Don’t waffle about using this appliance

You might have a waffle iron languishing in the back of your cupboard that you dig out a few times a year to make waffles. But it doesn’t have to be hidden away in between those Sunday brunches: there are gobs of recipes that make excellent use of the waffle iron. Epicurious has some great ideas on alternate uses for your waffle iron. 

If you think about it, a waffle iron is a lot like a panini press or griddle. What makes waffle irons even better, in some cases, than those appliances is the amount of surface area. By utilizing those offset squares, you are assured of more crunchy bits to complement the chewy pieces of whatever food you put into it. As Epicurious notes, the waffle iron is also great for leftover vegetables such as mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or puréed butternut squash. 

You don’t have to look far to find interesting recipes for this under-utilized small appliance. Food Network features 12 recipes you didn’t know you could make in a waffle maker, including a waffled pizza. Indexed blog Serious Eats shows us how to elevate leftovers with a waffle iron. I’ve had good results with leftover stuffing crisped in a waffle iron – you get loads of crunchy bits. 

There are also entire books on the subject of expanding your waffle maker’s repertoire, including Will it Waffle?: 53 Irresistible and Unexpected Recipes to Make in a Waffle Iron by Daniel Shumski and an oldie-but-goodie from Dorie Greenspan titled Waffles from Morning to Midnight.