Joy the Baker

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

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vanilla bean sweet potato waffles

It’s pretty amazing how the body’s cravings start to change as the we move through the seasons.  I sauntered (as I do…) past the sweet potatoes in the grocery store last week and they called out to me!  I collected an arm load and nestled them in my basket, but wait… whaaat!?  I haven’t thought of a sweet potato in months.  I’ve only had eyes for watermelon, pink wine, strawberries, and other such brightly colored summer delicacies.

The days they change and our bodies want to change along with them.  That’s pretty cool.  Until next year watermelon!

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

First there were Mashed Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Waffles.  Proof positive that smashed potatoes can and should be waffles.  These waffles are tender, sweet, and the prettiest breakfast!

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

These sweet potatoes seem to be the first roast of the season!  Sweet potatoes are so malleable so if I’m roasting a few sweet potatoes I roast a lot.  They’re great for waffles (obviously), for soup, or for dinner with lots of butter and a bit of broccoli.

Let us never forget Dad’s Perfect Sweet Potato Pie.

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

I like to layer flavors in everything I make.  Little things make a big difference!

We’re using vanilla beans in this recipe.  Because vanilla beans can be expensive, I want to coax out as much flavor as possible!  By rubbing the scrapped vanilla beans into the brown sugar, we’re helping the vanilla bean flavor disperse through the waffle batter.  It’s luscious.

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

Vanilla brown sugar!

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

The wet ingredients are whisked together.  Eggs, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla brown sugar!  I also whisk in the mashed sweet potatoes which will thicken the wet ingredients and tint it pale orange.

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

Buttermilk for texture and tang.  It’s magic.

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

Spills are only natural.

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

For the dry ingredients we’re stirring together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, extra cinnamon, and extra nutmeg.

I want to make sure these waffles are super spiced.

It’s just about Pumpkin Pie Spice season, right?  No need to buy that little jar at the grocery store.  Make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice!

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

 Wet meets dry.  A good stir to make sure all of the dry ingredients are well incorporated.  The batter will be thick, not-so-much pourable.

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

Golden brown, piping hot, totally imperfect in their shape, and absolutely delicious!

These waffles are also a really wonderful substitute for… bread.  I love slathering these with peanut butter and jelly, or topping them with ham and cheese.  Seriously delicious!

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

Sweetness from sweet potatoes, a bit of brown sugar, and maple syrup.  It’s a balanced sweetness, not overly bonkers.  There’s still plenty of room for warm maple syrup drizzling.  My favorite part of these waffles is how wonderfully versatile they are.  Breakfast, sandwiches, a snack standing beside the toaster.  They’re a perfect weekend recipe because everyone loves waffles on the weekend, and they freeze well, making them great to grab, toast, and enjoy for a weekday breakfast.   That’s smarts!

This recipe is inspired by Chef Nathan Lyon.

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Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

Prep Time:

Cook Time:

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

Ingredients

  • 2 small sweet potatoes, roasted and cooled
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Instructions

  1. To roast the potatoes, place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wrap whole, unpeeled sweet potatoes in foil, place on a rimmed baking sheet and allow to bake until a fork inserted in the potato meets no resistance. Depending on the size of your potatoes, this could take 30 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and allow to rest until cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes, discard the peel, and mash well with a fork. Measure 1 cup of potatoes for the waffles.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
  3. In another medium bowl combine brown sugar and vanilla beans. Use your fingers to rub the two together, infusing the brown sugar with vanilla. If you're using vanilla extract, add vanilla to the eggs and sugar after they're beaten together.
  4. Whisk in the eggs until well combined. (Add the vanilla extract here, if using.) Whisk in the melted butter, maple syrup, and buttermilk. Stir to combine.
  5. Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir well to combine thoroughly. Allow to rest while the waffle iron heats.
  6. Spray waffle iron if it isn't already nonstick. Add waffle batter and cook according to your specific waffle iron.
  7. Serve warm with pure maple syrup. These waffles also freeze very well once baked.
https://joythebaker.com/2014/09/vanilla-bean-sweet-potato-waffles/

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Donna

    These waffles are really looking so good and I really love all the lovely images. I like sweet potatoes in my smoothies. But, now I just found another new concept of enjoying them in my breakfast. Thanks for putting it together.
    Donna

    Reply

  3. Melani

    Made these tonight, but wasn’t sure at which point to add the sweet potatoes. I think I somehow missed that in the directions, so I threw them in with the maple syrup. Is that right

    Reply

  5. Seth B

    I’ve tried pumpkin waffles and pancakes before, but never sweet potato! I’m really excited to try this out. Do you think that they could be made with just egg whites though?

    Thanks for posting! Cheers!

    Reply

  6. Scott

    This is a great idea for my favorite waffle. I’ll definitely try this. It looks so yummy, I just can’t wait to make this for the whole family. Thank you for this recipe.

    Reply

  11. Martha in KS

    I made these waffles using pumpkin instead of sweet potatoes. They were delicious. Not crisp, but I can never get waffles crisp. They were even better the next day fresh from the toaster – crispy!

    Reply

  12. sylvia

    I always wonder why weight is never mentioned, i.e. 2 small sweet potatoes = __ oz. then we’d know how much potato goes into the recipe.

    Reply

  15. miestrellacreations

    I made these and they were awesome! I halved the amount of sugar (since I was cooking for a French man and he was complaining about the sugariness of American sweets) and they were perfect. Everyone scarfed them down. Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply

  17. jackie

    Just so you know I made these with mostly buckwheat flour (just ground up some buckwheat in the food processor) and 1/4 cup regular flour, and they were amazing. I think the buckwheat added a great, nutty flavor.

    Reply

  18. Audrey

    Is there something I can substitute for the buttermilk to make this recipe dairy free? Would simple almond milk be ok? They look delicious but my youngest has a dairy allergy and I’d love for him to be able to enjoy them as well.

    Reply

  19. Brittney Johnson

    These were a delicious breakfast-for-dinner with a little bacon on the side BUT you never say when to put the 1c. mashed sweet potato back in, we did it after adding the wet ingredients into the dry…

    Reply

  22. Donna

    Could you make the batter in advance and stick it in the fridge overnight to make the next morning?
    Sould the waffles not turn out well then?

    Reply

  23. Mike K

    So I made these this AM because I’m sitting on 10 lbs of sweet potatoes thanks to the folks at Aldi having them on sale for $1 for a 3lb bag. These are my new favorite waffle. So perfect for fall and winter. Thank you!!

    Reply

  26. Amy Rathke

    This recipe is great! I’m serving it cut up into little squares with fried chicken bites as an appetizer for a friend’s birthday party this evening. Just a heads-up, though–you don’t mention where to add the roasted sweet potato in the directions. If someone has ever made pumpkin bread before, this isn’t confusing, but it might be helpful for first-timers!

    Reply

  29. Janice

    Your waffles always look the most scrumptious. I have been shoppong for a new waffle iron but can’t commit- which do you use? I’m going crazy with cravings……

    Reply

  31. Amy

    Time to get grandma’s antique waffle iron out of storage me thinks! I don’t care about seasonal appropriateness (we are deep in spring territory here) I just want some waffles!!!!

    Reply

  37. Kate MInor

    Oh my gosh. Suddenly, the urge to acquire a waffle iron has grown exponentially. (Don’t judge! Just got back from living in Japan a year ago and I’m still working on assembling the necessities for my kitchen!) :)

    Also, the 24th is my birthday and I just want to say how much you, your writing, and photos have inspired me. I conceptualized and wrote this post partially from that inspiration: http://www.fstopminorphotography.com/28-thoughts-on-gratitude/

    So thanks. :) You’re a treat.

    Reply

  48. Christina

    Think you could sub canned pumpkin for the mashed sweet potatoes?? Because in the morning when I’m hungry I want waffles right away!!!

    Reply

  51. Caroline

    Oops, asked to soon- saw you posted a link for the waffle iron in the mashed potato waffle post. So just a smaller portion in the square works is the trick? Can’t wait to try these this weekend…

    Reply

  53. Caroline

    Yum, and dare I say cute! Any chance you can share what type/brand of waffle iron was used?These seem to have a more organic shape, and have the perfect looking crust. Mine doesn’t really achieve that, so I’m in the market to upgrade..

    Reply

  56. Girl Named Allyn

    I overdid the sweet potatoes last winter somehow (can you really have too many sweet potato dishes?) and my husband has been fighting a gag reflex over them ever since. Really hoping he gets over it in the next month so I can make this and all sorts of sweet potato goodness. That will also hopefully give me time to move back to Nashville and get my waffle iron out of storage. No big deal, right?

    Reply

  58. Keisha @ MochaBakerGirl

    What Have You Done To Me This Glorious Wednsday! I have a full on love affair with sweet potato and waffles and you have put them together. Now how am i supposed to get through the rest of the day at work without coming back to this page to stare at these glorious waffles.

    Reply

  59. Tamara

    These look yummy! I am a huge fan of sweet potatoes. I roasted a huge one last week for sweet potato pancakes. Roasting them is the best way to cook them in my book. :-)

    Reply

  68. Sarah

    Get outta town! Those look amazing! I literally just made your buttermilk chocolate chip waffles with almond butter banana and honey and they were awesome! Now I gotta work my way through all your waffles – hooray! :)

    Reply

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