Pumpkin Protein Waffles

These healthy Pumpkin Protein Waffles are a delicious way to add extra nutrition to a favorite breakfast! With warm cinnamon spice flavors, waffles make an easy weeknight dinner too! You can repurpose leftover mashed sweet potato or butternut squash, perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers. But, with canned pumpkin, these waffles can add a healthy hidden vegetable any time of year! Ready in 20 minutes!

Why We Love Them!

• Perfect for Thanksgiving Leftovers, but great all year! These healthy pumpkin waffles are perfect for using up really anything that is orange! Canned pumpkin, leftover mashed butternut squash or mashed sweet potatoes loaded with butter or a hint of cinnamon are all delicious in this recipe! You can even roast and puree the eyes and toothy smile cut outs from your jack-o-lanterns! They feel like fall, but really, you can buy canned pumpkin all year so a healthy homemade breakfast or dinner is easy to pull out of the pantry! Try these Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins if you've got canned pumpkin on hand!

• These Waffles are Healthy! Waffles are usually not very good for you, being made up of mostly flour and sugar. Not these! I've subbed some of the flour for rolled oats and almond flour, and added banana, plain yogurt, milk and eggs for a high protein pumpkin waffle (without protein powder!) that is filling and nutritious.

• Kid-Friendly - As a rule, my kids don't like anything "cooked up" that is orange (squash, carrots or sweet potatoes). Kids can be picky in their own ways, so hiding some healthy ingredients in their favorite meals is a win. The pumpkin and banana is going to give you a bit denser waffle for a more substantial filling meal, breakfast or dinner! You'll love these Pumpkin Banana Bread Muffins too!

• If you Love Breakfast for Dinner, try these Easy Homemade Crepes, Protein Buttermilk Pancakes, or make a French Toast Bake in the morning and bake it for dinner!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Flour, Almond Flour, and Oats - These pumpkin oatmeal waffles are high in protein because I've taken the usual large amount of all-purpose flour and broken it up into some healthier components. You can use almond flour or oat flour waffles, or you can substitute the regular flour for gluten-free flour. I do like keeping some regular flour so they don't get too dense. Just keep it at 3 cups total.

• Baking Powder and Baking Soda - These will be a denser, heavier waffle with all that banana and pumpkin, but baking powder and soda make them rise.

• Cinnamon - Gives waffles that familiar warm pumpkin pie autumn flavor!

• Salt - Enhances the flavors in the pumpkin and all ingredients.

• Canned Pumpkin - You can use canned pumpkin all year long, or substitute leftover mashed sweet potato or homemade pumpkin or mashed butternut squash. When I have extra of these I freeze them in 1 cup portions to use later for waffles. Especially great for Thanksgiving leftovers! If you grow pumpkin in the garden, or buy an extra around Halloween, you can roast it, puree it, and freeze 1 cup portions for healthy pumpkin waffles all year (or just roast the jack-o-lantern cut-out pieces).

• Banana - Adds nutrition and sweetness. You can substitute a half cup of store-bought or homemade applesauce if you don't have banana.

• Eggs - Bumping up the protein, go for local organic eggs if you can.

• Milk and Plain Yogurt - Protein Banana Pumpkin Waffles get a big boost of their protein from milk and yogurt. You could also substitute any non-dairy milk like almond milk or soy milk. I always have plain yogurt on hand and flavor it with fresh berries, Almond Vanilla Granola and a drizzle of honey. It's better for you than flavored yogurt, with less sugar, colors and preservatives.

• Butter - A bit of fat is for taste and texture. You could also use melted coconut oil.

• Maple Syrup - Adds a bit of sweetness to the batter. Use real maple syrup if you can!

See recipe card below for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1 - Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Step 2 - Add everything else and whisk until well combined.

Step 3 - Make sure to preheat your waffle iron! Ladle a heaping ½ cup of batter per waffle. Recipe makes 9 waffles.

What to Serve with Waffles for Brunch or Dinner

These Pumpkin Oat Banana Waffles are already a nutritious balanced meal by themselves! But, we especially love to make a bigger brunch or breakfast-for-dinner by adding a few extras!

• Fruit - Add extra banana slices, strawberries, blueberries or kiwi as a topping or fruit on the side. Check out how to make a beautiful Fruit Platter for a Mother's Day brunch or any brunch waffles menu.

• Healthy Waffle Toppings - You can also sprinkle your pumpkin waffles with toasted pecans or almonds or even some dark chocolate chips. A dollop of store-bought or homemade whipped cream is always a hit with the kids! We like to make homemade whipped cream by adding a half cup of heavy cream and a few pinches of powdered sugar to a jar, and take turns shaking it until we have whipped cream!

• Sausage Links or Bacon - Cook sausage or bacon on a sheet pan in the oven at 400°. Cook 10 minutes, flip and check, then do 5 minutes more until crispy and cooked through.

• Smoothies - A healthy berry smoothie always balances out a hearty breakfast!

Storage, Freezing and Reheating

The best way to keep your waffles warm while you make more is by setting them on a sheet pan in the oven at 200°. Homemade waffles are so much better for you than store-bought frozen waffles, so I love to meal prep extras to stock my freezer.

• Storage - Store extra waffles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

• Freezer - To freeze extras, lay hot waffles on a sheet pan and let sit in the freezer for an hour. Then cut into halves or quarters and transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container. Freeze up to 4 months. 

• Reheating - Meal prepped frozen waffles make a healthy bedtime snack, lunchbox extra, or just a grab-and-go breakfast or snack. Pop in the toaster or microwave to reheat.

Chef Tips

• Homemade Pumpkin Puree - While canned pumpkin is convenient and available all year, making homemade pumpkin puree is easy and nutritious! Cut any amount of pumpkin or winter squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place them face up on a sheet pan and smear the cut sides with butter and a little olive oil and salt. Roast in the oven at 400° until the flesh is soft when squeezed. Scoop it out of the peels and puree in a food processor with a little water to reach the right consistency. It can be frozen in 1 cup portions, jars work great!

• Waffle Iron Temperature - Always preheat your waffle iron before adding the batter. Your first waffle or two may be an experiment to adjust your temperature to be just right.

• Spraying the Waffle Iron - I have never needed to spray my waffle iron, but if yours tends to stick, give it a spray with cooking oil.

• Use Tongs - Use non-metal tongs to remove your waffles so you don't scrap the non-stick surface of your waffle iron. Sometimes I think it's easiest to just pull those waffles out by hand! Careful, they're hot!

• Making the Batter Ahead - You can mix up the dry ingredients ahead of time, but I would wait to add the wet ingredients. The acid in the yogurt reacts with the baking powder and soda giving the waffles a little extra rise, which is best done right before getting them on the hot iron. If you make the batter a day ahead of time and leave it in the fridge, they go a little flat.

If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!

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