Start your morning off right with these delicious and healthy banana oatmeal waffles. Made with bananas, chia seeds, and oats, they’re a good source of fiber and nutrients, giving you plenty of energy to face the day! Best healthy waffle recipe ever! (Gluten-free, vegetarian)
Table of Contents
Easy Banana Waffles with No Flour!
If you’re stuck in a breakfast rut, I highly recommend that you mix up your mornings with some tasty banana oatmeal waffles! These waffles are simple to make, and no one will guess that they’re actually good for you!
We love to enjoy these on the weekend with everyone’s favorite toppings and then make up an extra batch to store in the freezer for the week.
Naturally sweetened with bananas, vanilla, and cinnamon, they’re a healthier option than traditional waffles and are especially delicious served with fresh fruit, a drizzle of peanut butter, Greek yogurt, or maple syrup!
Be sure to also try out my Kodiak Protein Waffles and 3-Ingredient Protein Waffles too!
Why We Love These Healthy Oatmeal Waffles
- Easy: These just may be the easiest waffles ever. Simply toss the ingredients into the blender, combine and pour into a waffle iron. Perfect for a simple, quick breakfast!
- Kid friendly: If you have picky eaters in the house, they will adore these oat waffles, and you can feel about great serving them this healthier option. Make a double batch and freeze the extras for later!
- Healthy: Thanks to the oats, banana and chia seeds, these waffles contain a good amount of fiber and healthy fats that will leave you feeling satisfied to power you up for the day!
- Dietary info: These flourless oatmeal waffles are vegetarian and gluten-free, and can easily be made dairy-free and even vegan! They’re easily customizable depending on your dietary needs.
Ingredient Notes
- Oats: I use large flake oats, also known as rolled oats or old fashioned oats for this recipe. You can also use quick oats, but the waffles may have a slightly different texture. Avoid steel cut oats as they don’t blend well into an oat flour and may form a gritty texture.
- Chia Seeds: Chia seeds are loaded with fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants and are an easy way to add an extra dose of nutrients! You could also try substituting ground flax seed or hemp hearts.
- Milk: You can use any milk you like for this recipe. I have used both regular milk and non-dairy milk (i.e. almond milk) and the waffles have turned out equally good each time.
- Eggs: To add a dose of protein and bind the ingredients together. You could try also try subbing in a chia or flax egg to make this recipe vegan.
- Bananas: Bananas provide a bit of natural sweetness to these waffles. Use overripe bananas for best results.
- Baking powder: To help the waffles to rise and get nice and fluffy when they cook.
- Vanilla extract and cinnamon: For flavor and sweetness. You can adjust these according to personal taste.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat waffle iron and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add the ingredients to a blender.
- Blend until almost smooth. You may need to add a bit more milk if the batter still seems too thick.
- Pour about 1 cup of the batter onto the waffle iron (the amount will depend on the size of your waffle iron). Allow waffle to cook. I cook mine on close to the highest setting (5/6) and about a minute or two after the waffle iron says it’s ready, so that the waffles are a little more browned and crispy. If you prefer softer oatmeal waffles, you can take them out when the buzzer goes off.
- Repeat with remaining waffle batter. Serve warm with desired toppings!
Scroll to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Recipe Notes:
- Use overripe bananas for best results. The riper the bananas, the more sweetness and flavor they will contribute to the waffles.
- I don’t typically add sweetener to the waffles as I don’t like my waffles to be overly sweet. You may wish to add some stevia, maple syrup, or honey (or other desired sweetener) to the waffle batter if you prefer sweeter waffles.
- The longer the waffle batter sits, the more it tends to thicken up. You may wish to add a bit more milk to thin it out if the batter seems too thick to pour and spread on the waffle iron.
- Keep an eye on the waffles so that they don’t burn. I like to cook them on close to the highest heat setting (5/6 on the heat meter) and check them once the buzzer goes off. Generally, I’ll cook them an extra minute or so to make them a little more crispy after the buzzer goes off, otherwise they may be soft. It’s totally a personal preference depending on how brown and crispy you like your waffles.
- The number of waffles that the batter makes will depend on the size of your waffle maker. I used this Cuisine Art Belgian Waffle Maker and got three large waffles from the batter.
How to Store
Refrigerator: These waffles aren’t just for weekend brunches, they are great for meal prep too! Once they’ve cooled, place them in an airtight container. They’ll keep well in the fridge for about 3 days. Perfect for quick breakfasts on busy week day mornings.
To freeze: Wrap the cooled waffles in foil or plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag to prevent freezer burn. Frozen waffles can be stored in the freezer for about 3 months. You can thaw them in the fridge overnight to reheat, or reheat from frozen.
To reheat: You can reheat your waffles quickly and easily in a toaster or toaster oven from the fridge or frozen. Just pop them in the toaster until they’ve crisped up again.
For larger batches of waffles, you can reheat them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350F. It will take about 10 minutes to reheat a frozen waffle this way.
Recipe FAQs
Once you blend the oats in this oatmeal waffle recipe, you’re basically making your own oat flour. However, you would need slightly less oat flour than rolled oats because they are already ground. I’d use about 25% less oat flour than rolled oats (approximately 1.5 cups of oat flour for this recipe).
Nope! I usually do not sweeten waffle batter because I’d rather add the sweetness on top in the form of fresh fruit, a little maple syrup, etc. However, it can be nice to add just a little bit of sweetness to really bring out the flavors in the waffles. Fortunately, the mashed banana does a great job of that in this easy gluten-free waffle recipe!
Although you don’t have to use a high speed blender, you will need to use a device to blend the mixture together. A food processor can work really well in this situation. This will help break down the oats and chia seeds as well as bring the waffle batter together.
Sure! If you prefer, you can pour the batter onto a griddle or frying pan and make banana oat pancakes instead!
Serving Suggestions
These healthy oat waffles are best served with all your favorite toppings!
Top with any (or all of the following):
- Peanut butter or almond butter
- Banana slices
- Frozen or fresh berries
- Chocolate chips
- Pure maple syrup or a drizzle of honey (date syrup can be great, too!)
- High protein Greek yogurt (or try this Yogurt Fruit Dip)
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Crepe Filling (it’s delicious on waffles too!)
- Applesauce
Recipe Variations
- Make vegan oatmeal waffles: Replace the egg with a chia or flax egg and use dairy-free milk. Easy!
- Adjust the flavors: These healthy waffles have a classic flavor, slightly nutty from the oats with warm spices and vanilla extract. Feel free to adjust these oat chia waffles by changing the extract or adjusting the spices. I especially like almond extract or even coconut extract for a tropical kick!
- Replace the chia seeds: Chia seeds add a bunch of healthy fats and some protein and help hold the waffle batter together. If you need an alternative, use ground flaxseeds or hemp hearts instead.
More Healthy Breakfasts
- Paleo Waffles
- Banana Protein Pancakes
- Crepes with Almond Milk
- Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Healthy Oatmeal Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Healthy Banana Oatmeal Waffles {No Flour}
Ingredients
- 2 cups large flake oats
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 1/4 cups milk (or milk alternative)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 medium ripe bananas
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Desired sweetener (i.e. packet of stevia, maple syrup, honey, etc. – optional)
Instructions
- Preheat waffle iron and spray with cooking spray.
- Blend all ingredients in a blender until almost smooth. You may need to add a bit more milk if the batter still seems too thick.
- Pour about 1 cup of the batter onto the waffle iron (the amount will depend on the size of your waffle iron). Allow waffle to cook. I cook mine on close to the highest setting (5/6) and about a minute or two after the waffle iron says it's ready, so that the waffles are a little more browned and crispy. If you prefer softer waffles, you can take them out when the buzzer goes off.
- Repeat with remaining waffle batter. Serve warm with desired toppings!
Notes
- Use overripe bananas for best results. The riper the bananas, the more sweetness and flavour they will contribute to the waffles.
- I don’t typically add sweetener to the waffles as I don’t like my waffles to be overly sweet. You may wish to add some stevia, maple syrup, or honey (or other desired sweetener) to the waffle batter if you prefer sweeter waffles.
- The longer the batter sits, the more it tends to thicken up. You may wish to add a bit more milk to thin it out if the batter seems too thick.
- Keep an eye on the waffles so that they don’t burn. I like to cook them on close to the highest heat setting (5/6 on the heat meter) and will check them once the buzzer goes off. Generally, I’ll cook them an extra minute or so to make them a little more crispy after the buzzer goes off, otherwise they may be soft. It’s totally a personal preference depending on how brown and crispy you like your waffles.
- The number of waffles that the batter makes will depend on the size of your waffle maker. I used the Cuisine Art Belgian Waffle Maker and got three large waffles from the batter.
- The nutritional information is an estimate based on one large waffle. The size of your waffle (and the corresponding nutrition facts) will depend on your waffle maker.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in April 2021 and was updated in April 2024 to include more helpful tips.
Delicious!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review :)