These Vegan Sourdough Waffles are light, airy, crunchy on the outside, whole wheat, and absolutely divine. Serve with fruit or maple syrup for a delicious breakfast.
Here's a recipe for Vegan Sourdough Waffles so crisp on the outside, so fluffy on the inside and so delicious all around, you'll probably never want to make any other kind ever again.
I made a batch of sourdough starter a few weeks back, with nothing but flour and water. Everything went very well and I had a bubbling, happy sourdough starter within a week. The first thing I decided to make with it were these vegan sourdough waffles -- with whole wheat flour. They were so good, I've been making them nearly every weekend since, more often than I've even been making my go-to vegan waffles (which are uber delicious, btw!)
There's an alchemy that takes place when you add sourdough to baked goods. They become lighter, airier, and flavorful without becoming tangy, as you would expect (unless you add a ton of the sourdough, which you don't in these waffles). We also discussed the importance of probiotics and prebiotics in food and their effect on your overall health in a recent post: sourdough has a ton of those probiotic bacteria because it's fermented, while whole wheat provides the perfect prebiotic fiber for those bacteria to thrive on.
In the beginning, when I made these waffles, I added a couple of tablespoons of oil to them, but I stopped after a while and they turn out just as delicious without the oil, so I've made it an optional ingredient.
Try them!
More vegan sourdough breakfast recipes
Vegan Sourdough Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter (unfed or fed, either works)
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 cups nondairy milk
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoon flaxmeal + 6 tablespoon warm water, whisked)
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil (optional)
Instructions
- Make the overnight sponge by mixing together the sourdough starter, whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, milk and vinegar in a very large bowl. The dough will expand by morning as all those good bacteria and yeast go to work, so make sure you have enough room in the bowl.
- In the morning, just before making your waffles, mix the baking soda, salt, oil, if using, and flax eggs into the overnight sponge.
- Use a ½ cup measure to pour the batter on a preheated waffle maker. Bake according to manufacturer's instructions.
- Serve hot with some fruit and maple syrup.
Jenna
Does the sponge go in the fridge or stay out on the counter overnight?
Vaishali
Leave it out on the counter.
cathy
These are amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Vaishali
Yay!
Lauren K
If I don't have whole wheat pastry flour, can I use regular whole wheat flour?
Vaishali
Yes absolutely!
Cheryl
These are hands down the best waffles I've ever made, thank you sooooooo much!!!! I actually put my sourdough sponge in the fridge and it works great in the morning. I also add Chocolate Chips which puts these over the top in a most sinful happy way. I use a Belgium Waffle maker and get perfect waffles every time (and I make these a lot!). Your recipes inspire me and make me so happy, thank you for being a kitchen goddess!!
Janet
Does it matter if the sourdough starter is active, not discard?
Vaishali
Active will work just fine.
Jamie Lee
These are absolutely delicious! My only question is the directions state oil but it isn't listed in the ingredients? I just threw a dash of oil into my batter and still turned out great!
Vaishali
I used oil in the past, but stopped using it so removed it from the ingredients--the waffles are just as wonderful without it. But you can definitely use it--I added it back in as an optional ingredient. 🙂 So happy you liked them--they are a huge breakfast favorite for us!
Joan DaGradi
This makes the most delicious waffles! Thank you so much! I’ve been making these for 2 years, and they never fail to please❤️❤️❤️.
I never seem to have pastry flour around, so I’ve used a mix of half whole wheat white and half all purpose, or sometimes bread flour.
Always delicious!
Jennifer Catriana
These are so light, crispy, and tasty!
Unfortunately due to the current shopping situation I had to use AP white flour and lemon juice, but I’m sure they’re even more delicious with ww pastry flour and apple cider vinegar.
I’m throwing out all my other waffle recipes. This one is a keeper! Thank you for creating it!
Love the kitty remarks, too.
susan
Hello,
Enjoyed your cat blog entry. I have two rescue neutered and spayed cats. I also volunteer very occasionally for a CAT rescue squad of amazing women...we trapped and had some feral cats neutered then returned them to their habitat. I totally agree with you!! One of my rescues insisted on going out a lot and at 12 he still does but mainly just to sit on the porch and watch the world go by. We have a very secluded area so I feel he is safe. He loves visiting the catnip bush and watching the wildlife. He used to catch an occasional bird and baby bunny, however.
Just made the sourdough sponge, and I realized I am using discard which is only 5 days old and very minorly bubbly...so I hope this works. I am also using discard to make pizza crust. We shall see how it goes. These days it's experimental baking for us!! Thank you!
Michelle
I was wondering if there is something I could substitute for the oil in this recipe? Would unsweetened applesauce work?
Vaishali
You can just skip the oil, I often do, and yes, applesauce would be great--add 1/4 cup.
Aaron
OMG these wafflea are absolutely amazing and VEGAN. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Emily
Hi! I went to mix the first round of ingredients and the flour clumped really badly for some reason, what can I do to remediste this? Is this potentially because I keep my flour in the fridge? Never had this happen in my limited experience.
Vaishali
That's really odd--with 2 cups of nondairy milk and the liquid from the starter there is no reason for that to happen, unless your starter has much lower hydration than mine. Check that and add more liquid if needed.
Lizzie
Is the sponge necessary (I.e. letting it sit over night?). And do you know if it sits for longer, a day and a half or so, will the recipe still work?
*i started this recipe before reading that it required an overnight wait time so I want to put it in the fridge (or counter?) and try again tomorrow morning).
Vaishali
Sitting overnight lets the sourdough bacteria work on the flour, making it healthier and tastier. You won't get the same flavor and texture if you mix it all in and eat it right away. If you made it in the morning, leave in the refrigerator till bedtime, then leave on the counter overnight.
bb
I was going to suggest that it might be helpful to some readers if you added an extra line at the top of the recipe like, "Wait (Rise? Ferment?) time: 8-10 hours" so it's clear that it's not a 30 minute start-to-finish recipe.
Anonymous
I did the same thing. Will let you know how it comes out tomorrow!
Janmarie
These are DELICIOUS!! I just started the journey of sourdough, and love having this in my toolbox for discard. Did it exactly as written (but halved the recipe) and it was perfect.
Wes
What type of waffle iron are you using? looks perfect 🙂
Vaishali
It's this one from Cuisinart.
Cat
I made these for the first time today. The sponge did not rise the way I expected and the waffles were a little heavy but the tasted great and my son, who is a very picky eater, loved them. He said he never wanted any other kind of waffles again! Any idea as to why the sponge didn't rise? I covered it with foil but not tight. Would that have made a difference?
Vaishali
Hi Cat, your batter may have been too thick. Next time try adding more liquid--nondairy milk--if that's the case. You can also add some vegan yogurt or applesauce to thin it out. Also did you add baking soda?
Tina
Hi Vaishali, I had the opposite experience. I didn't feel like my sponge rose a whole lot and the batter looked really watery. How thick is the final batter supposed to be? I followed the directions to a T. The resulting waffles were VERY light and airy. Is that how they are supposed to be? If not, I'm wondering if it could be the AP flour I was using.
Kenz
Delicious! I've made this recipe twice now. The first time, I only used 1/2 cup of sourdough starter, but followed the rest of the recipe as described. This time, I followed the recipe exactly as instructed, including the full cup of starter. I have to say, the first attempt actually turned out much better! The waffles browned better on the outside with a nice crisp to them, and we're fluffy on the inside without being chewy. This time around (Currently have a waffle in the maker as I type), the waffles are much more chewy on the inside. I tried thinning out the recipe with a bit of water as suggested in other comments, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. Try using only half a cup of starter and you should get the BEST waffles you've ever had. We actually prefer these vegan waffles to others we make using eggs and flaxmilk. SO GOOD
Pammer
Can this recipe be made without sugar or without any sweeteners at all?
Jill
Do you leave the overnight sponge in the fridge or on the counter?
Vaishali
On the counter, preferably it should be in a warm place.