Pandan Waffles (made with pandan leaves)

Eaten for breakfast and dessert alike, pandan waffles are a favorite among the Vietnamese community. This pandan waffle recipe pays homage to these famous waffles by creating a waffle that is perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. In this blog post, learn how to flavor these waffles naturally using pandan leaves and how to achieve a perfectly crispy texture.

Waffles are a favorite breakfast item pretty much everywhere, but in the Vietnamese community, pandan waffles reign supreme. My mom constantly complains about how pandan waffles cost $5 each at her favorite dessert cafes, which inspired me to develop this recipe. I didn’t want her to pay $5 anymore! The key characteristic of these waffles is that they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. This took a few tests, but I finally got the perfect recipe.

How I developed my pandan waffle recipe

Like I mentioned, the key to these waffles is a crispy outside and soft inside. This combination of textures is actually hard to achieve! I first tested a batch with sweet rice flour or mochi flour, but that yielded a waffle that was only soft. So I substituted some of that mixture for corn starch, a flour that I love to use for chicken wings because it yields the crispiest texture. My second batch definitely had a crispier exterior, but the mochi flour was still making it too soft. That’s when I decided to substitute some of the remaining mochi flour with all purpose flour. I decided to go with all purpose flour instead of more corn starch because I really didn’t want to add more corn starch. That combination of mostly corn starch (for crispiness), mochi flour (for chewiness), and all purpose flour was the winning combination for the texture.

In terms of the pandan flavor, I really wanted to incorporate some pandan leaves. So I bought pandan leaves, blanched them, and blended them with water to create a pandan juice. I then added that to the batter. This batch of waffles had some subtle pandan flavor, but it wasn’t strong enough for me. At this point, I had already added 8 pandan leaves, so I didn’t want to add any more. I ended up adding 1/4 tsp of pandan flavoring to help with the pandan flavor and color. The color with just the pandan juice was a muddy yellow/green which didn’t look appetizing.

What is pandan?

Pandan is a plant that is widely used in Southeast Asia to flavor foods. You can almost think of it like their vanilla. It has notes of rose, almond, and vanilla. But unlike vanilla, it gives food a green color as well as a yummy flavor. It is used in both savory and sweet foods. Some popular uses are pandan jelly, pandan cake (really popular), and even pandan chicken. I personally like using pandan in desserts like cookies and mochi donuts.

It is a popular ingredient in Southeast Asia, but not that popular in Western countries. Personally, I think the Western world is sleeping on pandan. Since it’s not widely used, it can often be hard to find. You can sometimes find fresh or frozen pandan in Asian grocery stores, but the most common form of pandan you will find is pandan paste. This is a very concentrated form of pandan however, so be careful how much you use.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Pandan leaves – Pandan leaves give the waffles a subtle pandan flavor and some of its green coloring.
• Vegetable shortening – Prevents waffles from sticking to the waffle maker and also gives it a richer taste. I normally make waffles with butter, but I found that shortening helps gives the waffle a crispier texture.
• Granulated sugar – Gives the waffle some sweetness. I tested this waffle recipe with 1/4 cup of sugar, and it really didn’t taste good, so I don’t recommend reducing the sugar. (Reducing sugar seems to be a common question.)
• Egg – Gives the waffle richness and helps bind all the ingredients together.
• Coconut milk – Coconut milk and pandan are a classic pairing. They also compliment each other ver well. Traditional pandan waffles tend to have coconut milk in them, so that’s why I included it.
• Vanilla extract – Adds some flavor to the pandan waffles.
• Pandan extract – This ingredient provides the waffles with more pandan flavor and is most responsible for for the waffle’s green color. My favorite brand for pandan extract is Butterfly pandan extract.
• Salt for seasoning
• Baking powder – Baking powder makes the waffles airy and tender.
• Corn starch – Corn starch makes the pandan waffles crispy.
• All purpose flour – Helps give the waffles structure.
• Sweet rice flour – Makes the waffles chewy.

How to make pandan waffles

Make the pandan juice

1. First blanch the pandan leaves. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Cook the pandan leaves for 30 seconds. Remove from the water. Reserve 3/4 cups of the water.
2. Cut the leaves into 2 inch pieces and add them to a blender with the water. Blend until the pandan leaves have been broken down.
3. Pour the pandan mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Use a spatula to press the pandan leaves into the fine mesh sieve to squeeze out excess pandan juice. This should yield ~1/2 cup of pandan juice. Set aside.

Make the waffles

1. Add 2 tbsp of vegetable shortening to a large bowl. Microwave the shortening for 30 seconds to soften it up.
2. Add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to the bowl. Mix until incorporated.
3. Next, add 1 egg and mix.
4. Add the pandan juice, 1/2 cup of coconut milk, 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp of pandan extract, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Mix until well incorporated.
5. Lastly, add 2 tsp of baking powder, 3/4 cup of corn starch, 2/3 cup of all purpose flour, and 1/4 cup of sweet rice flour and mix.
6. Heat up your waffle maker. Ladle 2/3 cup of batter into the waffle maker and cook for 5-6 minutes. Repeat this process until you run out of batter.
7. Serve with butter and a drizzle of maple syrup!

Serve waffles right away for the best flavor and texture

The crispy texture tends to soften over time, so serve the waffles as soon as you make them. If they have been laying around for awhile, reheat them in a toaster oven to give them that crispy texture again.

What to do if you don’t want to use pandan leaves

If you don’t want to use pandan leaves, use 1/2 tsp of pandan extract and reduce all purpose flour to 1/3 cup. Feel free to use up to 1 tsp of pandan extract.

How do you store pandan waffles?

Store pandan waffles in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. And as mentioned above, reheat in a toaster oven to give them that crispy texture again.

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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