Move over avocado toast, because avocado waffles are way more delicious!

Recently, I splurged and got myself a mini-waffle iron. It was $10, so it was pretty hard to pass up. Sweet waffles for breakfast are fantastic, but savory waffles for lunch or dinner are even better. There is a small bit of sugar in this batter, but it doesn’t make a sweet waffle at all. The waffles can be topped with whatever you want – avocado slices, salsa, chili, a poached egg, anything your heart desires! I mean, if you really wanna get crazy, you could dunk these in queso.

This recipe makes 9 to 10 mini-waffles in my round maker. I don’t know how many they would make in a standard round or square one, so you’re on your own if you feel like you might need to double to recipe or not. I like the mini-waffles because small food is cute. And you can justify eating more because saying you’ve eaten eaten 4 mini-waffles doesn’t sound so gluttonous.

If you don’t have a waffle iron, you can cook these up in a pan on the stove or on an electric griddle like pancakes instead.

The batter is deliciously spiced with shreds of cheddar cheese in it and green onions for a bit of freshness and brightness. The corn comes from the cornmeal that’s in the batter – you can use either white or yellow, it doesn’t matter. I feel like the most important thing to stress about this waffle batter is that you need to let it sit for ten minutes so the cornmeal can soften. If not, they become hard little bits in the waffle and that’s not delicious at all.

Savory Cheddar Corn Waffles

Ingredients

• ¾ cup whole milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or canola oil)
• 1 large egg
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup cornmeal (yellow or white)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup sliced green onions (scallions), plus extra for garnish
• Additional toppings: avocado, salsa, chili, sour cream, hot sauce, etc.

Steps

1. In a small bowl, combine the milk, butter (or oil), and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chili powder, and black pepper. Stir until combined.
3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Lightly fold in the cheese and green onions, being careful not to over-mix the batter.
5. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes to let the cornmeal soften. You can use this time to prepare your toppings.
6. Scoop batter into your waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer’s directions. The waffles should cook in 3-5 minutes or longer if you want them extra crispy. Just be sure to not over-fill your waffle iron as this batter will expand and the cheese will melt/ooze out.
7. Make all of the batter into waffles, even if you’re not eating them all. The leftovers can be stored in the fridge or freezer and placed in the toaster to reheat.

For my first waffle, I just went with avocado slices with green onions and hot sauce. On the second one, I put spicy bean chili and cheese with a sprinkling of green onions. If you wanted to get super duper fancy, you could use these waffles as sandwich bread. You can get as creative as you want. They’re your waffles now! Eat them how you want to.