I’m happy to be sharing another great recipe if you manage food allergies and dietary restrictions. Today’s waffle recipe without milk features simple ingredients, and it’s not only suitable for those on a dairy-free diet, but also top 9 free, top 14 free, vegan, and more.
These cinnamon waffles make for a great breakfast, can be included in a brunch spread, and are perfect for lunches. If that’s not versatile enough, they’re also freezer friendly so you can batch cook and get ahead, so, let’s get to work.
Allergy Status
Free From: Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Tree Nuts, Peanut, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Top 9 Allergens, Top 14 Allergens, Alliums, Apple, Avocado, Banana, Beans & Lentils, Berries, Buckwheat, Carrot, Celery, Citrus, Coconut, Corn, Cruciferous, Garlic, Latex Cross Reactive Foods (H/M), Legume, Lupin, Mushroom, Mustard, Nightshade, Oat, Onion, Pea & Pea Protein, Potato (Nightshade Variety), Poultry, Red Meat, Rice, Seeds, Squash & Gourd, Stone Fruits, Strawberry, Sweet Potato & Yam, Tapioca/Cassava/Yuca/Manioc, Tomato, Yeast
Friendly To: EOE, FPIES, GERD, Low FODMAP, Low Histamine, Vegan
- Low Histamine Note: If vanilla extract isn’t tolerated, swap for ground vanilla. Cinnamon is tolerated by most, and most major institutions and doctors consider cinnamon to be a low histamine ingredient. If you’re unable to tolerate cinnamon, you can add a fruit powder instead, to bring in some kind of flavouring agent.
Tools to Make These Delicious Dairy-Free Waffles
- Large Mixing Bowl + Whisk OR Mixing Bowl + Electric Hand Mixer OR Stand Mixer with Wire Attachment
- Kitchen Scale (this is the one that I use)
- Waffle Iron (details and options are below)
- Silicone or Rubber Spatula (I have several of this spatula)
- Large Measuring Cup (for scooping waffle batter into the hot waffle iron)
Waffle Iron Information
If you’re brand new to making waffles, and need to know about a waffle iron, there are few key things to know. Given my collection of 6 waffle irons, I can give you the pros and cons of several popular styles.
–The large Belgian waffle maker (like this double one) is hands down my all time fave. You never need cooking spray, there’s an audible beep, an adjustable browning setting, and you make two jumbo Belgian style waffles at once. The efficiency is unmatched with any other waffle maker. The only con in my opinion: it’s hand wash only. Now, you won’t need to wash it too often, but if you’re a mixed allergy household, you will need to double up on this appliance for safety.
–Dash single waffle maker 4″, hands down, one of my least favourite models. Why? Simple: you can only make one waffle at a time. I don’t care if you’re one person, that’s just going to take you too long to work thru all of your waffle batter. Yes, it’s cute, but your time is worth something.
–Dash 4″ waffle maker 4x, now, this is a much better choice. It makes 4 small commercial (4″/10cm) size waffles in one go. The cons are no beep, no adjustment options, and you have to stand and babysit it when cooking waffles. However, the HUGE pro is that you can reheat your frozen waffles in a regular toaster, just like store bought frozen waffles.
-Dash 2″ mini waffle maker, this is absolutely, in my humble free-from opinion, one of the cutest waffle makers on the planet. It’s absolutely not efficient, but dang are the waffles cute.
–Novelty waffle makers (sticks, hearts, misc. shapes), these have a place in the world, but like the Dash waffle makers, you’ll have to babysit them, and they’re nowhere near as efficient as the double Belgium waffle maker.
–Ceramic waffle maker, I have this Hamilton Beach version and love it. It’s not as efficient as the double waffle maker, however, the plates are removable and dishwasher safe. For someone with food allergies, this is perhaps one of the best selling points to this model.
No matter which type or size of waffle maker you go with, know that this corn free waffle batter will work in all of them. Ultimately, you have to decide how efficient you want your waffle making to be, along with your budget. Now, on to the recipe!
Ingredients for This Cinnamon Waffle Recipe Without Milk
Part 1 Ingredients (Dry Ingredients)
- 150g Sorghum Flour, superfine OR Brown Rice Flour, superfine
- 50g Organic Gluten Free Purity Protocol Oat Flour OR Organic Tiger Nut Flour (tuber, not a tree nut)
- 30g Arrowroot
- 30 – 40g Organic Dark Brown Sugar
- 4 tsp Organic Ground Cinnamon
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
Part 2 Ingredients (Wet Ingredients)
- 280mL Milk of Choice OR Hot Water
- Optional: 1 TBSP Organic Apple Cider Vinegar OR Rice Vinegar
Part 3 Ingredients (Wet Ingredients)
- 60mL Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil OR Oil of Choice
- 2 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
Important Ingredient Notes
Gluten Free Flour: This dairy-free waffle recipe uses a custom gluten-free flour blend. However, if you’re not gluten free, manage other dietary restrictions, or have an all purpose flour you’d like to use, do this: Skip the sorghum + Oat + Arrowroot and use 230g of your flour instead. Whilst I can’t vouch for every flour blend out there, or even something like whole wheat flour since I have a child allergic to wheat, that should get you to the right place and you’ll still have delicious waffles.
Organic Dark Brown Sugar: You can swap this for other granulated sweeteners including light brown sugar, organic coconut sugar, organic maple sugar, and organic date sugar. I don’t suggest a white sugar, as the extra molasses content adds a little oomph of flavour.
You cannot swap this for a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup, honey, agave, and so on.
Milk of Choice: You can use any of the plant-based milks you find in your favourite grocery store including coconut milk, cashew milk, oat milk, soy milk, rice milk, homemade milk, You can also use hot water in place of milk, but it needs to be HOT, like, turn on your kettle for tea type of hot water.
For best results, cook with milk alternatives that are unsweetened such as unsweetened almond milk (Malk is an excellent brand for this BTW), as this will allow you to have full recipe control. It’s not the end of the world if you can’t, but you’ll have more range and less clash potential with an unsweetened milk.
Oil of Choice: My top two picks for cooking oil are organic extra virgin olive oil and organic tiger nut oil (tuber, not a tree nut). Outside of these, avocado oil is another great choice. You can use any oil for this easy waffle recipe, with the exception of coconut oil. Since it’s solid at room temperature, it has the potential to alter your leftover waffles once they’ve cooled, or if you freeze them, and not in a good way.
More Waffle Recipes Without Milk or Eggs
Each homemade waffles recipe below is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, top 9 free (great if you need a vegan option), and more.
- Grain Free, Truly Corn Free Waffles
- Maple Waffles (my kids love these for chicken and waffles)
- Carrot Cake Waffles (fantastic if you want an easy way to add vegetables to a meal)
- Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Waffles (perfect if you have a bit of a sweet tooth)
 |
 |
 |
 |
Change it Up
The driving flavour profile for these dairy-free waffles is the ground cinnamon. You can omit that and swap for cacao powder and have chocolate waffles instead. If you add cacao powder (this is the one that I use), you’ll need a little extra milk or water to get the right consistency, as you’ll be using at least 40g of the cacao powder.
For a really fun twist, you can swap the cinnamon for other spices such as ginger and nutmeg, or add a fruit or veg powder instead.
If you love chocolate chips, you can omit the cinnamon, add a little extra vanilla, and gently whisk in dairy free mini chocolate chips before cooking the batter.
Serve with fresh fruit! These cinnamon waffles pair especially well with bananas, however, other flavor profiles work, depending on your taste buds. My kids enjoy these waffles with blueberries, caramelized banana, diced strawberries, sliced fresh berries with a smear of dairy free cream cheese, and a few other toppings.
Directions for This Waffle Recipe Without Milk
Before you start, turn on your waffle iron so it preheats, and is ready when you are (it won’t take too long to make the waffle batter).
Place an empty measuring cup on your kitchen scale and tare to zero. Add your milk of choice, then add the optional organic apple cider vinegar if you’ll be using it.
For waffles, I use an electric stand mixer with the wire attachment. Place your empty mixing bowl on your kitchen scale and tare to zero. Add the Dry Ingredients (Part 1 Ingredients), and tare between weighted ingredients.
Once they’re all in, lightly mix to combine. With your mixer on low speed, add the milk + vinegar combo. Mix for several moments, then turn the mixer off. Wait 1 minute before continuing (this allows the reaction a little time to take place).
Place the dirty measuring cup on your scale, tare to zero, then add the oil and vanilla. Now, turn your mixer back on medium speed and pour in the oil and vanilla combo. Mix until all of the ingredients are combined, then mix on high speed for 20 seconds, then turn the mixer off. I like to scrape the bowl with my spatula to ensure there aren’t any lumps. That’s it! Your waffle batter is ready and you can get to cooking.
To make waffles, heat your waffle maker and follow its instructions. I like to use the setting 4 (out of 6) on my double waffle maker.
Leftover Waffle Storage
For best results, freeze your waffle leftovers (you can read all the details on waffle freezing in this article if you’ve never frozen waffles before). Do not store your leftover waffles at room temperature or in the fridge. They need to be in an airtight container in your freezer. This can be a glass container with a lid, a freezer bag, and so on.
To reheat your no milk waffles, you can heat from frozen in your oven or toaster oven (this is how my kids do it), or thaw on the countertop for about 90 minutes. If you opt for the toaster oven, my kids like to heat them at 375f/190c until heated and crispy.
One of the best tips I can give you: if you opt to make these milk free waffles in the 4″/10cm waffle maker as pictured, get a proper/standard toaster. This size fits beautifully in a toaster, and you can reheat from frozen, just like store bought waffles.
These waffles are also fantastic in a lunch box. You can place them in your lunch box frozen, and they’ll be thawed and ready to go by lunchtime.
Meal Prep Tip
If you’re living the free-from life and can’t purchase boxed waffle mix, make your own. You can place a bowl on your kitchen scale, add all of the Part 1 Ingredients, then transfer them to a baggie. Label with the recipe name, then use a sharpie to write the other needed ingredients directly on the bag (you could also print them out and tape them on).
When you see a boxed/bagged waffle mix in stores, they’re simply selling you the dry ingredients, and giving you measurements for the wet ingredients. When my kids were growing up, I’d take the time to make bags of pancake mix, waffle mix, and cake mix. Then, when I needed to make something fresh, it was a lot easier.
More Delicious Breakfast Recipes
If you need free-from breakfasts that are gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and more, I’ve got you covered.
- Egg Free Breakfast Casserole Recipe (loaded with veggies, great for a weekend breakfast or brunch)
- Creamy Dairy Free Breakfast Potatoes (a great option on mornings where you have a little extra time)
- Fluffy Egg & Dairy Free Blender Pancakes (suuuppper duper easy to make)
- Gluten Free, Egg Free Lemon Poppy Muffins Recipe (a great option if you’re a fan of batch baking and freezing)
 |
 |
 |
 |
Answering Your Questions About This Waffle Recipe Without Milk
Is it OK to cook waffle batter in the iron as it heats?
Unfortunately, even on busy mornings, you’re going to need to allow the waffle iron to fully heat before you start cooking your waffle batter. To get the best waffles, especially if you like crispy waffles, you need to start with a hot waffle iron.
Most waffle irons will have some kind of indicator light to let you know when it’s fully heated and ready to be used. Once it lights up, you’re ready to roll. Just make sure you don’t use too much batter and make a huge mess.
Can I use this waffle recipe like pancake batter?
Whilst this gluten-free waffle recipe makes some very tasty waffles, you’d need to tweak it a bit to create pancakes. First, you’d need to use the vinegar option. To get the best lift for your free-from pancakes, the vinegar is a requirement. Well, another option would be carbonated water, but that’s a whole different avenue (you’d use 100% carbonated water in place of the milk).
When making pancakes, you’d also omit the oil, and know that you may need a little more liquid to get the consistency correct. It would actually be easier to start with this easy recipe for fluffy pancakes (GF + Top 9/14 Free), and just add cinnamon to it. I also have this recipe for delicious, truly corn free pancakes, and it already has cinnamon in the recipe.
Can I use vegetable oil for this waffle recipe?
When you make these vegan waffles, yes you can use any oil including vegetable oil, organic canola oil, organic tiger nut oil (tuber, not a tree nut), and everything in between. Just be sure you stick to oil, and not something like melted butter since it’s a fat that’s solid at room temperature.
How much waffle batter will I need for each waffle?
That’s going to depend on the waffle maker that you’re using. For example, when I make large Belgian waffles, it’s nearly a cup of batter per waffle. However, when I use my little 4″/10cm Dash, it’s a fraction of that. So, you get more waffles, but have to have a longer overall cook time, but they’re cute and toaster friendly.
A lot of waffle makers come with a little scooper cup that should make you a good sized waffle. If your iron didn’t come with one, start with a 1/3 measuring cup for smaller waffle makers and use a 1 cup measuring cup for larger waffle makers.
Will regular all-purpose flour work for these waffles?
Wheat based all-purpose flour will be a suitable substitute for my gluten free flour blend. You’ll mix everything as instructed, but be sure you don’t over mix since we aren’t trying to develop gluten.
From there, pop it in your hot iron, cook your waffles, then enjoy your tasty plate of food (with your favorite toppings of course).
Will adding eggs to this recipe make the waffles better?
Not necessarily. I’m told told that these waffles already have the perfect texture, and the correct performance. If you were to add a couple of large eggs to the batter, it won’t be the end of the world. You’ll increase the protein content, but I also can’t tell you how your waffles will perform since this isn’t something I’ve personally tested.
If you opt to add eggs, just be sure the waffle cook time is spot on, especially if you’re using a waffle iron without settings and a beep. We want to make sure they’re cooked all the way through.
Should I use a cooling rack when making this waffle recipe?
If you plan to batch cook, the best way to allow waffles to cool is to use your cooling rack. When you stack lots of cooked waffles, there’s a steaming effect that happens, and your first waffle on the bottom of the pile will especially suffer. I mean, they all do, the that first one becomes a soggy sad waffle.
The cooling rack will allow for good air flow, allows the waffles to cool properly, and then you can get them loaded onto your tray for freezing.
Is non-dairy milk the same thing as dairy free milk?
Non-dairy (also written as nondairy) used to imply that there could be a very small amount of cow’s milk dairy in a product. Dairy free on the other hand means zero dairy. Period.
Whilst the regulation has changed over the years, the US FDA generally has the viewpoint that “non dairy” could contain up to 0.5% of dairy milk derivatives such as caseinate. Dairy free always meant zero milk or milk derivatives.
At the time of publishing in 2026, what I can tell you is this: many brands are using the terms as if they’re interchangeable. This can be confusing to a lot of people because you’re not sure what they’re referring to.
When in doubt, anyone with a milk allergy should always contact a company to better understand their ingredients and manufacturing process.
Can I use melted dairy free butter instead of oil?
For the best waffles, you’ll want to avoid using dairy free butter. The reason: liquid fat vs solid fat at room temperature. Liquid fats (oil) will produce the best waffles. When you use a solid fat, your waffles will be fantastic when they’re hot and fresh. Once they cool however, and the solid fat returns to its solid state, your leftovers won’t be nearly as good as that first waffle.
What’s the best milk substitute for these waffles?
Honestly, you can use any milk substitute when making these gluten-free waffles. The silver lining, in my humble free-from opinion, when managing a dairy allergy is that all of the plant-based milks are a 1:1 swap when cooking foods such as waffles and pancakes.
Do these milk free waffles taste as good as regular waffles?
I am so pleased to tell you that yes, this homemade waffle recipe will stand up to the regular waffles you may be used to. I’ve had tasters with and without food allergies to ensure that my creations can stand up to the best of the best.
