As delightfully crisp as the fall mornings they’re made for, these enticingly spiced pumpkin waffles are an extra-special way to start your day. Serve with a maple pecan topping for an over-the-top-delicious breakfast that celebrates the flavors of fall.
Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin French toast casserole, and today’s pumpkin waffles are simply the epitome of fall morning bliss. (With a shoutout to apple cinnamon rolls, too!)
While I don’t get out my waffle maker all that often, recipes like this one make me—and my family—very glad I have one. (Same with you, gingerbread waffles!) That’s why homemade waffles are extra special… they’re not an everyday breakfast, so when you serve them, they’re REALLY appreciated!
So Much to Love About These Pumpkin Waffles
- Crisp outside and chewy-soft inside
- Excellent pumpkin spice flavor
- Whipping the eggs keeps these light and fluffy—no separating needed
- Not overly sweet, so maple pecan syrup is a perfect (and easy) topping
- Makes for a special fall breakfast or brunch
Key Ingredients You Need for Pumpkin Waffles
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for the base of these waffles.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: Yes, we use both, just like we do in buttermilk waffles and whole wheat waffles. These leaveners keep the waffles light.
- Spices: Pumpkin can be a little bland on its own, so we need to rely on spices. (All that yummy pumpkin spice flavor we go crazy for in the fall!) Go ahead and whip up a batch of this homemade pumpkin pie spice because you’ll want to use it again for other favorites like pumpkin snickerdoodles & pumpkin muffins. We’re also adding some extra cinnamon and ginger; because waffles are cooked under such direct heat that can dilute flavor, you REALLY want to amp up the spices.
- Pumpkin: Measure your pumpkin carefully. You need 1 cup for this recipe, so less than a full can.
- Brown Sugar: The hint of molasses flavor from brown sugar pairs so well with pumpkin.
- Eggs: Eggs not only bind everything together, they also help make these pumpkin waffles light and fluffy. You’ll beat the eggs first, before adding the other ingredients. Pumpkin is a heavy ingredient, so we whip air into the eggs to counterbalance it and prevent weighed-down waffles. No need to separate the eggs.
- Melted Butter: Adds so much delicious flavor, but you can use oil if you prefer.
- Vanilla Extract: For extra flavor.
- Whole Milk: There’s more liquid in waffles than pancakes, because they cook longer and we want to prevent them from being too dry. Whole milk makes for rich and tender waffles, but you could also use buttermilk or a nondairy milk.
I also added maple syrup to the batter, which helps bring flavor (and brings out the pumpkin flavor!) and adds a little extra sweetness.
By the way, if you’re using canned pumpkin and wondering what to do with the rest of the can, check out all these recipes to make with leftover pumpkin puree.
Here’s How to Cook Pumpkin Waffles
- Preheat your waffle maker. Here’s the waffle maker I own and love. This waffle maker is another great choice.
- Combine the dry ingredients.
- Beat the eggs: Give them a vigorous whisk by hand, or use a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to whip them up until they’re frothy on top, about a minute or two. This helps keep the waffles light, to counteract the heaviness of the pumpkin.
- Mix in the remaining wet ingredients, then the dry ingredients. Whisk or beat on low speed until everything is combined, but do not over-mix! Some small lumps are fine—don’t worry about that.
- Pour batter into greased waffle maker. Close the lid and cook the waffles until crisp, which takes about 5 minutes in my waffle maker. All waffle makers are different, so check your waffle maker’s instructions and keep an eye on your cooking waffles. Repeat with remaining batter.
Here’s the beaten egg mixture, frothy on top as you can see:
This is the batter, after all of the ingredients have been combined:
Waffle Making Tip: Avoid overfilling the waffle maker—once shut, the batter seeps to the edges. This is usually how I fill mine:
Keep waffles warm as you cook the rest: If serving all of the waffles at once, transfer the cooked waffles to a wire rack on a baking sheet, and place in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven to keep them warm until the whole batch is ready.
Optional Maple Pecan Topping
These pumpkin waffles aren’t overly sweet, so there’s room for some sweetness in your toppings.
You can top these pumpkin waffles with a simple pat of butter and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar—or a swipe of pumpkin butter if you want to journey all the way down Pumpkin Spice Lane—but I especially love them with toasted pecans and warm maple syrup (which is equally fantastic on gingerbread waffles). All those nooks and crannies in the waffle’s surface are just begging to be filled with this stuff!
Toast the pecans in a saucepan on the stove for just a few minutes, then add the maple syrup to the pecans in the pan and let it warm through (doesn’t take long!), before spooning the mixture over the top of the plated pumpkin waffles.
And of course, whipped cream has a standing invitation to waffle parties. Try adding a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice to it—yum!
Pumpkin Waffles
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes (includes batches)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 14 4-inch square waffles
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Pumpkin waffles come together with a handful of basic ingredients, plus plenty of deep, warm pumpkin spices. They’re crisp and light right out of the waffle maker, and taste fantastic with maple pecan syrup. Here’s my recipe for pumpkin pancakes if you want to try those, too!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (225g) pumpkin puree (not 1 can)
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) whole milk, at room temperature
Optional Maple Pecan Topping
- 3/4 cup (90g) pecan halves
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat waffle maker on medium-high heat. Preheat oven to 200°F (93°C). Place a wire rack on a baking sheet; set aside.
- Make the pumpkin waffle batter: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or whisk vigorously by hand), beat the eggs (do not separate them) on high speed for 1–2 minutes, until frothy on top. Add the pumpkin, melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and milk, and whisk/beat on medium speed until combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk/beat on low speed until combined. Do not over-mix. Some small lumps are OK.
- Grease the preheated waffle maker (I use nonstick spray). Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter into each well of the waffle maker (or less if your waffle maker is smaller) and close the lid. Cook the waffles until crisp, about 5–6 minutes. (Follow the cooking instructions for your waffle maker.) Transfer the cooked waffles to the wire rack and keep warm in the preheated oven as you cook the rest. Repeat to cook the remaining batter.
- Meanwhile, as the waffles cook, make the optional maple pecan topping: Place the pecans in a saucepan or skillet set over medium-low heat. Toast the pecans for just about 4–5 minutes, stirring the whole time, because pecans can go from toasted to burnt in a matter of seconds. When they’re giving off a subtle toasty scent, turn the heat down to low and pour in the maple syrup. Leave it on the stove for just a minute, until the syrup is warmed through, and then remove from heat.Â
- Serve the waffles immediately with warm maple pecan topping, or your choice of toppings.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Waffles are best enjoyed freshly made. I recommend freezing any leftover cooled waffles. Waffles can be frozen for up to 3 months, then warmed in the toaster.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Waffle Maker or Mini Waffle Maker
- Waffle Maker: You can use this recipe in either a Belgian or traditional waffle maker or iron. The suggested cooking time is just a suggestion. Follow the cooking instructions for your specific waffle maker.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger, ground allspice, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. This is in addition to the 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger also called for in this recipe.
- Milk: Whole milk makes for rich and tender waffles, but you could also use buttermilk or a nondairy option in a pinch.
- Can I make these as pumpkin pancakes? The ratios of wet-to-dry are different because waffles need to cook longer. Try this recipe for pumpkin pancakes.
- Other Topping Suggestions: Pumpkin butter, apple butter, whipped cream, sugared cranberries—instructions for these included in the recipe card for pumpkin pie, or dusting of sifted confectioners’ sugar.
anyway to post calorie info on here?
Hi Cameron, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
My kids loved this recipe (even without the pecan syrup). Personally, I found them a bit too floppy, so I think we’ll stick to pumpkins pancakes from now on. Also, I only used half the cinnamon and the spice level was perfect. I think Sally likes her pumpkin spiciness level a bit higher than I do! 🙂
I just got a mini waffle maker for Christmas and love pumpkin but I only want to make 4 waffles at a time…how long can batter be stored in refrigerator?
Hi Brenda, the leaveners are activated once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, so it’s best to make the waffles soon thereafter. We recommend making all the batter and then freezing any leftover cooled waffles. Waffles can be frozen for up to 3 months, then warmed in the toaster. Hope you enjoy them!
These were AMAZING! Hands down the best waffles we’ve ever had! I am so glad I doubled this recipe! We will have it again tomorrow for Thanksgiving morning! Served with pure maple syrup! I shared it with my closest friends because it’s that good! Your house will smell so amazing too!
A hit with mum and kids. Made it with some homemade pumpkin puree from the freezer. We didn’t do the topping, just maple syrup, fruit and cream
hi! was wondering! could I use 1% milk in place of whole milk?
Hi Eden! You can, but the waffles will be a little less rich and tender.
This was soo good!! Only issue was that it didn’t make as many as I thought so I would double the recipe next time.
This looks great! Do you know if it would work substituting almond milk for whole milk?
Hi Elizabeth! See recipe notes: Whole milk makes for rich and tender waffles, but you could also use buttermilk or a nondairy option in a pinch.
Great recipe!! I make regular waffles most Sunday mornings as a treat and we decided to try a new recipe for something different. Very tasty and just enough flavor of pumpkin and all the fall spices. Thank you for sharing!!
The taste was fantastic, but they came out extremely floppy. I had to add an extra 1/4 cup of flour, and that fixed it. Definitely worth trying though! (And yes, I measured the pumpkin, didn’t just dump the whole can in there.)
Made a few changes: my own roast pumpkin puree, vanilla yogurt for the dairy and garamasala subbed for pie spice. Really good! I also only had 2 eggs. This was my treat after processing pumpkins into freezer portions. Only 2 more to go and now I have readymade waffles, too
This was absolutely delicious!! We left the brown sugar out but followed the rest to a T! These are definitely now a fall staple. So much flavor and so comforting.
Perfect for a weekend breakfast on a cool fall morning! I followed the recipe exactly and was not disappointed. The waffles have a crisp outside with a tender and fluffy interior. The pumpkin combined with the spices give these waffles really a nice pumpkin pie flavour without being overly sweet. I would definitely recommend that you give this recipe a try!
Looking forward to trying these! Any tips for baking in silicone waffle pan instead of waffle iron?
Thanks!
Hi Mandy, we haven’t tested these in a silicone waffle maker, so unfortunately we don’t have any tips to offer—but please do let us know how they turn out for you!
My husband and I enjoyed these! Unsure why some are calling them bland. There’s a lot of pumpkin and spice in them compared to other pumpkin waffle or pancake recipes. We didn’t make the pecan syrup. But I look forward to trying that next time.
This was a TERRIBLE recipe. Bland as all heck. I even doubled the seasonings & it still tasted bland. Likely because the recipe calls for making a syrup mixture so perhaps the poster expects that to be all the sweetness needed. If you’re not making the pecan syrup mix, expect to add sugar & double the seasonings.
It also makes for a very gummy texture. I would not recommend this recipe.
Forgot the rating with my comment.
What a fabulous way to celebrate the first day of Autumn. These are so delicious. I substituted 3 T of the gluten free flour with ChoCho Protein powder and didn’t sacrifice flavor or texture and get some added benefit!
Eh. These were ok. There was very little pumpkin flavor
These are great! Delicious flavor and easy to make!
I am totally trying these Sally, we’re big waffle fans in our house and these look SO good.
On a different note, the autumnal serving platter is absolutely stunning
Thanks for all your great recipes. I made these this morning and while they were delicious, they didn’t rise to the usual waffle thickness, but were thin and floppy. Any suggestions?
Hi John, that’s just the nature of pumpkin, and when you add it to batters. They’re going to be a little floppy as they sit. Were they crisp right out of the waffle maker? Perhaps they needed longer to cook? I’m glad you still enjoyed them!
Our waffles turned out so great! My 4 year old especially loved them.
Thank you for making recipes. Your efforts are a blessing to all!
Thank you so much, Tara!
Excellent flavor and very easy! I usually use regular sugar in waffles, and now I don’t think I can make them again without the brown sugar and maple syrup. Great recipe!