Looking for easy fall breakfast ideas? These homemade simple pumpkin waffles definitely need to happen in your waffle maker this autumn!
A Note from Nora
We ♡♡♡ pumpkin waffles! My recipe makes a quick batter from scratch with an entire cup of pumpkin, eggs, flour, pumpkin spice (obviously!) and milk.
Pumpkin tends to make baked goods dense, so make sure the batter isn’t overmixed. If you want to be extra-thorough, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks before adding them to the batter! Then they bake up to crispy and fluffy perfection in your waffle iron, ready to be loaded with your favorite healthy toppings for breakfast (or ice cream for dessert!).
How to Make Pumpkin Waffles
Read on for the detailed step-by-step ingredients and instructions, or scroll down for tips and the printable recipe card.
Watch the recipe video:
Ingredients for Pumpkin Waffles
Pumpkin waffles are wonderfully fall-spiced breakfast idea. Perfect for lazy weekends or holiday breakfasts – Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas are all a great occasion!
You Need:
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 – 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice (click here for my homemade pumpkin spice mix recipe)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (NOT 1 can! 1 cup is 1/2 of a 15-oz can)
Ingredient Swaps
- this recipe works great with almond milk in place of regular milk
- use oil in place of the melted butter to make it completely dairy free (it will alter the taste a little, but I often make these with oil when I’m too lazy to melt butter, and they still taste amazing)
- replace half of the flour with whole wheat flour for a nuttier taste
- use granulated sugar in place of the brown sugar; or skip it entirely to keep these naturally sweetened
- if you don’t have pumpkin spice, use 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon allspice and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (cut back on the ground ginger if making these for little kids)
- separate the eggs and beat the egg whites to stiff peaks before adding them to the batter for even fluffier and crisper waffles
Equipment Needed to Make Pumpkin Waffles
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You need the following equipment ready
- measuring cups and spoons
- a large bowl for the batter
- a large measuring jug for the wet ingredients
- a whisk to mix the wet ingredients thoroughly
- a rubber spatula to fold the wet and dry ingredients together
- a cookie scoop (this makes transferring the batter to the waffle iron SO easy!)
- a waffle iron
PS how adorable is this pumpkin waffle maker?!*
And if you don’t have a large cookie scoop for baking yet (I use it for muffins, waffles, pancakes all the time!) – get yourself one:*
Steps
Making pumpkin waffles is such a great fall tradition – and they are so quick and easy to whip up!
1 – Combine the dry ingredients:
Place all dry ingredients in a medium-large mixing bowl and combine them very well.
Note:The reason you want to combine the dry ingredients very well?
- You want the baking powder and baking soda very evenly distributed, to make sure the waffles rise evenly; and
- you can’t mix the batter a lot once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, so you have to make sure that baking powder is evenly distributed now!
2 – Combine wet ingredients:
Add all wet ingredients to a separate bowl or measuring jug (a measuring jug is handy here for mess-free pouring!) and use a whisk to mix them very well until smooth.
I find it’s easier to combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the pumpkin first, then add the pumpkin and mix again until smooth.
Note:For even fluffier and crisper waffles, separate the eggs. Mix the yolks with the other wet ingredients, but beat the egg whites separately.
Click here for my tutorial on how to separate eggs.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients first, then fold through the egg whites.
3 – Make the batter:
Now, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula (NOT a whisk!! a whisk will overmix the batter) to fold them together just until combined.
The batter will be thick and lumpy, that’s fine.
4 – Bake the waffles:
All that’s left to do is baking the waffles in your waffle iron!
Follow your waffle iron’s manuafacturer’s instructions to preheat the iron, and to bake the waffles. Make sure to grease the iron well!
Since pumpkin waffles have a heavy batter, I find it best to cook these on medium-high heat for a little longer than regular waffles.
Note: How to know when to open your waffle iron?
It’s generally safe to open the iron once it has mostly stopped steaming! If no more HEAVY steam comes out of the iron, it means the wet ingredients have mostly cooked and it’s safe to open the iron to check on the waffles without ripping them apart.
Nora’s Tips for the Perfect Pumpkin Waffles:
Make sure you don’t overmix the batter.
When stirring the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, you want them to be just mixed. If you whisk both together really hard, the waffles will turn out more dense and chewy instead of light and fluffy. Scroll back up to the recipe video to see what my batter looks like!
Click here for more tips for how to make homemade waffles!
Bake them correctly
Because of the pumpkin, the waffles are quite soft as-is. If you don’t bake them right in your waffle iron, they will not turn out the way they should.
Use medium-high heat and allow the waffle maker to fully heat up before greasing.
Bake the waffles until they are crispy on the outside. They will crisp up more once they’re out of the waffle maker and soften back up if left at room temperature for too long.
The waffles might look a bit gooey when cut into while warm, but if you tear them you should see how fluffy they are.
Make-Ahead and Freezer Instructions:
If you want to make the waffles the day before, this is what I suggest:
Bake the waffles as instructed. Once you remove them from the waffle iron, immediately place them on a cooling rack.
Once the waffles have cooled down, cover them with a clean kitchen towel and leave them at room temperature.
The waffles will feel soft in the morning, but don’t worry! Pop them into the toaster until they’re hot and crispy.
How to freeze pumpkin waffles:
Bake the waffles as instructed. Once you remove them from the waffle iron, immediately place them on a cooling rack.
Once the waffles have completely cooled down, place them into freezer bags individually. Alternatively, place them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and freeze until solid before transferring stacks of waffles to freezer bags.
Freeze the waffles for up to three months. Reheat them in a toaster. Alternatively, bake them on a lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes at 350°F in your preheated oven.
What to serve with pumpkin waffles:
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love:
Print the Recipe:
Simple Pumpkin Waffles Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 teaspoons pumpkin spice use ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg if you don't have pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup canned pumpkin NOT 1 can
Equipment
- waffle iron
Instructions
- In a large bowl stir together the dry ingredients. In a measuring cup whisk the eggs, milk, maple syrup and melted butter well, then stir in the pumpkin purée.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Bake the waffles in your waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Video
Nutrition (this is an estimate)
P.S: Want more pumpkin recipes? Check out our collection of canned pumpkin recipes!
fedna
i had tried this recipe and this was great, i didn’t have maple syrup so i swap it with honey, i’m not sure how the maple was support to taste but the this recipe was amazing. the waffle was fluffy i did the separating the egg white and yolk method and it was good . Good job 🙂
L Frank
Easy to make, made a double batch to use up an entire can, tastes great. Might whip the egg whites next time for extra fluffiness and crispness.
Linda
Added choc chips per some previous commenters’ requests and wow, perfect fall brunch recipe!
Taylor N
These look amazing but I only have Pumpkin Pie spice . Could I Substitute pumpkin pie spice for the spices it calls for ?
Nora
Hi Taylor, yes you can absolutely! If you have cinnamon, I would do a mix of pure cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Otherwise just use pumpkin spice mix to taste!
Vicky
These were very easy to mix (doubled the recipe) and would have been better if I’d remembered to add the melted butter!
Jenn
Hi! I’m so excited to try these! How many ounces was your can on pumpkin??
Nora
Hi Jenn! Hope you’ll love the waffles 🙂 I used 1 CUP of pumpkin puree in this recipe, with is about 1/2 of a 15-ounce can. Hope that helps 🙂
Becky
Sooo yummy! Thanks for the recipe. I’ve tried pumpkin waffles before, and my kids snubbed them. This recipe was a hit! I tried a batch with chocolate chips and walnuts, and it was equally delicious.
Nora
Yay, that’s amazing Becky! I’m so glad the waffles turned out well for you and the kids loved them. Great idea with the chocolate chips and walnuts – I’ll have to try that with the pumpkin I still have in the freezer. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review – I appreciate it very much!
Candy C
Made these this morning to use up some leftover canned pumpkin and they are awesome! I used 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice and they were nice and spicy. Thanks for such a quick and easy recipe.
Nora
Candy, I’m so happy you enjoyed the waffles! Thank you for coming back to review the recipe – I appreciate it very much.
Cindy
Loved them!!! I only had Maple Praline Sugar Free Syrup so I used it…. wonderful. Has anyone made them using a gluten free four ?
Nora
Hi Cindy, I’m so happy you liked the waffles. I have not made this particular recipe with gf flour, but I frequently make banana waffles with buckwheat flour. I think the pumpkin might provide enough stability for it to be fine – maybe add some chia gel if you’re not using a readily-mixed gluten free baking blend. Let us know how it goes if you end up testing! One issue that might happen is that the batter sticks to the waffle iron too much. In that case you could simply turn it into pancakes 🙂
Susan
We tried this for dinner. They were delicious.♥️ I did make a few adjustments… I used self rising flour and added pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon instead of other sipices. I also used maple sugar instead of maple syrup. Turned out magnificent!!
Nora
I’m so happy to read this, Susan! I’m glad you liked the pumpkin waffles and your adjustments sound like a great idea! Thanks for reviewing the recipe – I appreciate your time so much!
Larry
Made these today, my wife and I both thought they were exceptional. Delicious!!!!!! You described them perfectly, yet they still exceeded expectations. Thank you.
Nora
I’m very happy you and your wife enjoyed the pumpkin waffles, Larry! They’re one of our fall favorites. Thanks for taking the time to review the recipe – I appreciate it so much!
Larry
You’re so welcome. Just wanted to let you know I did bake and freeze the leftovers. They were just as wonderful the next day. Spice flavor may have come out more. Thanks again for the keeper. I liked your page on Facebook and look forward to more of your recipes.