wholesome pecan banana bread waffles

I woke up one morning with the urge to make waffles. I confess that it is a common urge, but one that I often don’t act upon. Usually a cup of coffee sets me straight and I go straight to the cereal box instead. But then I realized that it’s been a very, very long time since I’ve made waffles. While I’m certainly not counting when the last waffle I ate was, the last waffle I posted about was last year. Waffles, you’ve been a long time comin’.

These waffles are very similar to the Cinnamon Oatmeal Waffles in that they are hearty and wholesome. It’s a one-waffle-per-person kind of breakfast. Eat more than one and you’ll be waddling away from the table. Don’t say you weren’t warned. These babies are dense and heavy but oh-so-totally delicious. Made with whole wheat flour, oat bran, toasted pecans and bananas, these waffles are a much more interesting way to eat your banana bread. Top with syrup and spread with a bit of butter and give the waffle a roaring welcome home into your belly.

Elsewhere: Head over to Poppytalk and check out my post on just how easy it is to make a good coffee cake. A recipe is included too, so head on over and bake yourself something sweet today!

Here’s a great little waffle tip: Use up all the batter and refrigerate the leftover waffles. Just pop them into the toaster the next day and they’ll heat and crisp up wonderfully. Might as well make a double batch on the weekend and eat these throughout the week. Trust me, your week in waffles will be that much more awesome.

30 comments to “wholesome pecan banana bread waffles”

  1. 1
    Natalie   April 8, 2010 at 8:36 am

    These look amazing. I’ve been dying for a waffle maker for some time now, just can’t seem to decide on what one.

  2. 2
    Sara   April 8, 2010 at 8:50 am

    I don’t have a waffle maker, but I will someday, and I will make these. I tend to always have eggs for breakfast, but this sounds like a lovely change and on the healthier side with the ww and oat bran, yay. thank you

  3. 3
    Bijoux   April 8, 2010 at 8:58 am

    Now you have me craving waffles and like Sara (above) I do not own a waffle machine and it’s just not in the budget right now. I’d definitely be the person to eat too many waffles (even these hearty ones) and seriously waddle away from the table haha! When I feast, it’s all or…ALL! 🙂

  4. 4
    Amie & Abbey Road   April 8, 2010 at 9:27 am

    Yummy, this looks so good!! I now have the urge to make waffles…but I’m at work. Maybe I’ll make some on Saturday morning to surprise the bf (I’m not a morning person).

    Thanks for all the great recipes!

  5. 5
    Jacqui   April 8, 2010 at 10:10 am

    My waffle machine always seems to collect dust by the time I go to use it next. Last week I pulled it out after very long time and made some yummy waffles, but these look great and really hearty. My kind of breakfast!

  6. 6
    Jenny B   April 8, 2010 at 11:14 am

    We are on the same wavelength. I just made banana pecan pancakes the other day. Well, I wanted to add pecans, but my kid wouldn’t let me. I like the additions of oat bran and cardamom — nice! For anyone that doesn’t have a waffle maker, maybe you could turn these into pancakes instead?

  7. 7
    CookiePie   April 8, 2010 at 12:17 pm

    DUDE – can I come over to your house for breakfast???

  8. 8
    Margot   April 8, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    Must be something in the air – this is the second post I have read in the last hour about waffles. And both look tasty! I think I really need to invest in a waffle iron. Any recommendations? Any brand I should avoid?
    If you want a history of waffles, the other post was from a fun site I visit now and then: http://www.thekitchn.com/
    P.S. – I am not affiliated with them in any way. Just sharing what I like.

  9. 9
    kickpleat   April 8, 2010 at 10:52 pm

    Natalie, you can make pancakes with this batter though you might want to thin it out a bit with a bit of milk maybe.

    Sara, just make pancakes! No waffle iron needed (though it’s nice to have).

    Bijoux, pancakes is the answer! And I doubt you’d eat too many of these….so filling! Trust me. Make pancakes with this and you’ll soon find out.

    Amie, yes, try these on the weekend.

    Jacqui, I know about the collecting dust. I love waffles but it’s a lot of clean-up.

    Jenny B, great idea of the pancakes!

    CookiePie, you are welcome any time 🙂

    Must be waffle time, Margot! Honestly I have no idea except that we’ve got a cuisinart waffle iron that we received for our wedding 5 years ago and it still works like a charm!

  10. 10
    Joanne   April 9, 2010 at 3:15 am

    I have been thinking about waffles nonstop recently. First – have to get a waffle iron!

    I love this flavor combination. It makes me stomach growl just thinking about it.

  11. 11
    Tracy   April 9, 2010 at 1:40 pm

    First I have to convince my sweetie that we NEED a waffle maker…

  12. 12
    Julia   April 9, 2010 at 2:00 pm

    Good call on making extras for the fridge. I made one of your waffle recipes (pumpkin? was it a pumpkin waffle recipe?) a bit ago and they froze really well. Toasted up just-like-fresh and made last-minute breakfasts feel like real meals. I used stale brown sugar and it didn’t mix in right–left me with lots of little clumps. But then those little clumps melted when sent through the waffle iron and turned into tiny pockets of syrup!!!!! Total score. I sadly suspect that was an unrepeatable fluke…

  13. 13
    kickpleat   April 10, 2010 at 12:34 pm

    Joanne, it’s such a good and hearty combination! The bananas are perfect (and I hate bananas).

    Tracy, just make pancakes, but convince him anyway.

    Julia, yeah, most waffles freeze well and are great for later eating. Love the sound of those brown sugar clumps!

  14. 14
    Katina   April 12, 2010 at 12:34 am

    Hmm…I’ve been wanting to get a waffle machine for years, but haven’t for fear of the amount of butter that usually goes into the batter (vs pancakes). But this looks really good and isn’t loaded with butter. Time to invest in one? 🙂

  15. 15
    Linda   April 12, 2010 at 8:40 am

    I made these over the weekend and they are really, really, really delicous and super tasty. I love recipes that use healthy ingredients and find that they can be just as good or better than those made with all white flour and butter etc. I also added 2 Tbl ground flaxseed (took out of the flour amount). They absolutely tasted like banana bread and are very filling and sustaining… Thank you for all your great recipes.

  16. 16
    kickpleat   April 12, 2010 at 5:17 pm

    Katina, you must be looking at the wrong waffle recipes. I’ve never noticed that they have more butter than pancakes. Yes, get a waffle maker. Pronto.

    Hooray, glad you enjoyed them Linda! Like the flax addition, I’ll try that next time.

  17. 17
    Meiyin   April 13, 2010 at 12:16 am

    Hi, I dont have oat bran, what can i substitute with? Also, Can I use whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour? is there any major difference? I can’t wait to try to recipe, 🙂

  18. 18
    kickpleat   April 13, 2010 at 12:23 am

    Hi Meiyin, you can use oatmeal instead of the oat bran or you could even try adding in wheat germ. I find ww pastry flour quite light so I can use it like I would ap flour. You could use ww flour but then these would be quite heavy which isn’t necessarily a bad thing….or you could cut it with all purpose flour.

  19. 19
    Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen)   April 13, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    Yum! What a great combination! These look and sound delicious!

  20. 20
    Ashley   April 14, 2010 at 7:16 am

    Ooo I think I might have to save a couple of bananas to make these this weekend! I love that there’s oat bran in here and the sound of a dense waffle mmmmm. Can’t wait!

  21. 21
    Ashley   April 14, 2010 at 7:17 am

    Oh and calling them banana “bread” waffles instead of just banana waffles makes them sound even more awesome. I’m a sucker for marketing!

  22. 22
    Jen (Lita)   April 15, 2010 at 10:47 am

    these look amazing!! Can’t wait to make them!

  23. 23
    kickpleat   April 15, 2010 at 10:16 pm

    Thanks Sarena, they are pretty delicious waffles.

    Ashley, you want hearty & dense, welcome to these waffles. They are also delicious, so say hello! And yes, marketing helps 🙂

    Thanks Jen!

  24. 24
    Sandy Purdy   April 29, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    Helooooo Waffle Fans!

    Just for everyone who thinks they need to buy the uber waffle maker – think again – go to Value Village/Value Village and pick up one of the oldies but goodies – it usually also flips over with a pancake side – seriously – just give a good wash and spray with a non stick (healthy) coating or just dampen a paper towel with some light oil and wipe over the griddle – and voila – you are good to go – just make sure to check the cord and plug to ensure they are in good order – chances are that they will be fine because the old waffle makers went the way of the DoDo bird.

    Love this recipe – what a winner

    Sandy Purdy
    (Sam Purdy’s Mom – aka etsy!

  25. 25
    kickpleat   April 30, 2010 at 11:14 am

    Love your tip, Sandy!

  26. 26
    M.   May 1, 2010 at 1:54 pm

    this looks delicious….I’m adding it to my favorites 🙂

  27. 27
    kickpleat   May 3, 2010 at 2:07 pm

    M, it’s a tasty breakfast. Add away 🙂

  28. 28
    julie   May 15, 2011 at 1:27 am

    I’ve made these today, they were delicious and healthy! Thanks for the recipe 🙂

  29. 29
    mrs. camacho   February 14, 2013 at 9:59 am

    Mmmm. Made these this morning and we all really enjoyed them!

    Notes: I eliminated the brown sugar because we like syrup on our waffles and I used a sweetened vanilla coconut milk yogurt. Instead of skim milk, unsweetened vanilla almond milk. (I did put a squirt of agave nectar in the batter to make them slightly sweet.)

    Definitely a do over!

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