Perfect for breakfast or brunch, these corn waffles are filled with the light, delicate flavor of corn. Plus, they're made from masa, and gluten-free!
A few months ago, I tried a gluten-free diet. I've written about why not everyone benefits from a gluten-free diet, so I definitely don't recommend that everyone try it.
However, I was experiencing symptoms and joint pain from my rheumatoid arthritis that made me wonder if I was in fact experiencing gluten intolerance.
After discussing Celiac screening with my doctor, I eliminated all gluten from my diet. After 2 months and no changes to my symptoms, I decided that the diet was not beneficial for me and discontinued it.
However, it was a great learning experience for me. The most surprising thing I learned is how easy it was for me to follow a gluten-free diet while I was at home. On the contrary, eating at restaurants was surprisingly more difficult than I expected it to be.
And I really missed beer (yes, I know gluten-free beer is available, but I couldn't find one that I liked as much as my favorite gluten-containing beers).
At home, I was able to find many gluten-free products that tasted pretty good. I developed a great love for corn tortillas. I experimented a lot with gluten-free baking. I never did come up with a bread recipe that I found pleasant in any way, but I did have success with cookies, cupcakes, and waffles. Some of them I continue to make even though I no longer follow a gluten-free diet. These Corn Waffles are one of them.
What I really like about these corn waffles is that they're not really trying to be regular waffles. They don't taste like regular waffles, they taste like waffles made from masa and cornmeal, which they are. And that's okay because they taste great anyway.
While I eat these waffles like I do any other waffles - with fruit and syrup - I think they would also be great with savory toppings (although in that case you probably want to skip the vanilla in the recipe). Perhaps a little bit of pulled pork, or a runny fried egg with bacon and you've definitely got yourself a breakfast of champions.
How to Make Corn Waffles:
Making corn waffles is pretty much like making most other waffles you might have made at some point:
First, whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl (or large measuring cup), whisk together the wet ingredients. Then stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Let the batter rest while the waffle maker heats up. This will allow the masa harina and cornmeal to become fully hydrated, which will cause the batter to thicken.
Then simply scoop some of the batter into your waffle maker (follow the instructions on your waffle maker here) to cook the batter into delicious waffles.
Serve your Corn Waffles with syrup, fruit, powdered sugar, or however you normally like to eat waffles.
Corn Waffle Ingredients:
- Masa harina (eg. Maseca): Look for this in the Latin foods aisle of your well-stocked grocery store, or in a Latin market. When I lived in the US, it was easy to find in any grocery store, but I find it more difficult to find here in Canada.
- Yellow cornmeal - This can generally be found in the baking aisle of any grocery store.
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Eggs
- Milk: Or replace with your favorite dairy-free milk to make these waffles dairy-free
- Canola oil: Or replace with any other neutral-flavored cooking oil
- Butter: Or replace with a non-dairy butter alternative to make these waffles dairy-free.
- Vanilla: This is optional - omit if you're using the waffles for a savory meal
Want more Waffle Recipes?
Corn Waffles Nutrition Notes:
The number of waffles the recipe makes, as well as the portion size and corresponding nutrition information depends on the size of your waffle maker.
Corn Waffles (Gluten Free)
Equipment
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina (eg. Maseca)
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 ¼ cups milk or replace with your favorite dairy-free milk to make these waffles dairy-free
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter melted (or replace with a non-dairy butter alternative to make these waffles dairy-free)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional - omit if you're using these for a savory meal)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups masa harina, ½ cup yellow cornmeal, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt.
- In a separate large bowl, lightly whisk 3 large eggs, then whisk in 2 ¼ cups milk, ¼ cup canola oil, 2 Tablespoons butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Whisk the liquid ingredients into the corn mixture until smooth. Allow the batter to sit for 5-10 minutes while the waffle maker heats up. The batter will thicken. Lightly grease waffle iron, and pour batter in and cook as per the instructions of your waffle iron. Serve with your choice of fruit and/or syrup. Waffles can be frozen and stored in a zipper bag.
Nutrition
Jill says
I am not on a gluten free diet, but I really love the flavor and texture of masa. I just got a new waffle maker, and was thinking about what flavor waffles I'd like to try. Masa came to mind, so I googled it and found your blog. I am so glad i did! My idea was for Masa waffles with Mexican chorizo. I omitted the vanilla and added cooked, cooled Mexican chorizo. They were delicious!! Thank you for your awesome recipe!!
Carissa says
I don't follow a gluten-free diet either, but I also still love to make these waffles! I'm so glad you loved them!
Elizabeth says
This is a good recipe except , for me personally, the vanilla limits what can be done with the recipe over all. I have decided corn and vanilla dont go together very well.
Carissa says
Simply omitting the vanilla is definitely an option, and for sure the way to go if you want to use the waffles in a savory way (eg. chicken and waffles).
Amy says
They taste really good! But mine fell apart. I might try adding some xanthan gum to see if that helps hold them together.
Heather says
I have been very sad about my celiac diagnosis...but these waffles perked me right up! Really good. I ran out of cornmeal so i used gluten free flour instead (king arthur mix containing xanthum gum) and they were amazing both in texture and taste. Good thing too because the recipe makes a lot!
Carissa says
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis 🙁
It's hard to change your diet when you're used to eating in a certain way. If you need more ideas for GF recipes, check out the Gluten Free section on my blog. I've got many recipes that are GF, or can easily be modified to be GF.