Once upon a time, waffles and pancakes were among my staple breakfast foods. However, after switching over to a paleo diet and making an effort to live a healthier lifestyle, those high-calorie sugar-laded breakfasts were one of the first things to go. In the early days of following paleo, I didn’t realize that I could actually still enjoy some of my old favorite meals by simply swapping out a few ingredients for healthier alternatives. And that’s exactly what this banana cinnamon waffles recipe does. Instead of using ingredients like flour and milk, it uses banana and almond butter. Add in a bit of cinnamon and what you end up with are deliciously healthy waffles that you can enjoy for breakfast whenever you want.
Healthy Ingredients Make for an Excellent Waffle Base
As delicious as traditional waffles are, they’re full of ingredients that just aren’t compatible with a paleo diet. Even when made from scratch, they’re full of things like flour, sugar, and milk — all of which are obviously off the table for paleo enthusiasts. If you’re still hoping to enjoy waffles for breakfast, there’s no reason to worry. Just like with another personal favorite of mine (ice cream). you can swap in bananas to make a completely healthy paleo version in its place.
Bananas
Bananas are naturally sweet and loaded with vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, manganese, and fiber. And despite being high in carbs, they’re very easy to digest and don’t drastically affect blood sugar levels like some other carb sources. (1) A banana on its own won’t give you the texture you’re looking for with waffles though, so it’s blended with an egg and almond butter as well.
Almond Butter
I love using almond butter in my recipes since I know how good it is for my health. In fact, frequent nut and nut butter consumption can seriously lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. (2) And of course, you can’t forget the cinnamon. With just a dash of cinnamon added to these waffles, you end up with a delicious blend of sweet and slightly spicy flavoring. To make this recipe even sweeter, drizzle some honey on top before serving.
As you can see, going paleo doesn’t have to mean giving up all of your favorite comfort foods. Thanks to staples in my diet like bananas, plus a little bit of recipe tweaking, I can still enjoy all of the foods that I love while being assured that I’m not putting my health at risk or derailing my progress in the gym. Once you try these, you’ll know instantly that you’ve found another paleo breakfast staple.
- 1 ripe banana, cut into thick slices
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup almond butter
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp coconut oil (for greasing)
- Preheat your waffle maker.
- Place the egg and banana in a high power blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the almond butter, baking powder and cinnamon and blend until smooth and well combined.
- Grease both sides of waffle maker with coconut oil and pour just enough batter to fill the bottom part (do not overfill).
- Cook for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite fresh fruits.
- Add a drizzle of honey if you desire some extra sweetness.
P.P.S. – If you love Belgian waffles as well, you don’t have to feel left out in the dark. We’ve also get a great recipe that makes the best paleo Belgian waffles ever that you have to check out.
P.P.P.S. – I told you at the start of this recipe how much I loved waffles and I wasn’t kidding — so here are 19 more yummy gluten-free paleo waffle recipes for you to try out. You’re sure to find a few that you love.
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