Vegan Gluten-free Oat Flour Waffles
Vegan Gluten-free Oat Flour Waffles- all you need is 10 ingredients to make these crispy vegan waffles. You would never guess they are naturally gluten-free and oil-free too!
I have a lot of waffle recipes on this site. I mean A LOT. They’re probably my favorite breakfast food, mostly because they freeze so well and take all of 2 minutes to heat up in the toaster first thing in the morning.
But recently I realized that I don’t have a basic recipe. Meaning that there’s no need for a blender and they don’t have any dominant flavors like banana or pumpkin. Just a simple recipe that you can top with vegan butter, fresh fruit and pure maple syrup. Almost like Bisquick, but without the fiberless blood sugar spike. ;)
I’ve also been trying to experiment with more oil-free recipes since I’ve had so many requests for them. My favorite oil replacement in baking is tahini because of it’s mild nutty flavor. You do have to whisk it with a bit of liquid to make sure it gets evenly incorporated but other than that it works great.
Besides the tahini, the waffles are made by whisking together the dry ingredients in a large bowl then adding the wet ingredients including tahini and a flax or chia egg. Then you pour them in the waffle maker and wait for them to turn into fluffy waffles with delicious crisp edges.
For those of you that aren’t sure about tahini, the recipe will also work with cashew butter, almond butter or oil. I’ve tried making them with coconut oil and they were good but I personally preferred the flavor with tahini.
I also love the flavors of cinnamon and tahini together so I usually use 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon. If you prefer a milder flavor, feel free to start out with 1 teaspoon and go from there. Enjoy!
Vegan Gluten-free Oat Flour Waffles
Yield: 8 waffles
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons ground flax or chia seed + 6 tablespoons water
- 3 cups oat flour*
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon**
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups dairy-free milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup tahini (or coconut oil)
Directions:
In a small bowl, add ground flax seed and water. Stir combine then set aside to thicken.
In a large bowl, add oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
In a measuring cup, combine the milk and apple cider vinegar. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract.
In a separate deep bowl or cup, add the tahini and a small amount of the milk mixture. Whisk until the tahini is smooth, adding more of the milk as needed. To the bowl with the flour, add the flax mixture, the tahini, and remaining milk mixture. Stir until evenly combined, assuring there aren’t any clumps of flour, then set aside while you warm the waffle maker. The batter should rest for about 5 minutes before using. This helps it thicken a bit, however, you don’t want it to sit too long or the waffles will turn out more dense.
Distribute about 1/4 cup for each waffle (this will vary depending on your waffle maker) and cook until golden and crispy. I like to cook mine for a bit longer for crispy edges.
Serve warm with pure maple syrup and enjoy!
*You can make your own oat flour by grinding equal amounts of rolled oats in a high speed blender or NutriBullet. Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats for allergies.
**I prefer a stronger cinnamon flavor which I why I use 2 teaspoons. If you would like to less cinnamon flavor try starting with 1 teaspoon.
For maximum crispness, allow already cooked waffles to sit on a cooling rack while you cook the rest. Reheat in the toaster before serving. Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for several months.
If you’re in need of a waffle maker I highly recommend this one!
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by rating the recipe, leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback!
I’ve been making the oat flour waffles from my Love Real Food cookbook and I love them — I can’t get over how crispy they get! These look fantastic Sarah and I’d love a stash of these in the freezer!
I’ve tried that recipe too and it’s amazing!
You know what I say, Sarah…. one can never have *too many waffle recipes! A big nod to nut butters sans oil – they’re a life saver! Tahini is such a surprising ingredient too… so versatile, allergen friendly, and can take on sweet or savor applications with ease! I need to start making my own. Delicious work!!
I really need to get a waffle maker; your waffle recipe picture posts are drool worthy! :)
Thank you, Jerilyn! They are worth the investment, for sure! :)
I tried these and they were lovely and fluffy! Thank you for your recipe, really appreciated.
I love waffles too, but I always make pancakes because the waffle maker is a bigger pain in the butt to clean! Haha. With a simple, healthy batter like this, why ever buy Bisquick right?! ;-)
I hear ya! My waffle maker is super nonstick so there’s barely anything on there when I’m done. I just have to spray it with water then let it dry and it’s good to go! :)
My husband was literally just yesterday asking for waffles!! Perfect timing :)
Waffles are one of my favorite breakfast foods, too! These look so good!!
I love the idea of freezing a bunch for later. Whenever I want waffles it always seems like such a production, so having all the leftovers would be perfect!
We’ve made these twice so far – big hit for my 4 and 2 year old too! Really yummy!!
I love hearing that! Thanks for the review, Melissa!
How many eggs cam I use in place of flax egg? Thank you.
Hi Sherry! Two eggs will replace the flax. I hope you enjoy them!
I’ve tried a few different vegan oat flour waffle recipes, and most have been on the dry side. Here’s hoping that these are just a bittt fluffier.
Just made these and they were great, super fluffy compared to others that I’ve tried!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Dale!
I added chocolate chips and they’ve become my favorite snack. Thank you so much for such an awesome recipe. I have MANY food allergies and I have missed things like waffles that actually taste like waffles. These taste even better, AND are healthier.
I’m so glad to hear that, Amie! I need to try them with chocolate chips too. Sounds so good!
Thank you so much for a gf, df, egg free waffle! I have missed waffles since going egg free! The last recipe I tried nearly ruined my waffle maker! After months I finally unearthed my crusty mess of an iron and cleaned it so I could try your recipe. I wasn’t sure about the Tahini but I decided to try the recipe as is. So happy I did!! It’s delicious! Crispy and chewy. In my iron it takes a few cycles to cook completely and wants to stick a little but with patience they turned out great!
I’m so glad this one worked out well for you, Methia! I usually put mine in the toaster after cooking them in the waffle maker and that helps them get crispy and cooked through. :)
Hi
I just made waffles for breakfast and they were a hit.
The batter was pretty thick. Can I put extra milk to thin it up a little? Or maybe reduce the amount of oats?
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Adding more liquid or using less oats will both work to thin the batter. Just be careful not to over-thin it. It’s possible you might have let the batter sit a little too longer before cooking. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets.
I ground my oats in the blender (I didn’t have any oat flour), then decided instead of dirtying more dishes, I’d just throw all the other ingredients in the blender. Worked like a charm! I was out of cinnamon so added ginger and nutmeg instead – delicious. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Loved these! I topped them with some warm mashed up blackberries. I love how light they are and the interesting use of tahini. Camryn loved them as well!
Yay! Doesn’t get much better than Camryn approved. :)
I must have done something wrong. When I ground the chia seeds and mixed them with the water it turned into a very thick paste. Almost like a hard gel. I mixed it into the liquid before adding the flour mixture and before I could even get it all mixed in it was very thick. I continued to mix until everything was mixed together well. However, the batter was very thick. I cooked the first waffle for about 10 minutes and it was still not completely cooked through. I had to add quite a bit more coconut milk to thin the batter down, yet it still took quite a long time to cook the waffles. It is the first time I’ve used a chia egg. I am allergic to flax so that’s why I opted for chia.
The taste is delicious so I will definitely try this recipe again. Any tips that might make the next batch come out better?
It sounds like the chia seed to water ratio was off. Did you use 3:1? (3 tablespoons water for every tablespoon of chia seeds)
Hi, you say it is a 3:1 ratio but in your ingredients you ask for 3 tablespoons of chia or flax seeds to 6 tablespoons of water. If it was 3:1 wouldn’t you need 9 tablespoons of water? Thanks
Hi Deane, I know the typical ratio for flax eggs is 3:1 but I never said that was the case for this recipe. I recommend using the 2:1 ratio for this specific recipe as it yields a crispier texture (toasting them after cooking also helps get them crispier!).
I used ground flax seeds (3:1) and had the same problem. My batter turned out super thick. I had to add a bunch more milk to get the right consistency. With the extra milk they turned out well.
I made these tonight as a test run for Christmas Day brunch and they were fabulous!
I too made my oat flour in the Vitamix, and christened my new Cuisinart waffle maker.
Topped with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi, banana and drizzled with melted dark chocolate, maple syrup and a dollop of soy ice-cream… oh boy – they were amazing!
Thanks for a great recipe!
Hello, How important is the tahini or coconut oil? Because I don’t have either one, and I’d really like to cut down on oil of all kinds in my food. Thank you very much.
It’s hard to say…you run the risk of the waffles sticking to the griddle without any fat. It could also change the texture and flavor. I’m sorry I can’t give any real advice without testing it myself.
Excellent. Works every thyme! Even my daughter who struggles with beginning to cook made them and they turned out.
Do you have a substitute for tahini and coconut oil. As They are inflammatory to my body. Thank you or your reply.
Drippy nut butter or any kind of neutral flavored oil should work.
Wonderful recipe! Thank you. I reduced the recipe to 1/3 batch and cooked them in my 4″ mini waffle maker. It made a perfect little batch of 6. We love the versatility and wholesome ingredients.
Really great addition to use the tahini. I always think it tastes way better (and is better for you) than using refined oils like coconut oil.
Have you ever tried using baking soda instead of baking powder?
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Awful! The batter was fine at first then thickened up like cement and I couldn’t even use it. I could only get through cooking 3 waffles before the batter was completely unsalvageable. What a waste of expensive ingredients!
Sorry you had bad results, Nicole! It sounds like the batter may have sat for too long or (if you used tahini) that your tahini was too thick/not well mixed. Baking vegan/gluten-free and oil-free is very challenging and can require some troubleshooting depending on the brands/ingredients you used. If you wanted to try again I would suggest making sure your tahini is runny/drippy and warming the waffle maker as you prepare the batter so that it’s ready to go and won’t sit as long.
I made these this morning but I had no Tahiti I used a little extra unsweetened vanilla almond milk to thin batter a bit but they were so good.
I don’t know what happened. I followed the recipe exactly. They stuck to both the top and bottom of the iron. Couldn’t get them to stay together. Made pancakes out of them. Help., I want waffles. :).
My husbands bisquick boxed mix worked just fine, so it isn’t the iron.
Any tips would be appreciated
Janet, I had to leave mine in the iron longer in order to keep them from sticking. The outside was nice and crispy, but not burned:)
Sorry…Jeanette, I meant.
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Yummy! Added a little water to mine since it was so thick.
Waffles have always been a favorite of mine. Before I went vegan I was concerned they were not gonna be nearly as good. I had tried a couple of recipes before this for whole wheat waffles that turned out good. But this recipe…hold on I’m holding my excitement….was insanely delicious. The outside was crispy but the inside was moist and delicious. However I did make a few tweaks. I put date syrup on top and no maple syrup in the batter because I think it doesn’t really add much to put sugar in the batter because as it cooks it goes away. I also added a lot of cocoa powder and a bit more plant milk which helped the inside stay moist. With the date syrup on top it tasted like I was eating a giant chocolate brownie. I also didn’t add tahini because I Didn’t this have any.
Tried it, the chia seed “egg” made the batter so incredibly thick, almost hard, that I ended up having to throw it out. Any suggestions?
Sorry to hear that, Kyle! I haven’t tested it with ground chia seed so it’s possible that it gets thicker than the flax but it shouldn’t be so bad that you have to throw it out. Did you let the batter sit for longer than 5 minutes? It will thicken the longer it sits. Even so, you should be able to scoop the batter out into the waffle maker and it will spread out once you close the iron.
These are delicious and very crispy. I sauteed some apples with nutmeg and coconut sugar to serve on top. Will definitely put these in the weekend breakfast rotation. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Like some of the other comments, we also found this to be way too thick, so added an additional few tablespoons of oat milk. Even so, when eating it, it was done on the edges, but still way too gooey in the center. Maybe the tahini is what makes it too dense to cook all the way through? Not sure if we’ll try this recipe again.
Not sure if this will help but i make these in a silicon mould in my airfryer. They come out lovely. I do flip them halfway so is a bit messy. Also i used Almond butter instead of tahini in my last batch and they were really nice.
First time making my own oat based waffles/waffles from scratch! I thought it was a success! Great recipe! Followed it exactly, just found that the first bite was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, but too soft on the inside. Not sure if I just didn’t let it come extra in the waffle iron. I just put it in the toaster oven for a couple minutes and it was perfect!!
Loves these! I swapped the oil for half of a mashed banana and still got crispy, delicious waffles. Great recipe!
I made these because, let’s face it, I fricken hate oatmeal but I wanted the benefits of Oats. They have revolutionized my breakfast regime! They came out soooooo good! I love the texture, the taste, everything about them. I only swapped the pure maple for monkfruit maple because I am trying to experiment with it, but they came out perfect none the less. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s exactly what I needed
Such a great recipe! The waffles turned out crispy and very tasty, they are also very easy to do. Thank you for such a good recipe
Love love love these waffles!!! So yummy! I like to top mine with peanut butter and sliced banana but also delicious with just some classic butter and maple. These are definitely a hit, and my bf who prefers very traditional homemade waffles also really enjoyed them! We made a bunch and froze them for quick breakfasts
Wow, so happy I found this recipe!! Just made them with daughters and we all love them…and they didn’t stick to our waffle iron✨ So happy I didn’t give up on gluten free vegan waffles, this is a keeper recipe! Oh and I ended up blending everything in the blender which made things easy
This recipe was amazing, I would highly recommend trying it! I did everything the same except I traded the syrup out for some allulose and honey and added more cinnamon for a more savory waffle. Also I only had one cup of my homemade oat flour left so I decided to try Teff and tapioca With it and it turned out great! The teff flour gave the waffles a whole wheat look. Definitely healthy yet yummy!
As someone who loves super crispy waffles these were perfect!! My partner who prefers soft fluffier waffles didn’t love these as much as I did but they were enjoyed all around. I served these with cinnamon apples and maple syrup, and they were great. I would do these savory as well.
i meant to give 5 stars..
This recipe was fantastic. I used chia seeds and they came out great. My husband, who is not vegan, loved them as well!
I have made this recipe probably 3 dozen times by now. It is one of my favorite things to I have in the freezer to pop in during a busy workday or in the morning before a run! I’ve used them for both sweet and savory dishes. They are always great. Thank you so much!
Best vegan waffle recipe I have ever made, and I have made a lot of different recipes! You have quite a talent, young lady. Appreciate your service to those of us who are on the same journey.
Thank you so much for the kind review! <3