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.
Of course still loving this recipe…question…do you use any variations to these waffles. I’m thinking about adding blueberries, ground flaxseeds, or pumpkin spice. Have you added anything to these?
Hi! I haven’t tried variations, but I think others have. I would recommend checking the comments to see what others suggest!
LOVE these waffles! Thank you so much! Truly crispy, light, and tasty! I used light olive oil and tasted great!
Wow turned out really great! Thank you. I substituted half cup buckwheat flour and added a little bit more coconut milk as buckwheat flour soaks up quite a bit of moisture!
It’s not easy to find healthy food the family enjoys. My father age 76, daughter age 6 and son age 3 ALL loved these waffles. Enough said:)
I’m currently making a second batch to freeze. Farewell Eggo!
Wow, these were excellent. I just bought a mini waffle maker, (Dash), and tried it out for the first time with your recipe.
My husband and I both loved these waffles and will add it to my 5 star recipes to make many more times.
Thank you Kate! Love your website.
You’re welcome, Joan! I appreciate your review.
Having celiac disease it’s always a challenge finding a good waffle recipe, so we usually stick with a boxed mix. I woke up craving waffles but realized we were out of mix. I decided to give this a try as it was all pantry ingredients I had on hand. We were a little nervous as the batter oozed and bubbled but oh man were they good. They reminded me of the waffles my mom made when I was a kid. Good chewy texture, pops of cinnamon and so yummy. They were a breeze to whip up. We’ll be keeping this one on hand the next time a craving sets in.
I’m happy you can enjoy them, Jillian! Thank you for your review.
These are great every time. This time I made them with fresh blueberries and even though I had intended to freeze them all for easy breakfasts, I couldn’t help but pick along the way
Our family has been gluten free for years but never really enjoyed waffle options (either too gummy or starchy). Who knew oat flour was the secret. Thanks to this recipe Saturday has become waffle Saturday. We typically use butter or coconut oil and oat milk or cow milk to get that crispy outter, chewy inner goodness. Thank you for sharing!
Could I replace 1/2 cup of the oat flour with protein powder?
Hi! I’m not sure you will get the same result, sorry.
I did it and it worked beautifully!! I just sealed a 1/3 of the portion of oat flour for vanilla protein and it was perfect! The texture was still light and fluffy
These are absolutely the BEST gluten free waffles I have ever tasted! They were everything you said they would be & the tips you gave were most helpful. Sunday morning breakfasts just got so much better. Thank You!
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Marlene!
Made these for the first time. Absolutely amazing. Will definitely make them again!
That’s great, Gina! Thank you for your review.
If i could give these a million starts I definitely would! Didn’t have maple syrup but an equal amount of white sugar worked perfectly. They were really fluffy but crispy on the outside and i make them almost every single day now! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Thank you, Amara! I’m happy to hear that.
If i could give these a million starts I definitely would! Didn’t have maple syrup but an equal amount of white sugar worked perfectly. I also used sunflower oil and it was really good. They were really fluffy but crispy on the outside and i make them almost every single day now! Thank you so much for this recipe.
I cannot thank you enough for sharing this recipe. My son who is in gluten free, dairy free diet, this is his favorite daily breakfast request.. He said, its like eating cookie in the morning except its in the the form of waffles. Sometimes, I added mashed bananas to it. I must say it also grown on me.I made batches to save me time. I’ve also teachbhim how to make it. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Julie! I’m happy he was able to enjoy them.
These were amazing! Made them for the first time today with my new waffle maker and will be making again for sure!
Delicious. Great brunch waffle. Thinking it will be delish as the waffle with fried chicken and waffles.
These were fantastic. So easy to make the flour. I agree the 10 minute wait is the hard part. I don’t eat coconut so I used butter. Can you use avocado or another oil to reduce the saturated fat?
Hi Mary, Sorry to disappoint but I find the best results with what is recommended.
I am so happy to find another way to put oats on the table at breakfast! I followed your recipe directions closely, using coconut milk and coconut oil, and making my own oat flour. My 1-1/2 cups of rolled oats produced EXACTLY the required amount of flour, to the gram! My only issue was that that after the rest time the batter was a bit too thick for pouring into my Cuisinart Vertical Waffle maker, so I thinned the batter to get it to the right consistency, using maybe a 1/4 cup of cow’s milk. The resulting waffles were perfect–golden brown, crispy, and with a wonderful coconut flavour. Thanks for the great recipe. As an aside, I search for recipes on the web a lot and I am amazed at how often the recipe I settle on is yours, without knowing that it is yours until I actually get to the website. You have not disappointed my yet :-) Keep up the great work!
Hi Dwight, I’m sorry your batter was too thick. Did you scoop and level it? I’m happy you were able to still enjoy this recipe.
I did the flour by weight so I am sure I got the measurements right. We live in a very low humidity location and I usually have to add some liquid to batter as a consequence. Also the vertical waffle maker requires a more fluid batter than traditional irons. The results were fantastic with the adjustment and we have already made these waffles a second time. This a new favorite breakfast in our household. Thanks so much!
I’m happy you were able to make the adjustments to get it just right. Thank you for your review, Dwight!
Tried this recipe for breakfast today
It’s absolutely delicious
I had it without any toppings so I guess would up the sweetness a bit in the batter
But otherwise it’s great
Oh these were so delicious!! We had them for dinner with blueberries, bananas, chopped nuts, vanilla yoghurt and topped with chocolate sauce. My kids think I’m a super hero serving waffles for dinner!! I think I’m a super hero because they are a heap of super great food!! Win win
That sounds delicious, Namoni! You have me wanting waffles now. Thank you for your review!
OH. MY. GOODNESS. These are my ABSOLUTE new favorite waffle and I’ll never make them with anything but oat flour ever again!! They didn’t crisp up as much as I expected, but that may speak more about my waffle maker than your recipe. Whatever, the flavor more than makes up for it.
PS, you’ve inspired me to start my own food blog, so thank you for being such an inspiration! <3
They are a favorite of mine too! I’m happy you agree. Good luck with your food blog!
Hello there. How much is one serving size? Are the Nutrition Facts listed for 1 Waffle? Its says serves 6, does that mean that this generates 6 waffles?
I made a batch today and it was so delicious. Just not sure how much is a serving size.
Thank you.
Hi Susan, Yes a serving is one waffle and makes 6 Belgian-style waffles.
I have made these waffles a bunch of times with eggs but I wanted to try making them vegan. I had tried flax ‘eggs’ a couple of times but they didn’t stay together nicely on the waffle maker. This morning I tried ground chia ‘eggs’ and it worked perfectly! Very excited about this little win. I also swapped the coconut oil (or butter) for avocado oil and it worked as well. Thank you for this recipe.
Thank you for your feedback! I know others will find this helpful.
I made this,and it was great! thanks for the recipe.
Skipped butter/oil and added 1/4 cup almond pulp.
That’s great, Naz! Thank you for your review.
Did not work out for me. I used steel cut oats. Tried making my own flour but wow, how long does it take to get a smooth flour using a high power blender and a small food processor? Lots of little oat husk bits. Only substituting i did was Aunt J syrup because i don’t have real maple syrup. Neither light nor fluffy. Back to chef school for me lol. May try again with better ground flour. Will follow up. Thank you for the recipe!
.
Hi Steve, It sounds like the steel cut oats were the issue and didn’t grind up into a fine powder. Try old fashioned oats or quick cooking next time.
I loved these waffles before I went vegan + no-oil … and now adapted them this morning for breakfast and they were still just as good! I used aquafaba from a can of chickpeas instead of eggs and 1 cup of oat milk, rather than milk and oil. I let them rest for about 20 mins and then cooked as normal in a non-stick waffle maker.
They were delicious.
Thank you again
Have you ever tried pancakes with this recipe?
Hi Tiff, the batter isn’t quite right. Blender Oatmeal Pancakes is a great option for pancakes!
These did not work I made my own flour with oats.They tasted like scrambled eggs
Hi Aimzz, I’m sorry to hear that. Are you sure you got the quantities right? I make these all the time and have never had an issue.
Did you melt the butter or coconut oil and then put the eggs in it? They may have cooked if it was too hot upon combining them.
Yes I tried this recipe and my 5year old couldn’t even tell it was oats waffle. He is so picky that he knows it if he tastes all-purpose /wheat flour or any other flour . It was filling and delicious . Thank you for sharing the recipe .
Hooray! I love to hear that. Thank you for your review, Priscilla.
Gluten free oat waffles
These were so good. Easy to make, fluffy inside and crispy outside…. just like I wanted.
Shared recipe page with a few friends and printed for myself.
Thank you Kate
That’s great to hear, Brenda! Thank you for your review.
Excellent, and I am a eat eater.
My daughter asked for gluten free and we are hooked on your oatmeal waffles. I found out the hard way that the liquid needs to be room temp. Coconut oil will solidify in cold milk!
I used the food processor to grind oats and worked great.
Thank you
Frank
I have made these waffles 3 times so far and they were perfect each time. They also freeze and reheat well. Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
I’m happy to hear that, Kalera! I appreciate it.
This is an awesome recipe! So quick and easy to make, even though I took time to grind my own oat flour . I served it with fresh strawberries and lemon curd. It was everything you said it would be. Soft on the inside and crispy outside. Yum
Kate,
I made the waffles, with these small changes: 0.5 cup of olive oil (EVO) instead of coconut oil, and 2 tsp of stevia instead of maple syrup.
They were delicious!
I’m happy it worked well for you! Thanks for your review.
These were really yummy but took forever to crisp up. I started them in the waffle maker and when they just weren’t cooking enough there moved them into the toaster oven to finish. I used pre-made oat flour (Bob’s) and am wondering if that might have been the problem?
Hi, the oat flour could have been the issue or your waffle maker may have needed to be turned up just a little. I’m glad they tasted good for you!
My husband and I love these waffles! When I grind the oatmeal I re-grind half of it in a coffee grinder to get it done enough then mix it all together. It’s still quite fine but gives it a nuttier flavor and texture.
Thank you so much for the recipe.
Hi, i’m looking to make these soon and was just wondering whether you measure the coconut oil when melted or measure solidified and then melt it? Thank you!
Hi, it comes out to be roughly the same. Just double check when it’s melted. I hope you love it!
Soo good, especially when crisped up in the toaster the next day!
Yes! Sounds delicious.
Could I replace the milk with freshly squeezed orange juice to make orange waffles ?
Hi Monisha, I don’t know if that would work without trying it. Citrus can act a lot differently in baking recipes.
Would I be able to use olive oil as a substitute?
Hi! You need coconut oil or butter for these to turn out correctly.
This is our go to waffle recipe. We’ve made it with and without eggs and it always turns out great!
That’s great to hear, Alex! Thank you for your review.
Worked perfectly for my son who won’t eat Oats or eggs these days. It was crispy and tasty. Very easy to make with little planning.Thank you.
Hooray! I’m glad you loved it.
These waffles were delicious!!! I enjoyed them so much. My husband also loved them totally plain. I added maple syrup and strawberries to mine. The only change I made was to separate the eggs, beat the egg whites and fold them into the batter. They were so nice and crispy. I have also made them with the whole eggs and also turned out delicious. I try to avoid wheat flour, so this is definitely a keeper for me.
i recently purchased a vertical waffle maker and have never made waffles before. I wanted to try something with oat flour and tried your recipe. OMG it was so easy and delicious! I gave some for a neighbor who has celiac also loved it. Thank you!
Hello! Great recipe!! I was wondering the calories per serving, 259 calories for the 6 waffles or for each waffle ?
Hi Amy, the nutrition information is per serving. More on my Nutrition Disclaimer.
Tried it. Turned really good. Thank you so much
You’re welcome, Florence! I appreciate your review.
I have been making these waffles for years and love them. They are delicious and I receive really great reviews from guests I shared them with.
Because there are a few steps, with making your own oat flour, me not being a morning person and I have made them while traveling, I prep the dry ingredients in advance which works really well.
I so much love your glutten free oat waffle recipe. It is the best. You noted that you have a great waffle maker. Could you please share which brand and model you have? Thank you.. My e-mail is
tparnett@gmail,com.
Hi Tobi! Unfortunately, mine is no longer available. But I know others have enjoyed their All Clad one. It does come at a slightly higher price.
Can these be made substituting oat flour for a different flour for coeliacs?
Hi Kimberly, if you buy certified gluten free you should be ok. I believe some have tried them with whole wheat flour, but I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
I convinced my husband to give these a go this morning for Saturday brunch (he was skeptical of the oat flour). Once again, Kate, you nailed it! I’ve been a long time follower of your blog and own a copy of your cookbook – your recipes (including this one) are a dream. Keep them coming.
And biggest congratulations to you and your husband as you are expecting. Wishing your family well as you welcome your baby girl into this world this month!
Thank you, Kierra!