Crispy Red Lentil Protein Waffles (Vegan, Gluten-free) (2024)

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In the original recipe from 2019, we used oat flour, but we changed it in this new recipe to the mix of white rice flour and buckwheat flour.

There are 2 reasons for it. Firstly, there are a lot of people who are following a gluten-free diet also avoid oats as they have a reaction to them. Secondly, I find oat flour has a bitter aftertaste even if I add vanilla extract. So I am redeveloping recipes without oat flour.

To make these yummy sweet red lentil waffles for breakfast you need the following simple ingredients.

• Soaked red lentils
• White rice flour
• Buckwheat flour
• Cornstarch
• Dairy-free milk– We recommend almond milk orcashew milk.
• Coconut sugar– We also tested it with cane sugar, but not with any other types of sugar.
• Baking powder– Choose one of thesegluten-free baking powders.
• Apple cider vinegaror freshly squeezed lemon juice – Choose one of thesegluten-fee vinegars.
• Vanilla extract

This vegan waffle recipe contains soaked red lentils as the main ingredient. A lot of people are worrying about lectins in food and asking questions like are dangerous or safe to eat or how to decrease lectin content with cooking.

My trusted resource when it comes to nutrition is Dr. Greger’s website. He has a short video about lectins in food. In this video, he mainly talks about red kidney beans, but he explicitly highlights the following sentence: “many lectins are non-toxic, such as those from tomatoes, lentils, peas, chickpeas, fava beans, and other common foods.”

However, if you feel that your stomach doesn’t tolerate lectins, you can use cooked red lentils instead of soaked ones to make this vegan waffle recipe.

Anyway… I am pretty sure that all waffle makers are different, but to get extra crispy waffles in any equipment without a heat dial you should follow these steps:

1. Turn waffle maker on and wait for it to heat up completely.
2. Even if they said that it is a non-stick one, I coat it with oil spray generously.
3. Pour the waffle batter, but just enough so that it doesn’t overflow. Mine works with less than ½ cup.
4. Close the lid and wait for 2-3 minutes, then turn the waffle maker off but leave the lid closed for another 2-3 minutes. This way it is not over-cooked (dark brown) but cooks all the way through while getting a drier, crispier crust.

I usually transfer them to a rack so the steam can leave and the waffle bottoms can’t get soggy. To keep them warm you can place them with the rack in the oven at the lowest temperature like 120-140 Fahrenheit (50-60 degrees Celcius).

If you cover them up, they will get soft. After a while whatever you do they will lose their crispiness, although pop them in a toasterfor a minute and you might get it back.

This is a simple recipe sweet high protein vegan waffles recipe that can be a base recipe for endless variations. We have been making them for a long time and had many different add-ins for example

• Fresh blueberries– You can add them to the batter and mix it in the bowl.
• Chocolate chips– I would say it is another obvious choice. Mix in the batter some chocolate chips and go from there.
• Any fruit really– You can add any fruit you like. We made them with chopped strawberries, raspberries, mixed berries, shredded apple with cinnamon.
• Chopped nuts– Any type you like.
• Dried fruitslike cranberries or raisins
• Citrus zest– Add a tablespoon of lemon or orange zest. So yummy, especially lemon combined with blueberries.
• Cocoa powder or cacao powder– Add a tablespoon, if you want to turn them into chocolate pancakes.

Our all-time favorite topping is vanilla custard. If you ask my daughter she will choose this without hesitation. Other possibilities are:

• maple syrup, agave syrup with a stick of butter
• vanilla ice cream with caramel or date syrup
• berries and whipped cream
• banana and Nutella
• peanut butter and jelly
• fresh fruit or fruit sauces (like this quickstrawberry puree)
• whipped cream
• vegan chocolate frosting, which is actually coconut whipped cream
• chocolate sauce
• caramel sauce
• more toasted walnuts or pecans

If you have been using honey, please note that it is not considered vegan. Choose any of thesehoney substituteswhere we included homemade vegan honey recipes as well.

These vegan protein waffles can get quite dense and tough after 24 hours even if you store them in an airtight container. We recommend making them in fresh batches right before serving.

If you want to meal prep, you can freeze any leftovers though and pop them in your toaster. They get a crispy crust again.

Browse through our vegan breakfast recipes gallery if you want some savory recipe ideas, or try one of these sweet breakfasts below.

• Vegan Red Lentil Protein Pancakes
• Vegan Banana Waffles
• Vegan Banana Pancakes
• Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
• Blueberry Millet Porridge
• Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Crispy Red Lentil Protein Waffles (Vegan, Gluten-free)

Emese Maczko

Are you looking for a delicious and crispy waffle recipe without eggs, or dairy, but with naturally added protein? These vegan waffles are no ordinary ones, as they contain high-protein red lentils instead of protein powder. The best part is that the taste of the red lentils in these waffles is absolutely hidden.

EXCLUSIVE 5-ingredient recipes for busy home cooks that are ready in 15 minutes!Check out our Express Vegan Cookbook!

Nutrition