• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Bread
  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

September 24, 2014 by Joy the Baker 78 Comments

Jump to Recipe

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.

Print

clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Vanilla Bean Sweet Potato Waffles

  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
  • Total Time: 0 hours
Pin Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 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.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Breakfast, Buttermilk, Recipes

Previous Post: « Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Next Post: My Favorite Travel Essentials »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Donna

    January 31, 2018 at 5:27 am

    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
  2. Anna Powell

    December 29, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    I love this. Going to try with GF flour. Thanks,Anna

    Reply
  3. Melani

    December 11, 2016 at 5:54 pm

    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
  4. Maria Doss

    November 25, 2016 at 9:32 pm

    They look beyond stunning!

    Reply
  5. Seth B

    November 21, 2016 at 1:07 am

    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
    • joythebaker

      November 21, 2016 at 10:29 am

      yes, I believe so!

      Reply
  6. Scott

    November 8, 2016 at 5:23 am

    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
  7. Mary Frances

    November 7, 2016 at 10:14 am

    I just saw a waffle breakfast sandwich recipe, this would be perfect to substitute the regular waffles, ugh yum!

    Reply
  8. 2pots2cook

    November 1, 2016 at 7:43 am

    Christ ! This is great ! Thank you !

    Reply
« Older Comments
Comments Page 5 of 5
« Previous 1 … 3 4 5

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Breakfast

Pile of baked croissants on rack just like starbucks ham and cheese croissant recipe.
Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants

I’ve got 30 solid minutes of your weekend planned out for you.  You’re going to be standing in the kitchen, but I promise it won’t be long. Pour a cup of coffee – that’ll help with everything.  Within your 30 minutes you’re going to pull bakery-quality ham and cheese croissants out of the oven.  I’m…

Read More

Hot cross buns frosted.
Easter Hot Cross Biscuits

Where do you land when it comes to Easter brunch?  Are you a ham, roasted lamb, and scalloped potato family?  Are you more of a quiche salad and biscuit clan?  Do you skip directly to the jelly beans and Cadbury mini eggs?  I’m nodding my head yes – there’s no wrong way to do it. …

Read More

Coffee cake recipe cut into squares on a wooden board.
Zucchini Crumble Coffee Cake

Friends, hi hello!  I’m comin’ in hot with a perfect springtime brunch offering – a cinnamon coffee cake recipe with a zucchini twist. But first let me address some of the concerns that might have popped up in the part of your brain that controls your sweet tooth.  That little bugger is saying OK BUT…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

FAVORITE FRUIT RECIPES

Strawberry pie filling inside of unbaked crust with crumble top.

My Best Strawberry Crumble Pie Recipe

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Strawberry white chocolate chai sugar cookies on a cooling rack.

Taylor Swift’s Strawberry White Chocolate Chai Sugar Cookies

POPULAR CAKES

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Slice of Chocolate Guinness Cake on a small pink plate

Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sliced and plated funfetti cake slices.

Funfetti Birthday Bundt Cake

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

I’m calling it, friends. IT’S SUMMER and to ce I’m calling it, friends. IT’S SUMMER and to celebrate you’re going to need the latest issue of Joy the Baker Magazine. ⁣
⁣
This issue is packed with road-trip inspiration, summer’s best burgers, backyard margaritas, no-churn ice cream and cakes that bake without an oven. ⁣
⁣
We get crafty, we get campy, there’s so much ice dye… this one’s more than food - it’s our summer bucket list in magazine form. ⁣
⁣
Pick up your copy wherever magazines are sold across the US and Canada or buy a copy online using the link in my profile. ⁣(🙌 free shipping!) 
⁣
Also, look at this cover shot by @emferretti! The whole magazine is that mouthwatering. 👏☀️🍓
I spent part of this fine weekend cleaning this ve I spent part of this fine weekend cleaning this very hardworking pantry. It’ll never be rainbow organized or picture perfect but I’ll tell ya, a few sets of @rubbermaid containers, @ballcanning jars and brown packing tape with a @sharpie marker make this a high functioning space for recipe testing and life living. 
⁣
Swipe to see my supervisor 🦁 inspecting my work. ⁣
⁣
#organized #pantryorganization #joythebaker #weekendwork
Not gonna lie, peanut butter was my main food grou Not gonna lie, peanut butter was my main food group this week - either smeared on fruit or baked as cookies. ⁣
⁣
If you feel me on this, my top 10 peanut butter recipes will serve you well. 👏 Find the link in the bio, like we do. ⁣
⁣
#peanutbutter #cookies #cobbler #joythebaker
I either need a pep talk or chocolate cake though I either need a pep talk or chocolate cake though I think I actually need both - stat.⁣
⁣
This particular cake is gluten and dairy free though you’d never know it based on its tender chocolate crumb and swoopy coconut based frosting. ⁣
⁣
I’ll leave the 🍫 recipe linked in the bio. Please leave any pep talk thoughts in the comments below (lol I’m not even kidding). xo
Mmkay you can take one pie and one sweater to the Mmkay you can take one pie and one sweater to the deserted island. I suppose I’m set! 🤪
⁣
My Very Best 🍓 🍓 Crumble Pie recipe linked in the profile and the sweater is an old gem from Forever21 and sure it’s getting a little tighter every year it’s weird how sweaters shrink sitting in drawers waiting for strawberry season. ⁣
⁣
#strawberrypie #joythebaker #mothersday #bakedfromscratch
In this week’s Sunday post I talk about learning In this week’s Sunday post I talk about learning how to ride a motorcycle, making my summer bucket list dreams come true, and easing out that clutch. ⁣
⁣
Am I roadworthy? Not quite yet, but I am super proud of myself. ⁣
⁣
Your Sunday reads, linked in the profile.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up