Chocolate Waffles with Banana
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Start your morning with a stack of homemade chocolate waffles made with simple, wholesome ingredients like banana, whole wheat flour, flaxseed, and cocoa powder. These waffles are freezer-friendly, making them perfect for busy mornings. Add mini chocolate chips for an extra fun twist!
Rachel’s Notes About This Recipe
- I created these healthier chocolate waffles and our Chocolate Zucchini Waffles years ago as a way to sneak extra fruits and veggies and other nutrition into foods my picky toddlers actually liked. My kids still enjoy these as a teens.
- If you like dark chocolate, these are for you! The cocoa plus vanilla really highlight the deep, rich chocolate flavor. However, if you want to mellow out the slight bitterness of cocoa, simply add in semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- These aren’t super sweet on their own. So you may want to top with a little butter and maple syrup or powdered sugar. Or you can stir in the optional chocolate chips I mention in the recipe (my kids love that).
- I like to use a round Belgian Waffle Maker but this waffle mix can also be used in a standard waffle maker.
- You can double the batch, let them cool, and freeze to have on hand.
Ingredients Needed
I’m a big fan of sneaking nutrition into my kid’s food when I can, so I’ve added in a few ingredients to up the health factor of these waffles.
Ingredients Notes
- Flour – I use some all-purpose flour and some white whole wheat flour for added fiber and protein.
- Ground flaxseed (or wheat germ) – This also adds in more fiber.
- Cocoa powder – You can replace this with cacao powder (the raw version of cocoa before it’s processed) for an even healthier option.
- Milk – Use whatever plain milk you want.
- Bananas – This recipe is a great way to use up ripe bananas. The riper the banana, the sweeter it will be.
- Avocado oil – I like avocado oil as a less processed replacement for vegetable oil, but you can also use melted coconut oil.
Tips for Great Waffles
Since you are clearly in the waffle-making business at the moment, here are a few tips to make your waffles AWESOME.
- Strike while the iron is HOT! If your waffles come out a little pale and soft, it could be because the waffle maker you’re using isn’t hot enough. It’s important to preheat the waffle maker for at least 5-10 minutes. Yes, seriously that long! Also, pause for a couple minutes between batches to let the iron heat up again.
- Opt for oil instead of butter. For crispier waffles, use avocado oil or coconut oil instead of melted butter in your recipe. Unlike butter, oil doesn’t have any water content, which adds moisture and hinders a crust from forming.
How to Make Chocolate Waffles
You’ll be surprised how easy these are to whip up! Here’s a quick step-by-step overview—get the full, printable recipe at the bottom of the post.
- Preheat your waffle iron. Each one is a little different, but mine takes about 5 minutes or so.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix the wet ingredients in another mixing bowl (or in the blender).
- Combine wet and dry. Stir just until combined (don’t over mix). Stir in optional chocolate chips at this point, if you want.
- Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray and add batter in batches. Spread a thin layer almost to the edge (if you go too far it will spill out).
- Cook according to your iron’s instructions–mine takes about 3 minutes.
Tip: To keep your waffles warm between batches, set them on a wire rack on top of a sheet pan in a 200°F oven.
Ways to Serve Chocolate Waffles
Oh man, there are so many great ways to serve this recipe. Here are some ideas:
- Butter and real maple syrup is our family’s go-to.
- Spread a little peanut butter or almond butter over it and drizzle with syrup.
- Slice up another banana and serve it on top.
- Put a dollop of Maple Whipped Cream on top!
- Sprinkle some berries over the top (like the pictures) and add a little powdered sugar.
- Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips over the top when serving. Kids will love that!
- Serve alongside some Cheesy Scrambled Eggs, hard-boiled eggs, or Oven Baked Bacon for extra protein.
Can You Freeze Waffles?
Yes, yes, yes! We’re big fans of prepping meals ahead to save time on busy mornings (have you seen our Best Freezer Meals list?).
In fact, waffles are one of our go-to make-ahead breakfasts. I almost always double the batch and freeze the extras for quick, wholesome meals later.
How to Freeze Waffles: Make and cool waffles completely on a cooling rack. Place waffles in single layers in a gallon-size freezer bag with parchment paper between layers. Seal tightly and freeze.
How to Reheat Frozen Waffles: Pop frozen waffles into the toaster until crispy and warmed through. If still slightly cold inside, microwave in 10-second increments until warmed through.
FAQs
There are two main types of waffle makers out there:
A Belgian Waffle Maker: This is what I used for the photos in this post. They are thicker in size with extra deep pockets and can be square or circle.
American Waffle Makers: Usually made with a smaller waffle iron that doesn’t make pockets as deep. Because of the waffles’ thinner size, they cook faster. These can be square (I have this one that makes 4 waffles at a time) or round.
Pop them into a 200°F oven on a wire rack that’s set on top of a sheet pan.
I have not tested these as gluten-free, but I’ve had good luck swapping out all purpose and whole flour for Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour in other baking recipes. Let me know if you try this and how it goes!
Yep! Just use a plain dairy free milk like almond milk or oat milk. You’ll also need to use dairy-free chocolate chips like Daiya brand, if you end up adding those in.
More Popular Waffle and Pancake Recipes
Chocolate Waffles with Banana
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (see Cooking Notes)
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed (sub: wheat germ or more whole wheat flour)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups milk (any plain, unsweetened milk will work)
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/2 – 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- For serving: butter, maple syrup, fresh berries, or powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Make sure it gets really hot!
- Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, ground flaxseed, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
- Wet Ingredients: In another bowl (or you can use the blender), whisk together the milk, bananas, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Combine: Add to the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined (do not overwork the batter). Gently stir in optional chocolate chips, if desired. Tip: Tap the bowl on the counter a few times to pop the bubbles in the batter.
- Cook Waffles: Coat the hot waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray. Use a dry measuring cup or ladle to add batter to the waffle iron, spreading a thin layer almost to the edges (don't add too much over it will overflow). Cook according to your waffle iron's instructions–mine took about 3 minutes per batch. Repeat with the remaining batter. To keep waffles warm and crispy between batches, pop them into a 200°F oven on a wire rack that's set on top of a sheet pan.
- Serve: Serve warm with butter, maple syrup or powdered sugar, and sliced bananas and/or strawberries on top.
Freezer Instructions
Notes/Tips
- Make sure your waffle iron is really hot before starting (usually 5-10 minutes to preheat).
- These aren’t super sweet on their own. So you’ll likely want to top with a little butter and maple syrup or powdered sugar. Or you can stir in the optional chocolate chips I mention in the recipe (my kids love that), which also helps mellow out the slight bitterness of cocoa powder.
- I recommend using white whole wheat flour (sometimes labeled as gold whole wheat flour) if you can find it. It’s a lighter variety of whole wheat that bakes up better in my opinion.
Nutrition
Great recipe. Fun, easy, delicious. So tasty!
Glad you enjoyed these Ben! Thanks for leaving a review.
These were a big hit with my three kids tonight! Everyone said 5 stars! We do breakfast for dinner most Fridays and this was a fun new recipe to try!
Love to hear this Haley! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
This recipe is so good!!! I added 1 cup of chocolate chips and it’s very much like a banana brownie 🙂
Awesome, so happy to hear you like it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
It was a little too “healthy” tasting for my kids. It’s needs lots of syrup on to mask the wheaty taste
So many good ingredients gone to waste, neither of my kids could eat the waffles. I struggled too. Not sweet enough, bitter from the cocoa. Sorry but that’s my honest feedback.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy these, Susie. They aren’t intended to be particularly sweet on their own. We always add a little butter and pure maple syrup on top to taste. I’ll make sure to make that clear in the blog post/recipe. If you try again, you could always reduce the cocoa a little bit and add in more sugar or chocolate chips to the batter.
Do you have a nutrition count? Such as calories, fiber, etc.?
I’m sorry but at this time we don’t offer the info. There are many free sites that do that for you like Spark People, if you want to try that.
How do you freeze these and reheat?
Good question. I need to update the recipe. Just fully cook, cool, and freeze in a freeze gallon-sized bag in single layers divided by parchment paper. To serve, pop a frozen waffle in the toaster for one cycle and then microwave in 10 second increments until warmed through.
I’m suppose to stay away from white flour…can I use all wheat flour? Does it change the texture or taste? Do I need to increase the liquid or anything?
You for sure can make it 100% whole wheat, but I think adding more banana would moisten it more. Also, I find that the white whole wheat tastes the best and is the lightest.