Changing how you present food to your kid can make a big difference to your child’s acceptance of that food. These Savoury Waffles are a great way to get your kids pleading for more vegetables!
I’ve named this dish “Savoury Waffles” simply because I’ve made them in a waffle machine. However, they aren’t your traditional decadent, doughy waffle. Really they are just a vegetable fritter in disguise.
As you can see, from the picture below, the mixture is made with very little batter. I’ve used half a cup of flour in this recipe but, in the past, I have managed to get away with using only a quarter. Having less batter, I believe, allows more of the sweet potato and carrots to be in contact with the plates, cooking them better.
These Savoury Waffles are made using sweet potato and carrots but the recipe can be easily adapted and you can try / hide a variety of vegetables in these delicious waffles. In addition to carrot I have tried:-
- grated onion
- grated zucchini (courgette)
- grated capsicum (bell pepper)
Other vegetables, I haven’t tried in this recipe but believe would work well, are:-
- grated parsnip
- grated squash
- corn
- peas
- finely chopped spinach
You can also make them with white potatoes, if you prefer, and add any herbs and spices to suit taste.
I recommend squeezing out the juice of the vegetables if you are adding different / more vegetables. The mixture will be too wet if you don’t do this. I usually place the grated vegetables on a clean dish cloth and squeeze until all the juice comes out.
NOTE: Don’t throw away this juice, it is full of goodness! I usually add it to pasta sauces, chilli, bolognese etc. You could also add it to smoothies.
Savoury Waffles can be used in so many ways. I love to accompany them with a variety of toppings such as
- hummus
- natural greek yoghurt
- cream cheese
- pesto
- tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot etc
You can also use them
- as the “bread” for sandwiches or
- pop them in a lunch box.
This is a great finger food for babies, I would recommend reducing the cheese or simply eliminating it, to reduce sodium levels. Young babies, doing baby-led weaning, will find the waffles easy to grip due to the textured surface.
I love serving vegetables in different ways. If you do to then why not try my savoury muffins, carrot and parsnip fritters, carrot and sweet potato fries, cauliflower tots and rainbow fritters.
Have you tried this recipe? I love hearing your feedback, please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram
Looking for more healthy kid recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more kind-friendly inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Savoury Waffles Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium (approx. 220g) Carrots, peeled and grated
- 1 medium (approx. 265g) Sweet Potato, peeled and grated
- 1 cup (125g) Cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup (70g) Plain Wholemeal Flour
- 1 Spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Chopped fresh parsley
- 3 Eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Add the grated carrot, sweet potato, cheese, spring onion, parsley and wholemeal flour into a large mixing bowl and stir until combined. SEE NOTE 1
- Add the eggs and mix well.
- Spray waffle machine with oil (if needed) and heat to a medium setting (if it has settings.)
- Place 2/3 - 1 cup of the mixture in the centre of the waffle machine and spread a little to the sides. Close and cook for approx. 5 mins, until browned, crispy and cooked through in the centre. Remove from waffle machine and place on a wire rack.
- Repeat until all the mixture has been used up.
Recipe Notes
- I used a food processor to grate the vegetables which I believe gives the best results. If you use a box grater then the vegetables can become mush and clump together. This will depend on how sharp your box grater is and the force you use. If very wet, I recommend squeezing some of the juice out (using a cheese cloth / clean dish cloth) before mixing with the flour and egg.
- You can easily change the vegetables you use in this recipe. I have, in the past, tried a mixture of grated onion, capsicum (bell pepper), zucchini (courgette). If adding other vegetables I recommend squeezing the juice out before mixing with the flour and egg.
Pritha Chowdhury says
Can oatmeal replace the whole meal wheat flour?
Amy says
Hi Pritha, I haven’t tested this so can’t say for sure. Sorry.
nurp says
I added oil but was not necessary because cheese was fatty enough.
added smoked paprika, salt, pepper.
don’t fill the iron too full unless you want soft. half full is better for crispiness.
this is amazing recipe!!
Amy says
Great! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Patricia says
This is an awesome recipe! Only thing – my waffle maker was broken (didn’t realise) but I managed with my ancient panini maker (it’s orange). This goes into my fave recipe collection. Thank you.
Amy says
Thanks Patricia 🙂
Pat says
Your nutritional facts are misleading. A serving is 1 gram?? ?
Amy says
Hi Pat, sorry that is confusing that was an error. I have fixed it now, nutritional info is based on 1 of 12 portions. Please note that nutritional information is only a rough guide and is calculated using an online nutrition calculator.
Pat says
Thank you. My partner is type 1 diabetic, carb counting has become an exact science. I appreciate your fix.
Sascha says
What could I use to replace the eggs? I have a kid with egg allergy 🙁
Amy says
Hi Sascha, I haven’t tested anything so can’t say for sure, sorry. You could try a chia egg and a little more cheese but I can’t guarantee the results.
Isabel Freire says
Hi! can I freeze the left over waffles?
Amy says
Hi Isabel, sorry for the delay. Yes you can freeze leftovers.
Tarley says
Hi there, Do you recommending freezing the cooked product or the uncooked mix?
Amy says
Hi Tarley, I always freeze the cooked product 🙂
Chase says
Hi. I have a very picky toddler who I don’t believe will try this if he can see the vegetables. Do you think it would be ok to blend them instead of grate them? Thanks!
Amy says
Hi Chase, sorry for the late response. To be honest I’m not sure how that would turn out and without trying I don’t want to say. I think it would be a little wet.
Marije says
Hi Amy, about to try your recipe, quick question. If I read it well, you don’t cook or steam the vegetables first? Have you ever tried that and how does it affect the waffles?
Amy says
Hi Marije, no need to cook before cooking. I haven’t tried cooking it beforehand, the mixture would be wetter and I would need to experiment to get correct ratios.
Patrick says
Top recipe because it’s versatile. Didn’t have sweet potato so I subbed with one each of red pepper, carrot, shallot and courgette. Grated all in food processor and placed in a sieve with a weighted bowl on top for twenty mins before mixing with the flour. Beat some smoked paprika and salt with the eggs then mixed all. In my not so powerful waffle maker they took 7 mins, no flipping. If I was somewhere with no waffle maker I’d just fry it in a little oil and congratulate myself on making a healthy meal.
Amy says
Thanks for your feedback and five stars, Patrick. So glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Chase says
I have been looking forward to making this for a while and just made it today. Sadly I didn’t think it was very good and won’t be making it again. Definitely needs salt and pepper and maybe some garlic powder.
Amy says
Thanks for the feedback Chase, this site is designed for babies and young children and so I don’t add salt to the recipes. I just presumed if making for an adult / older kid salt would be added, however many people comment that recipes lacked salt so I have started to write this salt should be added for adults on the post. Sorry you came across a post that didn’t mention this.
Sam says
Hi Amy,
Can I save the batter for later?
Amy says
Hi Sam, I haven’t actually stored the batter so can’t say how it would hold up. I’m sure it would be ok with a good mix before cooking.
Cheryl in Chan says
Hi Amy, thanks for the recipe! I’m excited to try. I am just curious if food processor grates the veggies? Mine seems to just finely chop. Will that be okay too?
Amy says
Hi Cheryl, my food processor has a grating disk that I use. Finely chopped may not work as they might not cook enough.
Diana Ash says
Just bought a waffle maker and this is the first recipe i tried on it. It was great! I didn’t have sweet potatoes, so i used potatoes and zucchini instead. My 4 and 2 yrs old enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing. And this is a great website. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Amy says
Thanks for your lovely comment, Diana. I’m delighted you enjoyed the recipe and hopefully you find many other recipes 🙂
Suzanne says
Incredible combination of healthy decadence. I added spiralized zucchini to the carrot, sweet potato & onion vegetable combination. My family raved about the flavour and texture – perfect! Next time spiralized beets will make it into the mix. Thank you for a great new idea.
Amy says
HI Suzanne, love that you love these! Great idea to add spiralized veg – will be trying beet too, sounds great!
Leonore says
Really liked the recipe and making it again tonight – only issue is that they don’t get crispy enough; and would probably add salt, pepper and other spices to the recipe!
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Amy says
Thanks for the feedback, Leonore. Hopefully, with the added salt and spices they will be perfect for you 🙂
Rachael says
I made these tonight for my daughter who is 9 months old. She LOVED it. I added corn & baby spinach. Yummy for mummy too!
Amy says
Thanks for the feedback, Rachael! Love that your little girl loved them 🙂
Sally says
Thanks for a great recipe, very versatile, served with avocado/tomato/coriander/jalapeño salad and bioled egg slices with sour cream on top. Delicious breakfast!!! I use GF flour and works well.
Amy says
Thanks so much for the feedback. So happy you liked the recipe and I’m loving what you served it with, sounds delicious!
Claudia Lamascolo says
what a great idea to make a savory waffle, never tried one. I would not only like to make these but intrigued on the flavors they must be fabulous!
Amy says
Thank you, Claudia! My kids love these, mainly because they are made in a waffle shape!
Fleur says
Looks delicious can’t wait to make these! What are the little star/flower things on the last picture?
Amy says
Hi Fleur, they are cucumbers. I just used a tiny cookie cutter to cut the shapes 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Aarti says
Is there an egg substitute I can use in this recipe?
Amy says
Hi Aarti, I haven’t tried any egg replacements in this recipe so can’t say how they would turn out. You could try using a chia or flax seed egg.
Sonia says
Hi Amy, do you think they’ll work with gluten-free flour?
Amy says
Hi Sonia, I haven’t tried this recipe with gluten free flour so can’t say for sure, sorry. I’d love to know how it goes if you try it.
Jay says
These turned out great! Thanks for all your amazing recipes! Will this recipe be suitable for freezing?
Thanks
Amy says
Thanks Jay, so happy they worked well for you. Yes these freeze well, my son has actually had them in his lunch box several days this week (he loves them!) . I pop them in frozen and they are defrosted for him by lunchtime.
Jessica says
Hi amy it looks great, thanks for sharing
Amy says
Thanks Jessica!
Michelle says
Looks great thanks. Which waffle machine are you using ? I need to buy one and would like one that’s reliable. Thanks!
Amy says
Hi Michelle, I got my one in Aldi (one of their specials). The brand is Ambiano, I find it works really well.
Elaine says
Needs to add salt as it came a bit tasteless without….or something salty
Amy says
Hi Elaine, I don’t add salt as I have a lot of parents who do baby-led weaning use my site. As my site has grown considerably I now detail this more in my recipes, explaining that you may wish to add salt for older children/adults. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Jenna says
I actually just made these in a normal frying pan, pressing the mixture down and then flipping. They tasted great and my girls really liked them. You don’t need a waffle machine.
Manuela says
But they do look cooler in a waffle shape 😀
Amy says
Yes they do!