July 22, 2019
(last updated September 1, 2020) 
I finished my rotations on Friday. All weekend, I thought about the DI experience and what I could write about it on Sunday. Then Sunday rolled around, and I just couldn’t bring myself to type a thing. There’s a lot of happiness and pride in finishing, but my immediate sensation is an incredible amount of fatigue. It’s as if my body has finally slowed down, and now I can’t get it to speed up again, not even to my pre-internship pace.
So, I’m rolling with it. There are things that need doing, I’m doing them ever so gently. Bit by bit.
What I wasn’t too tired to do this past weekend was make waffles.
When Steven and I were living together, we took weekend brunch seriously. I often used Saturday or Sunday as an excuse to make something special: pancakes, tofu scramble, waffles, you name it. I kept up the habit of at least one special occasion weekend breakfast for a while, but it’s vanished this year with my rotations. Eating breakfast at home was enough of a treat.
So, as this 11-month marathon drew to a close, it seemed appropriate to celebrate with a fancy weekend breakfast. And since waffles are my favorite member of the sweet brunch family—they beat French toast, and they beat pancakes by a mile for me—they were my first choice.
I often use nut butter or tahini in place of oil in vegan baking (or I replace part of the oil with it); I like how it adds moisture without making a batter greasy, and I like the boost of nutrition, too. Since I often give my waffles a schmear of almond or peanut butter, anyway, I thought I might be fun to make a PB-flavored vegan waffle. That’s how this batch was born, and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
A couple things about this recipe: the batter has no oil, but even with a non-stick waffle iron, oil spray is important to prevent sticking and tearing (unless you have a magical trick for making waffles without any, in which case I’m all ears!).
Also: you’ll taste the peanut butter in the waffles for sure—or at least that was my hope—but it isn’t overwhelming. I’m guessing you could use a couple more tablespoons for even more PB taste, but I haven’t tasted it, so I’ll let you know if I give it a shot. And, as with most of my baked goods, I added the the amount of sweetener that worked for me (two tablespoons maple syrup for the batch), but you’re welcome to make it a little more or less sweet, as you like. Pitted, soaked dates will work in the batter, too.
Otherwise, there’s not too much to say about these waffles, except that they’re great! They’re simple, they’ve got some whole grain flour, they’re filling, they’re fluffy but very crispy on the outside, and they’re perfect with berries and a little extra peanut butter. Or maple syrup. Or jam. Or banana slices. Or…well, you get the idea 🙂
Vegan Peanut Butter Waffles
Author -Yields: 4 or 5 large waffles
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup peanut butter (heaping measurement here is better than scant)
- 1 tablespoon ground flax meal
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave (or 3 pitted, soaked, medjool dates)
- 1 2/3 cups plant milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Oil spray, for the waffle iron
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle iron according to appliance instructions (I have a simple Cuisinart iron and heat it on setting #4).
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the peanut butter, flax, maple syrup, plant milk, and vinegar to a blender. Blend till smooth. Add the wet ingredients to dry and whisk till smooth (a few clumps is fine).
- Spray the waffle iron well. Add the batter in 1/2 cup scoops and cook according to appliance instructions till each waffle is done. Store the waffles in the oven on a low setting, or enjoy right away, with toppings of choice.
For what it’s worth, I avoided getting a waffle iron for a really long time, thinking it would be an appliance that I didn’t use often enough to justify. I got this one when I was living in DC, and while I don’t use it nearly as much as others, I’ve never regretted having it. It’s made a lot of wonderful breakfasts possible.
If you give these a try, I hope you’ll get a kick out of the peanut butter flavor and the very abundant possibilities for dressing them up. The waffles can be frozen for make ahead breakfasts, too—something to consider for back-to-school season!
I’m giving you all a sleepy wave and loving sign-off. I’ll be back later this week, hopefully with a little more energy. For now, happy Monday.
xo
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My husband and I became vegan in the Spring of 2020 and we love finding recipes where we can still enjoy food. These waffles are a go-to when we want to have a different breakfast – so delicious!
So glad that you like them, Sheri!
I’d love to make these for me and my family! How many large waffles does this recipe yield? Also, could I replace the peanut butter for PB2 powder because that’s all I have at the moment.
Thanks a ton!
Hi! The yield is 4-5 large waffles—sorry not to have listed. But I’m afraid I’m not sure how to replace the PB with PB2—I haven’t tried it, and since the peanut butter adds moisture and fat, I’d be worried giving you a swap without having played around with the recipe myself. If you try reconstituting it and have success, let me know 🙂
Hi! Thanks for the quick reply, I did up making it twice now! The PB2 was successful, but I was only able to make about 3 and a half waffles (maybe the powder changed the overall amount of batter I had). Thanks again! It was delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed in spite of the change in yield! Waffle makers can affect that, too. Anyway—really happy it tasted good 🙂
These look so good, I’m adding them to our menu plan for next weekend!
A quick question though, do you use natural peanut butter or something like Jif/Skippy?
Great question! For these and for baking, I always use a very smooth and more processed PB. I like Earth Balance or PB & Co Smooth Operator. Jif will also work.
Proud of you for getting through this year, Gena! Looking forward to your thoughts on the DI and hearing about your next steps when you’ve gotten a chance to rest and reflect. The waffles look delicious. 🙂
Interesting – does using tahini instead of oil change the flavour in recipes?
I don’t find that it does, but I’m usually careful about how much I replace or swap!
Congrats on making it through the DI. Major Kuddos for that! please take some time to really drink in that accomplishement and acknowledge your strength and courage in seeing it through.
What is the nutritional values per serving? Thank you!
I haven’t calculated them and don’t currently publish that info on my site. You can definitely do so using an app or online program—they make it easy to enter recipes nowadays 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Relaxing breakfast involving peanut butter and just letting yourself come back to life! Sounds like it will be a good rotation!
I’ll rate this as soon as I make it, but I KNOW I’m going to love it – you had me at peanut butter. Can’t wait! Yours is one of my very favorite vegan cooking blogs!
Gena, I love your Sunday posts. I was excitedly awaiting it yesterday, but figured you’d just post it later in the day. I checked in just now, Monday, and saw this recipe and started reading. And then started tearing up. I’m so happy that you took the weekend to yourself to decompress from your DI. All the best!