’s so nice to be able to enjoy a sandwich again! Thank you for the recipe!
Kate,
Just wanted to say thanks. I really really liked this waffle recipe. Made them for breakfast. Amazing. I like how simple it is and not a bunch of ingredients. I make a bunch, freeze them and then enojoy a quick breakfast. Love them with tahini and fresh strawberries.
THESE WERE AMAZING!!!! My kids were literally BEGGING ME FOR MORE and we’ve been having the biggest eating issues lately. AMAZING. These are an instant staple in my family . Super easy to make. Thank you!!!!
These were fantastic! I did add Greek yogurt, flax meal and wild blueberries to the mix. My kids snack on the leftovers throughout the course of the day so it’s breakfast + lunch lol! Will definitely make again. I greased my waffle iron well and didn’t have any issues with them sticking :)
Hey Kate,
This recipe found me at the right time! I’ve recently gone gluten-free again and we have just established that my 18 months old little boy has milk and soya allergy, so I was in tears contemplating the prospect of running a gluten-, dairy- and soya-free (but protein-rich for my other half!) household when I came across your blog. :) Having tried this waffle recipe I’ve changed my mind: gluten- dairy – and soy-free is actually exciting! :D We all loved this recipe which is simply perfect. While munching on the little waffle shapes my shiny new waffle maker made, I kept having moments of panic thinking I really shouldn’t be eating these “wheat waffles”, just because the texture wasn’t the usual cardboard-like one, typical of many shop-bought gluten-free products. :D Will definitely be trying more of your recipes!!! Thanks a lot!
Emmie (UK) xx
I just made these and they are absolutely INCREDIBLE! I couldn’t believe it!
I used 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp coconut oil and it turned out perfect.
I did have a question – do you think there is a way to reduce the amount of oil in this? So maybe for the whole recipe there’s only 2 tbsp of oil? What do you think?
Thanks for this amazing recipe!
I, too, wanted less oil so I first substituted 1/4-cup peanut butter for the oil with no ill effects and added protein. When I substituted 1/4-cup applesauce for the oil, they did come out softer unless cooked very dark. This is not a problem for me since I eat most of them by popping them in the toaster to crisp them and eat on the way to work. Sometimes, I put a T. of pb and honey in a sandwich bag to have with them, too. Yum!
This recipe is amazing! I make it all the time! Tastes better than any other waffle recipe including waffles with sugar!
I would love if you could check out my instagram :D
xx from germany
OMG, these waffles are delicious. My daughter, the non gluten-free one in our house, absolutely loves these. I’ve converted her and many of her friends to a gluten-free breakfast.
how many calories are in these waffles?
Just broke in my new waffle iron with this recipe, served with strawberry compote and maple syrup, they were delicious! Perfectly light and fluffy, everyone loved them– thanks!
Made these today for my two kids and they loved them. I also found the recipe thin even after sitting for 10 minutes. I just added a little more oat flour – maybe 1/4 cup and they turned out perfectly. We’re freezing the leftovers for tomorrow!
Can i replace milk with water to make it dairy free?
Possibly! I know almond milk works well.
Made these as part of our Mothers Day brunch and they were a HUGE hit. Added a bit more vanilla and cinnamon and they had great flavor and were more filling than normal wheat waffles – great recipe, will definitely make again.
My husband, who much prefers processed food : ), liked these. That is a huge win in our home! I’m always on the lookout for dairy-free, soy-free, refined sugar-free recipes for me, and I love when I can find one that my hubby will eat, too. Thank you!
We recently started our 7 year old daughter on a GF diet in the hopes that it will help with her ADHD. I haven’t yet purged my kitchen of all the restricted items, and this morning her brothers pulled the frozen waffles out to make for their breakfasts. She was really upset that she couldn’t have them, so I did a quick search for a GF waffle recipe and found this one. It was super quick and easy to make, and my daughter LOVED them. This will become a staple in our home for sure!! Thank you!
These were delicious! So happy to eat waffles as I just never take the time to make them gluten free for me, when I make normal ones for the rest of the family. But I did today and I’m so glad. Now I have waffles to eat for many meals, too!
Best gluten-free waffles we have had yet! Yummy!
Do you know the calorie and fat grams these waffles make.
Made these for the second time. Love them!
Sounds like a great recipe. Can the dry ingredients or complete batter be made a day ahead.
These are the loveliest, lightest waffles I’ve ever eaten. Just the slightest amount of sweetness makes them even more perfect! My 3 year-old is gobbling them up as I type… :)
it’s THE PERFECT recipe!
I tried it with chia seed ‘eggs’ and coconut oil and they came out just perfect, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, tasty and healhty… this is going to become a staple! thank yooouuu
I just made these and they’re delish!!! Thanks so much x
Yum! Made with chia eggs and they turned out great!
Tried these today, they’re great!
I make these at least once a month for breakfast. They are SO delicious and easy to make! The oat flour is perfect. I’ve been missing waffles since having to go gluten free, and these are a great way to still enjoy them! Thanks!
BEST Waffle recipe I’ve used!!! My go-to waffle recipe from now on! Perfectly crispy and sweet and so much tastier than regular waffles! Finally a gluten free recipe that’s sooo much better than the normal :)
Can you make these into pancakes? Have you ever tried? The recipe sounds great!
I just bought the waffle plates for my Cuisinart 4 in 1 grill and was excited to try them. This recipe was delicious – thank you! My 4 kids were literally fighting over the last waffle :)
This was my first try making your recipe for gluten free waffles. I was out of almond milk so I used 1/2 cup of plain goat milk yogurt and 1/4 cup water instead. I was also out of baking powder so I substituted 1teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch. The mixture looked a bit thick but I put some in my waffle maker and it came out good but my husband said a little dry…so I added another egg and about a tablespoon water and this made the batter thinner and poured better. This worked great as it made my waffles lighter and my husband loved them. Thank you for posting your gluten free recipe! I am new to having to be gluten free so finding recipes that taste great and easy to make organically and without milk (other than I did cheat a bit by using butter melted) I may try the oil next time.The basic recipe was a hit that I will share with my daughter who is also gluten sensitive.