Crisp on the outside, fluffy and cheesy inside, these spiced tofu & spinach waffles are Indian palak paneer-inspired savory waffles. GF option

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 45 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Breakfast, brunch
  • Cuisine: Indian Fusion

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup semolina or almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons or more spices of choice, (I use garam masala, ground coriander, turmeric and cayenne)

Wet Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup non-dairy yogurt (or use thick non-dairy milk, such as oat milk or coconut milk)
  • 1/2 cup or more water
  • 1/2 cup frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed lightly to remove extra moisture, see note for fresh spinach)
  • 1/2 cup crumbled firm or extra firm tofu
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons vegan mozzarella cheese (or other cheese of choice)

Optional Additions

  • 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds (or hemp seeds or chia seeds to add more crunch as well as up the protein)

Method

  1. In a bowl, add the dry ingredients. That's the flour, semolina, almond flour, salt, spices, baking soda, and nutritional yeast and optional seeds. Mix really well.
  2. Then add in the spinach, tofu, onions, cilantro, cheese, and yogurt. Drizzle in 1/2 cup of water and mix up the batter. The batter will most likely be thick, so keep adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have like a muffin batter consistency that's slightly loose, but not too flowy like pancake batter.
  3. Let this mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes. If you're using semolina, this mixture will thicken and you will have to add more water as you keep cooking the waffles. With almond flour, you will not need more water.
  4. Preheat your waffle maker, add a few drops of oil, then scoop the waffle batter into the waffle maker. Spread out the batter, drizzle a few more drops of oil on top, and close the waffle maker.
  5. Cook until the waffles are golden on both edges. This will take much longer than your usual waffles because of the extra moisture content in the spinach and tofu. So even if your indicator says that the waffle is done, you want to continue cooking it until it is golden. Remove the waffle and repeat for all the remaining batter. If the batter is thickening up too much while it's sitting, add another tablespoon of water and mix it in, then continue.
  6. Make all the waffles and set them on a cooling rack or set them in an oven which is heated to 300° F (148° C) so that they stay warm and crisp. Once all the spinach waffles are done, serve them with salsa or some chopped tomatoes. Chutneys -- like mango cilantro, or tomato chutney -- or ketchup or Szechuan sauce or other dips of choice are great with spinach waffles.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.