Beans and Plantain Waffles

Gluten-free, vegan waffles never tasted so good!

I was recently asked to develop a recipe using a legume of my choice. This black-eyed beans and plantain waffle recipe might seem like an unusual direction to go in considering that we often associate legumes with savoury dishes, but trust me when I say that it just works. Paired with deliciously sweet plantain, you have a winning breakfast or brunch dish.

No fancy ingredients or techniques required. Simply plonk all the ingredients in a blender, heat up your waffle iron and you're good to go. I served mine with fried plantain and brown rice syrup but you can customise it in any way you wish - fresh fruits, whipped coconut cream, peanut butter, strawberry jam, etc.

You can watch the recipe video on my Instagram page. If you try it out, I'd love to know. Feel free to tag me in your post :)

Legumes are a healthy superfood, packed with iron, vitamin B, minerals, fibre, and gut-friendly probiotics. As if all that isn’t enough, they are also highly sustainable, with a low carbon and water footprint. So let's get into the recipe!

Makes 8 waffles

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry black-eyed beans, soaked overnight and drained
• 1 cup water
• 1 ripe plantain, peeled and cut into chunks 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch sea salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil 

To garnish:

• pan-fried sweet plantain 
• maple or brown rice syrup 

Method:

1. Blend all the ingredients until you have a smooth batter
2. Cook the batter in a pre-heated waffle iron (3 minutes for soft waffles or 6 minutes for crispy waffles)
3. Garnish with slices of fried sweet plantain and syrup of your choice