This savory twist on a waffle is easy and fast. These potato or cauliflower waffles are a great simple go-to for a busy morning or breakfast for dinner, and I love that I can sneak in some frozen veggies.
I prefer to make these for my family with half store-bought hash browns and half cauliflower in the batter because my boys don’t notice the cauliflower that way. If it’s just going to be me and my hubby enjoying them, we love these with just cauliflower (no hash browns) for a delicious, nutrient-dense way to start the day.–Autumn Michaelis
Crispy Hash Brown Waffle FAQs
You absolutely can put your batter into a hot, oiled skillet and prepare just as you would pancakes or fritters. Watch your cooking time to ensure you get a browned and crispy outer layer. They will likely take 3 to 4 minutes per side.
It’s a root vegetable, most often sold in powdered form. You’ll see it used as a thickening agent in many gluten-free recipes as it is naturally gluten-free. You may also see it sold as arrowroot flour. It’s said that arrowroot has many health benefits such as weight loss and stimulating your immune system.
You could go the breakfast route and serve eggs and bacon or sausage and it would be delicious, or you could lay out a buffet of assorted toppings and let everyone dress their waffles as desired. We’re thinking taco waffles with seasoned meat, salsa, cheese, lettuce, and sour cream – or loaded waffles with bacon, cheddar, sour cream, and chives. Buffalo chicken waffles with blue cheese and drizzled ranch, bbq pork waffles with cole slaw… let your imagination run wild (and share your creations with us!)
Yes. Freeze your waffles in a single layer and store in a resealable plastic bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. Reheat in a waffle iron, microwave, or air fryer.
Crispy Hash Brown Waffles
Ingredients
- 3 cups store-bought frozen shredded hash browns or frozen riced cauliflower, or a mixture of both, thawed
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Optional: Salsa, sour cream, ketchup, or sauce of choice, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat a nonstick waffle iron.
- In a medium bowl, combine the hash browns, cauliflower, or a mixture of both. Add the eggs, oil, flour, garlic salt, and onion powder. Stir until the mixture is well combined.
- Fill the preheated waffle iron with the batter; the exact amount will vary based on the size of your waffle iron. (Keep in mind that this batter doesn’t rise or spread as much as regular waffle batter does, so you will probably need more batter than normal. If your batter is cauliflower only, really pack the cups so your waffles hold together.)
☞ TESTER TIP: For a crispier waffle, spread a thinner layer of the mixture across your waffle iron. For a thicker, fluffier waffle, use a thick layer of filling.
- Close the waffle iron and cook until the waffle is crispy and golden brown or your waffle maker indicates they are done. Timing will vary by iron.
☞ TESTER TIP: If your waffles are sticking, spray your waffle iron with cooking spray before making the next batch.
- Top with salsa, sour cream, ketchup, or your sauce of choice, and enjoy hot.
- Leftover waffles can be frozen in a single layer then stored in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat the frozen waffles in a waffle iron, microwave, oven, or air fryer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
My current “veggie kick” led me to make these waffled hash browns with just cauliflower. The cauliflower waffles were fast, tasty, and a great way to add concealed veggies to a meal.
My only caution is that you need to be fast between cooking and serving these, as I found mine to go from crispy to limp in 5 minutes or less. While this was unfortunate for the texture factor, the waffle shapes were still very enjoyable.
I used my Cuisinart griddle with waffle plates preheated to 375°F. My waffle plates have 4 slots of 4×3 inches. I used 1/4 cup of batter per slot by adding 2 cups at once and then accommodating the batter into each slot to assist in waffle removal.
Since the slower batter addition cooled my iron top lid, I had to turn each waffle to ensure both sides were crispy. This was not difficult. I never had this issue with regular batter before, so I’m assuming that it’s because of the denser veggie filling.
Each batch cooked in a total of 9 minutes with 1 minute being the turning and crisping of the top side. My waffles were crispy on the outside with creamy interiors. Since the exterior crispiness was short-lasting, I recommend having the toppings ready.
In as much as the filling of the waffle iron was a bit longer than usual and each waffle needed to be turned on the iron plates, the 4 waffles per batch were convenient for eating while still crispy.
I made mine as a “breakfast for dinner” meal with a side of Japanese style cucumber salad. For toppings, we had a trio of kewpie mayo with Thai chili jam, kewpie mayo and blue cheese, and yogurt with spicy chili crisp.
I found the interior to be a bit greasy and in future would reduce the amount of oil and forgo the mayo topping even though it was negligible. The tangy yogurt topping was the favourite. Salsa would have worked well too.
The garlic salt was sufficient salt as each person added their own salt and pepper to taste. A sprinkle of chopped scallions greens and some basil freshened up the flavours.
While this is not a recipe that I’d make frequently, I would keep it in my repertoire of fun veggie foods. You never know when you’re going to need a concealed veggie treat…
These hash brown waffles were fun to make and very tasty, and my spouse suggested I add some cheese or even caramelized onions into the next batch.
These took a bit longer to cook than I thought, but then I used a rather inexpensive Presto brand 7-inch Belgian waffle maker that doesn’t get as hot as it could. I used about 1 1/2 cups of waffle mixture per waffle, and they took 15 minutes to cook. I kept them warm in the oven until all were baked.
I think next time I’ll try these as fritters. I served it along with a leftover savory and peppery Italian beef stew.
I love that this waffle iron hash brown recipe can be done spur of the moment with items that I have in my pantry and it’s quick and easy to boot. It also gives you another reason to get that waffle iron out!
I used 2 cups hash brown and 1 cup cauliflower rice. I also brushed my non-stick waffle iron generously with oil for each batch. I think it needs it with the starchy potatoes and I’m glad I did as the waffles had to be coaxed off a bit but they came out just fine.
The result was a yummy savory waffle that I will make again. We ate them with sliced avocado, sour cream, and salsa. I put the leftovers in the fridge and the next day put in the toaster to crisp up and then had with a soft egg on top. Both preparations were delicious.
These are so tasty and an interesting take on breakfast hash browns! I loved that I was able to add riced cauliflower and it was completely undetectable.
I did 2 cups of potatoes and 1 cup of riced cauliflower. These were great with ketchup and reheated well in a dry skillet. They were a bit oily, and I would use only 3T of olive oil instead of 1/4c next time. I’d recommend making a double batch (keeping them warm in the oven) because these are really tasty!
