Vegan Yeast Waffles Recipe (Healthy, Make Ahead, Freezable)

This wonderful recipe for healthy vegan yeast waffles was shared with us by Dave, the author of The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook. The yeast gives them a unique rise and flavor that actually leans slightly to the savory side when left on its own. But once topped with fresh fruit, maple syrup, or Dave’s Warm Peanut Ginger Agave Sauce, these waffles become a brunch delight.

Healthy Vegan Yeast Waffles that Rise Just in Time for Breakfast

I like this waffle recipe, because it incorporates a good dose of whole grain flour and gives you the opportunity to use blackstrap molasses, which is much more mineral rich (including calcium) than your average molasses or sweetener. And according to Dave, there “was not a single crumb of vegan waffle left!”

Nevertheless, I’ve updated this post to our new format, since we originally shared it in 2010. And I have some ingredient options to share, should you need them.

Flour: You can use regular wheat flour or white-wheat flour (still whole grain) for the wheat flour. But if you want fluffier waffles, you can use just all-purpose flour for all of the flour.
Milk Beverage: This recipe isn’t finicky, so feel free to use your favorite type. Almost any brand will work well, whether unsweetened, sweetened, or vanilla in flavor.
Oil: I like to use a “neutral” tasting oil in the vegan yeast waffles, like grapeseed, rice bran, or extra-light oil. Feel free to use your favorite baking oil. But if you use coconut oil, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature and the coconut oil is melted. If you add cold milk beverage, for example, it will cause coconut oil to “bead up” with solid chunks.
Molasses: If you aren’t a molasses fan, or don’t have any on hand, you can substitute another liquid sweetener, like maple syrup.
Salt: This recipe is quite high in sodium. If you are watching your salt intake, or aren’t a big salt fan, you can reduce the salt. But I wouldn’t recommend cutting it out completely. It does help to round out the flavor. Using just 1/2 teaspoon salt reduces the overall sodium to 487 milligrams per serving.

Special Diet Notes: Vegan Yeast Waffles

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.

Healthy Vegan Yeast Waffles

Author: Dave Wheitner

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

1¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
1½ cups warm water
1½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons salt
½ cup + 2 tablespoons dairy-free milk beverage
¼ cup oil (your favorite type for baking)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses (blackstrap, if available)
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda

Put the water in a large non-metal bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes. It should foam if your yeast is active.
Stir in the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt until well blended. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm location until the flour mixture has almost doubled. You can put it in your oven with the oven light on (but the oven off). If you prefer to make it in advance, you can let the batter stand at room temperature overnight.
After the flour mixture has risen, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, molasses, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl. Pour this mixture into the raised flour mixture and stir until well blended. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Preheat your waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes while the batter is standing.
Spray both grids of the waffle iron with oil.
Pour or ladle the batter into the center of the iron, covering no more than two-thirds of the iron’s surface for the first waffle. Adjust the amount as needed for subsequent waffles. Bake each waffle for 3 to 5 minutes, or until it can be easily removed.
Leftovers can be frozen, and popped in the toaster to reheat.

Serving size: 1 waffle Calories: 291 Fat: 14.8g Saturated fat: 1.8g Carbohydrates: 36.9g Sodium: 1069mg Fiber: 2.4g Protein: 4.1g

3.5.3229