Brunch may be my favorite meal of the day. Breakfast can be very functional (I'm awake, I'm dehydrated, I'm hungry). But when you get to brunch, you've already had some coffee, had a bite, and now you can take your time to make something really lovely. It's a treat! And when I get to brunch, I tend to lean savory. Sweet is great, but I'd rather not be in a food coma after eating! These Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Waffles smell incredible while they're cooking, and are delicious topped with eggs, avocado, and any other fixings!

Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Waffle on a plate with a fried egg and avocado slices.

As always, I do include a few affiliate links in this post for products I truly use and love. This just means that if you make a purchase after clicking one of those links, I'll earn a little money (at no cost to you) to keep the kitchen up and running, which I promise to use to create more fun content like this! One of those affiliates is with Amazon, which requires a very clear disclosure: as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you have any questions about affiliates, please reach out!

Ingredients for sweet potato waffles on a table.

Ingredients you'll need

When I tell you these are supremely, easy, they really are. There isn't even any flour in this recipe!

Sweet potatoes: these can vary greatly in size, but you're aiming for about 6 cups of shredded sweet potato. A little more or a little less is ok, you just may need to adjust the other ingredients a little bit! It's a very flexible recipe.
Bacon: yessss! This adds a great salty bite to the waffles, and also provides a bit of the fat that is needed to help these get crispy. If you wanted to omit the bacon, you certainly can.
Eggs: this is what holds the waffles together, so feel free to be generous here. Really you'll want to look at how much liquid there is in the potato mixture. You want it to be slightly wet, but not dripping.
Shallot: this adds a nice little punch to the waffles.
Butter: this is going to help the waffles hold together, but also get that crispy edge. You can omit the butter if you like, but I do recommend using some kind of fat (either butter, or bacon fat) to grease the waffle iron to help with the crispiness.
A few pantry staples including kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika and red pepper flakes.
Your toppings are also important here. I like to add a fried egg, avocado slices, a generous sprinkling of green onion, and some additional salt, pepper and red pepper flakes or paprika.

Equipment you'll need

There isn't too much needed here, but these are a few things I like to use:

Cuisinart Boxed Grater from Amazon: I like to grate the potatoes by hand but you could also use the grater attachment with a food processor, like this Cuisinart Food Processor. You want a large grate to keep the texture, so no need to use a microplane or anything smaller.
Cuisinart Mixing Bowls from Amazon
Silicone Basting Brush from Amazon: for brushing butter or another fat onto your waffle iron
Cuisinart Double Belgian Waffle Maker from Amazon: you can use any kind of waffle iron for this recipe, but this is the one we have!

Three peeled sweet potatoes on a wooden cutting board.

Grated sweet potato on a wooden cutting board from overhead.

Grated sweet potato being pressed between two layers of paper towels to remove moisture.

Drying your potatoes

Getting rid of the moisture in the potatoes is key for recipe. Sweet potatoes (like all potatoes) naturally hold a lot of water and we want to get rid of as much as we can. This will help the waffles be crispy rather than floppy.

First, peel and grate your potatoes. I then like to lay one or two layers of paper towels on the countertop, then spread the potatoes on the towels. Add another 1-2 layers of paper towels on top of the potatoes and press with heel of your palm as hard as you can (without tearing the potatoes). You want to press as much of the water out of the potatoes as you can. Once your paper towel is wet, you can throw it away. If needed, repeat with another dry paper towel.

You may also want to do one round of pressing, then lightly toss or stir up your potatoes to make sure you're getting all the surface area. Press again.

Repeat as many times as you like, but I generally do 2 passes and find that's enough. Once they're pressed, they're ready to go into the bowl for mixing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store leftover waffles?

If you're going to eat them within the next 1-2 days, put them in an airtight container or sealed bag and store them in the fridge. If you want to keep for longer, put them in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To reheat, bake in the oven at 350 degrees (F) for about 10 minutes. They'll be warmed through and still a little crispy.

I would not recommend reheating leftover waffles in a toaster. These are fairly soft waffles and won't stand well in a toaster without falling / losing their shape.

My waffles didn't hold together - what happened?

Without seeing your batter, it's hard to say, but it could be a few things:

Did you use a large grate for your potatoes, or did you grate them smaller? The texture of the large grate helps keep them together.
Did you add enough eggs? If you reduced the amount of eggs, but still had the same volume of potatoes, they'll be missing that binder.
Did you press all the water out of your potatoes? If you skipped this step, your potatoes and batter will be very wet and will have a hard time cooking and holding together.

My waffles are floppy. Is that normal?

These waffles are a bit soft. That's why we do so much to try to keep texture and crispness. There isn't any rising that happens (like would normally happen in a batter), so you'll want to be a bit delicate with them as you take them out of the waffle iron.

I also would not recommend reheating leftover waffles in a toaster. These are fairly soft waffles and probably won't stand well in a toaster without falling / losing their shape.