Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Waffles

Broccoli rice and cheddar cheese are a match made in heaven in these delicious, savory waffles.  Each waffle contains the equivalent of three servings of broccoli!

Waffles aren’t just for breakfast anymore! If you’re into cooking and trying new and different recipes, you’ve probably noticed that savory waffles have been trending for a while now. I developed my first savory waffle recipe about a year ago, but then forgot all about waffles until recently when I started using a lot of riced vegetables in my cooking. That’s when it dawned on me that riced vegetables would be the perfect addition to savory waffles. Ricing vegetables is an even hotter food trend than savory waffles. It began with cauliflower but has expanded to other vegetables, and has become so popular that some of the major food companies are now producing several varieties of frozen, riced vegetables. Fresh riced vegetables are also widely available in most upscale grocery stores, but it’s easy to make your own which is what I did for these delicious Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Waffles.

I’m a huge fan of riced vegetables. Ricing vegetables is simple, practical, and ingenious. It’s “simple”, because all you need to do to rice vegetables is throw them into a food processor and chop them up until they’re the size of grains of rice. It’s “practical”, because ricing allows you to use as much of the vegetable as possible. All the odd pieces of cut vegetables that would normally get thrown away can be riced so there is very little waste. Plus, because the vegetable pieces are so tiny, they cook much more quickly and evenly. And finally, ricing vegetables is “ingenious” because it’ a clever and resourceful method of preparation that makes vegetables extremely versatile. The whole concept of ricing vegetables seems even more ingenious when you consider that it’s taken until the 21st century for this simple idea of cutting vegetables into tiny pieces to become mainstream! One of my favorite veggies to rice is broccoli because I can use the stems as well as the florets. Broccoli rice works so well is this recipe for Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Waffles.

Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Waffles are a great way to sneak veggies into your family’s diet. This recipe calls for 1 pound of raw, riced broccoli, which equates to 4 ounces of broccoli in each waffle (recipe makes 4). Since one serving of raw broccoli weighs about 1¼ ounces (36 grams to be exact), that means each waffle contains three servings of broccoli! If you have a picky eater in your household who won’t eat veggies, try serving them one of these waffles and you might just convert them.

Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Waffles combine two popular food trends to create a unique, nutritious dish that appeals to kids and adults alike. For extra convenience, you can make these waffles ahead of time and freeze them. They can be reheated in a 425-degree oven, for 10-12 minutes, straight from the freezer. Easy peasy and great to have on hand for those super busy weeknights when you’re struggling to come up with something to make for dinner. When choosing toppings, use your imagination. I love these waffles with tomatoes and sour cream on top (as pictured), but I often add a protein as well, usually chicken. They’d also be good with chopped deli ham on top and some honey mustard dipping sauce on the side. I had so much fun developing this recipe and am so pleased with how it came out that I’m planning some other variations. How does an Herbed Sweet Potato Parmesan Waffle sound? Stay tuned!

Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Waffles

 

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Author: QUEEN OF MY KITCHEN

Serves: 4 waffles

Ingredients

• 1-pound broccoli rice (see notes #1)
• ¾ cup (84 grams) almond flour
• ¾ cup (90 grams) chickpea flour
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 large eggs (or 4 small)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• Olive oil cooking spray
• TOPPINGS
• Sour cream or Greek Yogurt
• Chopped tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes)
• Fresh chopped parsley or chives

Instructions

1. Preheat a Belgium waffle iron.
2. Thoroughly mix together the broccoli rice, almond flour, chickpea flour, cheddar cheese, eggs, Dijon, salt, and pepper.
3. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and cook ¼ of the broccoli mixture (about 8 ounces) in it according to the manufacturer’s directions. (see notes #2)
4. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
5. Just prior to serving, top with sour cream (or Greek Yogurt), chopped parsley (or chives), and chopped tomatoes.

Notes

1. Broccoli rice can be made in a food processor. Process broccoli florets and stems until the size of grains of rice.
2. The broccoli mixture is much thicker than regular waffle batter so after you add the batter to the waffle iron be sure to press the top of it down as far as it will comfortably go to flatten out/compress the batter.
3. I recommend freezing the waffles already cooked but you can also freeze the batter. Simply portion the batter and flatten into patties on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover the cookie sheet with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. Once frozen, wrap each patty tightly in plastic wrap and store in a zip lock freezer bag. Defrost completely before cooking in the waffle iron.

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