Surprise Your Taste Buds with Zucchini Bread Waffles

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These zucchini bread waffles are a delightful surprise for your taste buds, combining the sweet flavors of zucchini bread with the crispy goodness of waffles. Try this unique recipe and elevate your breakfast game.

April 25 is National Zucchini Bread Day.  There’s not much written about the history of this food holiday.  But it’s definitely worth celebrating because zucchini is one of the most fertile vegetables.  I start seeing bumper crops of zucchini in stores in April.  When I see the smaller zucchini that are about an inch thick that’s what I snatch them up to eat.  To me those are the sweetest and most delicious zucchini for Cajun zucchini fritters.

Now growing up I wasn’t a fan of squash.  Any squash.  Of course, that has changed.  I’m still not a huge fan of yellow squash, but if you peel summer squash or zucchini, I’m more inclined to enjoy them more.  For some reason, the peel is bitter and has an unpleasant flavor to me.  Of course, I’m sure that’s where most of the vitamins and minerals are, but It’s just not appealing to me.  No pun intended.  But you can’t peel them if you’re making bread and butter pickles with them.

What is the history of zucchini bread?

Zucchini bread has its roots in American cooking.  It became popular in the mid-20th century when home gardeners began growing zucchini in abundance. They found that the zucchini added extra moisture to the quick bread recipe.  Over time, zucchini bread has evolved into a beloved staple.  It’s celebrated for its combination of healthy vegetables with delicious baked goods.  There are so many different variations.  I like the ones with nuts like this pecan zucchini bread.

Why ARE zucchini so Fertile?

You see tons of them popping up at the farmers market and they seem to overrun the tables in the summer month.  Zucchini plants are known for their high yield. One of the reason is due to their flowering pattern.  It includes both male and female flowers on the same plant making pollination easy between flowers.  This can lead to abundant fruit production. Additionally, zucchini plants thrive in warm weather allowing them to produce fruit quickly.  These reasons lead to an overflow of zucchini during the growing season.  A great way to use some up is to make this crustless zucchini and cheese pie.

Eating Zucchini Squash Blossoms

Now, if you have an overabundance of blossoms and don’t want them all to turn into vegetables, then try eating the blossoms.  They are a delicate and scrumptious treat. These edible flowers have a subtle zucchini flavor and care often stuffed, battered, and fried. Incorporating these blossoms into your cooking not only reduces waste but also introduces a gourmet element to your culinary creations.

Converting Zucchini Bread Batter into Waffles

Transforming zucchini bread batter into waffles is a simple and ingenious way to elevate your breakfast experience. The batter used to make moist loaves can easily be adjusted just slightly before scooping into a waffle iron.  

To make these zucchini bread waffles, I combined the egg yolks with the rest of the wet ingredients.  Then I whipped the whites into stiff peaks and folded them into the batter before scooping into the waffle iron.  This makes the waffles light and airy in the inside and crispy on the outside.  This method captures the essence of zucchini bread while adding a delightful crunch.

Ingredients for Zucchini Bread Waffles

Pantry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves

Refrigerator ingredients – zucchini, eggs, buttermilk, butter

Instructions for these Zucchini Bread Waffles

First, preheat your waffle iron so it’s ready when you are.  Then separate the eggs and beat the yolks with the buttermilk, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.  Stir in the zucchini and set the mixture aside while you prepare the dry ingredients.

Combine the flour with the baking powder, salt, and ground spices.  Stir with a whisk to aerate, break up any lumps in the flour, and combine the ingredients thoroughly.  Add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture and stir until just combined.  You can leave a few clumps of flour because you’re going to let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.  Finally, fold in the whipped egg whites.  Scoop into your waffle iron and cook according to the waffle iron instructions. 

Tips for Making the Best Zucchini Bread Waffles

First and foremost, you want to grate the zucchini on the fine side of the grater.  After grating it, you need to squeeze out the excess moisture from the grated zucchini to prevent soggy waffles.  My zucchini was about 2 inches thick and 9 inches long.  The amount of shredded zucchini looked like it was way more than 1 cup, but after squeezing out about a quarter to a third of a cup of juice, it came to exactly 1 cup of shredded zucchini.

Make sure you don’t overmix the batter.  I follow the Alton Brown rule.  If you see some bits of flour it’s fine.  Because letting the batter rest will allow those bits of flour to moisten.  And then folding in the whipped egg whites allows the rest of the flour to mix in and provides an airy batter to keep the waffles deliciously tender. 

Creative Toppings to Elevate Your Waffle Game

Of course, there’s berries.  They add great flavor, texture, and color to these waffles.  But there’s also mango and pineapple that would also be great toppings for these zucchini waffles.  Or nuts like some chopped walnuts, pecans, or toasted almonds.  You can also spread them with some nut butter!  Almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower butter are all great spreads for these waffles.

If you’re looking to add some protein, try Greek yogurt.  It can add a tangy, protein-packed topping.  Another protein packed topping is cottage cheese.  I know, it sounds weird for some, but I grew up with cottage cheese and canned pears or peaches.  So, the sweet flavor of the waffles with the savory flavor of the cottage cheese is a great combination.

Of course, there’s syrups.  Maple is a classic choice.  But what about salted caramel syrup or even a fruit flavored syrup?  Those would be delicious, too.  A simple drizzle of honey would be delightful.  Especially if you’ve topped them with some chopped nuts.

However you top them, these zucchini bread waffles are delicious.  They are light and crispy with warming spices throughout.  You can see the flecks of the nutritious zucchini.  Since they’re finely shredded and peeled you don’t see more than a fleck of green here and there which is great for kids!  You can easily sneak some veg in their waffles without them knowing.

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