These vegan banana waffles are made with whole grains and extra ripe bananas for a sweet treat that tastes like banana bread, in waffle form!
I learned a little something about vegan baking when developing this recipe. Maybe “learned” isn’t the right word. More like “experienced firsthand” or “developed a complete understanding”? I’ve been using bananas in place of eggs in vegan baking for a while. In fact, bananas are probably the first egg substitute I ever used in my vegan baking. For anyone reading this who is new to vegan baking, you can also use commercial egg substitutes, vegan yogurt, and flax or chia seeds mixed with water, among other things. Each acts a bit differently though, serving a different eggy purpose, so to speak. What this recipe taught me was how bananas really give your vegan baked goods an eggy texture.
I guess what I’m saying is that these waffles, although vegan, are eggy. They have the texture of analogous some non-vegan waffles with a high egg content. Very moist and fluffy. This was a totally unexpected surprise. I guess in most of my earlier banana-based vegan baking, I just threw the bananas in there, the recipe turned out as planned, and so I assumed the bananas were doing their job (and accordingly, the recipe would not have turned out absent the bananas).
I created these by adapting my recipe for Vegan Whole Wheat Cherry Almond Waffles, which, if you tried them out, you know are among the hearty, sturdy variety of waffles, with a bit of crunch. Would that be like a Belgian waffle? I don’t know. But these waffles, on the other hand, are soft and moist. Delicious, but for a totally different reason.
One thing to keep in mind with respect to these waffles is that they aren’t likely to keep as well as crunchier, sturdier waffles. I didn’t try to store leftovers, in fact, I had some friends over for brunch and we gobbled them all up, but I don’t imagine these would have maintained much of their structural integrity by day two. I cut down on the batch size since developing my former waffle recipe, but this still makes quite a few waffles, so half it if need be.
Notice I didn’t add any sweetener to the batter? These waffles don’t need it. The bananas make them plenty sweet. In fact, take a bite before you pour any maple syrup on them. You just might decide to skip it in lieu of some additional banana slices and walnuts (oh so good).
Vegan Banana Waffles
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas mashed
- 2 1/4 cups non-dairy milk of choice
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
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Preheat waffle iron and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
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In large mixing bowl, mix bananas, milk, oil and vanilla. Add in dry ingredients and mix until blended.
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Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter (adjust if necessary, based on waffle iron size) into waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions.
These look so good! Just a question – what brand waffle maker do you have? Mine is so terrible and NEVER works, but it looks the same as yours! And then, perhaps, you have a secret.
It’s actually probably one of the cheapest you can buy. The brand is Kitchen Gourmet and the box indicates a suggested price of $9.99, though I’m not sure how long ago that was printed because it’s a hand-me-down from my brother. I didn’t have very high expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. I don’t have any secrets either – just follow the instructions. Sorry to hear that yours isn’t working. If you can find my brand I’d say give it a shot – good luck!!!
Thanks for the reply! I have a Black and Decker and it was about $15, but comes with the changable sandwich plates, et cetera. I’ll try it with your recipe — maybe it was the ones I was using! Thanks for the input. :)
You’re welcome and good luck!!!
I always failed at making these until I read to not open it until the steam stops. Don’t know if that will help any or not. :)
Ohhh – good call! My machine has a light that is supposed to go off when the waffles are done, but sometimes goes while steam continues to come out. I usually wait until the steam stops rather than relying on the light.
Nommmm… I definitely didn’t need the syrup, the bananas and walnuts were more than enough flavor and sweetness! These were delicious!!
Awe! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!!! Thanks so much for being my taste tester :)
Great recipe, thank you! :) Made it twice. Just want to point out that I think there’s a typo, it should be teaspoon instead of tablespoon for the baking powder? Because I did with 1.5 teaspoon the first time and it was great, and the second time with 1.5 tablespoon it was a bit of a disaster.
Thank you! I’m glad you liked them! I’m not sure about the baking powder…I’ve got a few waffle recipes and they all use about the same ratio. I’m guessing your batter expanded too much and spilled out of the waffle iron? Could have to do with different waffle irons and how much batter they’ll accept. I’ll definitely play around with this and see what I can come up with. I’m glad you found that they work for you with the smaller amount of baking powder though. :)
We have now made this recipe three weekends in a row at my house – a definite hit. Thanks for sharing!
Yay!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them! Thanks Ginny!
Just made these, so good! I cooked them 8 min in my waffle maker to get them nice and crispy. Delicious!
Awesome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks Bethany!
Dear Alissa! I tried this recipe the other day. It was awesome, super quick, and hassle-free!
That’s wonderful! So glad you liked it!
We made them this morning with friends and, though the texture was a bit different than what I’m used to, they were absolutely scrumptious! We used a mix of pure vanilla extract and ground tonka beans for an interesting twist. We will definitely be making them again :)