Savory Waffles
This savory waffle recipe is inspired by my favorite restaurant in Minneapolis, Birchwood Cafe made by Chef Marshall Paulson. This is not their recipe, but a recreation and our families interpretation of this brunch menu favorite. They are a must try if you live in the twin cities and they are currently doing curbside pick up savory waffles. We loved these so much that I thought, well I should start putting vegetables into our waffles! Then, maybe Noah will actually eat kale and well here we are about two years later with this bi-weekly, usually weekly, sometimes daily family favorite.
We love this recipe so much that we always have some savory waffles in the freezer ready to go to make breakfast super easy in the morning. Noah happily eats sweet potato, kale, quinoa and any other vegetable I chuck in there. We have made large batches of these and have it totally down to a science and are super efficient now. We have tested the recipe and experimented with different ingredients, yogurts, non-dairy milks, ingredient amounts, etc. I finally feel like we have the perfect waffle! I am seriously so excited to share this with you because this recipe is truly a family favorite and it feels really special to us.
It was first born out of the need to prepare for postpartum. I knew that I would need easily frozen breakfast options that were filling and that we would all love. Morning is always a challenge with a new baby and potentially more mouths to feed. I would toss the waffles in the oven to warm and nurse Junia and then come back and breakfast was ready. We are able to make about 20 waffles per batch so that feeds us for about 6-7 mornings. We made about 60 waffles before Junia was born and it was incredible to have for those early mornings where you are sleep deprived and starving.
Our babysitter at the time, Taylor even helped make rounds of these! She ended up loving it so much that she made a round for her sister who was having a baby. These are seriously the best gift to bring to a new mom. Homemade freezer friendly, healthy, nutrient dense, filling, kid-friendly and breakfasts! You might make her cry happy tears.
Another great use for these is if you are hosting a brunch (maybe Mother’s Day brunch?). Mamas, can you say waffles in bed?! You can make this large batch ahead of time, could potentially freeze or store in the refrigerator and then reheat them all in your oven right before the party. Serve with eggs, bacon, tempeh bacon, berries, powdered sugar and mimosas. Easy and pretty crowd pleasing.. who doesn’t love a waffle with kale in it?! Am I right?
My favorite part about these waffles is that the freeze super well. We always make a huge batch of them and tuck them in the freezer. They are also really adaptable and you can make your own fun combinations of veggies and mix-ins to put in your waffles. You could even make seasonal waffles with in season vegetables. We love to top ours with fresh berries, fried egg, tempeh bacon or peanut butter and maple syrup. There is a lot of freedom here and it can be really fun to mix it up and make them different each time.Â
If you decide to make these for Mother’s Day brunch, my recommendations are they are best served in bed after a full nights sleep waking up at a brunch time. Pajamas on, served with hot coffee and a side of flowers. If you are cooking for a crowd, make these a day ahead of time and warm them in the oven covered with some foil to keep their moisture. Then every gets hot waffles at the same time and you are not cooking while you host your party for mom or your brunch attendees.Â
Savory Waffles
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Get everything ready and set all your tools out. Turn over to 400 degrees and while your oven is warming start melting your butter in the oven.
- Cook Quinoa to specifications on your box. Typically about 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. Add a little dash of salt. It takes about 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. After cooking, set Aside to cool for 30 minutes.
- Chop your sweet potato and and spread out on a sheet pan with parchment and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper (optional) Roast in your oven at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Turn and toss sweet potatoes about every 10-15 minutes to prevent burning. After cooking, set Aside to cool for 30 minutes.
- Chop fresh or frozen kale and remove the stems. You want your kale pieces to be about the size of your thumb nail or smaller.
- Mix together all of your dry ingredients. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
- In your stand mixer, crack and beat your eggs. I do this at a slow-medium speed as you do not want to fluff the eggs just beat them. Add your other wet ingredients into your stand mixer. Add the yogurt, milk and melted butter.
- Mix your batter with the spatula attachment until batter is together.
- After Mix-ins have cooled gentled fold them into your waffle batter evenly. I like to do a little bit of each, then fold, a little bit of each then fold. This helps to insure that the mix-ins are evenly distributed.
- Tempeh Bacon. Slice your tempeh into thin strips. Fry in a pan with butter and brown each side. Turn the temperature down or off and add the tamari, maple syrup and cinnamon. Toss to coat. Turn off.
- Fry your eggs or cook eggs to your preferred style.
- Top with your tempeh bacon, egg, fresh berries and sunflower seeds.
- Optional to serve with maple syrup on top of everything (My preferred choice!)
A morning doesn’t get much better than this. Yum!
My fave of your recipes 😊 I make and freeze a batch 2-3 times a year for sure. They’re awesome for a quick but heartier breakfast for this up-with-the-sun teacher.