My Favorite Gluten-Free Waffles

October 2021. Fall in Memphis, and I am 62, walking the neighborhood in my light jacket, watching the leaves turn on the oaks and maples that line Deadrick Avenue. The smoker is happy in fall — the cooler air holds the smoke lower, keeps it closer to the meat, and the results are always a shade better in October than in July, as if the season itself is a seasoning.

Marcus and Angela in Whitehaven, building their family, their house full of the sounds I remember from our own early years — a baby's laugh, a spouse's voice, the daily music of people learning to live together. Naomi growing with the speed of childhood, each visit revealing a new word, a new capability, a new expression that catches my breath because it echoes someone I lost.

I made cornbread in the cast iron skillet — buttermilk, cornmeal, bacon drippings, the recipe that goes back to Mama and before Mama to her mama and before that to wherever the tradition began. Baked at 425 until golden and crusty, the edges dark and lacy, the center soft and crumbling. Some weeks cornbread is enough. Some weeks the simplest food is the most profound.

The week ended on the porch with Rosetta, the evening settling over Orange Mound, the smoker cooling in the backyard. The fire was banked but not out — it's never out, just resting between cooks, holding the heat the way I hold the tradition: carefully, permanently, with the understanding that what Uncle Clyde gave me is not mine to keep but mine to pass, and the passing is the purpose.

That cornbread skillet got me thinking about Naomi — about the day she’ll be old enough to stand beside me at the stove and watch how batter becomes something golden and whole. When Marcus asked me to write down something she could actually make with him now, on a Saturday morning, with whatever they had in the pantry, I thought about that same principle Mama taught me: start from scratch, use what the season gives you, and let the making be the lesson. These gluten-free waffles follow that same quiet law — simple ingredients, honest heat, and the kind of result that makes a child feel like the kitchen belongs to her too.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup whole milk (or unsweetened oat milk)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Nonstick cooking spray or additional butter for the waffle iron

Instructions

Heat the iron. Preheat your waffle iron according to its manufacturer’s instructions. A properly preheated iron is the difference between a waffle that steams open clean and one that tears.
Whisk the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, salt, and sugar until evenly combined. Gluten-free blends can clump — take an extra moment here.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth and uniform.
Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined. A few small lumps are fine — do not overmix, or the waffles will tighten up.
Rest the batter. Let the batter sit for 3 to 5 minutes. This allows the gluten-free flour to fully hydrate and gives you a lighter, more tender result.
Cook the waffles. Lightly grease the waffle iron with cooking spray or a small pat of butter. Pour enough batter to just fill the iron (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup depending on your iron’s size). Close the lid and cook until the steam slows and the waffle is golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Do not open early.
Keep warm and repeat. Transfer finished waffles to a baking rack on a sheet pan in a 200°F oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining batter. Stacking them causes steam and sogginess — lay them flat.
Serve. Plate with real maple syrup, fresh fruit, or a dusting of powdered sugar. These are sturdy enough to hold butter the way good cornbread does — right to the last bite.

Nutrition (per serving)

My Favorite Gluten-Free Waffles — When Grandma’s Cast Iron Teaches You to Start from Scratch