{Teflon-free} Pumpkin Whole Grain Waffles with Pumpkin Syrup

I Found a Teflon-free Waffle Maker!

Given my deep and abiding love for breakfast foods, some might find it surprising that homemade waffles were not in my regular breakfast rotation. After all, they freeze and toast up so well! Problem is, I ditched Teflon many years ago and I couldn't find a Teflon-free waffle maker anywhere. I had seen cast iron waffle makers, but they were unseasoned, and came with parrafin wax on them (to prevent rusting). In order to use it, you had to melt off the parrafin wax and season it yourself. Sorry, but that's a little too much effort for me. [Now a pre-seasoned cast iron waffle maker, that I would buy in a heartbeat. Are you listening, Lodge Logic???]

At any rate, I had resigned myself to living without waffles. That is, until recently, when my son's umpteenth request for waffles compelled me to half-heartedly google (again) "Teflon-free waffle maker." And, lo and behold, there it was: the Oster DuraCeramic Stainless Steel Flip Waffle Maker. Now, really, I should have done my due diligence and tried to find out more about what the nonstick coating of my waffle maker is made of before purchasing it, but I was just so excited to see a PTFE-free and PFOA-free ceramic-based coating on a waffle maker that I just went ahead and purchased it. (Read Debra Lynn Dodd's take on the coating here.)

Enjoy Superfood Pumpkin Year-round

Since then I have been keeping my freezer well-stocked with my sister Jeanette's Pumpkin Whole Grain Waffles. My 6yo son loves to have these for breakfast, and I love sending him to school with a tummy full of whole grains and pumpkin goodness. We most often eat these with maple syrup, but for even more pumpkin deliciousness, try with pumpkin syrup (recipe follows).

When you add pumpkin to your waffle recipe, you not only add tons of awesome nutrients, you are also able to significantly reduce the amount of oil used compared to other waffle recipes. Note that you don't really have to love pumpkin to enjoy these waffles (I can't really detect a pumpkin taste in the cooked waffle), although the spices used are reminiscent of pumpkin pie and fall. I usually make a quadruple batch of these waffles because then I can use up one full carton of pumpkin puree, and can freeze tons of waffles for an easy and filling weekday breakfast.

As you might imagine, it does take a while to cook up the entire quadruple batch, so I'm including the measurements for smaller batches as well at the end.

By a wonderful quirk of fate, the waffles fit perfectly in my 7-cup Pyrex container.
I usually store a few in the fridge to be eaten in the next few days, and store the rest in a
reusable food bag in the freezer.

Jeanette's Pumpkin Whole Grain Waffles (x4)

makes a whole lot of scrumptious nutritious waffles
6 cups white whole wheat flour
[or 5 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup ground flax seed]*
1/4 cup baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cloves
4 eggs (or egg substitute)
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cup pumpkin
4 cups milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk alternative or water)
2 cups water

Whisk dry ingredients together. Beat pumpkin with a little bit of the water. Add pumpkin and wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until mostly smooth. Allow batter to rest at least 15 minutes so whole grains can absorb moisture. Cook according to waffle maker instructions. Allow to cool on rack (if stacked on top of each other while warm they will get soggy) or keep warm in a low oven. Serve warm with real maple syrup or pumpkin syrup.

*My sister Jeanette makes these with the ground flax seed, which is of course amazingly good for you, but flax seed and my digestive system do not get along well, so I just use all whole wheat flour instead.

Pumpkin Syrup

1 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup Pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat in small saucepan (or microwave) until warm.

Here are the ingredient amounts for different size batches:

Jeanette's Pumpkin Whole Grain Waffles 

Let Eco-novice do the math for you!

	x1	x2	x3	x4
White whole wheat flour*	1 1/2 cups	3 cups	4.5 cups	6 cups
Baking powder	1 tablespoon	2 tablespoons	3 tablespoons	1/4 cup
Sugar	1 tablespoon	2 tablespoons	3 tablespoons	1/4 cup
Table Salt	1/2 teaspoon	1 teaspoon	1 1/2 teaspoons	2 teaspoons
Cinnamon	1/4+ teaspoon	3/4 teaspoon	1+ teaspoon	1 1/2 teaspoons
Nutmeg	1/4+ teaspoon	3/4 teaspoon	1+ teaspoon	1 1/2 teaspoons
Cloves	1/4 teaspoon	1/4+ teaspoon	1/2 teaspoon	3/4 teaspoons
Eggs**	1	2	3	4
Oil	1/4 cup	1/2 cup	3/4 cup	1 cup
Pumpkin	3/8 cup	3/4 cup	1 1/8 cup	1 1/2 cup
Milk  (or water)	1 cup	2 cups	3 cups	4 cups
Water	1/2 cup	1 cup	1 1/2 cups	2 cups

*Up to 1/6 of whole wheat flour can be substituted with ground flax seed

**Or use egg substitute for vegan version

Notes about Ingredients

For those interested, I use white whole wheat flour that I grind myself from organic white wheat berries. I use aluminum-free baking powder and C&H organic cane sugar (available at my Costco), organic canola oil, and organic milk. My organic eggs are usually from the farmers market and if they are a little on the small side I toss in an extra one for good measure. I've been using the Farmer's Market organic pumpkin which is available in cartons (I prefer cartons to canned). Pacific Natural Foods also makes an organic pumpkin puree available in cartons. 

Using the Oster DuraCeramic Waffle Maker

With the Oster DuraCeramic Stainless Steel Flip Waffle Maker, I find that I need a cup-plus of batter per batch. I also turn the adjustable temperature knob down about half-way to allow the waffle to cook all the way through before the outside becomes crisp. Note that this waffle maker makes Belgian-style waffles rather than the thinner American-style waffles. And I basically disregard the lights that signal done-ness and just use a timer (after figuring out that each waffle needs about 5-6 minutes on the lower heat setting to cook fully). These are the only waffles I've made in my waffle maker, but I'm guessing they take a bit longer to cook than your average white flour pumpkin-free waffle recipe.

Vegan Pancake & Waffle Mix

This recipe can easily be made vegan by using egg substitute instead of eggs and water instead of milk. In fact, this recipe is actually based on my sister Natalie's Vegan Whole Grain Waffle/ Pancake Mix.

More Breakfast Yumminess

• Vegan Whole Grain Waffle & Pancake Mix
• What's for Breakfast? Whole Wheat Pancakes
• What’s for Breakfast? French Toast
• What’s for Breakfast? German Pancakes
• What’s for Breakfast? Scrambled Eggs

Related Posts

• Teflon-free Bakeware and Cookware
• Cooking without Teflon
• Goodbye, Teflon. Hello, Le Creuset.
• Eat Less Plastic: 33 Ways to Keep Plastic Chemicals Out of Your Family's Diet

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