Gluten-Free Savory Cornbread Waffles | Lemons and Basil (2025)

I have been so excited to share these Gluten-Free Savory Cornbread Waffles, but was holding off for the perfect time. With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner and being that they are pretty much the perfect base forallthings Mexican, now seems like that perfect time!

These waffles came about after Josh and I traveled to Seattle and Vancouver last summer. The trip was absolutely wonderful, we LOVE that part of the country and could easily see ourselves falling into their energetic culture and community, full-time!

Yes, our house is for sale. No, we are not planning to move to Seattle, although it’s awfully tempting! : )

Anyway, when we travel we are pretty determined to eat at only local places and do a lot of research {okay, Josh does a lot of research} ahead of time to find unique, quaint places that have an interesting menu and abundantly good reviews. SO, before we ever got to Vancouver, we were already well aware of Nero Belgian Waffle Bar and eagerly looking forward to enjoying a lazy breakfast there one morning. This place is SO cute, SO small, and SO good. I think there were literally four tables inside.

While I am definitely asweetskinda girl, rather thansalty, their savory waffles completely intrigued me. So, I took my chance and ordered the Rocket which was a savory waffle topped with Creamy Havarti Cheese, baby arugula, tomatoes and a side of fresh ground mustard. Mustard isnotmy thing, so its presence in the description already made this a leap of faith and had me immediately wondering if I should have ordered the scrumptious chocolate covered sweet waffle that Josh ordered, which came topped with ice cream, for breakfast!

Somehow I had it in my mind that this waffle would come out and the items described above would be chopped and baked into the batter. It never occurred to me that I would essentially get a savory waffle with a salad on top. BUT, much to my surprise, it was deliciously satisfying. The Havarti cheese quickly softened and nearly melted against the warm Belgian waffle and the tomatoes and arugula popped with flavor. Of course, the best part was when I removed the cheese and toppings from the last of it and smothered the plain waffle in Josh’s leftover chocolate syrup with whip cream. What can I say, I still love my sweets!

This back story is all to tell you, that since that time I’ve wondered what it would have been like had the items been cooked into the batter like I originally anticipated? Out of that curiosity came these Gluten-Free Savory Cornbread Waffles!

These waffles are made using cornmeal rather than flour {perfect if you’re gluten-free} paired with diced red bell peppers, onions, cheddar cheese, garlic and cilantro before stirring in a little almond milk, cheddar cheese and eggs to hold it all together. Throw that batter ona hot waffle grill and you get a delightful golden brown, crispy waffle ready for whatever toppings you deem appropriate for the occasion!

In my mind, since corn tortillas are made using cornmeal, and create the perfect shell for all things Mexican {tacos, tostadas, chiquillas, etc}, it seems only natural to top these delicious savory waffles with some avocado, salsa, tomatoes, and beans, or cheese, shredded chicken, ground beef…you get the idea.

It’s going on close to a year since we ate at that great little waffle bar in Vancouver, but thankfully this little creation was worth the wait to recreate. If you haven’t tried savory waffles before, I hope you’ll do so now!

I’ll be sharing the full recipe for the toppings I used for our savory waffles on Monday for Cinco de Mayo, so stay tuned! In the mean time, the picture below gives you a little sneak peek.

Happy Friday!