Crispy, light, and fluffy Belgian style waffles with a fall twist. These healthy waffles are loaded with pumpkin and chai spice making it the perfect fall breakfast. Prep the waffle batter the night before to make breakfast a breeze in the morning.

The kiddos are back in school, which means it’s fall… right? Fall could not come any faster. We have hit over 100F this week. I’m officially done with the heat. Any of you with me? Since it looks like the heat will be staying around for another week or so I will be feeding my soul with fall related foods and impatiently wait for the cooler weather.

I absolutely love waffles! Not the American version of waffles, you know the small thin ones, I love the traditional Belgian waffles. They are thick, with a crispy outside and light and fluffy insides. I was fortunate to eat traditional Belgian waffles while traveling in Belgian and let me tell you, they are doing something right over there. Unlike American waffles that uses baking powder to help it rise, Belgian waffles uses yeast. This adds a unique flavor that I just love!

Since fall is around the corner, I wanted to do a healthy fall twist! Pumpkin and chai simply screams fall and I knew the flavors would pair beautifully. You get the pumpkin flavor, but what really shines through are the warm spices. These waffles were an instant hit with my pumpkin loving family. Even though I’m not a big fan of pumpkin, I truly enjoyed these! If you love all things pumpkin, check out my Pumpkin Roll and Pumpkin Cookie recipes and enjoy the flavor of fall!

Tidbits

Yeast- The recipe is unique in the fact that it uses yeast instead of baking powder to help the waffle rise. Because of this, it requires a rest time of at least 1 hour to allow the yeast to work its magic. Unlike baking powder or baking soda, you can let yeast batter sit overnight with great success of achieving fluffy waffles! After the 1-hour rest time, you can choose to prepare the batter or pop it in the refrigerator overnight for a quick and easy breakfast the next morning.

Applesauce- I use a combination of applesauce and oil to keep the waffles moist with a crisp outside. For the oil I have used melted coconut oil and melted butter. Both worked perfectly! You can definitely use all oil in place of the applesauce or use only applesauce. However, I prefer the combination of the two. I use the applesauce to help cut down on the amount of oil in the recipe and the oil to help maintain the crisp outside.

Flour- I have successfully used white whole wheat flour and Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking flour for this recipe.

Double- You can easily double the recipe to make for a larger group or to have leftovers for the freezer. If you plan on freezing the remainder of the waffles, let the waffles cool to room temperature and wrap each waffle in freezer paper or wax paper and place it in an air tight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply place frozen waffle in a toaster.

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Pumpkin Chai Waffles

Crispy, light, and
fluffy Belgian style waffles with a fall twist. These healthy waffles are loaded
with pumpkin and chai spice making it the perfect fall breakfast. Prep the
waffle batter the night before to make breakfast a breeze in the morning.

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Resting time 1

Total Time 1 30

Servings 4 -7" Belgian Style Waffles

Ingredients

2 cups flour *see notes
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch ground allspice
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
¾ cup milk any kind, room temperature
3 tablespoons applesauce unsweetened
3 tablespoons oil coconut oil or butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs large
1 cup pure pumpkin puree

Instructions

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice.
In a large bowl whisk together the coconut sugar, instant yeast, milk, applesauce, oil, vanilla, eggs, and pumpkin.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Whisk until fully combine. The mixture will not be completely smooth, do not over mix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm area and let sit for 1 hour. The batter will bubble and grow in size. The batter will be thick.
You can use the batter at this point or you can place it in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat waffle iron to medium-high heat. Grease the waffle maker according to your waffle iron's manufacturer's directions.
When the waffle iron is hot, pour ¾-1 cup of batter (or less depending on the size of your waffle iron) into the center of the iron. Close the iron and cook 5-6 minutes (or according to the manufacturer's directions) until the waffles are golden and crisp.
Remove the waffle and continue to cook the rest of the batter.
Serve warm with your favorite toppings.

Notes

Flour- I have successfully used white whole wheat flour and Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking flour for this recipe.
I use a 7-inch Belgian style (deep pockets) waffle iron.
Store extra waffles in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To freeze- let the waffles cool to room temperature and wrap each waffle in freezer paper or wax paper and place in an air tight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply place frozen waffle in a toaster.