Did you know you can turn pancake batter into waffle batter by adding 2 tablespoons of oil for every cup of flour? I learned that from Thriving Home so I tried it out with my low sodium pancake recipe and it worked! I made waffles with a flour/cornmeal mix, and then with water, milk, and coconut milk. Recipes and tips for each combination below. My personal favorite was the cornmeal/flour mix with whole milk. The sodium ranges from as little as 70 mg for an entire batch to 168 mg, depending on the type of milk you use.
Ingredients:
90 g (3/4 cup) all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons Hain's baking powder (or 4 teaspoons of Ener-G baking powder)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup oil (canola or vegetable)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole or 2% milk
This recipe has about 168 mg sodium for the entire batch, depending on the milk you use.
Variations:
-For an all flour waffle, omit the cornmeal and use 120 g (1 cup) all purpose flour. The cornmeal gives the waffle a nice crunch and it's subtle, but I also really like these with just flour. I have also found that the all flour waffles taste better if they're reheated after being frozen. Cornmeal has no sodium so this doesn't change the sodium content of your waffles.
-Substitute the milk with 1/2 cup of water for a lower sodium option. I found the waffles made with water were almost as good as those with milk, but there is a difference in flavor. This takes the sodium down to 70 mg for the entire batch.
-Substitute the milk with equal parts coconut milk (the kind you buy refrigerated in the dairy section of the supermarket). The coconut milk I used had just 45 mg sodium per cup so this took the sodium down to 104 mg for the batch.
I'll post more variations as I try them!
To make the waffles:
Whisk all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until you get a smooth batter (some lumps are fine) and let the batter sit for 10 minutes. Then cook according to your waffle iron instructions. My waffle iron makes 7 inch waffles, and each takes about 5 minutes to cook. This recipe yields just 2 and a half waffles for me, so I usually double it. The waffles freeze really well and we reheat them in the toaster.