ko.pairings
Making waffles is a morning win in my book. Making Gluten Free and Vegan Matcha Waffles, is a championship win. Try this championship win for your next brunch and whatever you do with the rest of your day will be that much more special.
These Easy Gluten-Free and Vegan Matcha Waffles were created because I was eating waffles one morning (soon after buying my waffle iron amd using it daily). I realized I had some matcha that was past its expiration date and figured why not use it in the waffles? It worked so well I made them a couple more times. Then I decided to experiment making them egg free, and it was so good! Then I experimented with whipped aquafaba for the egg whites and I had to write it down. While whipping the aquafaba takes some time, these waffles are super easy otherwise.
One of the best parts of this recipe is that it uses pre-made waffle mix. Using a pre-made mix make this recipe a breeze. I find the Trader Joe’s waffle and pancake mix to be a no fail option. So, when I want waffles this is what I go for the Trader Joe’s mix. The other best part of this recipe is it uses a homemade raspberry syrup. Ok, when I make it, it becomes more of a rapsberry jam, but it is delicious! It makes these waffles even better! The raspberry works so well with the vanilla in waffles. I also find that adding fruit to matcha balances the earthiness of it, and berries are a great choice!
In the syrup recipe use either maple syrup or honey. Both work really well with the matcha flavor, so go with you like. To keep this strictly vegan, use maple syrup. Plus this is topping waffles after all, so maple works well. If you try the honey, I can tell you it is amazing! The honey pairs perfectly with the matcha without being overpowering.
My favorite way to serve these? For brunch… With a cocktail! For this I made probably one of the more simple cocktails I could have. I took the syrup, strained out the seeds and topped it with champagne. Simple, delicious and dual purpose for that syrup! So be sure to serve these Easy Gluten-free and Vegan Fluffy Matcha Waffles with the Honey Raspberry Champagne Brunch Cocktail.
Easy Gluten-Free and Vegan Matcha Waffles Recipe Notes & Substitutions
Waffle Mix– I use the Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Waffle Mix. If you have another mix you prefer you can substitute that. If you want to make it from scratch by all means do that! Using pre-made mix makes this recipe so easy to make. If using a different waffle mix you may need to adjust the liquid amounts.
Flax Egg– Use 1 tbsp flax meal and 2 tbsp of water. Flaxseed meal egg is my go to vegan egg replacer. It gels up so it helps bind well. If you prefer use another egg substitute. Or conversely, use a real egg here. When using a real egg separate the egg yolk and the egg white so you can whip up the egg whites.
Coconut Oil– I like the taste of matcha with coconut so I went with coconut oil. I also use coconut milk in the recipe so I figure it would work well. If you would prefer, add vegan butter in its place. If you are not making this recipe vegan, use real butter.
Aquafaba– Aquafaba is chickpea water. It essentially is a carbohydrate water. These carbohydrates can incorporate air and fluff up like egg whites. This allows for vegan meringue and other fluffy treats! Don’t forget to add a little cream of tartar to stabilize the structure of the egg whites. It also helps reduce the amount of time it takes to whip the egg whites. If you prefer, use egg white instead.
Coconut Milk– Use full fat coconut milk. The extra fat from this helps in the absence of egg yolk to bring creaminess. If you’d prefer, use the more watered kind, it just won’t be quite as good. Feel free to sub oat milk, rice milk or soy milk for this. However, I always use full fat coconut milk in my matcha latte so I used it here. Then lemon juice is added to make it more like buttermilk. If you want to use dairy milk I’d suggest buttermilk or whole milk.
Baking Soda– I add extra baking soda to get them more fluffy. If you’d prefer leave it out. Or if your mix already has a good amount leave it out. It isn’t a lot, my mix already has it in there but I find the little bit extra helps give extra lift.
Non-Vegan Version– Use egg yolk instead of the flax egg, egg white instead of the aguafaba, use melted butter in place of coconut oil and use dairy milk in place of the coconut milk.
Drink pairings– Honey Raspberry Champagne Brunch Cocktail, Classic French 75, Rose Goes to the Clover Club, or opt for a Sparkling Wine/Champagne or Rose that is on the sweeter side to work with the sweet syrup.
Easy Gluten Free and Vegan Matcha Waffles
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Gluten-Free Pancake Mix
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1-1/2 tsp Matcha Powder
- 1 Flax Egg (1 tbsp flax meal, 2 tbsp water)
- 2 tbsp Aquafaba
- 1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil, Melted
- 3/4 cup Coconut Milk, Full Fat
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Strawberry Syrup
- 2 cups Frozen Raspberries
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Maple Syrup or 1/3 cup honey
- 2 inch Strip Lemon Peel, optional
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
Make the Raspberry Syrup
- Add the frozen raspberries, water, maple syrup or honey and lemon peel to a pot. Bring to a simmer, and cooked until rapsberries are breaking down and the water reduces. Remove from heat and mash the raspberries and squeeze in 2 tsp lemon juice. Set aside.
Gluten-Free Matcha Waffles
- Turn on and preheat a waffle iron. Add lemon juice to the coconut milk and set aside.
- Add the Gluten-Free Waffle mix to a bowl with the matcha powder and baking soda; stir to combine. Then add in the melted coconut oil, coconut oil and vanilla extra, mix and set aside.
- In a clean bowl whip the aquafaba with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form (aka the fluff).
- Fold the fluff into the matcha waffle mix to mix, ideally don't deflate too much, but it will lose volume. Cream of tartar helps keep the volume here.
- Oil the waffle iron with spray and then add about 1/2 cup of waffle mix to the waffle iron. Close and let cook as directed.
- Once done, remove waffle from the iron and repeat with the rest of the mix.
- Serve warm with the raspberry syrup and the Honey Raspberry Champagne Brunch Cocktail.
