Easy Buttermilk Waffles

Here's a classic buttermilk waffle recipe! These waffles are light and crispy on the outside, tender in the middle. No mixer required. Make a batch ahead and freeze for easy breakfasts!

Waffles are a serious business in my breakfast-loving household, and I recently set my sights on the mother of all maple-drenched ambitions: The Classic Buttermilk Waffle. This is such a simple and timeless breakfast that I figured it would be easy-peasy to come up with a good waffle recipe.

Buttermilk waffle recipe on a round plate with extra waffles on a cooling rack nearby
Emma Christensen

What Is a "Classic" Buttermilk Waffle Recipe?

Do a little digging for buttermilk waffle recipes and you can find all sorts of "classic" recipes that use everything from cornstarch to coconut flour. I'm sure those recipes are great, but I wanted to make real buttermilk waffles. The kind my grandma would have made, with 100% buttermilk and no surprising add-ins or zany substitutions. Just the basics for this waffle recipe, please and thank you.

Two bags of flour, a few dozen eggs, and several cartons of buttermilk later, and I think I've got an easy waffle recipe winner! Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and a rich buttery flavor, these buttermilk waffles just beg for jam and syrup.

Two Crispy Waffles make from Buttermilk Waffle Recipe
Emma Christensen

Easy Waffle Recipe? Depends on Method

This is an easy waffle recipe. But even with just buttermilk, flour, eggs, and melted butter as the main ingredients, there are a surprising number of ways to put these buttermilk waffles together. Seems as if there are a half dozen ways of how to make waffles. Who knew? How hard or how easy your waffle recipe is, depends largely on whether you beat eggs, separate eggs, and so forth.

After much deliberation, I decided to try the following waffle recipe tests:

  1. One-Bowl Method: Mix the dry ingredients, make a well in the center for the liquids, then stir everything together. Why? So easy you can make them while still half-asleep.
  2. Two-Bowl Method: Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the liquid ingredients in another, then stir the wet into the dry. Why? This way, the liquid ingredients get thoroughly mixed before going into the dry, giving you a more uniform consistency throughout. This is also the method used by the majority of buttermilk waffle recipes that I found.
  3. Separate the Eggs: Same as the two-bowl method, but separate the yolks and whites. The yolks get mixed with the liquids, and then the liquids go into the dry ingredients. Finally, the unbeaten egg white is folded into the batter. Why? I first discovered this unusual method in a pancake recipe on The Kitchn. It turned out to be a brilliant trick and less fussy than beating egg whites, so I thought I'd give it a try here.
  4. Beat the Egg Whites: Same as above, except beat the egg whites in a mixer until they hold soft peaks before folding them into the batter. Why? Many a waffle recipe swear up and down that this makes loftier, lighter, fluffier waffles or pancakes.
Easy waffle recipe served on a round plate with maple syrup
Emma Christensen

And the Winner Is...

The results were really surprising. All the buttermilk waffles emerged from the waffle iron with a nicely golden crust and tender interior - no complaints there. The only problem was that the batches were also nearly identical.

I had expected to see some significant differences between the buttermilk waffles, and I had particularly high hopes for the waffles made with beaten egg whites. But truthfully, I had a hard time telling the batches apart. Take a look for yourself!

How to Make Waffles: A Comparison
Left to right: one-bowl, two-bowl, separated eggs, beaten egg white. Emma Christensen

How to Make The Best Waffles: My Conclusion

If you want to get nit-picky about it, the one-bowl method made perfectly fine waffles, but they had an ever-so-slightly denser and less even texture than the other methods. Both egg white versions, beaten and unbeaten, had an ever-so-slightly lighter texture, but personally, I didn't feel like it was worth the effort. If I'm going to pull out the mixer and fuss with egg whites, I'd better be getting some extra-super-duper-lofty waffles for my trouble.

For me, I'm sticking with the two-bowl method for my buttermilk waffle recipe. This is the Goldilocks option: the perfect compromise of ease versus effort. You end up using two bowls, but the results are worth the extra clean-up.

Easy Waffle Recipe for Buttermilk Waffles
Emma Christensen

Love Crispy Waffles?!

I did have one lingering problem with my buttermilk waffles: the crispy factor. Straight out of the waffle iron, the waffles had a golden, lightly crispy exterior that I loved, but this quickly faded as the waffles cooled.

The solution is to toast the waffles in the oven for a few minutes -- something I discovered while trying to keep a batch warm before serving. This cooks off some extra moisture, giving you a crunchy outer shell that stays crisp even once the waffles cool. Five to ten minutes at 250°F will do the trick; much longer and they start to get tough and dry.

If you want extra-extra crispy waffles, replace half of the buttermilk with whole or 2% milk. I tried this swap in one final test batch, and even though it breaks my 100% buttermilk rule, by golly it makes some crispy waffles.

Buttermilk Waffle Recipe that makes crispy waffles
Emma Christensen

How to Serve Waffles to a Crowd

The oven trick also neatly solves the problem of serving your whole family at once. Transfer each batch of waffles to the oven as they're ready, let them get crispy, and then serve. You can even make these buttermilk waffles a day or two ahead and crisp them in the oven (or a toaster!) just before serving.

Storing & Freezing Waffles

Waffles are a great make-ahead breakfast!

  • Refrigerator waffles: Store prepared waffles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  • Frozen waffles: Freeze waffles in a ziptop freezer bag with all the air pressed out for up to a month. (For longer storage, wrap stacks of waffles in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn and then place in freezer bags)
  • Reheating instructions: Refrigerated or frozen, reheat waffles individually in the toaster. Frozen waffles will likely need a few extra minutes to become toasty.

More Classic Breakfast Ideas!

Easy Buttermilk Waffles

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Servings 6 to 12 servings
Yield 6 to 12 waffles

For extra-crispy waffles, replace half of the buttermilk with whole milk and reduce the baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon.

Let your waffle iron fully heat before using or your waffles might not cook evenly.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1/4 cup melted butter for the waffle iron, optional

Method

  1. Warm the oven to 250°F:

    Set a wire metal cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and place in the oven. (You can also toast waffles directly on the oven rack, if you prefer.)

  2. Make the batter:

    Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

    In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and butter, followed by the eggs.

    Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Continue gently stirring just until you see no more streaks of dry flour.

    whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for the waffle recipe
    Emma Christensen
    Whisk together the buttermilk, butter, and eggs for the waffle recipe
    Emma Christensen
    Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture for the waffle recipe
    Emma Christensen
    Mix together the batter for the waffle recipe until no more streaks of flour remain
    Emma Christensen
  3. Rest the batter while your waffle iron warms:

    Cover the batter with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for at least five minutes while you warm the waffle iron. The waffle iron is ready when a drop of water sizzles on contact with the griddle.

  4. Make the waffles:

    Brush the waffle iron with melted butter, if you like. This helps give your waffles a golden color and prevents sticking, but isn't crucial for the recipe. Scoop 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter into each grid of the waffle iron and cook until golden, according to your waffle iron's instructions.

    Pour 1/3 to 1/2 cup of waffle batter into each of the wells on he waffle iron
    Emma Christensen
  5. Transfer the cooked waffles to the oven:

    When the waffles are done, transfer them to the cooling rack on the baking sheet in the oven. Place them in one single layer so that they crisp evenly on top and bottom, and so steam isn't trapped between layers. Let them toast for 5 to 10 minutes.

    Easy Waffle Recipe for Buttermilk Waffles
    Emma Christensen
  6. Cook the remaining waffles:

    Transfer each batch of waffles to the oven as they are ready. Waffles that have been toasting for a few minutes can now be stacked to make room for the following batches.

  7. Serve the waffles:

    Serve the waffles as soon as all batches are made and crisped. Let leftover waffles cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat briefly in the toaster until warmed and crisped.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
156 Calories
5g Fat
22g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 156
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 7%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 43mg 14%
Sodium 365mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 22g 8%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg 2%
Calcium 102mg 8%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 99mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.