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Our family loves my Belgian waffles recipe using sprouted flour. Sprouted waffles are our family’s breakfast of choice most weekends. The kids almost always request them as their special birthday breakfast too.
I’ve tried so many different Belgian waffle recipes over the years, I’ve honestly lost count. I’ve made them with various flours as well including kamut, spelt, soft white wheat, einkorn, rice, cassava, oat, and various gluten-free flour blends in between. Perhaps you’ve even tried the soaked waffles or Paleo waffle recipe I’ve posted too.
My favorite classic Belgian waffles recipe is the one by Chef Emeril Lagasse. To his credit, Emeril’s recipe calls for real eggs and butter which many of the modern waffle recipes do not.
However, there are still a number of things about Emeril’s recipe that aren’t healthy choices like the use of cake flour, refined sugar, white salt, and nonstick cooking spray (yikes).
If you’ve ever wondered how to modify a conventional recipe into one that is traditionally based, healthy and nourishing, it isn’t a hard task.
Typically, what I do is substitute the unhealthy ingredients for healthy versions on a 1:1 basis. Once in a while, things don’t turn out right, but most of the time, the dish is perfect.
Voila! Sprouted Belgian Waffles
I had a bag of sprouted kamut flour ready to go for Christmas Eve breakfast yesterday. So, I decided to morph Emeril’s recipe into a totally healthy version. It is so nice to be able to buy germinated grain (vetted brands on my Resources page) now so I no longer have to sprout my own which is rather time-consuming.
I sprouted my own flour for years, but now I simply buy the whole grain already germinated in large bags and grind fresh sprouted flour fresh in my kitchen at my convenience.
My sprouted waffles recipe turned out so light, fluffy, and amazing that my family has decided that this is our new favorite way to eat this classic breakfast dish.
Sprouted Waffles Recipe
Easy recipe for sprouted Belgian waffles that is more digestible and nutritious than using unsprouted flour. Bonus: You'll get full faster!
Ingredients
- 4 cups sprouted flour
- 8 eggs separated, preferably pastured
- 4 cups whole milk
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 4 Tbl evaporated cane sugar
- 1/2 cup butter melted, preferably grassfed
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 drizzle expeller pressed coconut oil
Instructions
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Preheat the waffle iron and lightly coat with expeller pressed coconut oil.
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Sift sprouted flour, baking powder and sea salt together in a bowl.
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In another bowl, beat eggs yolks and whole sweetener of choice until thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla, melted butter and milk and combine with a whisk.
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A few ladles at a time, add the liquid mixture to the flour and whisk until just blended being careful not to over mix.
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In a third bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
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Gently fold in the whipped egg whites into the batter being very careful not to over mix.
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Ladle just enough batter to just cover the grid of the waffle iron. Close the waffle iron lid and cook until light brown.
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Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers for quick breakfasts or snacks!
Recipe Notes
Expeller pressed coconut oil may be substituted for the butter.
Maple syrup or coconut palm sugar may be substituted for the cane sugar.
I thought sprouted grains lost their nutritional value fairly quickly. Do they retain them if they are in the freezer or not grounded?
I couldn’t believe Emeril’s recipe calling for nonstick cooking spray! This should be embarrassing for any chef!
The primary reason to sift flour is to add some air to make the end result more fluffy and light. Sifting can also remove some of the bran if you like which makes it more digestible for some people who have trouble with fiber. People with any sort of IBS, colitis etc (even reflux) tend to have issues with fiber from what I’ve seen. My husband used to not be able to handle bran in the grain at all when he had reflux. Now that he has recovered thanks to GAPS Diet, he doesn’t have the same issues any longer. Rami Nagel also recommends sifting flour to remove the bran as this is what traditional societies did quite frequently and his research has indicated that this ironically better for dental health. Here’s a post I wrote about Rami’s research in this area: https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/whole-grains-cause-cavities/
Sarah,
This looks wonderful! Thanks. We have had trouble finding a recipe for the Belgian waffles that cooks all the way through and doesn’t taste “doughy” at the end. We’ll be trying these soon, but first I have to dig the Belgian maker out of storage.
Also, is there some baking soda or something missing from the nutrient dense waffle recipe, by chance? I have trouble getting light waffles from that one. Maybe it’s the cook, though. 🙂
There is aluminum free baking powder in this recipe.
But should there be baking soda and /or baking poweder in your “Nutrient Dense Waffles”. I too foudn htat they taste great, but are too doughy.Thanks!
I need to replace my waffle iron. My husband doesn’t like belgian waffles…he likes the thinner ones. Does anyone know if there is a non-belgian type waffle iron on the market that doesn’t have non-stick coating? Thanks.
Can you recommend a waffle iron? What do you use? I miss waffles ever since I got rid of my non-stick pans!
Do you need to soak the flour first?
No, not if it’s sprouted. Soaking is for flour that is not from sprouted grain.
We love the sourdough waffles in the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking cookbook. We just substitute freshly ground spelt for all of the flour. So light and crispy!
These waffles look delicious! What a healthy way to celebrate Christmas! I love the idea of making a big batch of these up and having them on hand for kids’ breakfast. A very satisfying way to start their day. Thanks for demonstrating how to take a conventional recipe and make it much more nutritious!