These gluten free buttermilk waffles are crisp on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, and perfect for Christmas morning!
My family and I really lucked out this year with our Disney trip. Before this whole crazy pandemic reality hit, we were able to spend our whole vacation at Disneyworld without much of a care in the world. I stocked up on groceries as soon as we got home, right before the world shut down.
I ordered this Mickey waffle iron as soon as I got home as well, because I knew I’d be missing my daily dose of Mickey waffles. While these homemade Mickey waffles aren’t quite as thick as the real Mickey waffles, they’re crunchy and cute and I love them still! If you want the Mickey waffle iron, you can find it here or here.
But as you can see, these waffles can also be made in any waffle maker and they are just as good! Light and airy on the inside, crisp on the outside, with divots for holding all the butter and syrup you could want.
Batter for Gluten Free Buttermilk Waffles
This batter is a simple Belgian waffle batter that’s very easy to pull together, just requires a few steps. Here is the list of ingredients needed:
- Eggs — separating the eggs is essential to getting that light and fluffy, yet crisp, texture we love so much in waffles.
- Kim’s gluten free flour blend — you can try a store bought blend, such as Cup4Cup, but I haven’t tested these waffles with anything but my own blend.
- Sugar — just a few tablespoons
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter — melted and cooled
- Buttermilk — you can substitute milk or dairy free milk for the buttermilk, but I really like the tang that buttermilk gives.
- Vanilla extract
Mixing the Batter
If you whip the egg whites first and set them aside in another bowl, you can use the same mixing bowl to mix your other ingredients. Look at me, always thinking! (wink, wink Mom) That’s a little inside joke between my mom and I.
Add the egg yolks and sugar to the bowl of the mixer and mix on high until pale in color. Add the buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Follow this by the flour blend, baking powder, and salt all at once, mixing on low just enough to combine, but don’t overmix or you’ll be left with gummy waffles.
Fold the egg whites into the rest of the batter gently to keep the volume and airiness. This will create a light and airy waffle that’s crisp on the outside.
Using the Mickey Mouse Double Flip Waffle Maker
I’m one of those who really love my waffles crispy and this waffle maker delivers completely on that! There are two sides to this waffle maker and what you do is spoon the batter into three waffles on the Mickey “face” side, close and lock it, and then flip it over and do the same on the Mickey “pants” side. So you’ll be able to make a total of SIX Mickey waffles at once!! So cool!
You can also adjust the browning level from light to dark (I chose a little lighter, which was perfect), and the waffle iron beeps when the waffles are done! To me, it’s well worth the money spent and it seems like it’s very well made and is a quality product.
Using a Belgian Waffle Maker
As you can see from my pictures, these waffles can also be made in any type of waffle maker. I had this flip Belgian waffle maker before I bought the Mickey waffle maker. I kept my old waffle maker so I could mass produce gluten free waffles whenever I wanted to!
Can I Make These Waffles In Advance?
Absolutely!!! If you’re making them to serve in a day or two, allow them to cool completely and then place them in a large ziptop bag or an airtight container and store them in the fridge.
For longer storage, allow them to cool completely and then lay them in one single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer to flash freeze until solid, and then store the waffles in a large ziptop baggie.
To reheat individually, just pop ’em in a dedicated gluten free toaster or toaster oven. If frozen, they may need to go through more than one cycle. If reheating several at once, place them on a baking sheet and into a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes to crisp them back up!
What if I Don’t Have Buttermilk?
While I think whole fat real buttermilk is the best (it’s perfectly thick and tangy) you can make your own by combining two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar into one cup plus two tablespoons of milk. Stir and let it sit for at least 10 minutes, but the longer the better. Thirty minutes is perfect for getting the curdling and acidity needed to turn it into something similar to buttermilk.
For a great make-ahead idea for your Christmas morning (or any morning of the year), crank out these gluten free buttermilk waffles and watch for smiles 🧇🧇🧇
Gluten Free Buttermilk Waffles
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1¼ cups (300 ml) buttermilk
- ¼ cup (4 tbsp or 56 g) butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (280 g) Kim's gluten free flour blend (or any flour blend of your choice with xanthan gum–Cup4Cup would be a great substitute)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or handheld mixer) fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites on high to stiff peaks. Transfer the egg whites into another bowl and set aside.
- In the same bowl used for the egg whites, add the egg yolks and sugar and, using the paddle attachment, beat until smooth and lighter in color. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and melted butter and mix to combine.
- Dump the flour in all at once, followed by the baking powder and salt. Mix by pulsing on and off just until combined. Don't overmix.
- Fold egg whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture gently to avoid deflating egg whites.
- Heat waffle iron. When ready, dollop large spoonfuls into waffle impressions and close the lid. Bake for recommended time per waffle iron instructions.
- Remove waffles carefully from iron and finish baking the rest of the waffles. To keep waffles warm and crisp, place on a wire rack over a baking sheet and into a 200° F oven in one single layer. Serve with butter and real maple syrup.
- To freeze, lay in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Place frozen waffles in a galllon ziptop bag and remove as much air as possible. To reheat, place in a toaster or toaster oven and heat until warmed through and crisp.
So so so SO GOOD!!! I have made these twice in the last few weeks – once with Kim’s GF flour mix and once with Better Batter. They were both delicious waffles with a great texture – can’t tell they’re GF at all. Incidentally, I don’t typically have buttermilk on hand so I subbed with a 1:1 combo of Greek yogurt and milk. So yummy and SO much better than any type of frozen waffle, ever.
This recipe made the most delicious waffles I ever ate period gluten or gluten free. Just a question, can I leave the batte, batter in the fridge and if so for how long? I want to make like 4 waffles a day instead of all at once. Is this possible? If not I’ll just make all at once like I did this time. Thanks in advance.
I think it’ll do okay for 3-4 days in the fridge, max 😊
Great recipe! No grittiness at all, and the flavor was just what you want in a waffle. They did take a long time to cook, maybe because the batter is pretty thick. We’ll be making these again for sure!
Hooray! I’ve been searching for a from scratch waffle recipe since we went GF and this is it! Made your flour blend too – thanks so much! Added chocolate chips to make my kids happy. Delish!
How can we turn these into pancakes instead?? Seems super yummy!!
They’re so yummy! I just made them this morning, haha!
I actually have a pancake recipe that is so good, too! Here’s the link for that: https://www.letthemeatgfcake.com/gluten-free-pancakes/ 🙂