Toasted Sesame and Scallion Waffles

Updated Oct. 11, 2023

Toasted Sesame and Scallion Waffles
Kelly Marshall for The New York Times
Total Time
35 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Rating
4(215)
Notes
Read community notes

Toasted sesame, fresh scallion, salty cheese and tingly black pepper all infuse these light and savory golden waffles with flavor that a simpler waffle can usually only dream of. When served topped with eggs — fried or poached — these become a wonderful breakfast, perfect brunch or filling snack. They are best served warm, but you can enjoy them at room temperature, too. The batter can be prepared ahead and stored refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and cook as directed in Step 3. The cooked waffles can be tightly wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. To serve, toast a frozen waffle in a toaster, toaster oven or an oven set to 375 degrees.

Featured in: 3 Quick Breakfast Waffles That Meet You Where You Are

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 waffles
  • cups/231 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1tablespoon black or white sesame seeds
  • teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾teaspoon coarse kosher salt (such as Morton)
  • ½teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1cup/100 grams grated Parmesan, pecorino or white Cheddar
  • ¾cup thinly sliced scallions (about 4) or ½ cup chopped chives
  • 2large eggs, at room temperature
  • cups/300 milliliters whole-milk buttermilk
  • 1teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • ¼cup/60 grams unsalted butter, melted, plus more for waffle iron
  • Poached or fried eggs, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (5 servings)

437 calories; 22 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 441 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, sesame seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt and black pepper, then stir in the grated cheese and scallions. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Separate the egg yolks from the whites and put the whites in a medium bowl. Drop the yolks in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and toasted sesame oil and stir together gently to form a batter. Do not overmix.

  2. Step 2

    Beat the whites to medium peaks using a whisk or a hand held mixer. Add the whipped whites to the batter and, using a rubber spatula, fold them in by gently scooping up some batter from the bottom and folding it over the whites on the top. Rotate the bowl and repeat until just incorporated. Fold in ¼ cup melted butter.

  3. Step 3

    Heat a waffle iron and, using a pastry brush or paper towel, lightly coat with butter. Cook waffles (using a heaped ⅔ cup batter per waffle) until golden and crisp. Butter the iron between batches as needed.

  4. Step 4

    Serve waffles immediately as they are ready, or keep them warm in a 200-degree oven until ready to serve. Top with a poached or fried egg, if desired.

Ratings

4 out of 5
215 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

could these theoretically easily become pancakes instead? one of my least favorite kitchen tasks is taking down the waffle iron and then having to clean it

Delicious - made as directed; next time I would add more cheese and scallions!

Delicious. Prepared the batter in the morning following the recipes exactly except using chives rather than scallion. Served with poached eggs and the Spicy Thai veggie salad also recently on this site using local asparagus.. Perfect meatless Monday dinner. My son just had the one leftover waffle for breakfast.

We didn't separate the eggs and forgot to use any butter and they still came out fantastic. Some of us had it with kimchi, which was also delicious. I'll continue making it this way for a *slightly healthier* healthier and simpler version. For the eggs, we just put the whole egg in the center well and just whisked it a bit before stirring together with everything else.

First time I made this, I had leftover batter. A couple days later, not wanting to take out the waffle iron again, I added milk to the leftover batter and the result was delicious, thin (almost crepe like) pancakes. I tried making the recipe today AS pancakes, used more milk (1/2 c); less buttermilk (1 c) and while I was successful, the pancakes were fluffy, not thin as I had serendipitously (sp) hit on the first go round. Next time: more milk added BEFORE folding in whites.

These waffles were a hit with the fam- my two year old twins are very picky eaters and they chowed down multiple of these waffles. The next time I make these I'll add more cheese and scallions!

I made these ALMOST as directed. I used the common buttermilk substitution of milk with a bit of yogurt. I think this might be one of those recipes you should measure dry ingredients by weight, not volume. I did the dip/scoop/level measuring & had to add a lot of additional buttermilk substitute to make this a batter that could go in my waffle iron. I’d add extra pepper next time These were tasty, but a pain to make. With the poached eggs (which you SHOULD do), made a lot of dishes to wash.

I was skeptical because the batter is so thick, you have to plop it, not pour it, but it turned out perfectly. We used salted butter, and recommended quantity of salt, but felt it still needed a smidge more. Also only used 1tsp sugar due to personal preference, and doubled sesame seeds and scallions per other user’s recommendations. A keeper!! Even picky picky ate them

Supposedly you should decrease or omit any sugar, decrease fats and increase liquids to convert waffles to pancakes. I’ll be trying this later!

Subbed Everything But the Bagel for the sesame seeds, added a couple of shakes of Tabasco, otherwise made as directed, served with poached eggs. Delicious!

Fun treat for supper! Easy to pull together.

Made this as written with cheddar cheese. Served with Eric Kim’s soy sauce fried egg and chopped chives. Waffle is a bit dense but very tasty! Might try with a bit more baking powder and buttermilk next time.

I liked the coarse Kosher salt for a zing of saltiness but evidently didn't mix the dry ingredients enough to distribute the salt evenly, so a few bites were way too salty. (And once the grated cheese and scallions are in the batter it's too lumpy to tell if the salt is evenly mixed.) I might also cut down on the salt next time.

Made these on a whim as I have been looking & thinking about them for a month! Didn't have buttermilk so used Greek yogurt and thinned with water. I would definitely use more scallions, but other than that I loved them! The first one I ate I did include the egg. The next one I just ate with my fingers. Still thinking about a 3rd :)

Created a fake buttermilk with half n half, water and lemon juice, added a little more cheese and used a green onion growing in the yard. Followed everything else. It was very delicious!! Poached eggs are the way to go. I think adding either chopped shiitake or sun dried tomato in the batter would enhance the flavor. Also this waffle needs gravy, I might make a smoked almond, miso, or mushroom gravy. Until then dunking bites in hot sauce hits the spot.

Definitely add more salt, like 1.5 tsp of Diamond crystal kosher. Added like 1.5 c of parmesan and 6 stalks of scallions or more. Good with hot honey or sriracha or chili crisps

Delicious savory waffle. I made with preshredded parmesan, buttermilk substitute (1 cup milk, 1 T white vinegar and enough yogurt to bring it up to 1 1/4 cup), and didn’t separate the egg. Various family members ate as is, with a poached egg, with poached egg and avocado and all declared it a hit. No leftovers to see how it reheated.

Loved these! Thank you Yewande and NYTs!

Delish. Next time: *Will try cheddar vs. (I used good grade) pecorino romano for deeper flavor *Will use chives for a fun difference *I used a "Dash" brand mini-wafflemaker, adjusted amount of batter per pancake to 1/4 cup *Yes, lots of dishes to wash afterward - BUT? Worth every bit of time and washing *Used them as the "bread" for a Black Forest Ham sandwich with a touch of mayo - YUMMM *Alternated topping with freshly made strawberry jam (sweet) and fresh salsa (savory) - YUM

First time I made this, I had leftover batter. A couple days later, not wanting to take out the waffle iron again, I added milk to the leftover batter and the result was delicious, thin (almost crepe like) pancakes. I tried making the recipe today AS pancakes, used more milk (1/2 c); less buttermilk (1 c) and while I was successful, the pancakes were fluffy, not thin as I had serendipitously (sp) hit on the first go round. Next time: more milk added BEFORE folding in whites.

Delicious. Made to recipe and perfect. Only change was low-fat buttermilk, because that’s all I could find. I added a touch of whole milk yogurt to and that worked perfectly. Topped with Milu chili-crisp and a fried egg.

Does anybody know what kind of waffle iron was used in the video for this recipe?

Oh! And I forgot to mention and wanted to because it was helpful to know from another reader: This batter was pretty thick, and we couldn't use a ladle as you do for regular batter, so we just spooned it on. Don't be afraid—they still turn out wonderful and don't need any extra liquid.

We didn't separate the eggs and forgot to use any butter and they still came out fantastic. Some of us had it with kimchi, which was also delicious. I'll continue making it this way for a *slightly healthier* healthier and simpler version. For the eggs, we just put the whole egg in the center well and just whisked it a bit before stirring together with everything else.

These are good. Not amazing. To eat without an egg, we wanted them to be saltier. Halfway through the batch I started sprinkling Maldon sea salt flakes into the waffle iron and on top of the batter. Big improvement. I used a lot of onion and still wanted more onion flavor. Maybe if I’d made my batter earlier or added onion powder? I will try again and keep tinkering because my household seems to prefer savory breakfasts these days.

Batter was a little too thick will increase the buttermilk to 1.5 c

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