Gluten Free Almond Flour Pumpkin Waffles (Paleo Friendly)
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Almond Flour Pumpkin Waffles – Crispy & fluffy paleo pumpkin waffles made with almond flour. These healthy pumpkin waffles are so good, we eat them year round! (Gluten free, dairy free, paleo friendly & naturally sweetened)
Waffles are an institution in my family.
A big, giant waffle breakfast is one of the key Christmas morning traditions at our house growing up, and breakfast for dinner has always been a regular part of the rotation.
All that to say, I pretty much love my waffle recipes any way I can get them–oatmeal, lemon, mixed berry, gingerbread, pumpkin… I love them all!
These crispy, fluffy almond flour pumpkin waffles are exactly what I’m talking about. They’re all the good things about waffles–delicately crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and loaded with flavor.
Here’s why I think you’ll love these delicious gluten-free pumpkin waffles as much as we do…
What Makes These Gluten Free, Paleo Pumpkin Waffles Amazing:
- They’re pretty darn nutrient dense. Almond flour has healthy fats, protein, vitamins and minerals that white flours or all-purpose gluten free flours tend not to have. This means our almond flour pumpkin waffles are more filling, which makes them a great recipe to keep you going all morning long. They’re also gluten free, dairy free, and naturally sweetened!
- The texture is AWESOME. My dream waffle is crispy on the outside while light and fluffy on the inside. These healthy pumpkin waffles are both, which makes for gluten-free waffle perfection!
- They freeze & reheat like a dream. I love when I can freeze leftovers! I often make a double batch of this gluten-free waffle recipe and freeze half. It makes for great meal prep on busy weeks! We can pull out leftovers one at a time for breakfasts throughout the week, or dinner on a crazy night. (See below for how I freeze & reheat them.)
Let’s Talk Toppings! Here Are Our Favorite Toppings For Almond Flour Pumpkin Waffles:
First off, let me just say these paleo pumpkin waffles taste delicious all on their own thanks to those lovely warm spices and flavors. But adding toppings to waffles is part of the fun, so here are some of our favorite pumpkin waffle toppings…
- Maple Syrup. I have to start with this classic. A little maple syrup in every crispy pocket of these waffles is a total delight.
- Toasted Pecans. I love the nutty crunch that pecans add to these paleo pumpkin waffles.
- A Dollop Of Whipped Cream. A big spoonful of whipped coconut cream on top makes these feel like a total treat. Feel free to get the store-bought kind for ease, or whip up your own!
- Leftover Cranberry Sauce. Just tossing this out there because I love it so much…try these almond flour pumpkin waffles with a bit of leftover Orange Honey Cranberry Sauce at Thanksgiving time. The bright, sweet tart flavor pairs so nicely with the warmth and spice of the waffles.
- A Few Chocolate Chips. Chocolate + pumpkin are so good together! My kids love when I add a few chocolate chips on top of their waffles.
- Nut Butter. Many of you have finished these pumpkin spice waffles off with a drizzle of almond butter or mixed nut butter. It adds even more protein!
FAQ + Tips For The Best Almond Flour Pumpkin Waffles:
How To Keep Your Waffles Crispy! If you’re cooking waffles for a crowd and want to keep them crisp, try placing them in a single layer on a cooling rack, rather than stacking them. Stacked waffles tend to steam each other, which softens that gorgeous crispiness of the outside layer. You can also put them in a low-heat oven (about 200 degrees F). I put my cooling rack on a baking sheet and pop the whole thing in the oven to keep them warm and crisp.
Use The Right Kind Of Flour! Use blanched, finely ground almond flour. I like Honeyville, Wellbee’s, and Anthony’s. Almond flours vary in density, and a good way to get consistent results is to measure properly, using the Scoop and Level Method–fluff the flour with a spoon/whisk/fork, then scoop with a spoon into a measuring cup (rather than scooping with your measuring cup, which can compact the flour). That said, the BEST WAY to get perfect waffles is to weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale.
Freeze & Reheat Leftovers – We freeze leftover gluten-free waffles ALL the time. They’re great for quick weekday breakfasts, and we also toss them in packed lunches. To freeze, make sure the waffles are completely cool, then stack them one layer at a time in a freezer-safe bag. I put a sheet of parchment paper in between layers to keep them from sticking to each other. (You do you!) To reheat, pop them in the toaster or toaster oven, or put them on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.
Waffle Irons – If you’re in the market for a waffle iron, we’ve owned FIVE in our 10.5 years of marriage. (cue: all the eye rolls. Believe me, I’m right there with you.) This is my pick for a standard, fairly thin waffle. This Mickey waffle maker makes the PERFECT kid-friendly sized Mickey-shaped waffles. And this Belgian-style waffle maker will give you amaaazing Belgian style waffles (and it cooks 2 at once!).
The Mickey Waffle iron is the favorite for my kids, and the Belgian iron is my overall pick.
Paleo Notes – If you’re strictly paleo, you’ll need to be sure to use a paleo-approved baking powder option. (Baking powder tends to contain cornstarch, which isn’t paleo approved.) You can make your own, which only requires arrowroot powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
Love Healthy Pumpkin Recipes? You’d Probably Like…
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (Gluten Free & Dairy Free)
- Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal (Gluten Free & Vegan)
- Pumpkin Taco Soup (Paleo & Whole30 Approved)
- Blender Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes (Gluten Free & Dairy Free)
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal
- Pumpkin Overnight Oats
Gluten Free Almond Flour Pumpkin Waffles
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5–6 servings (depending on your waffle iron) 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This gluten-free pumpkin waffle recipe is made with almond flour! These healthy pumpkin waffles are so good, we eat them year round!
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cup (150g) blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup (60g) arrowroot powder or tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (see notes for paleo)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon*
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite milk)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tablespoons ghee, avocado oil, or coconut oil (if not paleo, you can sub another neutral oil or vegetable oil, melted butter, or melted vegan butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep & Preheat. Preheat your waffle iron and grease with nonstick spray or brush with a very thin layer of oil. (I don’t recommend cooking spray, which can gum up your waffle iron over time)
- Whisk The Dry Ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well combined.
- Add The Wet Ingredients. Next, add pumpkin, milk, syrup, eggs, ghee/oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine well.
- Cook The Waffles. Scoop or pour the batter into your waffle iron and cook according to your waffle maker instructions. (Many waffle irons use 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup batter per waffle–try not to overfill!)
- Repeat with remaining batter until all the waffles are cooked.
- Store leftover waffles in an air-tight container or bag in the fridge or freezer. Follow reheating instructions below!
Notes
*Feel free to use 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg listed. (It’ll add notes from ginger, cloves, allspice, etc.)
Keep Your Waffles Crispy! If you’re cooking waffles for a crowd and want to keep them crisp, try placing them in a single layer on a cooling rack, rather than stacking them. Stacked waffles tend to steam each other, which softens that gorgeous crispiness of the outside layer. You can also put them in a low-heat oven (about 200 degrees F). I put my cooling rack on a baking sheet and pop the whole thing in the oven to keep them warm and crisp.
Freeze & Reheat Leftovers – We freeze leftover waffles ALL the time. They’re great for quick weekday breakfasts, and we also toss them in packed lunches. To freeze, make sure the waffles are completely cool, then stack them one layer at a time in a freezer-safe bag. I put a sheet of parchment paper in between layers to keep them from sticking to each other. (You do you!) To reheat, pop them in the toaster, or put them on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
Paleo Notes – If you’re strictly paleo, you’ll need to be sure to find a paleo-approved baking powder option. Baking powder tends to contain cornstarch, which isn’t paleo approved. You can make your own, which only requires arrowroot powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Waffles
- Method: Waffle Maker
- Cuisine: American
Woh mama. The fat content is the fats for my whole day!!
I am still going to make them, maybe I will do this on a Sunday. They really look delicious.
That comes from the almond flour (made from ground almonds). I usually only have 1, so the nutrition facts are lighter than what’s listed below, but I don’t feel one bit bad about them, since they’re made from such great ingredients 🙂
These look amazing! I need these in my life!
We LOVE them! I keep trying to make extra to freeze, and we go through them so fast!
We’re making these this morning. Love the taste, but they keep sticking to the waffle iron and won’t cook through before burning. Does this batter not work with a thicker style waffle maker?
Jane – Oh no! I made mine in my deep Belgian iron, so they do work with a thicker waffle. Every iron cooks a bit differently, so sometimes if there’s temperature variation the batter will “seal” differently when it hits the plates. Did you spray your iron with nonstick spray first? Do you know what temperature setting you had it on? I’d love to help! In general, if you still have sticking after spraying it or brushing it with butter/oil, you might need to add a tiny bit more oil to the batter to help with the sticking. Or adjust your waffle iron temperature. I hope some of those tips help! I’m cheering for you!
All of them stuck to the iron. Delicious batter, but changing temperature, oil, butter nothing worked. Bummer
Stefanie – That IS a bummer. I’m so sorry that happened for you!
Oh wow! Yum! Want to make today,except I do not have arrowroot or tapioca and can not purchase in my town. Can it be omitted or substituted?
Kristen – Not for a paleo option, but if you’re not following paleo, you could use cornstarch or another starchy flour (like rice flour).
You can usually find Arrowroot in the Spices or try Walmart Superstores i know they sell it in with the Spices and i have seen it at Dollar Tree here in Michigan so you might try looking at your local Supermart Spices but to get half cup buy more then one jar of it the spice jars are usually small. I have never seen it in the larger more common spices offered at most grocery type stores and just a bet Whole Foods may carry it. Or check on Amazon or Amazon Prime i know you will find it there.
Made these today and they were absolutely the best waffles I’ve ever had! Loved them.
YES! I’m SO glad you enjoyed them so much. THANK YOU for sharing!!!
These are delicious tasting , I just couldn’t keep them from sticking so bad I ended up with chunks of waffle pieces in a bowl…. they would stick to both sides of iron and I had to scrape them out…. I tried a ton of oil on iron and it still didn’t work . Have no adjustment for temp on my iron just plug in and wait until light comes on.
Jamie – I’m guessing this is related to your waffle iron temperature. Since your waffle iron doesn’t have adjustable temperature, you may be able to solve the sticking problem by adding additional oil to your waffle recipe and continuing to grease the iron itself. I’d start with an additional Tbsp. of oil in your actual recipe, and go from there. If it’s still sticking, you can add additional oil a bit at a time. I do hope that helps!
The waffle itself has a nice texture and is quite attractive. Another almond flour recipe I had used previously was a little too “light” and airy so I liked that this recipe produced a waffle with more weight, yet still being fluffy. The raw dough was very stiff but I was able to spread it with a butter knife and used a double cook cycle on the waffle iron, which is not unusual for the model I use. I would like a more pungent pumpkin taste; perhaps the brand of pumpkin might be important. I used the Whole Food 365 organic pumpkin puree.
Is it a good idea to increase the amount of pumpkin puree and to decrease liquid elsewhere in the recipe?
Hmm… good question. I worry that if you increase the pumpkin (and decrease the milk to compensate) that the batter would be too dense and heavy, and may scorch during the cooking. You could possibly decrease the spices to allow the pumpkin flavor to come through? Or, if it’s the pumpkin spice flavors you’re after, could increase the spices to give a stronger pumpkin spice flavor.
Absolutely wonderful. Probably some of the best waffles I’ve had, paleo or otherwise. I wish they made more– doubling the recipe next time!
I’m so glad you liked them! Thank you so much for sharing!
I just made these for breakfast and they were delicious. I topped them off with fresh banana chopped pecans and paleo powdered sugar.
Oh yum! That sounds heavenly!
These are definitely some of the best gluten free waffles I’ve had! So yummy!
I LOVE hearing that. Thank you so much for sharing!
I love everything I’m reading about this recipe!! Can’t wait to give it a try tomorrow! Question, not a big pumpkin flavor fan, what could I substitute with, that won’t impact the texture of the results? I see the pumpkin puree is 1/2 cup.
Thank you! We love them! As for adapting the recipe…pumpkin is pretty essential to the structure. The only suggestion I could think of would be pureed bananas. I’m not sure if that’d be any better for you flavor wise, but it might be worth a try!
Can I make this recipe minus the pumpkin? Also can I just make pancakes instead of waffles?
Cristin – It sounds like you’d be happier with a different recipe. This one needs the pumpkin for structure. You could probably get away with making them as pancakes, but I haven’t tried it. Best of luck!
I loved these! My only suggestion would be to make the waffles on the smaller side, about half the size of the waffle iron, so they can cook all the way through. I halved the recipe and added ground flax seed to mine since I didn’t have the arrow root powder and I was only making it for two. The smell alone while these cooked was amazing.
Amy – That’s a GREAT suggestion. Thank you for sharing!
I saw you mention replacing arrowroot/tapioca starch with cornstarch, should we do this as a 1:1 ratio?
Yes! A 1:1 ratio 🙂
Great recipe! I wanted a savory waffle so I swapped out the cinnamon and nutmeg for garlic and onion powder. And omitted the vanilla. Delicious.
Wow! That sounds like it’d be good with some sautéed spinach and a poached egg on top!