Light and Crispy Waffles
- PREP 25min
- COOK 10min
- TOTAL 35min
These light and crispy waffles come together quickly. Cornstarch is the secret to crispy waffles. It guarantees that your waffles will be perfectly crisp and tender.
This recipe makes four standard waffles (1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick). If you want to make thicker Belgian waffles or use a deep waffle iron, you will get closer to three waffles using our recipe below.
Separating the egg is optional but is recommended. We do not do this in the video; however, after years of feedback from readers, we have determined that whipping the egg white thickens the batter slightly and improves the results for deeper waffle irons.
You Will Need
1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30 grams) cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup (235 ml) buttermilk or milk
1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
Butter, syrup and/or berries, for serving
Directions
Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract.
For the lightest waffles, separate the egg. Whisk the egg yolk into the milk mixture. If you do not plan on separating the egg, whisk the whole egg into the milk mixture.
If you separate the egg, add the egg white to another bowl, use a handheld mixer to beat until stiff, and then set aside.
Whisk the milk mixture into the dry ingredients until only small lumps are left. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold in the whipped egg whites.
Set the batter aside for five to ten minutes while preparing the waffle iron.
Heat the waffle iron to the highest heat setting.
Cook waffles until golden and crisp, adding enough batter to the waffle iron to fill the entire lower grid. If the waffles look too dark, turn the heat down slightly.
Serve the waffles immediately or keep them warm and crispy on a rack in a 200°F oven until ready to serve. Stacking them outside the oven will cause them to steam and become floppy.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Buttermilk substitute: Use whole milk or to mimic buttermilk, stir 1 cup of whole milk with 2 tablespoons lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.
- Melted butter makes these waffles a little heavier but is delicious. Use 1/3 cup melted butter.
- Recipe inspired and adapted from Aretha Frankensteins Recipe
- Recipe updated May 2022 to improve results when making thicker waffles. For the original recipe, use 3/4 cup of flour.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. We assumed four waffles.
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