15 Unexpected Things to Make In Your Waffle Maker

If you’ve already burned through too many waffles after getting a waffle iron for Christmas and swearing off frozen waffles (for now, at least), you might be looking for something more creative to get griddling. Belgian waffles are so 2024 at this point. Need some inspiration for creative things to try in your waffle maker? 

Here are 15 non-waffle ideas to get you started.

Cinnamon rolls are a hard thing to improve upon, but when you griddle them up in a waffle maker, you may actually find a way. Don’t forget to drizzle ample amounts of icing. 

Recipe: Tastes of Lizzy T

Any old anybody can stick spicy tuna on top of a piece of crispy rice. But only you can take that beautiful mixture of sushi rice and sesame oil and turn it into waffle griddle-shaped cakes. This is a new brunch winner. 

Recipe: Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit

Everybody’s favorite Dutch cookie has the word waffle right there in the name, so it makes sense you can bust out the iron for this one. Bless that syrupy deliciousness in the middle. 

Recipe: Baking Sense

Quesadillas are already insanely easy to make, but a waffle iron can expedite the process even more. Plus, if you seal it all up well, you can make yourself a little cheesy Uncrustable. 

Recipe: Princess Pinky Girl

I can’t imagine a higher-risk-higher-reward situation than making mozzarella sticks in a waffle iron. On one hand, they are probably going to taste absolutely amazing. On the other, the mess something like this is bound to make is going to be one for the books. 

Recipe: Kevin is Cooking

Why eat a corn dog shaped like they always are? You can go to a county fair or a Hurricane Harbor for that. Waffle them up and you’ve got a special treat, or at least something gimmicky enough to base a food truck around. 

Recipe: Jonathan Melendez

No need for an oven if you can whip up some baked apples in a waffle iron. Just dress ‘em up with cinnamon, sugar, and anything else you need, and introduce ‘em to the iron. Burn an extra batch with some extra fire and keep them as chips.  

Recipe: My Fussy Eater

Potato pancakes are hard to screw up as long as they come out crispy, golden, and delicious. A waffle iron is the perfect vessel for making things exactly that; just get ‘em in there for 5 to 10 minutes and let it do its magic. 

Recipe: Tori Avey

You can make virtually any kind of panini you can dream of in a waffle iron, but a classic tomato and cheese sandwich may be the lowest effort for the highest reward. Shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes. 

Recipe: Food Network

Not that you really need a recipe for laying bacon down on a waffle iron, but Alton Brown is here to guide you through the perfect technique. Ovens are officially a thing of the past. 

Recipe: Alton Brown

There are two ways to create something beautiful with mac and cheese and a waffle iron. You can easily reheat some leftover mac and cheese and make a crispy patty of goodness, but you can also just mix it in with waffle mix and make a cheesy, gooey waffle. The choice, with no wrong answers, is yours. 

Recipe: Ugly Duckling Bakery

Just as you can get bacon going, you can griddle yourself a hamburger patty. Make sure the patty is nice and thin; you can do a perfect double cheeseburger, if you’ve got the patience. 

Recipe: LifeHacker

Cauliflower has found its way into a replacement option for just about everything there is these days, so it’s fitting that it should be a replacement for waffles as well. Just mix cauliflower “rice” into a cheesy patty and you’re golden. Pun very much intended. 

Recipe: Chef Julie RD

You can make yourself a no-fry falafel if you crisp up your garbanzo bean mix in a waffle maker. Maybe top that bad boy with hummus, baba ghanoush, and a little tomato-cucumber salad, if you’re feeling fancy.  

Recipe: Allrecipes

If you can quesadilla it, you can calzone it. That’s what I always say, at least. Tomato sauce and cheese are all you really need, but some thin-sliced prosciutto probably wouldn’t hurt anybody. 

Recipe: Rachael Ray

For more great meal ideas and grocery tips, please sign up for our free newsletters.