Name: Crispy Red Lentil Protein Waffles (Vegan, Gluten-free)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: ½ cup Red lentils (soaked for at least an hour or overnight); ¾ cup White rice flour; 1 cup Buckwheat flour; ⅓ cup Coconut sugar; 1 Tbsp Corn starch; 1 Tbsp Baking powder (-> list of gluten-free brands); 1+½ cup Dairy-free milk (homemade cashew milk); 1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar (-> list of gluten-free brands); 1 tsp Vanilla extract; pinch of salt

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Are you looking for a delicious and crispy waffle recipe without eggs, or dairy, but with naturally added protein? These vegan waffles are no ordinary ones, as they contain high-protein red lentils instead of protein powder. The best part is that the taste of the red lentils in these waffles is absolutely hidden.

Black plate with a stack of waffles topped with mixed berries and maple syrup

If you are looking for more pancake or waffle recipe ideas, you must try these vegan banana pancakes and vegan banana waffles as another sweet vegan breakfast option. Or go to our vegan red lentil protein pancakes recipe which is also easy to make and quite protein-packed.

Table of Contents hide

1. Why red lentil waffles?

2. Ingredients

3. How to prepare red lentils?

4. How to make easy vegan protein waffles using red lentils?

5. Top tips to make crispy waffles

6. How to keep the waffles warm and still crispy?

7. Variations and add-ins

8. Topping suggestions

9. FAQs and substitutions

10. More vegan breakfast recipes

11. Crispy Red Lentil Protein Waffles (Vegan, Gluten-free)

Why red lentil waffles?

We had such an amazing experience with this vegan red lentil protein pancake recipe that we thought why not turn them into waffles.

But why red lentils instead of other legumes you ask? Red lentils are amazingly nutritious. According to Cronometer a 1-cup serving of raw red lentils has approx 46 grams of protein. That’s astonishing.

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Apart from that red lentils are a great source of fiber and are high in different Vitamin B and folate. This latter is very important for pregnant and breastfeeding moms. Last but not least red lentils are also iron-, copper-, manganese- and zinc-rich food. If you are on a vegan and vegetarian diet, you often search for iron-rich foods and recipes and red lentils are a great source to incorporate into your diet. For more details read Healthline’s article on lentils.

Ingredients

In the original recipe from 2019, we used oat flour, but we changed it in this new recipe to the mix of white rice flour and buckwheat flour.

There are 2 reasons for it. Firstly, there are a lot of people who are following a gluten-free diet also avoid oats as they have a reaction to them. Secondly, I find oat flour has a bitter aftertaste even if I add vanilla extract. So I am redeveloping recipes without oat flour.

To make these yummy sweet red lentil waffles for breakfast you need the following simple ingredients.

Soaked red lentils
White rice flour
Buckwheat flour
Cornstarch
Dairy-free milk – We recommend almond milk or cashew milk.
Coconut sugar – We also tested it with cane sugar, but not with any other types of sugar.
Baking powder – Choose one of these gluten-free baking powders.
Apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice – Choose one of these gluten-fee vinegars.
Vanilla extract

Ingredients for red lentil waffles measured in glass bowls, white flours, powders, brown coconut sugar, milk in a jar, vanilla extract and of course red lentils

How to prepare red lentils?

This vegan waffle recipe contains soaked red lentils as the main ingredient. A lot of people are worrying about lectins in food and asking questions like are dangerous or safe to eat or how to decrease lectin content with cooking.

My trusted resource when it comes to nutrition is Dr. Greger’s website. He has a short video about lectins in food. In this video, he mainly talks about red kidney beans, but he explicitly highlights the following sentence: “many lectins are non-toxic, such as those from tomatoes, lentils, peas, chickpeas, fava beans, and other common foods.”

However, if you feel that your stomach doesn’t tolerate lectins, you can use cooked red lentils instead of soaked ones to make this vegan waffle recipe.

How to make easy vegan protein waffles using red lentils?

Soak the red lentils for at least 1-2 hours. If you would like to have them for breakfast, then soak them overnight no problem. When you are ready to make your vegan waffle batter, discard the water.
Add wet ingredients to your blender: soaked red lentils, non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract. Blend it until it is smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients: the gluten-free flours, corn starch, baking powder, and coconut sugar (or sweetener of your choice).
To finish the waffle batter, add the dry mix to the blender and pulse for a couple of times. Now, you are ready to heat your waffle maker!

A glass blender from above with a yellowish slightly reddish waffle batter

Scoop ½-1/3 cup of batter to a pre-heated waffle iron (medium, rather than high) and wait for 2-5 minutes depending on how fast your equipment is.

A waffle iron with yellow cooked batter with a lid open.

Top tips to make crispy waffles

I had a five-of-hearts waffle maker that is really cheap and simple with no temperature control whatsoever (similar to this one). Since then I changed it to another one from the brand “Domo”, which shapes the batter like Belgian waffles. Not this super cool Hamilton one, or this cute snowflake waffle maker, awww, but a cheaper one.

Anyway… I am pretty sure that all waffle makers are different, but to get extra crispy waffles in any equipment without a heat dial you should follow these steps:

Turn waffle maker on and wait for it to heat up completely.
Even if they said that it is a non-stick one, I coat it with oil spray generously.
Pour the waffle batter, but just enough so that it doesn’t overflow. Mine works with less than ½ cup.
Close the lid and wait for 2-3 minutes, then turn the waffle maker off but leave the lid closed for another 2-3 minutes. This way it is not over-cooked (dark brown) but cooks all the way through while getting a drier, crispier crust.

Black plate with a stack of waffles topped with sliced banana and maple syrup. There are 3 waffles on another black plate in the background.

How to keep the waffles warm and still crispy?

I usually transfer them to a rack so the steam can leave and the waffle bottoms can’t get soggy. To keep them warm you can place them with the rack in the oven at the lowest temperature like 120-140 Fahrenheit (50-60 degrees Celcius).

If you cover them up, they will get soft. After a while whatever you do they will lose their crispiness, although pop them in a toaster for a minute and you might get it back.

Variations and add-ins

This is a simple recipe sweet high protein vegan waffles recipe that can be a base recipe for endless variations. We have been making them for a long time and had many different add-ins for example

Fresh blueberries – You can add them to the batter and mix it in the bowl.
Chocolate chips – I would say it is another obvious choice. Mix in the batter some chocolate chips and go from there.
Any fruit really – You can add any fruit you like. We made them with chopped strawberries, raspberries, mixed berries, shredded apple with cinnamon.
Chopped nuts – Any type you like.
Dried fruits like cranberries or raisins
Citrus zest – Add a tablespoon of lemon or orange zest. So yummy, especially lemon combined with blueberries.
Cocoa powder or cacao powder – Add a tablespoon, if you want to turn them into chocolate pancakes.

Topping suggestions

Our all-time favorite topping is vanilla custard. If you ask my daughter she will choose this without hesitation. Other possibilities are:

maple syrup, agave syrup with a stick of butter
vanilla ice cream with caramel or date syrup
berries and whipped cream
banana and Nutella
peanut butter and jelly
fresh fruit or fruit sauces (like this quick strawberry puree)
whipped cream
vegan chocolate frosting, which is actually coconut whipped cream
chocolate sauce
caramel sauce
more toasted walnuts or pecans

If you have been using honey, please note that it is not considered vegan. Choose any of these honey substitutes where we included homemade vegan honey recipes as well.

FAQs and substitutions

Can I use other flour?

We haven’t tested it with all-purpose or whole wheat flour. If you don’t have rice flour or don’t want to use it, try other gluten-free flours, like buckwheat flour or oat flour. However, I find oat flour has a slightly bitter flavor which I can taste in the waffles.

I also tested this recipe with cornstarch instead of tapioca starch. For more options, check out our post about tapioca flour substitutes where I explain when and how each substitute should be used.

Can I use oil or other nut butter?

If you need it to be nut-free, add sunflower butter or just skip peanut butter entirely. I tested this recipe with and without any, so you don’t really need to add for example coconut oil. If you don’t have a non-stick waffle iron, then use a cooking spray to make sure they don’t stick.

How to store it?

These vegan protein waffles can get quite dense and tough after 24 hours even if you store them in an airtight container. We recommend making them in fresh batches right before serving.

If you want to meal prep, you can freeze any leftovers though and pop them in your toaster. They get a crispy crust again.

This vegan red lentil waffles recipe is dairy-free and egg-free. It is suitable for a vegetarian, gluten-free, and soy-free diet. This recipe is WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you don’t use oil for frying. You can make it nut-free if you skip peanut butter or add canola oil instead.

More vegan breakfast recipes

Browse through our vegan breakfast recipes gallery if you want some savory recipe ideas, or try one of these sweet breakfasts below.

Vegan Red Lentil Protein Pancakes
Vegan Banana Waffles
Vegan Banana Pancakes
Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Blueberry Millet Porridge
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in January 2019. It was re-tested, improved, and re-written with lots of tips and serving suggestions in January 2022.

Crispy Red Lentil Protein Waffles (Vegan, Gluten-free)