A savory waffle that is loaded with sausage and is perfect for dipping in an easy to make homemade tomato sauce using tomato pasta and canned pumpkin.
You are going to find that several recipes that I am posting on this blog are made out of necessity. As they say, “necessity is the mother of invention”. I had a frozen package of ground sausage that I was going to use for dinner. Originally I had planned to cook it up and serve it on Romaine lettuce, which of course sounds delicious itself.
As I write this we have been staying in a small town (under 1000 total people) in southern Idaho. The grocery store doesn’t have the best offerings and it’s about 40 mintues to get to a better quality store. So I decided that I didn’t want to overpay for poor quality Romaine or another lettuce green at this small town store.
We picked to stay in this area not because of that small town, but so we can visit places like this:
Isn’t Idaho beautiful!!!!!
So anyway, sans the Romaine lettuce, I needed a delivery device for the ground sausage. It hit me. Let’s put the sausage into some waffles. Of course that would be great for breakfast, served with maple syrup. But instead I wanted to embrace the savory, and serve it with tomato sauce, making it more like having pizza than eating breakfast.
Waffle Sticks
I’ve got to say how much our family loves this Mini Waffle Stick maker from Dash. I’m glad I grabbed it as a Christmas present for my wife a couple years ago. It’s the perfect thing for this kind of use where I want to be able to dip my waffles.
The sticks are pretty easy to break apart, I do like using scissors still to get a perfectly even cut.
What’s in the Waffle Batter?
For this recipe I use my standard waffle batter with a few modifications. My waffles aren’t overly sweet, so I don’t feel the need to change the amount of sugar in them.
Here is what is normally in my waffles:
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp pure cane sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk)
- 4 tbsp salted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- extra butter for greasing the waffle maker
If you are wondering why I use corn starch in my waffle recipe, check out my post Basic Mini Dash Waffles to read our explanation.
And here is what I added to them for this recipe
- 12 heaping tablespoons cooked sausage, finely ground (2 tablespoons per waffle)
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic or shallot powder
So, I have this amazing shallot powder from Burlap & Barrel Single Origin Spices. It is absolutely incredible. I use it on veggies all the time and I thought it would be perfect for these waffles. The flavor isn’t as strong as an onion powder, so it provides a nice background flavor without being the dominate flavor.
The garlic or shallot powder and parmesan gets mixed into the waffle batter. The sausage is then added as you are cooking the waffles like this:
- Pour 1 ounce of batter onto the bottom of the waffle maker.
- Spread evenly.
- Then sprinkle 2 tsp of ground cooked sausage over that.
- Then add 1 additional ounce of batter over the sausage.
- Close and cook.
Tomato Sauce
During the height of tomato season you can rest assure I am going to be using lots of fresh tomatoes to make my own sauce. But in other times of the year, I have learned how to make a good tomato sauce using canned tomato paste.
The downside of canned tomato paste is that can have a bitter taste to it. It needs sweetness. I don’t like adding sugar so instead I opt to use canned pumpkin. That’s right. A little bit of canned pumpkin adds the sweetness I need, but since the tomato flavor is stronger, you really don’t taste the pumpkin. We have canned pumpkin most of the time, because my daughter likes to add it to her dog’s food to help with digestion.
I make it according to taste. The ratio of tomato paste to pumpkin I use is about 1:4. I then add enough water to make it the right consistency and taste. If it’s not sweet enough I will add in more pumpkin. Then salt to taste and add any additional seasonings I want like garlic powder and dried oregano. It really depends on the type of tomato paste you bought and what your personal preferences are. I let my tongue make the recipe!
What to Serve on the Side
I served my waffle sticks up with some amazing vegetables I picked up at a farm stand – purple cauliflower and red carrots (my favorite type of carrot). A salad would be great as well. Fresh corn on the cob too.
Whatever you serve make it colorful. You eat with your eyes and this plate of food I made was so pretty I had to stop and take the picture you see above.
Sausage Filled Waffle Sticks with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp pure cane sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk)
- 4 tbsp salted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 12 tbsp cooked ground sausage finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine: the flour, corn starch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder, and salt. Mix well.
- Melt the butter in the microwave and allow a few minutes to cool.
- Measure out 1 cup of milk into a measuring cup with space to add 1 cracked egg and the parmesan cheese. Mix well to combine. Once the butter has cooled a bit, add it as well.
- Make a well in the center of the dried ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
- Mix it all together until it is just combined and there is no dry flour. Don't worry about it being lumpy, the lumps will cook out. You don't want to overmix the batter.
- Allow the batter to sit out while the waffle maker heats up.
- Pour 1 ounce of batter onto the bottom of the waffle maker. Spread evenly. Then sprinkle 2 tsp of ground cooked sausage over that. Then add 1 additional ounce of batter over the sausage. Close and cook.
- You can keep waffles warm in an oven set to the lowest temperature. Don't stack the waffles or they could get soggy.
Notes
- Empty the can into a bowl. Add pureed pumpkin (optional) at a 1:4 ratio.
- Add water to to the paste until it’s your desire consistency.
- Salt and season to taste.
- Serve it room temperature or heat it up if you like.
More Savory Waffles to Try
If you are down for making more savory waffles for lunch or dinner, here are some other recipes to try out.
How to Make Macaroni & Cheese Waffles
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