Best Ever Homemade Belgian Waffles

I love homemade Belgian waffles. Crispy on the outside and flavorful and airy in the inside, they make a great special occasion breakfast or brunch. Pour on sweet syrup, jam or Confectioner’s sugar and we have a real treat. Belgian waffle batter is slightly different from regular waffle batter. Belgian waffles include stiffly beaten egg whites which are folded into the batter to make them fluffy, airy and crunchy. When I discovered that my newest kitchen “gadget” — an immersion blender — also has a beater attachment, that was all the encouragement I needed to make my own homemade Belgian waffles from scratch. The simple immersion blender sure beats dragging out an electric mixer to whip up one or two egg whites. Whenever I have extra egg whites left over from other cooking projects; I now think of making Belgian Waffles. Over time, I have developed two recipes for “Best Ever Homemade Belgian Waffles.” One is made using Bisquick (with only five ingredients) and the second one is made entirely “from scratch.”

Immersion Blender for Beating Egg Whites

I’m always excited when I figure out a new function for one of my kitchen “appliances,” i.e. gadgets. I finally relented and purchased an immersion blender. I have surprised myself and have found some interesting uses for the blender in addition to pureeing and chopping. The hardest part of making Belgium waffles is beating the egg whites until they stand up in stiff peaks. With an immersion blender and the whisk attachment, this becomes an easy task.

I quickly discovered a downfall of this technique. The egg whites splattered all over the kitchen as the immersion bender whipped the whites. Even using a large mixing bowl didn’t help. I solved this problem with my newest “hack.” I used a small bowl and placed the immersion blender inside a gallon ziplock bag. Then the egg whites couldn’t spray past the bag! Worked like a charm.

Beating egg whites

Stiffly beaten egg whites are an important part of a Belgium waffle recipe. Let’s not skip this step. Here are a couple of tips to remember when beating egg whites.

1. With an immersion blender, use a large bowl, as the egg whites splatter. Or, place the egg whites in a small bowl and place the bowl inside a gallon ziplock bag to prevent splattering. (However, whenever using an electric mixer to beat the egg whites, a small bowl is recommended.)
2. Beat the egg whites on high speed.
3. Keep in mind that it may take from 3 to 5 minutes to beat egg whites to stiff peaks.
4. Make sure the bowl and beaters are completely dry and clean.
5. Don’t let any egg yolk or shell mix into the whites. If this happerns, the egg whites won’t beat up. Start over.

To mix the stiff egg whites into the waffle batter, use a scooping and lifting motion, so the egg whites keep their structure. Move the spatula gradually around the bottom and outside edges of the bowl and lift into the center of the batter. Do this until all the egg whites are incorporated.

What are Belgian Waffles?

Chefs in western Europe, including Belgian and Germany, have been making Belgian waffles for years. The huge waffles were brought to America during the World Fairs of Seattle and New York in the 1960s and were quite a popular food attracton. The waffles stuck and rest is history. You often find large Belgian waffle irons at hotel/motel “self-serve” breakfast buffets. At home, we usually purchase commercial Belgian waffle mix and used a smaller waffle iron than found on restaurant breakfast buffets. However, I’m out of the commercial Belgian waffle mix and discovered that making a recipe “from scratch” is just as good.

What’s the difference between Belgian waffles and regular waffles? Belgian waffle irons have a deeper grid pattern so the resulting waffles have thick and extra deep pockets. The deep pockets and grids make a perfect complement for pouring on syrup and other toppings. Plus, Belgian waffle irons are usually larger appliances.

Belgian waffle batter often contains more sugar for a sweeter batter than traditional waffles. The old European version of Belgian waffles contained yeast in the recipes. Now the yeast is almost always now replaced with baking powder. And Belgian waffle batter contains beaten egg whites unlike regular waffles. Some Belgian waffles contain pearl sugar which gives a little crunch.

Recipe Ingredients

Here are the ingredients for my Belgium waffles which are made “from scratch.” Baking powder provides leavening. Sugar and vanilla extract give flavor and sweetness.

I often have extra egg whites left over from other recipes. You can substitute in one or two egg whites and reduce the eggs from two to one whole egg — as shown in the above photo.

Making the Waffles

To make the waffles, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt). In a separate bowl, combine the liquid ingredients (milk, oil, egg yolks and vanilla extract). Combine with the dry ingredients, but don’t stir too much. If lumps remain, that’s okay. Lastly fold in the stiffly whipped egg whites. This batter is not thin — but it should still pour out of the measuring cup.

Waffle Iron

Cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions of your appliance — as waffle irons differ in their operational instructions. My waffle iron is very simple — and very, very old. Just plug it in and the waffle iron begins to heat up as shown up by the red light. When hot enough to use, the red light goes off. I do find that I need to heat the waffle iron for about 15 minutes to get the grates hot enough to cook the first waffle. (Once the iron is hot, you just need a few minutes to reheat for the next waffle.)

I coat the grates (both the top and bottom grates) with either margarine or oil, then add the batter and the cook until the steam stops dissipating. Reheat the appliance before cooking the next batch and oil again.

The yield on waffles will depend on the size of the waffle iron. My waffle iron has an 8″ diameter. I use 1/2 cup batter for smaller waffles and 3/4 to 1 cup for large waffles. One cup completely fills the grates and makes a huge waffle.

To keep the waffles stay crispy, do not stack up on a plate (except for photos). Otherwise, they may become soggy.

Re-heat waffles in a toaster or air fryer. You may freeze leftover waffles — although we rarely have any waffles left.

I like to sprinkle confectoner’s sugar (powdered sugar) on top of Belgium waflles. And, serve with an assortment of syrups, such as maple syrup, blueberry syrup or Bananas Foster Syrup, and fresh fruits — there is no limit to imagination.

“Lagniappe” Belgian Waffle Recipe Using Bisquick or Pioneer Baking Mix

“Lagniappe” means “a little something extra” in Cajun French. Hence, I am sharing a second Belgian Waffle recipe. It uses Bisquick or Pioneer Baking mix and is downsized slightly in proportions of ingredients. This makes a smaller yield — four full size waffles. The recipe is even simpler to mix up –it uses water rather than milk. No baking powder or vanilla extract are needed as these are included in the Bisquick. I did add Raw Cane Sugar (also known as “Sugar in the Raw” or turbinado sugar) to give a little “crunch” but you could skip this ingredient and substitute in granulated sugar. Otherwise, mix up and cook just like the “from scratch” Belgian Waffle recipe.

Our family loves waffles and especially Belgian waffles. It makes a great “Sunday morning” or holiday breakfast treat for family — such as Thanksgiving.

This recipe and process is a great alternative to all those frozen commercial Eggo Waffle products. My recipe freezes well, too. So, when I have extra Belgian waffles I freeze them and take them out one at a time to reheat in the air fryer or microwave oven.

Enjoy!

Here’s a bonus recipe for Belgian Waffles made with Bisquick or Pioneer Baking Mix.