Classic Buttermilk Waffles
These easy buttermilk waffles are a family favorite. In fact, I haven’t made another classic waffle recipe in so many years because they are perfect!
This is my all-time favorite, tried-and-true recipe for waffles.
I will not make another recipe as long as I have buttermilk in the refrigerator (and if you don’t have buttermilk in the fridge, don’t fret, here’s a great tip on easy substitutions).
They are light and fluffy and absolutely delicious. And they work great with whole wheat flour (or half all-purpose flour, half whole wheat flour)!
On another note, have you ever tried waffles with cheese? Don’t run away! Hear me out. Brian introduced me to cheese waffles when we were dating, and I was a huge skeptic at first. Can you blame me? But I quickly converted.
You have to dismiss the idea that the cheese on the waffle is reminiscent to cheese on pizza. It’s nothing like the gooey, mounds of cheese you may be thinking of. Instead, it is a light, crunchy, salty texture that pairs so well with the sweet syrup and bready waffle.
Right after pouring the batter into the waffle iron, sprinkle a couple tablespoons of shredded cheddar cheese on top and promptly close the waffle iron to let the magic happen.
It is worth trying, and hey, if you don’t like it, then no worries because these waffles are delicious without.
FAQs for Classic Buttermilk Waffles
If you keep them in a warm oven, that will keep the waffles crispy on the outside.
Be sure NOT to overmix the batter- that can make the texture kind of rubbery. It’s okay to to still see a few dry spots.
Yes! We serve cheese wafles with maple syrup- it makes a great sweet u0026 salty combination!
Classic Buttermilk Waffles
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk (see note)
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients; combine the wet and dry ingredients just until smooth.
- For an 8-inch round waffle iron, use about 1/3 cup batter (adjust according to waffle iron size). Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the iron stops steaming.
- If making cheese waffles, pour 1/3 cup batter on waffle iron and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese over batter before closing iron.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from King Arthur Flour’s Baking Companion
Have tried a few waffle recipes, that were ok. Decided to try one more, this one, and they turned out so nice. My favourite for sure. I have never used buttermilk and don’t have around, so thank you for the tip with regular milk and cream of tartar. Worked perfectly. What can I say, your recipes are wonderful, and I have tried several so far, haven’t been disappointed yet. Thank you Mel
Delicious and easy to follow recipe! My husband and children surprised me with a waffle maker, and to “christen” it, he made waffles (I didn’t even supervise or anything lol). He came here, did a quick search, and made these yummy waffles, which everyone declared their favorite, of course. Thanks for making things easy — even for the ones who aren’t “regulars” in the kitchen.
I forgot to say we’ve made it several times since then, and still a keeper. We triple the recipe for our family of 7 eaters, but baby is getting older and will have 2 teen boys soon, so we’ll probably be quadrupling this next time. 😉
Made this today and the waffles were incredible. I did put some walnuts in my waffles, but other than that no changes. So easy!
These waffles are so yummy!! We’ve made them for years and they never disappoint.
HmmmI loved the flavor of these waffles, but I’m hoping for some advice/instruction. My turned out really floppy kinda almost soggy. Any ideas?
What brand/kind of waffle iron do you have? Do you think they need to be cooked longer?
Gosh I don’t even know what brand. It’s a really old one. I will try cooking them longer next time or I was wondering maybe it’s time for a new waffle iron!! Thank you!!
We’ve been using Mel’s Buttermilk Waffle recipe for 12 years now and it’s become a recipe that holds some of my favorite simple memories making and eating them with my children. This one is a keeper. Thanks Mel!
These turned out really badly. I don’t know what went wrong! I followed the recipe exact. The batter was super fluffy, but the waffles them selves were deflated, flat and sour.
We love cheese waffles! We also put cooked bacon in ours!
I just realized that I totally left the eggs out!! The waffles were very good without the eggs,. The next time I will try them with egg whites only. My husband is not a fan of eggs, so it all worked out.
For once, my bad cooking paid off.
These waffles are light and delicious!!
My daughter has been requesting buttermilk waffles…your site to the rescue! These were excellent and so easy… doubled their recipe to freeze extra. Thanks!
Has anyone made these with a dairy milk substitute like almond or coconut milk?
So delicious! Made them with half whole wheat half white and I couldn’t even believe they had whole wheat in them. They we so tender and light. An easy but special breakfast for conference morning! Made the full recipe and had about 3 waffles leftover after two adults and two little kids ate their fill. Perfect!
Winner winner chicken dinner!! These are so good! Made them tonight with some leftover buttermilk. Best decision!! My waffle maker is dreadfully slow. I always warm my oven, & place the cooked waffles on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet. This ensures that they don’t get soggy on any side. Thanks for the recipe, Mel! You are the best!
We made these for dinner with chicken tenders, and they turned out pretty good. We thought they were a little salty, so will try it with 1/2 tsp. of salt next time, but this might be because we weren’t eating them with syrup. Thanks for the recipe!
Fantastic! absolutely delicious reminds us of a favorite breakfast restaurant we love! Definitely recommend!
I have a question I tried to find an answer to in the comments but with no luck. When I make my waffles they come out of the waffle iron crispy but after being on a plate for less than a minute they become soggy. Any suggestions to keep them crispy? ~
If they aren’t getting eaten right away, I’ve heard keeping them in a warm oven can help them stay crispy on the outside.
Thanks Mel, you are my turn-to for sweet, savoury and everything in between! These waffles were a Christmas hit, crisp even with wholewheat flour. Cheers from B.C.!
We love these! Crisp and delicious.
We tripled the recipe and made these on Sunday. They were amazing! My kids were singing praises about the waffles. “This is amazing. These are the best waffles ever.” Some of us ate them for leftover dinner tonight. This recipe beats out the much harder recipe my husband has always made involving beating egg whites. This is our new number one waffle recipe. Thank you!
Thanks, Tracy – glad you loved this one!
Amazing recipe! I always triple and have my own “real” freezer waffles handy.
Wonderful! Crisp and light. I did half butter and half oil for extra crispness and ALWAYS use real buttermilk. It just makes it for us!
So so good!! Made these for my hubby for Father’s Day breakfast with fresh berries and whipped cream.
I made these with chocolate chips….OMG! They were ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!
so good! i was going to make your overnight pancakes but my family voted on waffles instead, so i search your site and found this recipe. i doubled it the recipe and used 1/2 white whole wheat flour. turned out perfectly! i love that i can always count on you for reliable, delicious recipes!
First time making waffles, easy to make and family enjoyed. Will make again!
Made these for the first time tonight. HOLY SMOKES!!!! SO SO GOOD! I used a belgian waffle maker (the really thick, deep waffle iron) and they were fantastic. I used half all purpose flour and half white wheat flour w/ great results. Also THANK YOU for that cheese idea—so random but SOOOO YUMMY!!
These were so good! Buttermilk is everything. I’ll try the cheese on the waffles (it actually sounds good!) if you’ll try spam in them. Dice it up and throw it on the waffle iron before you put the batter on. I know it sounds classy , but it’s so good.
Mel~ I made these tonight for the first time and it will be the only waffle I ever make again!
For years, I had a go-to waffle recipe that I adored, but the second I tried this, I was sold for life! In fact, this recipe marks the first time I EVER made something with buttermilk, and this recipe is now also the reason that I always have buttermilk on hand now. This is my waffle recipe for life!
I was a little skeptical about adding the cheese so I made half with cheese & half without & my family loved adding the cheese. The only leftovers we have are the waffles without cheese. Thanks for the adventures in cooking!
That made me happy (and my husband even more happy since he’s the one that introduced me to cheese waffles!).
Delicious!!! Love it with hard white whole wheat flour. So hearty and filling 🙂
I just wanted you to know how much my family and I LOVE this recipe!! We have been making it for years and I’m not sure I’ve ever commented on it, so today is the day! I really love it because it does “double duty” for me…chicken and waffles for supper and then we have them the next day for breakfast. Thank you so much for all of your hard work..my family thanks you too!!
Thanks so much, Hilary!
Hey Mel! Just wondering if I added maybe 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter to the batter would I need to decrease on any of the other ingredients?
No, you should be able to add it without altering anything else (I’ve added almond butter this way before and it was delicious).
Hi! I have made these waffles many, many times and we love them. I did just today notice something about the weight measurement for the flour, though. (I actually noticed when I was reading your new chocolate peanut butter brownie recipe while I was waiting for waffle to cook). Both recipes call for 1 3/4 cups of flour, but the waffle recipe says 7 1/4 oz flour and the brownie recipe says 8.75 oz. I know you’ve said that you generally follow 1 cup flour = 5 oz.
Anyway, no biggie, just thought I’d ask! Thanks for all your super fab recipes!
Hey Adrienne – great question! And astute observation. 🙂 The waffle recipe is an “old” recipe on my site and is from King Arthur Flour – they give their own weight measurements and use less than 5 ounces per cup of flour, if that makes sense. I think way back then when I posted this recipe, I used their weight measurements (it was long before I started incorporating more weight measures into my every day recipes). But you make a good point – if you are weighing the flour, it doesn’t make a difference, but if you are measuring it out, I’d end up measuring out more like 1 1/2 cups of flour, not 1 3/4 cups. I’ll edit the recipe to state that. 🙂
Hey Mel! I made these tonight for dinner and they were amazing!! I have 3 boys, and they were all THRILLED to have waffles tonight! Like, I haven’t seen them that happy to eat dinner in a very long time! If only every night was like this, right!
But I have to ask, how the heck do you make waffles and still be able to eat these with your family??!!? I dream of sitting down with a pile of ready, hot waffles on the table for everyone to enjoy together! I swear, for the first 30 minutes (I tripled the recipe….so glad I did that!!) I constantly had one child (husband included) standing at my side waiting for the next waffle to be ready. I couldn’t keep up! I was lucky to sneak a waffle or 2 away for myself to eat.
Do you have any tips or tricks in that department? Thanks!!
I hear you! Usually I just man the waffle station and eat while I’m making them but when we’ve had company, I’ll make the waffles and put them on a large cookie sheet and keep them warm in a 250 degree oven until we are ready to eat. The outsides don’t stay as crispy but they’re still delicious (as long as they aren’t kept warming for longer than 20 minutes or so).
My Christmas-gift waffle maker took its maiden voyage with these today, and they were fantastic. I can always count on your site for a perfect recipe – thanks!
So I made these dairy free, even lemon juice in the soy milk for butter milk. I used 1/2 c. coconut oil and they turned out delicious! 🙂
Have been making these for the past few months and we love them every time! My 5 year old requests them often and will eat the leftovers for each subsequent meal until they’re gone! Great recipe! Thanks!!
Loved!! ours did not get as high as yours, but all the more reason to try again next weekend!! Thanks Mel! Now. . .onto the Banana bars. . . .
Yum these are amazing!! So easy to make and freeze very well! No more Eggos for us! Thank you!
New go to recipe! I want to try your overnight one sometime too. I switch this one up with my Grandma’s jubilee waffle recipe.
For a real treat serve with berries and whipped cream. 🙂
You saved the day…again! We had a herd of teenagers at our house at 5:00 this morning for an April Fool’s Day “kidnapping.” Thank goodness for your amazing recipe. Plus, doing half with cheese gave the brave ones a special treat!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love my Betty Crocker recipe but love to try new things. Speaking of cheese, I make yummy banana bread and my aunt loves to eat a piece of banana bread with a slice of cheese on it. I tried it and it is quite delicious!
I made a double batch of these yesterday morning–12 of them. They were really good. We actually liked them reheated/toasted in the oven on both sides today than right out of the waffle maker. They were a little soft coming out of the machine, but crisped up really nicely after being toasted. I used to use a waffle recipe from Everyday Reading, which I really loved, but realized it had way too much oil in it (although they were very crispy!). I like this one because I used the lower amount of fat (and did use all white whole wheat flour). Very yummy breakfast/dinner recipe.
So I am pregnant and was craving waffles SO badly yesterday and I remembered that Carrian at Oh Sweet Basil had given me the link to your buttermilk waffles and said they were her favorite. So I made them this morning (with 1 cup of white wheat subbed in) and topped them with bananas and my buttermilk syrup…oh my goodness I thought I died and went to heaven. They SO hit the spot for me and my husband ate SO many of them. They will be our new go to recipe! Thanks so much…I might have to make them again tomorrow…
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I cant get these to look like yours! Should the batter be thick? Mine was very thin, even after adding a bit more flour. I fear I may have overmixed it? The end result was thin and flimsy, not at all like the ones in your photo. They tasted good, though. Will just need to work on the presentation.
Megan G – Definitely don’t overmix – that can make the texture of the waffles kind of rubbery. It’s ok to still see a few dry spots.
Mixing by hand solved my problem completely. Fantastic waffles. I cant wait to enjoy the leftovers.
Thanks for this waffle recipe! We’ve made it so many times now, it’s definitely a favorite! But I have yet to try it with cheese… hopefully soon.
I saw this post linked from your Overnight Waffles post. I was wondering if you could make the batter for these the night before as well and refrigerate til the morning. That would certainly make for less hectic mornings!
Christin – I’ve never made this batter the night before but you probably could. It might need to be loosened up with a bit of milk the next morning.