These buttermilk Chocolate Chip Waffles are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with pockets of melted chocolate. Make these waffles for breakfast or brunch and top them with homemade chocolate sauce and sliced bananas. They're also freezer-friendly and easy to warm up, so they're perfect for meal prep!
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Why You'll Love These Chocolate Chip Waffles
Fluffy and crispy - These waffles are crispy and golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside, with sweet pockets of chocolate. I make my Chocolate Chip Pancakes all the time and had to turn them into waffles! They're crispier but just as soft on the inside. Make them in a Belgian waffle maker to get the best texture.
Easy to make - Waffles are the perfect breakfast or brunch for weekend mornings. They're easy to make and a delicious addition to any breakfast spread. You can easily double or triple the recipe when feeding a large crowd.
Freezer-friendly and great for meal prep - You can make a double batch and freeze the extras for later. This way, you can have your chocolate chip waffles ready in 5 minutes, even on a busy weekday morning!
Ingredients
- Flour - You can use all-purpose flour or a gluten-free substitute. I like using Bob's Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour for pancakes, waffles, or any baked goods.
- Eggs - Large eggs are used to bind everything together. I haven't tried any vegan substitutes, so I can't recommend anything besides eggs for sure.
- Buttermilk - Buttermilk is what makes these waffles extra soft and fluffy and it helps them rise. If you don't have actual buttermilk or don't want to eat dairy. You can make dairy-free buttermilk by mixing almond milk and vinegar. I used apple cider vinegar. You can also use regular milk and white vinegar or lemon juice. See the recipe card for exact instructions.
- Chocolate chips - You can use any chocolate chips you like and have on hand. I like using dark chocolate chips and I always try to get mini chocolate chips because I find they spread throughout the batter better, so you get small melty chocolate chips in every bite.
- Flavorings - The recipe calls for pure vanilla extract and cinnamon but you can skip the cinnamon if you prefer. I highly recommend the vanilla because it rounds out the flavors.
Variations and Substitutions
- Vegan buttermilk - Measure 2 cups of almond milk, remove 2 tablespoons of the milk, and add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Gently stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. It's ready when it slightly thickens and curdles.
- Whipped egg whites - You can separate the egg yolks and whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form to make the waffles even lighter and fluffier. Stir the egg yolks into the rest of the wet ingredients, mix them with the dry ingredients, and fold in the egg whites at the end before the chocolate chips.
- Berries - You can swap the chocolate chips for some blueberries or raspberries, or add both! I like using wild blueberries because they're small and spread in the batter well.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, avocado oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt.
- Whisk in almond milk.
- In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and cinnamon if using.
- Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. The batter will be fairly thin. It's okay if there are small lumps in the batter; they will disappear as the waffles cook.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Heat up your waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Spray the hot waffle iron with cooking spray or brush with butter and pour the waffle batter in. I do about 1 cup of batter for a large waffle, but this depends on how big your waffle maker is.
- Cook for 2-4 minutes, depending on how strong your waffle iron is and how dark you want the waffles to be.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter, adding more oil or butter as needed. Stir the batter gently every time to make sure the chocolate chips don't sink to the bottom of the batter.
- Serve the waffles with maple syrup, chocolate sauce, berries, bananas, nut butter, yogurt, or your favorite toppings.
Tips & Tricks!
- Use mini chocolate chips - I always like using mini chocolate chips over regular ones because they spread throughout the batter so much better.
- Keep the waffles warm - Keep your waffles in the oven rather than on a cooling rack. Preheat your oven to 200F, and keep the waffles in a single layer on a baking sheet in the preheated oven while you cook the rest of the batter to keep them warm. I do a single layer to avoid the waffles steaming and getting soggy.
Serving Suggestions
- Fresh fruit - Serve the waffles with fresh fruit like raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, stone fruit, apples, pears, bananas, or anything else!
- Cooked fruit - If I have a ton of frozen berries, I like to simmer them with a splash of maple syrup to create a sweet, hot berry sauce to put on top. You can also add Caramelized Peaches, Caramelized Apples, or even the caramelized bananas from these Banana Foster Pancakes!
- Nut butter, syrup, yogurt - You can add a scoop of almond butter, hazelnut butter, peanut butter, or any seed butter. Try the waffles with my Homemade Nutella! They're also delicious with Greek yogurt or any vegan alternative. You can double up on the chocolate flavor by adding some Homemade Chocolate Syrup!
- Dessert - Serve the waffles as a dessert with a scoop of chocolate or vanilla ice cream, fresh or hot berries, and some whipped cream!
Storing and Reheating
- Refrigerator - Store the waffles wrapped in foil or in a container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freezer - Store waffles in a freezer-safe ziplock bag or container in the freezer for 3-4 months. You can freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet first to make sure they don't stick together, but I usually don't find this to be necessary.
- Reheating - To quickly reheat your waffles, pop them in a toaster until warmed through. You can also reheat them in the oven at 300F for 5-10 minutes or until warmed through. Frozen waffles will take slightly longer to warm up.
FAQs
You can make your own dairy-free buttermilk and use vegan butter, but I haven't tried any vegan egg substitutes. You could try flax egg or your favorite egg substitute. If you do, I'd love to hear how it went in the comments!
It activates baking soda and baking powder, which helps the waffles rise more. It also adds a little bit of acidity, which balances out the sweetness of the chocolate chips.
Other Waffle Recipes
If you're looking for other waffle ideas, the four below are some of my all time favorites! To see all the latest ones, head over to waffles and pancakes.
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Have you tried these Chocolate Chip Waffles? Please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
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Print📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Waffles
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Chocolate Chip Waffles are great for breakfast or brunch. Top them with homemade chocolate sauce and sliced bananas. They're also freezer-friendly and easy to warm up so they're perfect for meal prep!
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk (see notes for vegan buttermilk)
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (I used gluten-free flour blend)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Cooking spray or butter for cooking
- Optional garnish: maple syrup, chocolate sauce, berries, bananas, nut butter, yogurt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, avocado oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt.
- Whisk in almond milk.
- In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and cinnamon if using.
- Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Heat up your waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray or brush with butter and pour your waffle batter in.
- Cook for 2-4 minutes, depending on how strong your waffle iron is and how dark you want the waffles to be.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter and add more oil or butter as needed.
- Serve waffles with maple syrup, chocolate sauce, berries, bananas, nut butter, or yogurt.
Notes
Buttermilk: Measure 2 cups of almond milk, remove 2 tablespoons of the milk, and add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Gently stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. It's ready when it slightly thickens and curdles.
Keep waffles warm: To keep your finished waffles warm while you cook the rest of the batter, preheat your oven to 200F, add the waffles to a baking sheet in a single layer, and keep them in the oven until ready to eat.
Storing: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Reheat: Reheat in the oven at 300F from the fridge or freezer until warm or in a toaster.
Marta says
My daughter loves chocolate chip waffles so I was glad when she found this recipe and made it for Sunday brunch this past weekend. The instructions were user-friendly and resulted in some of the best chocolate chip waffles we've all tasted.
Bernice says
How fun! I know my kids would have loved these waffles for breakfast but now that it's just the two of us empty nesters, we like to have fun too. My husband is the breakfast maker between us and I'll suggest adding chocolate (and bananas!) the next time he's making waffles.
Giangi Townsend says
What a great, fun, and super delicious recipe. We love waffles and your recipe is on my list to do this weekend. Fantastic idea to place the ingredients in the middle of the waffle iron, the presentation is perfect.
Thank you for the recipe.
Sean says
This makes the best anniversary breakfast! Waffles and chocolate chips are the best way to start a weekend morning.
Kathryn says
Love these waffles!! They are the perfect morning treat and my daughter even loved them! Making more and freezing them next time so I always have them on deck!
Silvia says
I was so glad when I saw you used gluten-free flour blend because I had a bag at home I wanted to use. My kids devoured them in no time, they love chocolate chips. I will be making them again.
Jessica says
I love how this recipe puts a unique twist on a classic breakfast. It's a fantastic way to make weekends more exciting without too much effort. My family adored the waffles!
Tammy says
Ooh these sound so good! What fabulous weekend breakfast treat :D I haven't made waffles in so long and you've inspired me to break out the waffle maker ^_^
Jacqueline Debono says
Wow these waffles are such a treat. I made them this morning for our Sunday breakfast. Don't think we'll be having lunch as we ate so many of these!
Hayley Dhanecha says
My niece came to mine for a weekend, we prepared these chocolate chip waffles for our brunch. Turned out fluffy and so delicious. Glad found this recipe.