Waffles For Dinner?! 3 Insanely Easy (& Delicious!) Recipes Your Whole Family Will Devour.

We’re constantly searching for meal options that our whole family can enjoy together, but are quick to make and get the kids excited to come to the table when we call “dinnnner’s ready”.    

It often feels like this is mission impossible. But not anymore.

We’re bringing you 3 incredible family-friendly recipes that all take under a half hour to prep and cook, and will have your kids eagerly waiting for dinner to begin.

The reason why?

One word: WAFFLES.

Yep, they’re not just for breakfast anymore, and all 3 of these mouth-watering recipes involve our new favorite kitchen tool, the waffle maker.

And we promise, after you make these recipes, you won’t be able to live without it either.

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Pin for when you need a quick and fun family meal:

CALZONE WAFFLES

First up, the seriously genius Calzone Waffles. We love this idea for so many reasons – how you can easily customize it to individual tastes, that it can be portable for a quick on-the-go meal when you’re running late for soccer practice, and the way our kid’s eyes light up when we say we’re having “Calzone Waffles” for dinner (try it, it never fails!).

Calzone Waffles

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Prep Time 7 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 19 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tbs baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 8 tbsp butter
• 2 eggs beaten
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• ¼ lb sliced Salami
• ¼ cup olive tapenade (optional)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

Instructions

 

• Preheat your waffle maker. Mix together buttermilk, melted butter and eggs
• In a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cheese. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Let rest 5 mins.
• Place ¼ cup waffle batter on the hot waffle maker. Top with pizza sauce, salami, tapenade, shredded mozzarella, and another scoop of pizza sauce. Cover everything with another ¼ cup of waffle batter.
• Press waffle maker top down and cook 10 minutes or until waffle is done.

Notes

This recipe can be easily adjusted to fit the individual preferences of your family. Simply “stuff” your calzone with their favorite fillings.

 

If you want to add some additional whole grains, try using a wheat, whole wheat or white whole wheat flour instead of your traditional white.

VEGGIE WAFFLE FRITTATA

Up next is a breakfast favorite reimagined: the Waffle Frittata. Instead of the usual method of cooking in the oven, here you take the batter and pour it into your trusty waffle maker. Out comes an incredibly delicious and fluffy waffle, packed with protein and colorful veggies.

This has quickly become our go-to way of getting our kids to eat eggs – it seems that anything in waffle form automatically has a 75% higher chance of being consumed. Hooray for that!

PS – this is of course also a great option for breakfast, but the additional novelty of “breakfast for dinner” never gets old.

Veggie Waffle Fritatta

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 8 eggs
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 4 green onions chopped
• ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
• ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
• ½ cup mushrooms chopped
• 2 tbs parsley
• ½ cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

 

• Cook pepper and onion over high heat until soft. Add mushrooms and stir 2-3 minutes.
• Whip the eggs and stir in flour and baking powder.
• Stir in cooked vegetables, parmesan, parsley, feta and spinach.
• Scoop egg mixture into waffle iron and cook until set.

Notes

Optional: serve with tzatziki or garlic sauce

MONTE CRISTO WAFFLES

This new twist on the classic Monte Cristo sandwich (essentially a fried ham ‘n’ cheese on egg battered bread) elevates it to a whole new level. The addition of the fried egg on top adds a delicious layer of taste complexity with savory and sweet melding together in perfect harmony.

Monte Cristo Waffles

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Prep Time 7 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp Baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 8 tbsp butter
• 2 eggs beaten
• ½ lb thinly sliced ham
• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
• 4 eggs for frying

Instructions

 

• Preheat your waffle maker. Mix together buttermilk, melted butter and eggs.
• In a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cheese. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Let rest 5 mins.
• Scoop ½ cup batter into hot iron. Layer ham on top of batter. Add another ½ cup batter. Cook until waffle maker says they are done or batter is cooked through.
• Melt ½ tbs butter in a pan over high heat. Crack one egg in it. Cook until bubbling on the edges, flip over. Cook until whites are set.
• Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and a fried egg on top.

Notes

If you have a pickier eater that may not think those runny yolks are as dreamy as we do, try serving with a side of scrambled eggs. And if the ham inside the waffle is going to cause a panic, make a “ham roll-up” to serve alongside instead.

If you don’t have a waffle maker or think it’s time for an upgrade, we highly recommend this one. It has a brilliant flip function that enables the batter to distribute evenly (no bald spots!) and a 6-setting browning control knob to ensure perfectly golden waffles each and every time. Plus, it makes 2 waffles at once, so dinner will be ready twice as fast!

Don’t need a double or looking for one a little less expensive? We’ve had great results with this single one as well.

These waffle recipes will help you put a delicious but quick dinner on the table for your entire family. So if you feel frazzled every time your kids ask “what’s for dinner?”, simplify with one of these yummy breakfast-for-dinner recipes!

Which waffles-for-dinner recipe will you be trying first? Let us know your favorite in the comments below!