Skip to main content

Spiced Chickpea Waffles

Spiced chickpea waffles with cucumber and tomato with tahini togurt on three plates.
Photo by Eva Kolenko

If you ever crave falafel in the morning, these waffles are for you. Made with chickpea flour, fresh herbs, and spices, they’re hearty, flavorful, and filled with plant-based protein. They’re best when they’re very crisp, so be sure not to undercook them—I typically give them a minute or two longer in the waffle iron than I would for a regular waffle.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘Love and Lemons Simple Feel Good Food’ by Jeanine Donofrio. Buy the full book on Amazon.

All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 6

Ingredients

For the Tahini Yogurt

1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
¼ cup tahini
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. ground cardamom
1 to 4 Tbsp. water, if necessary

For the Waffles

2½ cups chickpea flour, spooned and leveled
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
1½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1½ cups water
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
4 scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, grated
Freshly ground black pepper

Topping suggestions

Tahini Yogurt
Diced cucumber
Diced tomato
Fresh mint or cilantro leaves

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat a waffle iron and prepare your desired toppings. To make the tahini yogurt, stir together the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, and cardamom in a medium bowl. If the yogurt is too thick, thin with water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach your desired consistency.

    Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, baking powder, coriander, cumin, salt, cayenne, if using, and several grinds of pepper. Add the water, olive oil, cilantro, scallions, and garlic and stir until combined.

    Step 3

    Scoop ½ cup of batter for each waffle into a large Belgian waffle maker, or scoop an appropriate amount for your waffle maker. Cook for 4 to 9 minutes, or until golden brown and lightly crisp. The timing will depend on your waffle iron. I like to cook these savory waffles longer than sweet waffles to get them crisper. Serve with desired toppings.

Love and Lemons-COVER.jpeg
From Love & Lemons Simple Feel Good Food © 2023 by Jeanine Donofrio. Excerpted by permission of Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Photography by Jeanine Donofrio. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Penguin Random House.
Sign In or Subscribe
to leave a Rating or Review

How would you rate Spiced Chickpea Waffles?

Leave a Review

Read More
Poaching halibut allows you to treat the fish gently and avoid overcooking.
As the name suggests, this no-churn ice cream cake is super-simple to put together: a crunchy biscuit base filled with vanilla ice cream and a blackberry ripple
This lasagna skips the red sauce in favor of a spiced tomato-lentil mixture, generously layered with mozzarella and Parmesan between sheets of noodles.
Topped with a tangy sauce of grainy mustard, capers, and a hint of sriracha, these seared scallops make an easy but elegant dinner. 
This riff on pound cake subs out the plain ol’ butter for golden butter, or butter that is cooked just shy of brown butter.
Champagne is the perfect wine to pair with this braised chicken, not only because it’s festive but because the bubbles cut right through the creamy, mustardy pan sauce.
This vegan bánh mì is layered with marinated tofu and seitan flavored with char siu seasoning mix, plus a bean-based vegan pâté.
Traditionally served with tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs, malawach is a Yemeni flatbread that gets super flaky and crispy thanks to the butter in the dough.