There’s so much coconut in these banana coconut waffles. And with the sweet maple syrup in the batter, it really reminded me of a macaroon, with the crisp chewiness and everything. The almond meal really helps with that crisp exterior… just so surprisingly good. And while these waffles are super delicious, vegan, gluten free, wholesome etc, they were actually quite challenging to develop. I will say that making them isn’t a total cake walk.
While a waffle iron is a very cool, modern convenience, some of the most crushing defeats I’ve had in the kitchen were at the hands (irons?) of this thing. The anticipation is just so great, you only use this appliance for one delicious purpose, the whole thing is shrouded in mystery, then you open it up and the batter is sticking everywhere, separating, the machine doesn’t stop beeping, the steam! smell of burning and on and on. Once I figured out that I had to use exactly a 1/2 cup of batter and grease the irons every time, it was all good. It’s worth noting that my waffle iron grates are nonstick.
Gluten-Free & Vegan Banana Coconut Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 large ripe banana, peeled
- 2 tablespoons ground chia or flax seeds
- 1 ¼ cups non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup melted extra virgin coconut oil + more for greasing
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup + more for serving
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond meal/flour
- 1 cup gluten free oat flour
- ¼ cup sorghum flour (rice flour or a GF blend would work too)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Equipment
Notes
- The precise 1/2 cup measure of batter and in-between iron greasing is very important here. When lifting the finished waffles out of the machine, be gentle. A simple fork helps quite a bit with this.
Instructions
- Plug in your waffle iron and preheat to desired doneness setting. I like these more on the dark side. Line a baking sheet with parchment and preheat your oven to 225 degrees F (to keep waffles warm as they finish).
- Mash the banana in a medium bowl. Add the ground chia/flax, non-dairy milk, oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract, Whisk until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the almond meal, oat flour, sorghum flour, baking powder, arrowroot, cinnamon, coconut and salt. Stir together until thoroughly mixed together.
- Give the banana mixture a stir before adding it to the flour mixture. Fold it into the flour until you have a homogenous stiff batter-like mixture.
- Open up the waffle iron and grease the irons lightly with coconut oil. I usually just dip a wadded up paper towel into the oil and rub it onto the irons quickly. Pour a 1/2 cup of batter into the middle of the bottom iron. Don’t spread it out. Close the lid on top and wait. All waffle irons differ on cooking times. Mine took about 4 minutes each.
- Remove the waffle carefully and place it onto the parchment lined sheet. Place sheet into the preheated oven to keep warm. Grease the iron again and repeat until all batter is used. Enjoy with maple syrup, more shredded coconut, fruit etc.
They look so delicious! can’t wait to try them out
These were absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I don’t LOVE coconut, so I used some coconut oil mixed with ghee. I also added about 1 T of raw cacao powder which is what sold my 4 yo daughter on the whole banana-in-waffle idea. I did have some structural issues that are probably linked to the changes (also withheld shredded coconut b/c i don’t care for it) but I’m motivated to keep tinkering b/c they are so good. Thanks again!
Just tried this recipe to solve my chew-on-my-fist-crazy hunger at 2PM after waking late following an insomnia-filled night. I am a big, big meat eater, so vegan is not my normal mode of operations. But I love cooking, and could see this recipe would be a winner. I used rice flour for the sorghum flour, and since I had no arrowroot powder for a thickener, I used extra almond powder. I ground some flax seeds in a mortar/pestle, used canned coconut milk for the non-dairy milk, and substituted apple butter for syrup topping. I didn’t even have shredded coconut but it didn’t matter. After eating half as many waffles as I would if I’d prepared wheat-flour waffles from a mix, I’m fuller and more satisfied. And the flavor of this recipe? Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. And the bonus is that my body can actually digest this without causing the bloating and gas I would have suffered from wheat flour. Thanks so much — I am an instant fan of your website!
I was searching for banana coconut waffles recipe online and found your blog. I really appreciate this delicious banana waffle recipe with coconut. Thanks for sharing with us.
These waffles were absolutely delicious. They were wonderfully crisp on the outside and not too wet on the inside, but every time I lifted the waffle maker top, no matter how well I oiled it, they almost always split in half! Not sure if it’s because the banana was quite big. Regardless of how they looks, they really were delicious and will be making them again! I never even told my family they were gluten-free and they loved them as well!
Hi Luisa, Thanks for this comment. I’m sorry the waffles stuck and didn’t turn out as great! It’s taken years of using my own waffle iron to get it to that highly seasoned point where nothing sticks, but I understand your frustration. Another reader who made this suggested cooking the batter only in the center of the waffle iron and to cook them lightly for easier removal. I hope this helps!
-L
Thanks Laura. I’ll check them out. Cheers, Jo :)
Hi, so excited as I’m asking for a waffle iron for my birthday. Do you have any recommendations please? I’ve never used one before. Thankyou! Jo x
Hi Jo, I have a basic model from Cuisinart that I’ve had for years. It’s never let me down :)
-L
Oh my gosh.
As a former passionate lover of breakfast foods who found out a year ago that I am severely allergic to gluten, I had basically given up on finding a good, relatively healthy pancake recipe.
When I made these tonight, I didn’t even have very high hopes. Not only was this a waffle recipe, but with no eggs, gluten, or dairy, and chock full of good fats and calories, I thought there was no chance they would turn out well.
But I was absolutely wrong. These are delicious. Just sweet enough, hearty, filling, and with a great texture. I always say that the sign of a good pancake (or waffle) is the fact that you don’t need any maple syrup on top, and this was totally the case with these. Not a drop of additional syrup, and they were delicious.
Thank you so, so much for developing and sharing this recipe. I have enough battle leftover for breakfast tomorrow, and I am super psyched.
TO ANYONE MAKING THESE AS PANCAKES:
They pretty much just fall apart and don’t flip well, but you end up not caring, because they’re so damn good. So… pancake mush all the way!
Could I make the batter the day before and refrigerate it until the next morning or is it best to whip together just before cooking?
Hi Swava,
I’ve never made the batter for these in advance, but I don’t see how that would be a problem. The batter might thicken up a bit in the fridge overnight, so a little thinning out with almond/coconut milk wouldn’t hurt the next morning. Let me know how it goes if you try it.
-L
I made these w/ the chia instead of flax and the flavor is great – but I had a super hard time with them sticking to the waffle iron… I only have a Belgian iron so maybe that was it :( But the pieces I ripped off the iron were super yummy haha. I tried 3 times and then made pancakes. I would love to try them again with a regular iron and see if that works. Thanks for the recipe.
Wanted to share that I did try these today. I have a Belgian waffle maker which I realized offers another level of challenge to gluten-free waffles.
However, with this recipe I had success! Here are some additional tips that I learned. Cook in the center of the waffle iron and take out as soon as the waffle iron tells you that the waffle is done. Overcooking the waffle made it very hard to remove from the iron. I used a bamboo chopstick to release the waffle as well as a fork.
Couldn’t be happier with the result! Thanks again for sharing.
So glad they turned out! Thanks for your excellent tips too :)
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the hours I know you spent on developing this recipe! I have tried and failed at gluten-free waffles over and over. I was in a holding pattern between looking for another recipe to try and suffer possibly another defeat or giving up entirely. Your comments about the difficultly you experienced convinces me to give this a try.
Hi !
Can the oat flour be replaced by buckwheat flour ? Also I have brown rice flour so would that work as the rice flour ? Thanks !
Hi Afrina! I think the brown rice flour might be a better substitute. Buckwheat’s flavour might be too strong for this combo. Hope that helps :)
-L
Does anyone have advice for replacing the rolled oats and sorghum flour?
The recipe sounds amazing but I don’t eat any grains, not just gluten free.
Hi Satheian,
Can you consume bean-based flours? A garbanzo flour might be able to fill in for the oats and sorghum. I would sweeten up the batter a bit and add some more vanilla to cover up any possible bean-y quality. Alternatively, if you do eat eggs, Caitlyn from Roost Blog has a great recipe that also incorporates yogurt (you could use dairy or coconut or soy-based yogurt I’m guessing). Here’s the link for that: http://www.roostblog.com/roost/almond-yogurt-waffles-with-orange-honey-syrup.html
Best,
Laura
just made these for dinner–absolutely perfect! didn’t have any problems with sticking. i only had 2 tbs coconut oil left so i used peanut butter for the remaining 2 tbs and the combination with banana made them delicious even without topping. thank you!
I just found your blog, and I’m feeling very out of the loop, because surely I should have come across such an amazing blog sooner? Love it.
And the waffles sound amazing! What a great flavor combination, yum.
You are a braver cook than I for tackling gluten-free, vegan waffles. Inspiring.
I am in love! Lately I’ve had quite a hankering to invest in one of these. I had no idea it would be so tricky either! I’ll definitely be back to follow your sage advice when I set out to make some.
I had my boyfriend make these waffles for my birthday breakfast yesterday and they were the best waffles I’ve ever had. The texture and flavor were perfect. Thanks for sharing your kitchen – I make and adore all of your recipes. :)
Saw your post this morning and couldn’t stop thinking about how good these looked until nothing would do but having these for breakfast. Needless to say that will not be the last time I make these, they are super delicious!! Thank you for the great recipe and it is much appreciated having a gluten and dairy free recipe!
These are lovely! I love the last photo especially. I recently pulled out my waffle iron – my kids had been begging me for some, and I hadn’t used it in years. They are a bit tricky, but worth it.
Oh, almond meal flour! I use that in cakes, but using it in waffles is a genius idea. I bet the texture is wonderful.
Recently Nicole at Eat This Poem mentioned how there are some things she’s come to terms with that she’ll leave to the pros. I think Waffles are one of them. What’s even worse though, is that going out to breakfast, I never can find a waffle as healthy and bangin’ as this sort. It’s a problem. When we’re neighbors and garden together and the like (wink wink) I’ll trade you a hug for waffles. :)
I got my waffle iron about 5 years ago and used it exactly once… but this makes me want to break it out again :)
I don’t have any fancy gadgets at all… :( so, I just have to make do. These delicious waffles will have to become pancakes. :)
Waffles are such a treat, and I’m really feeling the coconut/banana flavor combination going on here.
What a fabulous idea! I could eat this any time of day.
these waffles look DELICIOUS! and healthy AND gluten-free! now i just need a waffle iron… ;)