Explore the delicious world of ube waffles, made with purple yams and rice flour for a chewy and crispy treat unlike any other.
Table of Contents
These purple waffles are really fun for Easter brunch or breakfast after a slumber party. They’re also great as a tailgate food (especially chicken and waffles) if your team colors are purple. Go K-State!
What are ube waffles?
Ube waffles are such a fun twist on classic waffles. They’re made with purple yams and glutinous rice flour, so they’re bright purple and slightly chewy with a crispy crust.
Ube is a purple yam native to the Philippines. It’s used in all sorts of Filipino recipes like cakes, ice cream and waffles. What makes it so fun is its vibrant purple color.
People often mistake ube with purple sweet potatoes, but they’re not the same thing. Ube has a sweeter, nuttier taste and when cooked is much creamier.
Purple Ube Waffles
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sweet rice flour, mochiko flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup lemon lime soda
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup ube jam
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 2-3 drops purple food gel
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat: Heat your waffle maker.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the sprite, milk, ube jam, vegetable oil and egg.
- Combine: Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, until smooth. Add in a couple drops of food gel to get your desired color.
- Cook: Brush the waffle iron with melted butter. Add batter to the iron. Close and cook according to your waffle iron's instructions.
- Serve: Remove from the waffle iron and serve with butter and syrup.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients for KW
- Flours: You’ll need both all-purpose flour and sweet rice flour for this recipe. Sweet rice flour is usually found in the Asian section of your grocery store.
- Granulated Sugar
- Baking Powder: This helps the waffles rise.
- Lemon Lime Soda: This helps with the rise, as well. I usually use Sprite Zero. I use sprite in my pancake recipe too.
- Milk: Whole milk will give the richest flavor, but you can also use skim milk, plant-based milk, buttermilk or even coconut milk.
- Ube Jam: This is a very important component of this recipe. This is where the natural ube comes in. You can find this in Asian markets that specialize in Filipino cuisine, like Seafood City.
- Vegetable Oil
- Large Egg
- Purple Food Gel: This helps accentuate the purple color. I use gel instead of food coloring, because it’s more vibrant.
Substitutions: Instead of purple food gel, you can also use ube flavoring. Personally, I find the ube extract to be a little bitter, so I prefer to get my ube from the jam.
See the full recipe card for servings and a full list of ingredients.
Where to find ube
Sourcing fresh ube yams in the United States is quite challenging. The good news is it comes in several other varieties, which can be purchased in Asian markets or online.
- Ube Powder: Ground dehydrated ube. Read the labels. Purple sweet potato powder is not the same as ube powder.
- Frozen Grated Ube: Yams that are cooked, shredded and then frozen.
- Frozen Whole Ube: Whole raw or cooked purple yams packaged and frozen.
- Purple Yam Purée: Puréed purple yam mixed with sugar and salt and frozen.
- Purple Yam Jam: Also called halayang ube; cooked yam with sugar, buttermilk, salt and sometimes coconut milk.
- Ube Flavor: Yam extract mixed with purple food coloring.
How to make ube waffles
- Preheat: Heat your waffle maker following your manufacturer’s instructions.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the sprite, milk, ube halaya jam, vegetable oil and egg.
- Combine: Gently add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth and the lumps are gone. Add food coloring to get your desired purple color.
✔️ PRO TIP
You can make this recipe in a mini waffle maker or even a large Belgian waffle maker. When using a Dash 4-inch waffle maker, I add 1/4 cup of batter and cook for about 90 seconds.
- Grease Waffle Maker: Brush your waffle maker with melted butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake: Add batter to your waffle maker, leaving room for the waffle to expand. Cook until it’s brown and crispy. It should release easily from the waffle maker.
✔️ PRO TIP
The amount of batter you’ll need will depend on the size of your waffle maker. Start with a smaller amount so it doesn’t overflow.
- Cool: Transfer the cooked waffles to a plate or cooling rack and continue making waffles until all of the batter is gone. Be sure to add butter to the waffle iron between each cook. As they cool, the exterior will become a little crispy and the inside will remain nice and chewy.
✔️ PRO TIP
For crispier waffles, cook them a bit longer and let them cool in a single layer.
How to serve ube waffles
Serve ube waffles just like any other waffles with butter and maple syrup.
If you want to make it extra special, whip the butter with a hand mixer until it becomes light and fluffy. You can even add a little coconut cream or ube puree to the butter mixture for a yummy twist.
Top with your favorite fruit like bananas and berries. Or, for a full on purple breakfast, top with whipped butter mixed with ube extract and fresh blueberries. Or make a purple syrup by mixing sweetened condensed milk with purple food gel.
Storage
Store leftover waffles in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
I love making a batch of 4-inch waffles and freezing them for up to 6 months. When you’re ready for breakfast, just take a waffle out of the freezer and pop it in the toaster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Like orange yams, ube is sweeter than a potato. It also has a nutty, vanilla and coconut taste to it. It’s very soft and creamy when it’s cooked down, making it a beautiful addition to desserts and waffles.
No. Purple sweet potatoes are less vibrant and starchier. Ube are yams and are sweeter, more purple and creamier.
Yes. Ube mochi waffles and pancake mix can be found at Trader Joes. It’s made sweet rice flour like this recipe is, but it includes ube powder, instead of ube jam.
Sure. I’ve made these ube waffles with just all-purpose flour, but I like adding the sweet rice flour because it adds a great chew that ube waffles are known for.
Sure. Just replace the all-purpose flour with glutinous rice flour.
