Four surprising foods you can make with a waffle iron

Most likely, your waffle iron is significantly underused. Sure, we all know waffle irons get a workout during breakfast, but did you know it’s a great tool for making savory lunch and dinner dishes too?  In fact, I’d go as far to say that you can make just about anything in a waffle iron!

So today I’m going to help jumpstart your creativity by sharing a four of my favorite waffle iron recipes!

Also, in case you're curious, this is the waffle iron I own. It is the best waffle iron ever! Nothing sticks to it, and I LOVE that the plates are removable so I can just stick them in the dishwasher. (This is my own personal opinion not influenced by any outside company.)

1. Pizza

One of the greatest things about waffles irons is they’re quick. For example, a homemade pizza would probably take a half hour to make, but in a waffle iron it only takes a few minutes! So just about anything that starts out as dough or batter works well in a waffle iron.

The most important thing to remember while making pizza waffles is to never leave any part of the center exposed because then pizza sauce will leak out and you’ll have a mess on your hands.

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a 13.8 ounce can of refrigerated pizza crust dough
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 6 pepperoni slices

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Lay pizza dough over waffle iron. Spread pizza sauce on top of pizza dough.
3. Sprinkle half of mozzarella cheese over pizza sauce, and add pepperoni slices on top of cheese.
4. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of pepperoni.
5. Fold pizza dough hanging over edge of waffle iron to center of pizza so the center of the pizza is not exposed (you don't want the sauce to leak out).
6. Close waffle iron and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
7. Serve with marinara dipping sauce.

2. Quesadilla

Your waffle iron essentially acts as a Panini press when making quesadillas. The center gets nice and gooey while the edges get a little crisp.

Ingredients

• 2 tortillas
• 1/2 cup cheese
• Peppers, onions, any other ingredients per your preference

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place tortilla on waffle iron and sprinkle 1/2 of cheese on top.
3. Add any other ingredients you want on top of cheese and cover with remaining cheese.
4. Place second tortilla on top of cheese and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
5. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, salsa, or guacamole.

3. Omelet

Now this is awesome!  Waffle irons are a foolproof way to cook omelets. You don’t have to worry about a too-runny center or a messy flip because everything is evenly cooked and timed out in the waffle iron.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, beaten
• Crumbled bacon, peppers, mushrooms, any other ingredients per your preference
• 1/4 cup cheese

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pour eggs into waffle iron.
3. Sprinkle bacon, peppers, etc. on top of eggs.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top and cook on high for about 3 minutes.
5. Serve with a sprinkle of cracked pepper.

4. Cinnamon rolls

I have a whole post dedicated to cinnamon roll waffles because they’re a family favorite! And it’s the easiest thing ever to make. All you do is buy a pack of refrigerated cinnamon rolls and stick one in the center. It’s a good idea when you’re cooking cinnamon rolls for a small group because you can just cook a few of them and refrigerate the rest of the dough for another time.

Ingredients

• 1 (12.4 ounce) tube refrigerated cinnamon roll dough

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place one cinnamon roll in the center of the waffle iron.
3. Cook on high for about 1 minuted.
4. Serve with cream cheese icing that comes in tube.