These healthy Chocolate Waffles are a great way to start the morning. The banana adds a touch of sweetness and some added nutrition and kids will love the idea of eating "chocolate" for breakfast. Feel free to add mini chocolate chips to the batter or sprinkle them on at the end if you're wanting an extra decadent waffle.
4 from 5 votes
Yield: 6large waffles or 20 (4-inch square) waffles
1/4cupground flaxseed(sub: wheat germ or more whole wheat flour)
1/2cupcocoa powder
3tablespoonssugar
1tablespoonbaking powder
3/4teaspoonground cinnamon
1/4teaspoonsalt
1 3/4cupsmilk(any plain, unsweetened milk will work)
2ripe bananas, mashed(about 1 cup)
2large eggs(beaten)
1/4cupavocado oil(or melted coconut oil)
1teaspoonvanilla extract
Optional: 1/2 - 1 cup mini chocolate chips
For serving: butter, maple syrup, fresh berries, or powdered sugar
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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
Freeze for Later: 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.Prepare From Frozen: Toast frozen waffles. If still slightly cold inside, microwave in 10-second increments until warmed through.
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.