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This waffle recipe for one makes a single golden, crispy waffle from scratch in 15 minutes. Just simple ingredients and no leftovers.
Featured Comment
“I just made this for the second day in a row. It was the perfect amount and was absolutely delicious! Crispy and brown on the outside and nice and fluffy inside. I will make this again and again!”
– Stacy
Quick Look
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Equipment: Waffle maker
Cook Method: Waffle iron
Servings: 1 waffle
Difficulty: Easy
This waffle recipe for one uses a simple vanilla batter that bakes up crispy on the outside and soft and airy inside.
One Waffle, Crispy Outside, Fluffy Inside
When my kids were little, I made waffles for the whole family on weekend mornings. This is that same recipe, scaled down for one. A single Belgian waffle with crispy edges, done in 15 minutes.
I almost always top it with homemade pancake syrup or fresh fruit and whipped cream.
Looking for more small batch breakfast ideas? Try my fluffy pancakes for one, small batch French toast, and small batch blueberry scones.
Watch How To Make A Waffle for One
Ingredient Notes
If you have any ingredients leftover from this single waffle recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
All-purpose flour is the base of the batter. Measure it by spooning flour into your dry measuring cup and leveling it off with a straight edge. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour and makes the waffle dense.
Baking powder gives the waffle its lift. Check the date on yours before you start. Old baking powder won’t do much, and you’ll end up with a flat, heavy waffle. To test it, drop half a teaspoon into a quarter cup of hot water. If it bubbles immediately, it’s good.
Sugar adds a small amount of sweetness and helps the outside of the waffle brown and crisp up. Granulated sugar works best here.
Salt keeps the batter from tasting flat.
One large egg gives the waffle structure. Beat it well before adding the other wet ingredients.
Milk brings the batter together. Whole or 2% milk gives you the best results, but almond, soy, or oat milk all work if that’s what you have on hand. The secret to a perfect single waffle is to use room temperature milk and don’t overmix the batter. Cold milk can cause the melted butter to seize up, overmixing creates a dense waffle.
Vanilla extract gives the waffle a warm, homemade flavor.
Salted butter goes into the batter and onto the waffle iron. The butter in the batter adds flavor and helps with browning. Unsalted butter works fine if that’s what you have. For a dairy-free version, coconut oil is a good substitute.
Recipe Variations
This waffle recipe from scratch is easy to build on. Change or add one ingredient to get the waffle you want.
Blueberry waffle for one: Fold a small handful of fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter before pouring it into the iron.
Chocolate waffle for one: Whisk half a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder into the dry ingredients.
Cinnamon waffle for one: Add a quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients.
Banana waffle for one: Mash half a ripe banana and stir it into the wet ingredients. The batter will thicken, so add a small splash of milk to loosen it before pouring.
How To Make A Waffle For One
These steps and photos walk you through the process. For ingredient amounts and full instructions, see the recipe card below.
- Preheat your waffle iron and lightly grease it with non-stick spray or a small amount of melted butter.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg until fluffy. Add the milk, vanilla, melted butter, and sugar. Whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until you don’t see dry flour. A few small lumps are fine.
- Pour enough batter into the waffle iron to cover the surface without overflowing.
- Close the iron and cook until the steam stops rising, about 3 to 4 minutes. The waffle should be golden and crisp.
- Use tongs to carefully lift the waffle out. Serve immediately.
Expert Tips
Read your waffle maker’s manual. Cooking times vary by model.
Preheat fully. A properly heated iron is what gives you crispy edges.
Don’t overmix. Stir just until the flour disappears. Overmixing makes the waffle tough.
Watch the steam. The waffle is done when the steam stops rising. Opening it too early tears the waffle.
Use room temperature milk. Cold milk can cause the melted butter to clump in the batter.
Waffle maker size matters. This recipe is sized for a Belgian waffle maker. If yours is smaller, you may get 2 waffles from the batter.
Troubleshooting
My waffle is soggy. This usually means the waffle iron wasn’t hot enough or you opened it too soon. Preheat the iron fully before adding batter and wait for the steam to stop rising before lifting the lid.
My waffle is dense and heavy. Too much flour is the most likely cause. Spoon flour into the dry measuring cup and level it off with a straight edge. Scooping directly from the bag packs in too much flour. Overmixing also makes waffles dense, so stir just until the flour disappears.
My waffle is torn or stuck to the iron. The iron wasn’t greased well enough or you opened it too early. Grease the surface with non-stick spray or melted butter before each waffle, even on a non-stick iron. Wait until the steam stops rising before opening.
My batter is too thick. Add milk a small splash at a time until the batter pours easily but isn’t runny. Different flour brands absorb liquid differently.
My batter is too thin. Add flour half a tablespoon at a time, stirring gently until the batter thickens to a proper pourable consistency.
My waffle is pale, not golden. The iron wasn’t hot enough or it didn’t cook long enough. Make sure the iron is fully preheated before adding batter, and let the waffle cook until the steam has stopped rising.
Serving Suggestions
Top this single serving waffle with:
Small batch pancake syrup or butter pecan syrup
Small batch apple butter or small batch lemon curd
Homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit
Frequently Asked Questions
The two most common reasons are a waffle iron that wasn’t fully preheated and opening the iron too soon. Preheat until the iron is fully hot before adding batter, and wait until the steam stops rising before lifting the lid.
You can mix the batter a few hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Give it a stir before pouring. If it thickened up, add a small splash of milk to thin it out.
Yes. Double every ingredient and cook the waffles one at a time. Keep finished waffles warm on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven while you cook the rest.
Yes. Let it cool completely, then freeze in an airtight bag. Reheat in a toaster for a crispy result, or in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes. The microwave works but softens the edges.
Watch the steam. When it stops rising from the sides of the iron, the waffle is ready. Most waffle makers also have an indicator light, but I go by the steam.
This recipe is sized for a standard Belgian waffle maker. If your iron is smaller, you’ll likely get 2 waffles from the batter, which is fine.
RELATED: 20 Single Serving Breakfast Ideas Worth Waking Up For
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this single serve waffle recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Waffle Recipe For One
Watch How To Make This
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk -room temperature (Any milk works here, including almond, soy, or oat milk.)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon salted butter -melted
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle iron and lightly grease it with non-stick spray or a small amount of melted butter.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg until fluffy. Add the milk, vanilla, melted butter, and sugar. Whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until you don't see dry flour. A few small lumps are fine.
- Pour enough batter into the waffle iron to cover the surface without overflowing. If your iron is smaller than a Belgian waffle maker, you may have batter left for a second waffle.
- Close the iron and cook until the steam stops rising, about 3 to 4 minutes. The waffle should be golden and crisp.
- Use tongs to carefully lift the waffle out. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Sitting here watching this one-serving batter ooze out of my waffle maker all over my counter. I followed the recipe exactly. Beware! 🤣
Sorry, but it sounds like too much batter was added to your waffle maker. Perhaps your waffle iron is smaller than the standard-sized ones.
best dang waffles I ever made and no waste, I used coconut milk and no one would ev er know if I did not tell them. but these are for one anyway. Thanks! looking forward to more of your recipes
Loved the flavor of the waffle. It was nice and fluffy. This will be my go to recipe for waffles from now on
I pinned this recipe a while back and it’s definitely a repeat one for me. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
This is a useful recipe. I enjoyed making just one waffle and it was very tasty!
Thank you for this awesome recipe. I recently bought the Nostalgia mini wake maker, but the recipe that came with it wasn’t the best. This was a good replacement recipe. I did use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar. Since, I love the taste of vanilla, I doubled the amount. Everything else I kept the same. They were delicious (made four mini waffles). Next time, I may add cocoa for a dessert waffle. 😋
5 stars
I used this recipe in my little Dash mini waffle maker and they were perfect! It produced four fluffy waffles that were slightly crispy and sturdy enough to eat with my hands, but still light and sweet enough that I didn’t even want a topping. This one’s a keeper. I used a whisk to combine dry and wet ingredients, but I was very careful to just combine them and leave the lumps alone.
I am so glad I stumbled across your site when searching for a one-serving,from-scratch waffle recipe. I never thought to see if there were food blogs out there that specialized in single-serving meals.
I look forward to exploring more recipes on your site. I generally only make multiple serving meals for lunch to feed off of during the workweek. It’ll be great to cook single-serving recipes without it being a math project at the same time.
Not very crispy. Needed a little more flour and sugar.
It’s disappointing that your waffle did not turn out crispy. The ingredient amounts have been tested and work.
If your waffle iron isn’t hot enough to sear the batter and help the moisture evaporate, you’ll end up with a soggy waffle, perhaps this was the problem. Your waffle shouldn’t sit on a warm iron; it needs to preheat first and hit a sizzling hot metal surface in order to get a good, crispy shell.