I’ve lived in Tucson for about ten years now.
When I first moved here, I lived with my older brother and his family in order to be able to attend the local college.
Though my brother was nice enough to let me stay with him for free, I still needed money for personal expenses, and quickly went looking for a job.
Waitressing was something I had high school experience with, and I soon secured a job at a local breakfast restaurant. Though I had to get up every morning at 4am, it was worth it to me to have my afternoons free for school and the gym.
One of the things I enjoyed the most about my new job was getting to see what everyone had for breakfast!
I’ve always been a voyeur when it comes to food, and this was no exception.
While everyone’s tastes varied to some extent, I found that the majority of people ordered either pancakes or waffles, usually with a side of eggs.
Unlike my husband, I didn’t grow up eating waffles or even really knowing what they tasted like, so I didn’t understand what the thrill was…until I started making my own.
Once we got married, one of the first meals my husband requested was waffles, so I found a good deal on Ebay for a $20 Cuisinart waffle maker, and it has served us well for the past six years.
In trying to compete with all of our allergies and still make something yummy and healthy, I decided to employ one of my favorite flours in a new recipe.
These chickpea flour waffles are very satiating because of the high amount of protein (each waffle has almost as much protein as one chicken egg), which also aids in blood sugar regulation, and they taste delicious!
These crispy, easy to make waffles are higher in natural protein, thanks to the addition of chickpea flour.
- 1/2 c. chickpea flour
- 1/4 c. rice flour use 1/4 c. more chickpea flour to make it grain-free
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/8 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. sea salt
- heaping 1/4 t. cinnamon
- 2 t. coconut sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c. dairy-free milk
- 1/4 c. 100% pure apple juice water, or more milk
- 2 T. oil grapeseed, coconut, and olive all work great
- 8 drops of liquid stevia or two more teaspoons coconut sugar
- 1/2 t. vanilla
- Begin preheating your waffle maker.
- Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, coconut sugar).
- In another bowl, mix your wet ingredients (egg, milk, juice/water/milk, oil, stevia (if using), and vanilla).
- Whisk everything together until there are no lumps (the batter is fairly thin).
- Spray your waffle maker with a thin layer of oil (I use my Misto for this).
- Ladle a good 1/4 cup of batter for each waffle (I like setting 3 for cooking).
- Repeat five times.
- Serve immediately!
Nutrition facts are based on using rice flour, unsweetened almond milk, apple juice, grapeseed oil, and stevia. WW points (new system): 5
Notes:
I like to use a combination of chickpea and rice flours, as the rice flour contributes a great texture, but you can use all chickpea flour if you’re avoiding grains.
Using apple juice adds a bit of extra sweetness, but it can easily be replaced with more milk or even water.
Though maple syrup is always delicious on waffles, these are the type that taste great naked too! 🙂
What is your favorite breakfast to eat?
Erika Rosso says
So good! I used all chickpea flour and applesauce instead of apple juice. They were great! My 5 year old also loved them.
Sheri says
Hello,
I made up a batch using my new waffle iron (received it for Christmas) with a few modifications and they were GREAT:
– used a flax egg instead of real egg
– used water (no juice or milk)
– accidentally put in twice as much baking soda as called for.
Thanks for posting your recipe!
Tee says
Tried these out. Not sure where I went wrong as I followed the directions down to a T and even set my waffle maker on the low setting. They flopped badly as they either stuck to the waffle iron or were too soft and floppy to the point where they broke when you tried to remove them.
Lauren says
Sorry they didn’t turn out for you; I would guess you needed more oil on your waffle maker!
Ginny says
I have made these 3 times this week. To my surprise chickpea flour alone, taste great compared to other GF flour options. Not grainy,or dry, nor like cardboard. I made it grain free by using only chickpea flour, I increased the quantity by 1/4 cup, for a total of 1 1/4 cup, I used maple syrup instead of coconut sugar because it’s what I had. Very good thank you.
Lauren says
That’s great Ginny, and good to know they work with just chickpea flour! 🙂
Shirley Brickner says
I made these waffles this morning with a few modifications. I used all chickpea flour since my daughter cannot have rice flour. I also substituted 1/4 cup mashed banana for the egg (also an allergen for us). Instead of coconut sugar or Stevia, I used 3 tsp. maple syrup. The first waffle was mushy and didn’t want to come out of the waffle iron. After that, I added 1/4 cup more flour to the remaining batter. The second waffle was better, but still soft. So, in a very unscientific move, I added another 2 Tbs. to the last of the batter. The third waffles was almost perfect! Next time, I think I will try adding a 1/2 cup extra flour to the batter and see how that works. The flavor is delicious and I couldn’t taste the chickpea at all. Thanks for a great recipe!
Lauren says
So happy you enjoyed it Shirley!
Sandra says
I just made those. I have to go gluten-free and am now looking for recipes. I had some chickpeas in the house and made the flower in my Thermomix blender myself. Didn’t add rice flour as I only had Basmati rice and thought its flavor would stand out. Apart from that I followed the recipe precisely. Well. The picture looks really great and I think you are an awesome photographer. The taste of the waffles made me cry though. Literally. I am sitting here crying. Maybe it is because I am afraid that in the future this is the kind of food I will have to eat. The waffles taste like dried hummus with cinnamon on top. Sorry, I don’t wanna be rude and actually I think you are doing a beautiful blog here, but I needed to comment on this because I am just so disappointed…
Lauren says
Well, Sandra, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your waffles, but you deviated quite a bit from the original recipe! I’ve never ground my own flour and am unsure how that affects the flavor, though I imagine it does! If you ever try the original recipe with store-bought flours, I’d love to hear what you think.
Ida says
Did you use canned (wet) chickpeas? Just curious
Lauren says
These are made with chickpea flour.
Julie says
Made these for dinner tonight. I used 1/4 c oat flour in place of rice flour (my son has an intolerance to rice) and used almond milk for all the milk/juice. All coconut sugar for the sweetener & butter for the oil. DELICIOUS! Thank you for the recipe! I pinned it! 🙂
Lauren says
Thanks Julie, I’m happy you guys liked them! 🙂
carey says
I just made these and they were awesome.! My son is allergic to eggs so just so people know, it worked well with chia seed replacment. I saw somewhere Lauren cant tolerate chia or flax anymore but it worked well and it was still crispy. The flavor was great and my kids asked for more! I am trying to keep sugar low so I just used 1 teaspoon of the coconut sugar and xylitol for the other teaspoon. I don’t use maple syrup to keep sugar low but I topped it with blueberries and a bit of coconut oil warmed. They were great. I have tried so many recipes to no avail. Thank you !
Lauren says
That’s great Carey, thanks for the feedback on the chia egg! 🙂
Kathleen says
Pinning this one, too, for my “use up the chickpea flour” list of recipes. 🙂 Thanks!
Lauren says
Awesome Kathleen, I hope you enjoy both recipes (chickpea flour is one of my favorites to work with). 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Definitely craving waffles right now, these look delicious. Need to get my hands on some chickpea flour too.. thanks for drawing my attention to it!
Jill says
This really makes me want a waffle iron! I make pancakes often but there’s something special about waffles with their little square indents with pools of maple syrup.
Mike @TheIronYou says
This post made me realize I desperately need a waffle maker. I’ve talked myself out of buying one for quite some time: I don’t have space in the kitchen for another gadget, I will not use it enough to justify the purchase, this and that. But now I know I was wrong. Those waffles look just too good to pass up! 🙂
Marfigs says
These look delish! I’m interested in the idea of a crispier waffle, because that’s the best kind 😀 Weekend breakfast is now sorted!
Heather says
I like brown rice. Either with just almond milk or add an egg. If there is leftover salmon, I’ll add that and the rice in a frying pan with some coconut oil.