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.
Okay…just finished making these. I accidentally whisked the wet and dry even though it said to stir until just mixed ( I got a little ahead of myself), but they look picture perfect and are light and crispy anyway. I have an All Clad Belgian Waffle maker (also quite fancy and I used to have a cheap waffle maker and this does make a big difference in the waffles I think…having a better waffle maker) and I had it on the heat setting #4 at first (medium high…the settings go from 1-7). When the waffle maker beeped for me to remove them, I ended up needing to leave them for another cook cycle. They were golden brown, but not cooked enough to remove the waffle in one piece. So if people are having a hard time getting crispy waffles or waffles that hold together, my guess is that they need to let it cook longer. I am also wondering if those people let their batter sit a full 10 minutes before proceeding. That will make a huge difference in how thick the batter is and how well incorporated the liquids are into the dry ingredients. I am finding even on level 5, I need to go more than 2 cook cycles to get them cooked enough. I followed the waffle maker instructions about ladeling the batter onto the griddle. I used my small ladel that came with my Instapot, one scoop for each side seems to be perfect for this waffle maker. Great recipe! Thanks.
These came out perfectly!!! I topped them with maple syrup, bananas, and cinnamon! Delectable. Thank you!
Oh. My. Goodness. I have been making several waffle recipes and this one is by far my favorite. Our family just went gluten free last month and the kids are used to the Eggo waffles you throw in the toaster and this will definitely be a great alternative. Thank you SO much for this recipe! It is so easy to make and it has a wonderful basic flavor.
Hi Kate,
I bought a waffle iron recently and yesterday decided to use it.
I made your oat waffles and my husband and I loved them!!!
Thanks for the great recipe.
Hi cookie!
Please tell your mom that her hard work in the kitchen shows. I have to say, your taste testing skills are quite apparent, as i am sure your approval is required before publishing!
I used to make the buckwheat waffles all the time, they are great… Now i tasted these; light, fluffy AND crunchy! My new favorite waffle. Yummy!
You guys make a great team!
Thanks,
Maria
I just found your recipe yesterday, looked at several others, but kept coming back to yours. Our daughter and I are gluten free and we use oat flour often. My husband will eat anything willingly. So I made your recipe tonight and followed the recipe closely. I did use butter instead of the coconut oil. Even after letting the batter set for 10 minutes, it was still pretty thin. I went ahead and baked the waffles. They taste delicious! I wonder if my eggs were a little too large. They’re organic, come from a friend. I have no idea what size they really are. Maybe I should add a little extra oat flour? Or buy some large eggs from the store?!!
Hmmm, my batter always ends up pretty thick! If you’d like them thicker, you could probably just add a little more oat flour next time.
This recipe was DELICIOUS and so very satisfying. As my daughter said, “It was like grandma’s…but without all the bad stuff.” For me it was like Disneyland. It smelled like Disneyland and tasted like Disneyland. Our kitchen was the happiest place on earth when we made these. Thank you for posting this recipe. We’ll be making these again FOR SURE.
Wow, I love your review! Made me smile. I’ve never been to Disneyland, but I have enjoyed these waffles!
This is our families favorite waffle. Even those who eat wheat prefer these. We find they don’t hold up to syrup spread over it because they absorb it quick and go soft so we use little dip bowls with maple syrup for dipping. They are so yummy we often eat the leftovers plain and cold as we are walking around!
Thank you, Sita! So glad you all enjoy the waffles. Your strategy sounds great!
This recipe was delicious! My family loved it so much I didn’t have enough left over to freeze! I may double up next time. I also use an old school waffle iron so I could only make one waffle at a time, but the second and third waffles were better than the first. I think I’ll let the next batch sit for at least 15 minutes before cooking instead of 10. Great job! I’ll definitely be back on this site for more gluten free recipes.
This waffles are awesome and easy. Thank you very much!
This recipe is great! Ate one, shared one, and saved one. And was so full compared to a flour waffle! It’s definitely a keeper.
Thank you, Tracy! So glad you loved it.
i made this with a few modifications and it came out fantastic!! thanks for sharing!!!
Awesome, thanks Patrick!
Excellent, excellent waffles! Thank you!! This was the second time I have made them and I convinced my “picky eater” son to try them and he loved them! He’s always a bit reluctant with my gluten free recipes. :) As I used oats in the food processor instead of oat flour, my only tip would be that I found letting the batter sit over night in the refrigerator made for a more tender waffle.
This is such a tasty waffle recipe! My kiddos really liked them, too!
Thank you, Kacie! Glad to hear it!
Another winner! This is the fifth waffle recipie I have tried. I froze them and my grandson can pop them in the toaster each morning. It’s been such a time saver. They taste great. Thank you again.
Thank you, Debbie! So glad you’ve both enjoying the waffles. :)
These were great! The recipe made between 3-4 waffles. I lost count because we were eating them as they came off the w.m. They don’t taste healthy, they’re just good. My husband and baby liked them too. I ate them with banana and a wee bit of maple syrup to satisfy my sweet tooth. They are slightly sweet on their own. This recipe is a keeper.
Thank you, Susie! I’m so glad you all enjoyed them. They are my favorite!
I’m sharing this recipe with my mom, she tried some that was left over from the other day and really liked them too! We popped them in the toaster for a quick breakfast :)
Do you think a ripe banana can be added to the batter without messing it up? Would the recipe need to be modified?
Thanks for sharing the recipe, Susie! I think you could add some banana and reduce the amount of milk accordingly; too much liquid and your waffles won’t turn out as crisp. Please let me know if you try!
I love love your recipes. Always delicious and healthy. Could I add some banana or blueberries to the mixture? What would I need to change?
Thanks
LOved loved the waffles. Your recipes are amazing and foolproof. Could I substitute some banana for some of the milk? Would that work?
Thanks
Thank you, Sats! I think you could add some banana and reduce the amount of milk accordingly; too much liquid and your waffles won’t turn out as crisp. You could add blueberries; I’m just a little concerned they’ll burn against the hot waffle iron before the waffles are done. Please let me know if you try!
These are fabulous! Crispy on the outside, moist in the inside. Great flavor. I always have the ingredients in my kitchen. And to boot, they are feel-good food. My baking or breakfast foods are almost exclusively GF but I find the white carbs just make me feel blah afterwards. These freeze well so I always make a double batch and toast or broil them for a few days. Thanks so much for a recipe that we can’t get enough of.
Thank you, April! These are my favorite, too. Glad you’re enjoying them so much!
Could you post the nutritional information on this recipe. I am having a hard time figuring out the nutrients per waffle.
Hey Alysha, I’m sorry, I don’t offer nutrition info yet. This one would be tricky because waffle irons vary in size, so I’d need to know how many waffles your waffle maker would yield.
I was looking for the whole nutritional content of the receipe. so I could break it down myself. I tried adding it up but couldn’t get it exact. I thought perhaps you may have the info. Thanks for the reply
Hi! I need to eat Gluten Free, but it turns out that I also have an oat and corn allergy. What flour do you recommend as a substitute. These waffles were the best I have had so far… Best look, texture, flavor, and consistency. The only thing is that I found out that oats are not really good for me… Please let me know.
Thanks
Hi Mayra, I’m sorry to hear that! Oat flour is my default GF flour, so I’m really not sure what to suggest. I do have a delicious buckwheat waffle recipe, if that works?
I just made these exactly the same, but with white rice flour and butter, and they turned out awesome!
I just made a batch of these and they turned out delicious! I made my own oat flour and left it a touch grainy. I used butter instead of coconut oil. Instead of whole egg I used some egg whites that needed to be used. I whipped them up and folded them in. The waffles are beautiful and scrumptious too! Thanks for sharing the recipe. :)
Made these this morning and they are soooo good! We live at 7,000 feet elevation, so I added about 1/2c more of coconut milk and also used flax eggs instead of regular eggs (2tbsp ground flax + 3tbsp water). They turned out beautifully! I am constantly trying to find GF, egg free, and corn free recipes and this one wins! Thank you!!
Oat has gluten! This isn’t a gluten free recipe.
Certified gluten-free oats do not contain gluten!
AWESOME!!!! Thanks for an easy, delightful recipe!!!
Came out really good and shared this recipe with my friends.
After a few failed gluten free waffle attempts, we tried this one, oh my goodness, we absolutely love them. This is our second time making them two days. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. My nine-year-old son must be gluten-free and he is especially enjoying a waffle he can eat again. Thank you
Thank you for letting me know, Kate! I am so glad you all enjoyed these.
I loved it! It tasted just like a regular waffle, but I must admit that I was a little disappointed that it didn’t get crunchy at all
I didn’t have any spare oats on hand so I made this with white rice flour and it turned out DELICIOUS — lovely crunchy crispy texture with a great taste. We just discovered that my partner is allergic to all potato things, including potato starch and potato flour, which are in 99% of premade GF mixes, so finding your recipe was fantastic. Thank you so much!
Do these Stay crispy? I made a batch with gluten free flour another recipe and they got soft and chewy after they came out. they were crispy when i first got them off he waffle maker.
Kate, I use gluten buiscick waffle mix but they keep sticking to my waffle cooker, grrr.
My husband and I loved these! we have been GF for three years due to me:( I wisked the wet ingredients in a bowl, added all the dry to the blender after grinding the oats and blended again, then added the wet, I was careful not to mix too much and scraped with a spatula to finish mixing, it worked great and was so easy! BTW I used 1/2 butter and 1/2 coconut oil melted = 1/4 cup. sprayed butter on the iron and set it on high. not a single glitch. easiest and best ever recipe, flavor was awesome!
Are you joking with this recipe? There is gluten in oat…
I buy my oats certified gluten free.
Yes! That’s the best way to go about it. I know in other countries, oats are placed under the “gluten” category and therefore, they can’t find any certified gluten-free ones. But, in the States, there are ways to make sure they aren’t processed with the same equipment.
Just made a batch of these waffles and they are just delicious! I love this recipe, and they turned out perfect! The only sub I did was coconut oil for olive oil. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Just got a waffle maker so I could make my own GF waffles for my little one (the store bought ones have so much crap in them). Found this recipe & it worked amazing. My husband likes them better than the regular non-GF ones I made as my first batch! Excited to have a healthy go-to recipe that freezes well. Thanks!
I’m so glad this worked for your family, Amy!
My husband LOVED breads before his autoimmune disorder. Then he needed to switch to a gluten-free diet. After 64 years of eating for him, and 50 years of enjoying any foods for me, we both agree that gluten-free or not, these are the BEST waffles we have ever had. The recipe turned out perfectly the day made, and I can see the leftovers will store as well as stated. By the way, I was able to make everything in my blender (not dirtying a mixing bowl, etc. as well). I ground the oats in the blender, added the dry ingredients, then used a 2 cup liquid measuring cup for the wet ingredients and followed the recipe as directed.
I’m so happy this worked out for the both of you, Deb. *And* you found a way to cut down on dishes. Nice!
Made these waffles this morning. They were great, crispy, brown and tasty. Will be my gluten free waffle recipe from now on. Thanks!
Hey Christina – I’m glad these made it into regular rotation! Thanks for commenting.
THANK YOU! Waffles and pizza crust were on my immediate list of things to figure out when one week ago I turned gluten free. Waffles – check! I made the kids in a waffle maker that does shapes, dusted with powdered sugar and they gobbled! I made them in a regular waffle maker and they were crispy and delish. I let the battle sit at least 20 minutes. Thanks so much!
Hey, Brandie – glad they worked out! All the best in your dietary transition.
Have made these amazing waffles at least a 1/2 dozen times – always perfect…HOWEVER…used almond milk today with less than happy results. Prefer cow milk or lactaid. The almond milk made them way too thick and grey looking.:(
Sorry it didn’t work out so well this time, Myndi! Stick to what you were doing before, for sure :)
I tried your oat waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. I did add a little ginger with the cinnamon They were delicious! I tried several recipes already and really hated them. I was about to give up. I was getting discouraged when I threw out all that food. But it was inedible. I am not a picky eater so how could so many recipes fail? Thank you now I can have waffles when everyone else does!
I’m so happy you *finally* found a recipe that worked! Enjoy your lifetime of waffle-eating! :)
I made the waffles with coconut milk and coconut butter instead of oil mixed with coconut cream to thin is out, as it wouldn’t completely melt. It was delicious!
Oh, interesting variation, Nita! Thanks for letting me know. I’m glad you enjoyed it :)
We had these for supper tonight along with turkey sausage! I overfilled the first ‘batch’. These expand and are super yummy! Added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter and served cooked fruit as a topping.
Ooh, sounds delicious, Deb!
Love these waffles! I use Namaste GF Flour from Costco and it turned out GREAT! Even people who aren’t GF love these. I found the batter to be much to thick so I just add water until batter reaches desired consistency.
Thanks for the tip, Liz :)
Posting this much later than most, but I’m glad I found this! Had a gluten- and dairy-free friend over for dinner tonight, and these were just the thing for the maiden voyage of my household’s new waffle maker. We used coconut milk and reduced the coconut oil by one or two tablespoons (not sure which, but we all still liked ’em).
Waffle makers are life-changing products, I swear. So happy you & your friend enjoyed these, Kellie!
I just made these and altho am a staunch believer of don’t mess with pancakes and waffles and let them stay sinful I was pushed to try these as my 9yr old was craving waffles and coz she’s an athlete I have to be really careful about what she eats. These turned out the best and healthiest and altho not as crisp as the Belgian waffles I usually make…the fact that they are guiltfree overrides everything.. .thank u for the recipe..this is going into my bookmarks for sure!
Cheers
D
(all the way from India!!)
Hello, Deepali, all the way in India!! So happy these worked out well for you & your daughter! I love hearing from our readers abroad. All the best!
Made your waffles this morning, only thing I changed was ghee for the coconut oil, they were delicious and the recipe a keeper! One thing I would add is they are best when cooked well, definitely highest setting on my waffle maker. Thanks for sharing and experimenting a success for sure! I did post my photo on instagram
Thanks, Robin! Great heat tip, too, since everyone’s tools can be made a bit differently. I’ll head over to insta & check it out!
Made these only with oat flour, egg whites, low-fat milk. No salt, maple syrup, or butter. Still came out fabulous. Just made sure to add a little extra milk than suggested to thin the batter slightly and ensure the final texture was crispy. Fabulous recipe. Thank you!
After letting the batter rest (absorb) for the 15min., I add some more milk to thin it out and viola my kids’ favorite pancake recipe.
Great! I’m glad the whole family approves :)
Fabulous! These are the best tasting g-f waffles I’ve ever tried and I love that they are whole grain and high in fiber.
Thank you!
You’re welcome, Monique! I’m so happy you enjoy them so much.
This recipe is amazing! I never had much luck with waffle recipes. I bought a cast iron waffle skillet a while ago, most of the recipes I tried either stuck horribly or just weren’t good. These came out wonderful. They freeze well too, just pop them in the microwave defrost for a minute and into the toaster at the low setting. I only wish they contained less fat, since they are messing up with my weight loss efforts a bit.
I’m happy they worked well with the skillet, Asli! Those can be a bit tricky to work with.