These banana waffles, with added blueberries, are sweetened only with fruit. A healthy waffle recipe that is perfect for baby-led weaning but are also sure to be a hit with all ages. Make extra, so you can freeze them to have a healthy breakfast or snack ready when you need it.
Reasons to Love these Banana Waffles
- FRUIT SWEETENED: The World Health Organisation recommend that children under two should not consume any added sugar. These waffles are sweetened with banana and blueberries.
- TEXTURE: Crispy and soft, with bursts of blueberries, allowing your little one to explore different textures.
- CUSTOMISABLE: Easily customised to suit dietary needs. Dairy Free – Use a plant-based milk Egg Free – Use a flax egg Gluten Free – use a gluten free flour blend.
- FREEZABLE: Make a batch and freeze for a quick and easy snack option.
Watch How to Make Them
Ingredient Information and Substitutes
- BANANA – sweetens and adds flavour.
- EGGS – adds tenderness and provides structure. If you want waffles without eggs, you can substitute with a flax egg.
- FLOUR – I used a combination of 50% all purpose (plain) flour and 50% plain wholemeal (whole wheat) flour. You can alter the ratios to suit your family’s taste / health needs. The texture will be heavier if using a higher ratio of whole wheat. You can replace with a gluten free blend.
- MILK – You can use regular milk or non-dairy milk (have tested with almond milk)
- OIL – Any neutral tasting oil will work, or for a coconut flavor, you can use melted coconut oil.
- BLUEBERRIES – Blueberries are delicious in banana wafffles. You can replace with other chopped berries or chocolate chips (if you are looking for something a little more indulgent)
- VANILLA & CARDAMOM – For flavour, can be skipped if you prefer
Process Shots and Cooking Tips
To ensure delicious, soft banana waffles,
- MIX DRY INGREDIENTS – Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. The flours, oats, baking powder and cardamom.
- MIX WET INGREDIENTS – Mash the banana first and whisk in the egg and oil then add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined
- COMBINE WET & DRY INGREDIENTS – Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine. Just like pancakes or muffins, you want to be gentle when mixing the wet and dry ingredients together.
Only stir until just mixed.
As you can see from the picture, the waffle batter is pretty thick. - ADD BLUEBERRIES – stir until just combined.
- ADD BATTER TO WAFFLE IRON – Once waffle iron is ready, spray with oil (if your iron requires this) and add about 1 cup of batter. (This is the amount that worked best in my waffle maker but the amount may vary depending on the waffle iron size.)
- COOK – Cook according to manufacturer instructions, I cooked for around 4-5 minutes.
Remove and place on a cooling rack, repeat until batter has finished.
As waffles sit, they loose their crispiness, you can place in a 95°C /200° F oven to keep warm while continuing to cook the rest of the batter.
Be sure not to stack the waffles to prevent them from getting soggy.
Healthy Waffle Topping Ideas
- Natural Yogurt
- Fruit Compote
- Chia Jam
- Peanut Butter
- Fresh Fruit
Storage Instructions
These waffles can be refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 2 days. However, they are best stored in the freezer.
Freeze on a baking tray, until solid then place in a freezable bag and store for up to 1 month.
Reheat in a hot oven (175°C / 350°F) until crisp and warm
Frequently Asked Questions
These waffles can be a great snack or breakfast for babies. Cut them into fingers to make them easy to pick up (see picture above). Once the pincer grasp is established you could cut them into small squares. Great served with yogurt which adds fat and protein for a more balanced snack.
This will really depend on you and your baby. Once your baby has progressed onto finger foods then they should be able to manage these waffles. These waffles do contain common allergens: dairy and gluten. You should only serve this to a baby (6 months +) once these allergens have been introduced safely.
Try to focus on offering your baby lots of cooked vegetables before moving on to waffles.
The blueberries go very soft and squishy when baked and I was more than happy serving these to my kids when they were babies/toddlers. You can always chop the blueberries if you prefer.
This really depends on the recipe. Many waffle recipes have a lot of oil and sugar. This recipe is healthier because it is fruit-sweetened and half the flour is substituted with wholemeal, which is a good source of fibre.
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Banana Blueberry Waffles
Equipment
- Waffle Iron
Ingredients
- 2 Ripe Bananas
- 1 Egg
- 1½ tablespoons Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup (250ml) Milk
- ¼ cup (25g) Rolled Oats
- ½ cup (70g) All-Purpose / Plain Flour
- ½ cup (70g) Wholemeal Plain Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Cardamon
- ½ Cup (80g) Blueberries
Instructions
- Mix the flours, oats, cardamom and baking powder together.
- Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg and stir until combined. Add the oil and whisk again. Add the milk and vanilla and stir until mixed well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently stir until just combined. The batter should be cake-like in texture. It will be thick, not runny, but pourable.
- Add the blueberries and stir once more.
- Preheat waffle iron. Once iron is ready, spray with cooking spray (not all waffle machines require this)
- Add approx 1 cup of batter to the waffle iron (adjust based on size of waffle iron) and cook according to manufacturer instructions. (Mine took 4-5 mins)
- Remove and place on a cooling rack. Repeat until batter has finished.
Video
Recipe Notes
This recipe was first published in Feb 2017, the post has been updated to include process shots, more information and a video. The recipe has also been altered slightly to reflect reader feedback. If you wish for the original recipe please email me and I can send it.
Ayza says
Hello! These looks great! Planning to make them tomorrow. Can I use frozen blueberries? Thanks! X
Amy says
Hi Ayza, sorry for the delay.Yes, you can use frozen. Did you try it?
Mariann George says
Can you freeze this batter
Amy says
Hi Mariann, I haven’t tested freezing the batter but the cooked waffles freeze well. 🙂
Cheryl says
Very delicious! Our whole family enjoyed it, inclutt dt in my 11 month old. Thank you!
Amy says
Excellent! Thanks for all your kind feedback, Cheryl 🙂
Helen says
After the success of the apple waffles last week, we had these this morning – absolutely delicious made with a mix of plain and wholemeal flours. The only reason I don’t give 5 stars is that even with the oil they stuck a lot, but they were seriously scrummy. 8 month old ate one and a half all to herself! We served with all the toppings you suggested and can’t wait to do them again.
Amy says
Thanks for the feedback, Helen. I’m glad your little one is enjoying the recipes 🙂
Jeanie Ready says
These were not good. From the texture to the flavor, they were not good.
Amy says
Sorry you didn’t enjoy these, Jeanie.
Vanessa says
Big hit with my husband and 22 month old. I love that is had the oats in it for extra nutrition and thou couldn’t even notice
Amy says
Great! Glad they were husband and toddler approved and thanks for taking the time to rate and leave a comment 🙂
Joanna says
Hi there, this looks like an amazing recipe I can’t wait to try so thank you for sharing! Could I ask how many this recipe makes approx?
Lily says
Could you substitute the milk for oat milk?
Amy says
Hi Lily, I’d say that should work well but as I haven’t tried it I can’t say for sure.
Dana says
Could you do without the oats?
Amy says
Hi Dana, you could try – you might have to add a little more flour though. Let me know how it goes!
Katie says
Do you think this would work for baby led weaning?
Amy says
Hi Katie, I would have let my son have this when he was a baby (also doing baby-led) ??
Katie says
Great, thanks!! Another question- do you think I could replace the egg? With applesauce?
Amy says
Hi Katie, I haven’t tried it personally so can’t say for sure but I would definitely say it is worth a try.
Anita says
I used a flax seed egg and soy milk to make it vegan and it worked well! Thank you.
I had to have it for million years in the waffle iron so it wouldn’t stick though
Amy says
Hi Amy
Would these work as normal pancakes?
Amy
Amy says
Hi Amy, yes you can make pancakes from the batter…. hope you enjoy x
Anja says
I’m still dreaming about a waffle maker, but once we get one I’ll definitely need to try your recipe! Sounds like a great healthy treat that the whole family would enjoy!