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!
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!
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.
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 brown sugar!
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.
Buttermilk for texture and tang. It’s magic.
Spills are only natural.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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
- 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.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir well to combine thoroughly. Allow to rest while the waffle iron heats.
- Spray waffle iron if it isn't already nonstick. Add waffle batter and cook according to your specific waffle iron.
- Serve warm with pure maple syrup. These waffles also freeze very well once baked.
Diane
I can get behind these waffles. Love this idea, I can’t wait to try them.
Karen
Drooling! What kind of waffle maker did you use to create small round deliciousness? They are beautiful!
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?
joythebaker
i trust that you’ll recover from this! i’m rooting for you!
Ella
*Insert heart eyes emoji x100*
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
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.
joythebaker
we’re almost in the weekend! i hope you can make these waffles then!
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. :-)
Hannah
Do you think I could sub chia seeds for the eggs?
joythebaker
chia or flax eggs would be great in this recipe!
Hannah
fantastic. thank you! yay for veganizing your delicious recipes!
Jenny @ The Peachy Pair
Love anything sweet potato…Now if I could just find my waffle iron.
Erin | The Law Student's Wife
Dreaming of a sweet potato waffle with ham and cheese for lunch..maybe with a fried egg on top. Too much? I suppose there’s only one way to find out :)
gourmetgwen
Perfect combo of warm flavors. The sweet potatoes have been calling me too. I’m scared, make them stop talking.
Alice @ The Kitchen Smiths
DAMN IT! Why do I not have a waffle iron?! Maybe this is the time to start my christmas list! ha..
joythebaker
totally add a waffle iron to the christmas list! they’re so great!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
waffles, love em! So much easier than pancakes and I love that there’s vanilla bean seeds in these! Delish! Pinned!
Belinda Lo (Moonblush Baker)
So yum! If you have any left over I recommend you “french toast” them. Waffles french toast style is worth every butter calorie.
Warm Vanilla Sugar
I need to waffle more things…sweet potato sounds like a great start!
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! :)