Sourdough Starter Discard Waffles Recipe

Looking for a delicious way to use up your leftover sourdough discard? This easy sourdough discard waffle recipe is a great way to repurpose your starter! These easy sourdough waffles are quick to make, require no overnight rest, and use simple pantry ingredients like purpose flour and baking powder.

I have to admit, I have jumped on this sourdough train like my life depends on it! I have been happily baking away almost daily now with no end in sight!

I have so much “discard” that I’ve started to create recipes with that so it doesn’t go to waste.

What is sourdough discard you ask? That’s a great question, because I didn’t know either when I started on this sourdough journey.

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When you begin making a sourdough starter; a mixture of all-purpose flour and water, you create excess sourdough starter “discard” (aka throw away) half of the mixture each day when you go to “feed” your starter until it’s active and bubbly (about 7-14 days). But instead of wasting it, you can use it to make delicious sourdough waffles, pancakes, and more!

Check out my post for How To Make Sourdough Bread for the First Time | Video Tutorial where I go into more detail about how to create your own sourdough starter.

Now that my starter is very active and bubbly, I do not actually throw away my discard. I store it in a glass container in my refrigerator and pull from that when I need to make another starter or need more for a certain recipe when I’m ready to bake.

To make these sourdough starter discard waffles, I pulled my discard jar from the refrigerator and set it out on my counter.

When I opened the lid, this is what my discard looked like. It was bubbly, meaning that it’s a great discard!!!

I had recently made Sourdough Starter Discard Pancake Recipe using my discard that were extra delicious! However, my son requested waffles for breakfast, so being the loving mother I am, I decided to make him homemade waffles!…and incorporate more of my sourdough discard!

Simple Sourdough Discard Waffle Instructions

As I mentioned above, I pulled my jar of sourdough discard from the refrigerator right before making the waffle batter. The great thing about easy sourdough waffles is that you can use unfed sourdough discard. Meaning, it does not need to be fed and active and bubbly prior to using it. That’s my kind of recipe! (I didn’t even let the discard become room temperature!)

In a large bowl, I combined purpose flour, sourdough discard, eggs (both egg whites and egg yolks), sugar, salt, baking powder, and whole milk to make the perfect sourdough waffle batter.

Whisk everything together until the batter reaches a smooth, pourable consistency—similar to sourdough pancakes. If it’s too thick, you can add a splash of whole milk or a little melted butter to loosen it up.

Next, I plugged in my Belgian waffle maker and let it heat up. To prevent sticking, I sprayed it with vegetable cooking spray before spooning the cup of batter onto the hot waffle iron (you could certainly use coconut oil or butter if you preferred).

Spoon the waffle batter into the center of the waffle griddle using a large serving spoon.

Be sure to spread out the batter evenly over the griddle, otherwise you will have funky shaped waffles…or waffles that look like snowflakes! (which, those are super cute!)

Close the lid and depending on your waffle iron, set the timer or just keep checking it. Mine does not have a timer, so I just checked it after about 3 minutes. Cook until golden brown—if you prefer crispy waffles, let them cook a little longer for the most amazing flavor.

Once the waffle was cooked to how I wanted it, I slipped it right out, plated it and put a big ol’ slab of butter on top to melt! Mmmmm!!

Top the Belgian sourdough waffles with whipped cream, fresh berries, maple syrup, Nutella or even savory toppings like fried chicken for a fun twist!

In my opinion, waffles taste best with maple syrup! So I smothered it with some local syrup from historical farm near our home. However, you can could certainly try peanut butter, chocolate chips, or even a dollop of a fruity jelly for a tangy contrast.

P.S. Funny (??) confession: after taking these amazing photos, and gobbling up the delicious waffle smothered in syrup, my son grabbed the jar to pour the syrup on his waffle and noticed there was mold on the syrup (that’s what get for buying foods without preservatives, haha). So…hopefully this isn’t the last blog post I’ll ever write … ☠️ 😂 ☠️

Mold and all…this sourdough waffle was delicious! The sourdough added a slightly tangy flavor but I honestly felt that the sugar in the recipe covered that up for the most part.

This sourdough discard waffle recipe is a great way to reduce food waste, and the waffles can be stored in an airtight container or freezer bags for the next morning.

The waffles were definitely more dense than extra fluffy, like a Belgian waffle, but that is because this is made with discard. Overall, I thought these waffles were delicious and definitely a make again recipe…if I live to write another post! 😉

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• The Best Homemade Pancake Recipe From Scratch
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• Homemade Chocolate Chip Pancakes
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