How To Reheat Waffles – The Best Way
Having a batch of waffles in the freezer is amazing, you can quickly whip up a delicious Sunday morning breakfast, where everyone feels like the golden, crispy goodness that waffles offer, but when nobody feels like cooking them from scratch.
Frozen waffles also make weekday morning breakfasts much easier, and offer up a quick solution to desserts when your sweet tooth is calling.
When it comes time to take out some waffles from the freezer, what is the best way to warm them up?
How do you reheat waffles? Waffles are easily reheated in the microwave, the oven, or the toaster. The best way to ensure that waffles are crispy when reheated is to reheat them in the toaster. The oven does quite a good job at ensuring crispy waffles, but the toaster will crisp up the waffles in next to no time, and the waffles can even be placed in the toaster from frozen.
Keep reading to learn the best way to reheat waffles along with a few bonus tips for all of your waffle needs!
The Best Way to Reheat Waffles
The best way to reheat waffles so that they stay crispy on the outside and soft on the inside is to use the toaster. Below we will go through the step-by-step instructions to reheating waffles in the toaster, and then we will touch on the other reheating methods.
If you don’t have a toaster or don’t want to use it, don’t worry, the other methods are just as effective!
So with peace of mind that you can reheat your waffles in basically any kitchen appliance successfully, here’s how to reheat delicious waffles.
Reheating Waffles In The Toaster
The toaster is great to use when you need a quick breakfast on the go, reheating waffles up during the week for an easy meal. The toaster is also able to give the waffles great crispiness, which is ideal for those who like an extra crunch to their waffles.
To toast the waffles, you will need to ensure that your toaster has a wide enough slot to accommodate the waffle.
Reheat the waffle in the toaster for a minute, and check to see if it is reheated through. If not, place the waffle back into the toaster for another 30 seconds, repeating this until the waffle has heated through.
Pros of using a toaster
For a quick solution to reheating a waffle, if you are not wanting to risk your waffle becoming soggy or chewy in the microwave, the toaster is a good method.
You are able to toast the waffle from frozen as well, as some of the newer toasters have a defrost function. The toaster will give your waffles a crispy outside and a warm, soft inside.
If you aren’t in love with your toaster, by the way, consider getting this one from Amazon, it will completely change your life.
Cons of using a toaster
If you leave your waffle in the toaster for even 30 seconds too long, you could land up with a burned, hard-to-chew waffle that will not give you a great breakfast meal.
If there is a heat setting on your toaster, set it to medium, to further reduce the risk that your waffle will be burned.
You are also able to only reheat as many waffles as your toaster allows at once, larger ones allowing for 4 and smaller ones only 2, so for bigger families, this isn’t necessarily ideal.
Reheating Waffles In The Microwave
Using the microwave to reheat waffles is the quickest way to get it done. You can have a warm batch of waffles to be eaten in next to no time.
You can place either frozen or refrigerated waffles in the microwave, with the frozen waffles needing slightly longer to reheat.
Place a waffle into the microwave and heat for a minute. Take out the waffle and check the temperature, if more heating is needed, place the waffle back into the microwave in 30-second increments, until the waffle is heated throughout.
It is best to not leave the waffles in the microwave for too long, as they can become too soft and slightly soggy, or in the other extreme, dry up and become chewy.
One of my favorite tools anytime I’m heating something like this up in the microwave is a microwave crisper tray (I use this one from Amazon). Basically it’s a special plate that absorbs microwave energy and heats up like a frying pan. This is perfect for things like pizza and waffles because you’ll get a nice crispness.
Pros of using the microwave
The microwave is obviously best to reheat waffles in the shortest amount of time possible. In a few minutes, you will have deliciously warm waffles, ready for some fruit and honey.
You are also able to reheat frozen waffles in the microwave, which means you don’t have to thaw them out before.
Cons of using the microwave
When reheating waffles in the microwave, you run the risk of the waffles turning soft, or drying out and becoming too chewy.
The microwave has a tendency to suck the moisture out of foods, so the waffle needs to be placed in the microwave only long enough to reheat, but not long enough to dry the waffle up.
You will also only be able to reheat one waffle at a time in the microwave, which could become tedious for a large family.
Reheating Waffles In The Oven
Reheating waffles in the oven is suited for those who are feeding quite a few people, as you can fit quite a few waffles onto a baking sheet to be placed into the oven.
Waffles can also be placed in the oven from frozen, so once again you will not have to wait for the waffles to thaw beforehand.
To reheat waffles in the microwave, you should lay them down in a single layer on a clean oven rack. Place the baking rack into a preheated oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit and leave them to heat for 10 minutes, and for around 15 minutes if they are being heated from frozen.
Pros of using the oven
The oven is undoubtedly the best method to use to reheat a large number of waffles in one go, so nobody has to wait for theirs while watching everyone else eat.
The oven also helps the waffles reach close to their original texture and taste, more so than the other methods. Frozen waffles can also be placed directly into the oven.
Cons of using the oven
The oven takes longer to reheat waffles compared to the toaster or microwave, as you need to wait for the oven to preheat before you can place the waffles inside, and then you will have to wait 10 minutes for the waffles to reheat.
How To Freeze Leftover Waffles
When you are cooking up your next batch of waffles, double up the recipe to ensure there is some waffles leftover. Place the leftover waffles on a wire drying rack and allow them to cool to room temperature.
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper and place the waffles down in a single layer.
- Cover this single layer of waffles with wax paper and place it in the freezer until they are frozen stiff.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and place the frozen waffles into a plastic freezer bag (make sure it’s a quality double-sealed bag like these from Amazon), each separated from each other with a square of wax paper.
- Squeeze out as much air as you can from the plastic freezer bag.
- Pre-freezing the waffles stops them from sticking together during the freezing process, and by placing wax paper between the waffles, it allows you to easily remove one at a time, without having to defrost the whole batch.
Waffles, stored properly this way, can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months.
They will be fine to eat after this but kept in the freezer any longer, the texture and taste of the waffles will begin to deteriorate. So use the waffles within 2 months to ensure they taste as great as possible.
You can choose to freeze the waffles in an airtight container as well, however, plastic freezer bags take up less space in the freezer, especially if you have quite a large number of waffles to freeze.
If you are looking to freeze waffles for yourself for breakfasts, you can place them in small freezer bags for easy portioning on those busy mornings.
Related Questions
How do you make waffles crispy again?
Reheating the waffles from frozen also prevents them from becoming soggy, as too much exposure to moisture can turn the waffles soft and ruin the outer crust.
Leaving the waffles to thaw overnight exposes them to moisture, so toasting them from frozen prevents this, and allows for a crispy, golden outer crust.
Can you freeze waffle batter?
If you do not feel like cooking up all the waffle batter you have made, you can freeze the waffle batter to use at a later stage. To do this, you should place the waffle batter into a freezer plastic bag, a mason jar or a plastic container.
This can be frozen for up to 2 months. To use the batter, you will need to leave it to thaw in the fridge overnight, and then pour it into a waffle iron when it is time to cook.
Using a plastic bag to freeze waffle batter is a good idea, as once the waffle batter has thawed, you can snip the bottom of the plastic bag to pipe the waffle batter into the waffle iron.
Reheating Waffles
It is so easy to reheat waffles, and you can choose to reheat your leftover waffles in the oven, the toaster or even in the microwave. Some methods are quick to use, such as the toaster or microwave, whereas the oven, which takes longer, will give you better results, with waffles that are soft inside and crispy on the outside.
Make a double batch of waffles next time you have them for breakfast, and freeze the leftovers to be reheated at a later stage for an easy-fix meal.
