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.
Made these for the first time today and they are DELICIOUS! Didn’t have oat flour so made some with rolled oats. Followed the recipe exactly as written and they were a huge hit!
Hi, April! I’m so glad you enjoyed the waffles, and thank you for the review!
These waffles are the best, they turn out great every time! My whole family loves them
They are so wonderful! I’m happy to hear they work well for your family and are a favorite, Midori.
I wonder if you could make this batter in a vitamix with the whole oats instead of grinding them into flour first? I have a pancake recipe like that and it works great…hmmm I might just try it and report back…waffles for lunch!
For this particular recipe, they need to be in flour form to turn out just right. Trust me, it’s worth it!
These are my favourite waffles! I have been making them for a while now and they are always loved by everyone. Thank you, Kate.
Wonderful! You’re welcome.
Hi Kate,
My waffle iron recently retired!
Can you please recommend the brand and model you use?
Many thanks!
Alyssa
Hi Alyssa – Head over to my shop page and you will find it here: https://capital-fly.pro/healthy-kitchen-essentials/%3C/a%3E. I like the Calphalon Waffle Maker. I have a link to Amazon where you can purchase it if you like.
I love waffles… Ihave found your blog the previous month and you are doing a quite nice work! I live it! Xoxo
Thank you, Antri!
Winner! We loved the crunchy oat texture; easy to make and tastes terrific! I needed just over 2 cups oats to make 1 1/2 cups oat flour in my food processor. My waffle maker is 28 years old and it worked great for this recipe.
Fantastic! 28-years?! That’s a solid machine. Thank you, Karen for the feedback and review.
Hi, these waffles are definitely the best. I followed your instructions and they came out perfectly. I make this at work for a daycare and they love these served with blueberry sauce.
Thanks
I know, right! I’m happy you think so too. The blueberry sauce sounds delicious! Thanks for the review and feedback.
I’m on a whole-food cleanse and can’t have refined sugar and gluten (among other things) but these waffles fit the bill this weekend. My two littles (6 & 5) loved them …so did the hubs! I found that they seemed to fill the family up quicker than our typical spelt flour recipe. Hooray for me… fewer waffles I need to make!
Thanks, Kate! Another winner.
I’m glad they worked well with your restrictions. They are protein packed, fro sure! Thank you for sharing, Candace.
Waffles are my absolutely favorite way to start the day if I want a pancake feel WITHOUT the long wait. Oat flour is also my favorite flour for baking and creating breakfast foods :) this recipe is so easy to veganize too! Can’t wait when I come back home so I can make waffles with my waffle maker!
Thank you, Cassie!
Ha! I spent both Saturday and Sunday trying to make similar waffles/pancakes without good results! Wish I had seen this earlier, looking forward to trying them!
Bummer! Hope this one is just what you were looking for. Let me know what you think when you try it!
These waffles are just what I crave on Sunday mornings!
I know! So good.
It looks so alluring Kate!
Waffles are my favourite desset but I’ve never tried to make it. Honestly, I’m not good at cooking dessert…
Waffles for desert! I like that. Or for supper, when you are feeling one of those nights. :)
I made this today and they were delicious!
Great! Thanks for sharing, Diana.
Yes!! I made these from your cookbook and they are the BOMB. (People still say that, right?) Seriously incredible! My mother-in-law loved them so much she requested them again while she was visiting! Thanks for making such incredible recipes!
I think people say it! You do so it counts. :) I’m really glad you have the cookbook and that these are a hit for you and your family. I love hearing from you!
These look amazing. Definitely bookmarking these to try soon. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful! Let me know what you think.
I made these waffles tonight and my husband and I loved them!! I did make a delicious mistake. I grabbed the almond extract by mistake so I ending up doing 1/2 almond and half vanilla extract. Very delicious.
I’m glad they still turned out!
These were delicious! Perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. However, I would love to use less oil. Just curious if anyone has experimented with using less oil and how they turned out?
I did a lot of testing with different types and quantity of oil, so I wouldn’t recommend it. :) It helps with over all flavor, consistency, etc.
I made this recipe “as is” today (although I halved it), and they turned out delicious!! This is really the best GF waffle recipe I have ever tried. Very tasty, light and fluffy. Thanks!
You’re welcome! These are great waffles, for sure. Thanks for your review. :)
I have been eating these every day since I saw this recipe. Perfect for freezing, easy to make in batches, and easily the most delicious gluten free waffle EVER.
Also, these with raspberries + peanut butter is a fantastic PB + J themed breakfast that’ll keep you full until lunch.
Everyday! That’s great. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made these waffles today. They were really really good. Definitely a keeper. The only thing that took me longer was bringing the milk and eggs to a room temperature. Which is not hard to do, but it was an extra step when I was ready to start. And the only thing I did different was separating the eggs. I added the yolks with the wet ingredients as instructed on the recipe, let it rest 10 minutes and then folded the beaten egg whites into the batter, and immediately started making the waffles. They turned out really crispy and delicious. Better than the regular waffles I have eaten before. This the waffle recipe I will make from now on. Thank you, thank you!
You’re welcome, Marisa!
Made them this morning! Everyone liked them! They were gone before i could take a picture!
That’s a great problem to have!
These are delicious and a huge hit with my family. My batter was not lumpy and seemed thin so I panicked and added the last bit of oat flour left in my food processor (about an extra 1/4-1/3 ish cup). It really does thicken as it rests so keep that in mind. A double recipe would feed about four people but not leftovers!
I did not let the milk come to room temperature. The only reason I could see to do that is to prevent the coconut oil or butter from hardening. I used butter and “tempered” it by pouring it in slowly to the wet ingredients while mixing constantly. Minimal clumping.
Happy to hear it!
These have become a STAPLE in our house. I make a double batch every weekend and we enjoy them over a slow morning, cups of coffee and my almost 2-year old scarfs them down for leftovers as well! Current favorite Waffle, from a waffle enthusiast!
Great staple to have! Thanks for sharing, Leah.
Just made these waffles this morning. I have to say that these are the lightest and tastiest waffles I’ve ever eaten… and I’ve eaten a lot of them! My wife, who has always felt that waffles are really only a convenient vehicle for syrup, said that these hardly need any syrup at all; they are so flavorful in and of themselves. I had thought that maybe I should separate the eggs and whip the whites in order to make the waffles a little fluffier, but no need for that. They were light and tender as is. Perfect recipe!
Wonderful, John! Thanks so much for the great comment and review.
After making your oat flour waffles, I’ve started to become a true believer. I’m looking for a recipe for oat flour scones… do you have any suggestions? And, by the way, good to know you’re a Kansas City neighbor! I’m in Prairie Village.
These turned out very good. Next time I’ll double the recipe to feed 6. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
You’re welcome, Sherry!
Hello Kate! This waffle recipe is a huge hit whenever I serve it for my fam! I tried using coconut oil and also the ones with butter and they all turned out great. My husband prefer the ones with butter though because he’s not into coconut oil and he said he can eat them all day….(hahaha)!
Amazing Waffles! Loved it and i will make this waffles at my Home soon!
He’s not alone! I could too. Thanks for sharing, Emily.
Hi, I need help please … my waffles won’t rise at all. They aren’t lovely and crispy even if I change the heat settings so do higher for shorter periods, high for long burns it, lower for long periods to cook through and crisp up doesn’t work … they get flatter and flatter. I was so excited to try this. They taste like a waffle should in terms of flavour but no rise and no crisp Please help!
Hi Carol, I’m so sorry to hear that! That’s quite strange behavior. Is there any chance you left out the baking powder? It’s essential to helping the waffles rise. Otherwise, I am really not sure what went wrong, as I haven’t gotten any similar reports!!
These are the bomb!!! Can’t believe how they match up so well to my favorite recipe and they are Gluten-free and can be made vegan – I used Almond milk and coconut oil…
Keep the Oat Flour recipes coming – I am so sold. You have this all worked out!
The bomb, well thank you! More recipes coming your way. I appreciate the review.
They are awesome best recipe ever and almost didn’t try it because oat flour is a bit heavy but they work great.
Glad you tried them, Darcy!
OK, world-changing!
As I try to use less and less plain old white flour, I find myself never eating old favorites like pancakes or waffles anymore… But this easy fix is brilliant. And the waffles are delicious!
I use an antique waffle iron (my husband and I both own our grandmothers’ waffle irons!)— any tips for their non-Belgian landscapes?
(PS: we froze a few, and they were still great!)
You’re the best! Thank you for your kind words and review.
The waffles were fabulous. I have a bed and breakfast in Iowa…I always worry when I get a GF request as its not my normal mode of baking and I want to be sure it has great taste and flavor. These did not disappoint. Thank you.
Donna
(Miss Spenser’s of Longview Farms)
I think I have made this recipe around 5 times now and it is excellent! The waffles come out great and they are healthier than traditional waffles which I love. I top the waffles with fresh fruit, maple syrup and often whipped cream to make them extra delicious.
Wonderful, Amy! Thank you, for sharing and the review.
We absolutely love these. We use butter instead of oil and even tried it with 2 duck eggs once they turned out so fluffy and delicious! Definitely use oat flour don’t use other gluten free flours as they absorb moisture differently
Wonderful, Cass! Thanks for sharing.
thanks for recipe dear….i m inspired by you..started my food blog thanks a lot for this
Thank you! Good luck.
I love these waffles! I’ve made them a bunch of times and they’ve always come out great! One time I substituted peanut milk for regular milk and they tasted like peanut butter waffles. Recently, I’ve been separating the eggs, whipping the whites, and folding them into the batter after combining the other ingredients. Makes for a super fluffy waffle and extended the batter for me! I had been getting 3 large round waffles, but with the whipped whites I get 4. Thank you again for such a simple and delicious recipe!
Thank you, Erin for sharing! I love the variation and creativity.
I dug up my waffle iron in the very back of the cupboard to make this recipe – more than a year after my last waffles. For a brief moment I wondered why it had been so long and then I remembered: the only waffle recipe I used so far is Smitten Kitchen’s essential raised waffles. They are fantastic, but need to be started the night before, so no option for spontaneous waffle cravings. Now I officially have an option for those moments because these oat waffles are fantastic as well. Even though they are made with whole grains they don’t taste “whole-grainy” at all. I followed the recipe to a T (except that I halved it), topped them with butter, fresh strawberries and maple syrup and finished the whole batch in one sitting (oops).
Wonderful to hear, Jeannette! I’m happy you dug out your waffle maker too.
They turned out great! I make your pancake recipe all of the time. I used oat milk and oat flour that I had made. I love yourSheri recipes. Thanks so much!
Not sure how my name got in the middle of my comment.
Great! Thanks for the comment, Sheri. If you would like to leave a star review, I would appreciate it!
This is seriously my favorite waffle recipe – I’m not gluten free but it’s /sooo/ good and it’s a hit with everyone when I have people over for brunch. I’ve also thrown a tsp of nutmeg into the dry mix and topped with bananas – dreamy! I freeze the leftovers and pop them in the toaster for weekday mornings when I’m on the go.
I’m so glad it’s your favorite, Nirvana! Oh, nutmeg nice! Thanks for the review.
Amazing!! I had never made waffles before, bought a waffle iron just for this recipe and am so glad I did! I followed the recipe exactly and made 6 classic-style waffles, each about 3-4 minutes. The taste is perfect, even my husband who can usually spot my ‘healthier’ subs in recipes thought these were just regular waffles. Thanks so much for the recipe!
You’re welcome! Thank you for your comment and for the review.
These were the perfect consistency. I also added 1 tablespoon of pumpkin protein powder.
Great! That sounds tasty. Thanks for the star review.
Thanks for an easy yummy recipe! How well do they freeze?
You’re welcome! These freeze nicely.
I just made these waffles and they are perfect!! I followed the recipe to a T and they are awesome!! Finally a waffle that will go with my diet. Do you know how many calories 1 waffle would amount to?
Wonderful! The nutritional information is below the notes section :) You just need to click to expand.
Gluten-free waffles that are better than regular waffles! Thanks for this recipe :)
Hooray! I’m glad you think so too, Kaitlin. Thanks for the review.
awesome awesome awesome! Been making different GF pancake/waffle recipes since my daughter was diagnosed with an allergy to gluten. I always feel like they are okay, or maybe even good (for gluten free)… but these aren’t good for gluten free, they are good for GOOD! great one! already have it memorized, we make then 3x a week and use as pancake batter. 5 stars all the way.
They are so good! I’m so happy this is a great recipe for your daughter. I’m not gluten free, but I love these. Thanks, Heather for the review!
Just gots fancy waffle maker as s wedding gift and tried this recipe out. They are delicious even with nothing on them! And super filling, too! Excited to make them for my gluten-free mom! Thank you!
You’re welcome! They are good on their own, aren’t they. :)
These turned out amazing!!! Thank you!!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
These waffles had good flavor and decent texture.
A few things to keep in mind: 1. Make sure your batter rests at least 10 minutes, maybe even another 5-10 minutes.
2. If you’re grinding your own gf flour , grind it finely. 3.DONT omit the vanilla ( if you don’t have any wait until you do)waffles will smell “ eggy” without the vanilla.4 Make sure your waffle iron is hot.
I may substitute 1 of the eggs with a flax egg next time.
Overall it’s a good gf waffle recipe with ingredients that are easily available.
Many thanks
Thanks for sharing Mila! I agree. Make sure to follow the instructions. :) I appreciate you emphasizing that and providing a review!
I have been attempting to bake gluten free for the past year and have failed miserably. So when I saw this recipe I had to make it. The waffles tasted good, but fell apart. I made them according to recipe with both a regular waffle maker and belgian waffle maker. Even using non-stick cooking spray, the waffles separated, or I could not remove them from the waffle iron. I had both waffle irons set on high. So disappointed.
Hmmm… That’s interesting, Saaron. What type of oil did you use? Did you use coconut oil and the oil solidify some?
I used unsalted butter and I doubled the recipe. The only thing I can think of, is when I doubled the recipe I miscalculated the butter. Instead of 5 tablespoons times 2 equalling 10, I used one stick of butter which only equals 8. I will try making these again, this time checking my math.
Very easy recipe with easily accessible ingredients. I followed the recipe as written and successfully produced a fluffy, crisp waffle! This one’s a keeper! Thx so much, Kate!!
I’m happy you think so, Retha! I really appreciate it.