Coconut Waffles – Vegan and Gluten-free. Made with coconut flour and chia seeds this waffle recipe makes the ultimate healthy breakfast recipe everyone can enjoy. No dairy or eggs required!
I have a truly unhealthy obsession with all things Trader Joe’s. Unfortunately Canada has yet to figure out that they NEED TJs. Anytime I am in The States I load up on my favourite products. When I was in Minnesota in December I brought home an entire suitcase of food. Normal right?
Well Trader Joe’s has just released a new product that I am desperate to get my hands on. Coconut Oil Spray! I know, I know they are not the first to come out with this product but they are definitely the only ones selling it for $2.99 ($3.04 CDN). I absolutely love coconut oil and this spray version would be super handy! I always find myself diverting back to spray olive oil or canola (gasp!) oil when i’m roasting my veggies because the idea of melting the coconut oil and drizzling it on seems too effortful…yes I am that lazy.
You want to know when it would be the most handy? When making waffles! My waffle-iron is just begging for some coconut lovin’.
But alas I will have to wait until the next time I am in the U.S. of A to purchase several cans of this goodness. In the meantime I will suck it up and melt my coconut oil and brush it onto the waffle-iron. Life is tough eh? Since we are on the topic of coconut it made complete sense that I post my recipe for Coconut Waffles.
These coconut waffles came together quite seamlessly. C was visiting this weekend and I promised I would make him breakfast Sunday morning. I owed him big time for building me a light box (aka why my pictures suddenly look so much better). This is how the conversation went Sunday morning. “Sweet or savoury?”…”Sweet” …”pancakes or waffles?”….”waffles” …”chocolate, coconut or carrot?”…”coconut”. It was that simple. The challenge was making them gluten-free (and vegan just for good measure) so that I could enjoy them as well.
These are SERIOUSLY good. Topped with banana, almond coconut butter and coconut flakes. This breakfast reminded me of my family trip to Hawaii last summer. If you are also a big coconut fan or are just in need of a taste of the tropics then you should absolutely make these Coconut Waffles – Vegan and Gluten-Free!
How to Make a Chia Egg
In order to keep this recipe vegan, we used chia seeds in place of eggs. Chia seeds can make a great vegan binding agent because they create a gel-like consistency when mixed with water. This helps to bind the vegan coconut waffles together so that they keep their shape and get the same crispiness that regular waffles do. Here’s how to make a chia egg:
Combine 1 part chia seed to 3 parts warm water. In the case of this recipe, we’ll use 2 tbsp of chia seeds and 6 tbsp of warm water. You need to let the chia egg side in a small bowl for 5-10 minutes to allow the chia eggs to absorb the water. Once they are gel like and hold together you know the chia egg is ready to be mixed in.
PrintCoconut Waffles – Vegan and Gluten-Free
- Prep Time: 15
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 5 large waffles 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp chia seeds (mixed with 6 tbsp warm water)-to make chia egg
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp of coconut flour
- 1 cup of oat flour (ground oats) – gluten-free flour works here too
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (plus more for greasing waffle-iron)
- 1 1/2 cups lite coconut milk
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Turn on waffle-iron and let heat up.
- Whisk together chia egg and let sit.
- In a large bowl combine dry ingredients.
- Melt coconut oil and combine with vanilla, maple syrup, and coconut milk. Add in chia egg.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Waffle batter will be thick.
- Spray waffle iron with non-stick spray or grease using melted coconut oil.
- Add batter to iron and follow waffle iron instructions to tell you when the waffle is done.
- Top with mixings of choice. I like bananas and almond butter but maple syrup is also delicious!
Like this recipe? Here are a few others you might enjoy:
Healthy Carrot Cake Waffles
Sweet Potato Blueberry Waffles
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Waffles
Note: This recipe was originally published in 2013. It has since been updated with helpful tips and new pictures however the recipe remains unchanged. Enjoy!
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19 Comments
Em Kathryn
March 28, 2013 at 7:43 pmThose waffles look fantastic!!! Love that they are vegan and GF!
Davida
March 29, 2013 at 5:10 pmHi Em! These are soooo delicious! If you have a waffle maker you should definitely try them out
Cindy Gordon
April 15, 2013 at 7:05 pmThe spray looks awesome, I will have to head into Trader Joe’s to check that out! Yes, I am not a fan of melting it either 🙂 LOL These waffles look so delicious. My boys would love these! So very excited with all the entries this week! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Kurt Jacobson
November 23, 2013 at 6:53 pmI too love Trader Joes and appreciate you mentioning the coconut oil spray. I will definately pick some up next time I am in TJ’s. The banana waffles look yummy!
Megan
February 2, 2014 at 11:16 amCould I substitute a flax egg for the chia egg?
Davida
February 2, 2014 at 11:45 amAbsolutely!
Georgie
January 7, 2015 at 9:44 amLately I can’t get enough coconut. I don’t know how it happened but I found myself drinking coconut water, eating coconut chips and adding coconut milk to my coffee. Oops… These waffles sound great!
Davida Kugelmass
January 9, 2015 at 2:51 pmThanks, girlfriend! I’ve been obsessed with coconut too. Coconut milk was on sale and I went a little bit crazy. I’m okay with it…
Ellen Liang
April 20, 2015 at 10:45 amI made these yesterday and love the recipe, as did my daughter. The lack of gluten made them a bit soft but they’re delicious. I am going to try adapting the recipe for blueberry muffins; according to my ratios chart the proportions are the same except muffins require double the oil.
felicia | Dish by Dish
October 13, 2015 at 4:30 pmHey Davida!
I’d love to include your coconut waffles in a waffle roundup I’m doing for Parade Magazine.
If you’re fine with that, could I use one of your gorgeous photos with a link back to your original post (https://www.thehealthymaven.com/2013/03/coconut-waffles-vegan-and-gluten-free.html)?
Thanks in advance dear!
Davida Kugelmass
October 13, 2015 at 5:58 pmAbsolutely! Thanks for including me, lovely!
Janelle
October 29, 2015 at 3:57 pmThese didn’t work for me, although they were tasty. Could be that my Waffle maker is low quality, but they did not stick together and turned into a big mess. Not sure what I might have done wrong but I don’t think I’ll be making them again.
Brenda Lenz
January 22, 2016 at 4:36 pmI don’t know what happened, but I’m very sad because when I scroll down there’s no recipe. Just the word “Ingredients”. 🙁
The Healthy Maven
January 22, 2016 at 5:46 pmShould be fixed now! There’s an issue with my recipe plugin that I’m in the process of sorting out but some recipes are still a bit wonky :/
MDNF
March 7, 2017 at 1:18 pmUnfortunately these didn’t work at all. They completely flopped and wouldn’t cook. My coconut flour adventures are officially over.
FREEDAM
May 3, 2017 at 1:45 pmoh no don’t stop yet. I found a waffle recipe that is very good. In a blender 4c oats, equal amounts of liquid to cover the oats ( I mix water and plant milk), 1-2 Tbs honey (or sweetener of choice), 1tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp. ssalt. blend until you get a batter. let stand 10 min. pour 1/2c on griddle or waffle iron. yum (I’ve also added spinach, beets, sweet potato, banana and nuts at different times to this recipe.) explore, enjoy…be loved
FREEDAM
May 3, 2017 at 1:49 pmI hope everyone here is listening to the Food Revolution Summit this week…be loved
Tanya Taylor
May 1, 2019 at 11:32 amWhat can I substitute coconut flakes with?
Dominic Montano
January 1, 2020 at 10:58 amThis recipe sucks. It’s just a pile of mush in my waffle maker. Not crispy. I don’t even know if it’s cooked all the way through.
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