Hannah Kirshner's Best Ever (Vegan) Tofu Waffles Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Rocky January 13, 2024

Use one 12 oz pack of Mori Nu (or similar) shelf-stable silken tofu for this recipe to work properly. Nicer with oat milk instead of water. Works great with a liquid oil like avocado instead of having to melt the coconut oil. Works well when oil is reduced to 3 TBSP. Also nice with a tablespoon of booze for flavouring, like Cointreau.

These turned out amazing! I was so nervous given all the mixed/negative reviews. I used the Mori Nu brand extra firm silken tofu because that's all I had on hand. I did feel the batter was too thick and added some milk/milk alternative (about 4 oz). Cooked them at the highest but one setting in our Calphalon nonstick waffle maker and they were such a hit.

Love this recipe! Made it this morning and served it without telling my teenagers or husband about the secret ingredient. They only commented on how crispy they were (which is a plus in our family) but otherwise didn't notice a difference. I could tell a difference when I ate some plain, but not with syrup. I made a double batch and the only change I made was that I used half all-purpose flour and half oat flour. My waffle iron was set at 4 out of 5, and I had to leave each one in about 3 1/2 minutes. I didn't oil the waffle iron, but had no problem with sticking. The double batch made fourteen 6-inch round waffles.

Omg! Truly genius. A keeper in my endless search for protein rich recipes for my toddler! I dumped 1/4 packet of tofu, 1/4 cup waffle mix, 2 tbsp Veg oil, salt and sugar. I made sure the waffle iron was super hot and well oiled. Kept on one lower setting than hottest and the result was AMAZING!

Our family loves these. We usually spray the waffle iron to deal with the tendency for stickiness. Letting them cook longer than a typical waffle batter helps with the release (they take almost 2 times as long). Also, a little vanilla can help with the tofu flavor.

I had high hopes for this recipe, but these were gross! :( My husband ate them because he was really hungry, but I just couldn't get past the overwhelming tofu taste, and the crispy outside, gooey tofu even after 15 minutes on the waffle iron inside. I wonder if I did something wrong, but I liekly won't be trying these again. Oh well!

I have tried 6 or 8 different vegan waffle recipes. This on is BY FAR the best. The other recipes stuck horribly. I will be making this again and shared on Facebook. Thanks for the great recipe.

Bad grammar. Sorry! The texture and flavour *are* just great.

I've made these about ten times and have had mixed results, sometimes they work like a charm, (and when they do work they are so, so good!) other times not so much, sticking to the iron etc. Today they worked perfectly, and I think it might be mostly down to the type and measurement method for the tofu? First, I've noticed that Chinatown brands work a lot better for me than health-food-store brands (here in Ontario that's La Soyarie--every time I use that type I have problems with sticking). Also, I gave up on weighing the tofu (I think our pacakages come in slightly different sizes than in the U.S., so I can't just dump a package in and know it's the right amount), and now I use a liquid cup measure instead. Seems more accurate for this recipe.
A couple of other things I've noticed: the waffles seem to come out best on one down from the hottest setting on the waffle iron, because they do take longer to griddle (6 minutes or so on mine); these have a very low fat content for a waffle recipe, so greasing the waffle iron GENEROUSLY really helps with release and with achieving the goldenest, crispiest outside (butter or ghee works better than coconut oil but then you've strayed out of vegan territory, of course); subbing in some corn starch for a portion of the flour, a la Frankenwaffle recipe, seems to make these even better, amplifying both the crispness of the outer shell and the custardiness of the inner waffle; and another liquid oil works just fine in place of melted coconut oil--I used sunflower oil this morning and it tasted great.
I do think these are worth making even if there's some troubleshooting involved. The texture and flavour is just great.

I wonder what I did wrong. I had to add additional water to mine, probably twice what was called for. Even then I glopped them onto the waffle maker. HOWEVER, the final product was divine!!! I'm making them to freeze and toast rather than buying prepared. I think they will be wonderful coming from the toaster. Thanks!!

Made these for the second time just now, but since it's November, I used 2c of leftover pumpkin-tofu pudding instead of straight tofu. Also agree with the suggestion to use half starch (I had tapioca flour) and half wheat flour. I'd imagine they'd be amenable to GF swaps as well. Crispy outside, chewy inside, and no sticking to my non-stick iron.

I have made these twice. The first time, they were perfect and delicious, a real hit. I made them again last night--same brand of tofu, same waffle iron (which has no heat adjustment), and they stuck to the iron so tightly, I had to pry it open with a screwdriver! Two of the four waffles could be pried out, and were deemed tasty though quite crispy (no doubt due to their prolonged cooking while I frantically tried to pry the waffle iron open), but the other two were stuck like glue. I finally had to soak the waffle iron, which is non-stick and has cooked hundreds of waffles with no sticking issues. Any ideas about what might have caused this anyone??

Has anyone tried this recipe with gluten free four?

Made these for breakfast this morning with some adjustments because I can't help myself. The turned out quite good. No stickiness issues, no overly tofu flavor issues, and no overly coconut flavor issues. BUT we did top with strawberries, mangos, toasted sliced almonds and maple syrup. The batter was quite "wet" in that it really sizzles when I put it in the waffle iron, and therefore took some time to cook. Instead of turning the heat up high on the iron, I turned it down a bit so the inside would cook without burning the outside. I used w.w. pastry flour and used some cornstarch in place of some of the flour, which helps with crispiness. I also added some vanilla extract for additional flavor. My boys loved them. I would make these again.

I just made these and the first one was perfectly crispy but stuck to the waffle iron. The second one didn't get as crispy and separated! They tasted great, but I am wondering what I could try next time to get better results? How hot should the waffle iron be (I had mine set to 400F). My batter was fairly thick -- should it pour?

These did not work for me at all. Tasted like tofu and the inside would just not cook. brand new waffle iron on highest setting and cooked for over 10 minutes. Really wanted to like these but not even worth trying to fix.

Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I just made the waffles for my mom for mother's day brunch and they were a hit! I didn't tell her or her boyfriend until after we had finished them that there was an entire package of tofu in the waffles, and they were thoroughly impressed. Before finding out about the ingredients my mom even said "Make sure you save that recipe!"

Made these yesterday for breakfast and they turned out just amazing!
I was a little scared with all the comments talking about the "too moist" texture or the "coconuty" flavor which comes out a bit too much. But finally they were gorgeous: moist, but just enough, really full-filling due to the tofu in it, and tasteful! However the coconut flavor came out indeed a little too much in mines but it was because my coconut oil hasn't been "deodorized" first (that's the word we use in french). So just take a pure extra virgin coconut oil if you don't want that taste in your waffles, or simply use canola oil instead or whatever other oil you have on hand. :)

Thanks, Kristen! I look forward to trying out this recipe as pancakes. I love Gena Hamshaw's Vegan Chocolate Pie recipe which calls for silken tofu. Even though that recipe says "extra firm silken tofu," I always use soft silken. That recipe is always a big hit!

Could this batter be used to make pancakes as well?
Silken tofu now comes in soft and firm textures. Do you use the soft silken tofu?