Waffles beyond breakfast?

January 14, 2008 1:49 PM

I just got a waffle iron. Is there anything I can make with it besides the obvious?

I like waffles, but I rarely put much effort into making breakfast and probably won't be waking up early to create waffly goodness very often. And even if I did, I have a feeling I'd get tired of waffles after a while.

Is there anything you can make with a waffle iron besides breakfasty waffles, the type you top with butter/syrup/fruit? I've heard of cake waffles and chicken and waffles, but there's got to be more out there, right? I'm especially interested in savory recipes, since breakfast waffles have pretty much got the sweet bases covered.

My iron is "traditional" rather than Belgian - I guess this makes a flatter waffle; would this make a difference in any recipes I try?

Thanks in advance!

posted by Metroid Baby to food & drink (22 comments total)

Grilled cheese sandwiches.
posted by La Cieca at 1:51 PM on January 14, 2008

I've never tried this, but have always wanted to: put mashed potatoes in a waffle iron to make waffled potato fritters. You'll want to grease the iron pretty well for that.
posted by cosmicbandito at 1:54 PM on January 14, 2008

Waffle toast -- exactly as it sounds, with any type of bread. Tasty variety and delicious with jam.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 1:55 PM on January 14, 2008

Sweet Potato Waffles, ala Alton Brown. Absolutely delicious.
posted by General Malaise at 1:58 PM on January 14, 2008

Put plain mochi in the waffle iron and let it cook until good and crispy. (I just take a square that's been frozen, microwave it for 30 seconds to thaw and stick it in the waffle iron. I read a suggestion to grate it first but that was just stupid. Don't try to grate it.) Vegan cheese sauce is particularly good with the resulting mochi waffle. Mochi waffles, though, are a blank canvas for a variety of savory sauces.
posted by hecho de la basura at 2:03 PM on January 14, 2008

On some waffle irons you can turn the iron plates around, and they're flat on the other side. As mentioned those can be used for things like grilled cheese sandwiches or making quesadillas (sp?).
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 2:04 PM on January 14, 2008

I bet if you put a latke recipe in the waffle maker it would be awesome.
posted by rmless at 2:23 PM on January 14, 2008

Cornmeal waffles are yummy and can be served with salsa, marinara-type tomato sauce, sriracha, or whatever. If you google "savory waffles" you'll get lots more ideas.
posted by magicbus at 2:29 PM on January 14, 2008

take slices of thin bacon and cook it right into the waffle. Basically add batter, lay bacon across the top, add more batter of needed, cook. More of a lunch waffle really. You can also make more wheaty/nutty waffles and use them as bread ends for sandwiches. Also make sure you make some waffles with a real recipe that involves beating the egg whites and making a really light batter, it's a really different waffle than whatever Bisquick makes.
posted by jessamyn at 2:36 PM on January 14, 2008 [5 favorites]

take slices of thin bacon and cook it right into the waffle

I think I just fell in love with jessamyn.

Also: make sandwichy type things with gorgonzola and thin slices of pear and some watercress.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 2:51 PM on January 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Brownies. Cookies. Ham & Cheese Sandwiches. French Toast. Hash Browns. Reuben Sandwiches, and several other things!
posted by mewithoutyou at 2:58 PM on January 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Steven C. Den Beste seems to be implying that in order to make grilled cheese sandwiches your waffle plates must be reversible to feature a flat face. Untrue! Waffle-up that grilled cheese, ham-and-cheese, anything-and-cheese sammich, basically. Just butter the outside of the bread, load sandwich into waffle iron and panninify. Don't press too hard, though, or the melty goodness will squirt out, instead of remaining inside your delicious melty cheese sandwich where it should be.
posted by mumkin at 3:00 PM on January 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

These smoked salmon waffles are certainly good for breakfast/brunch, but I've eaten them for lunch and dinner, too.

Favorite waffle recipe: overnight yeast waffles from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything".
posted by veggieboy at 3:04 PM on January 14, 2008

Sour Cream, Cheddar, and Chive Potato Waffles - I've made these many times and they are delicious, particularly along side meatloaf.
posted by xsquared-1 at 3:17 PM on January 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

I've used cornbread batter in my waffle iron before, and it was pretty darn good.
posted by mjgrady at 3:18 PM on January 14, 2008

Mostly anything you can make on a George Foreman grill, you can do on a waffle iron instead. You may have to adjust cooking times a bit, since you won't have as much contact area between grill and food item.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 3:22 PM on January 14, 2008

Falafel waffle!
posted by ruevian at 3:33 PM on January 14, 2008

I know, I know, you want savory recipes only. But these are some of the most delicious waffles you'll eat, so recipe away:

1 waffles-worth of wafffle batter
generous handful sunflower seeds
smaller handful of raisins

pour a little bit of the batter on the plate. Sprinkle on the seeds and raisins. Cover with the remaining batter. Cook until golden and crispy. Sooooo good and more toothily satisfying than your strawberry waffle with ice cream.

This is just a guess, but I imagine that any muffin recipe (possibly with a bit of modification) will work in a waffle iron. Plenty of savory muffins out there. Something cheddar would be tasty.
posted by Deathalicious at 3:41 PM on January 14, 2008

Sourdough waffles are pretty good, too. Lots of recipes out there via Google.

If you want waffles for breakfast but don't want to get up early, make a whole bunch and then freeze them individually, in a size that fits in your toaster, to reheat later. I do this and it works great. Just let them cool on a wire rack before you freeze them. You can wrap in foil or whatever for the freezer, but if you flash-freeze* them they would hold up to being vacuum sealed pretty well, I think (and reduce freezer burn).

*Lay them on a cookie sheet in a single layer in freezer until frozen solid, and then they will not go squish when vacuum sealed.
posted by AllieTessKipp at 3:44 PM on January 14, 2008

ruevian: the correct term for a falafel waffle is "fawaffle". duh.

that's what i came in here to suggest, t0o. i have made it before and it's delicious.
posted by gnutron at 5:11 PM on January 14, 2008

You can top waffles with peanut butter.

Waffles with cheddar cheese added in the middle are delish.

Rasins or currants and oats can be sprinkled on the iron before adding the batter.
posted by yohko at 5:29 PM on January 14, 2008

Roti and Dosa
posted by sushiwiththejury at 10:35 AM on January 15, 2008