Today we’re sleeping in late and eating waffles smothered in chocolate sauce.
Flourless almond butter waffles, to be exact.
Trust me, it’s the right thing to do.
One of my go-to snacks recently is a big square of dark chocolate topped with a spoonful of thick almond butter. It’s salty, slightly sweet, and the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.
It turns out, it also makes for a pretty fun breakfast combination.
Yes, really.
I love almond butter.
I love dark chocolate.
I love maple syrup.
I love waffles.
It was a pretty easy jump to take all of those food loves and cram them together into one super satisfying breakfast.
Here we go:
This recipe is made in 1 bowl in about 15 minutes or less, and yields two crispy, airy, surprisingly light 8-inch Belgian waffles made from a batter of (mostly just) almond butter.
Sure, there are a few other ingredients in there, but it’s essentially just almond butter and yes, it’s still a mystery to me that this batter actually yields crispy, fluffy waffles, but IT DOES.
Let’s not fight it.
The waffles get topped with a totally swoon-worthy chocolate sauce made from just three ingredients: maple syrup, water, and cocoa powder.
This chocolate sauce is the perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of it’s parts; somehow just those three simple ingredients creates a luscious chocolate sauce that is perfect for drizzling over waffles (and pancakes and oatmeal and yogurt and ice cream and…the list goes on. I am now keeping a jar of this sauce in the fridge at all times because it’s just THAT good).
I’m not sure why it took me 28 years of life to figure out that I could turn my maple syrup into CHOCOLATE maple syrup, but I’m so glad I’ve finally figured it out. Better late than never, my friends.
If for some tragic reason you can’t have/don’t want chocolate on your waffles, know that you can achieve some pretty tasty PB&J vibes by warming some jam and drizzling it over the waffles instead, or just reaching for straight up maple syrup and butter, if that’s more your style.
Speaking of which, if you’re in the market for some substitutions, any nut butter you love will yield similarly magical waffles. Think hazelnut butter, cashew butter, or even good old peanut butter. I can’t think of a single nut butter that doesn’t taste great with chocolate sauce, so you should be safe to experiment to suit your nut butter loving heart. 
Whatever you do, you NEED these waffles in your life. I am continually amazed at how this flourless almond butter-based recipe turns into light, fluffy waffles, but I am so glad it does. And, (unless you’re allergic to chocolate) there’s really no reason NOT to start your day with some chocolate sauce.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below letting me know how it turns out, or tagging me on Instagram if you share a picture of your beautiful waffles!
- 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup milk of choice (any milk will work here- cow's, almond, coconut, etc)
- 1 Tablespoon virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (aka 1/2 Tablespoon) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1. Plug in your waffle iron and, if you have the option for temperature settings, set it to high.
- 2. While the waffle iron preheats, put all waffle ingredients into a bowl and whisk well to fully combine. Be sure there are no lumps of almond butter left in the batter, as it is what provides the structure for these waffles. The batter will seem very thin, but that is exactly how it should be.
- 3. Grease your waffle iron with nonstick spray, butter, or coconut oil, and pour half the batter in. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until your waffle iron say's it's finished, or until waffle is deeply golden. Grease the iron again before cooking the second waffle.
- 4. To make chocolate sauce, simply stir together all three ingredients in a small bowl until fully combined. It may take a few moments of stirring to get the cocoa powder to fully incorporate into the liquid, but it should be creamy and smooth when you're done stirring. Taste and add extra maple syrup, if needed, to sweeten.
- 5. Serve waffles immediately, each drizzled with half of the chocolate sauce. If you find yourself with leftovers, I prefer to separate the waffles into 4 and store in the fridge or freezer, then reheat them in the toaster before topping with chocolate sauce.
- This recipe yields 2 8-inch Belgian waffles, which could serve 2-4 people, depending on your hunger levels and what else you may be serving with breakfast.
- No waffle iron? This waffle batter can be made as pancakes, if you reduce the milk to 2 Tablespoons and cook them as silver dollar pancakes. Because they are flourless, they will be difficult to flip if you make them too big.
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