8 Ways To Make Frozen Waffles Taste So Much Better

While a certain frozen waffle brand that rhymes with Lego has spent half a century or so trying to convince us that people argue over who gets to eat its products, it's hard to imagine anyone actually doing so. Frozen waffles, even the best brands, are best described as "okay-ish." (Yes, even Eggo's new fancy waffles that the brand is marketing as "Belgian street style.") They are convenient, though, which is the main point. Sure, homemade waffles may be far superior, but who has the time to make these on a workday? Still, if you do have a few moments to spare, there are a number of different ways to transform frozen waffles.

Some of these methods involve nothing more than a different cooking method because, as it turns out, the toaster's not the best way. Others, however, take frozen waffles and use them as the base of an entirely different dish. From on-the-go snacks to indulgent desserts to something you'd only expect to see at a state fair, each one of these suggestions may result in a waffle that's actually worth fighting for.

One super-popular frozen waffle hack in recent years comes from an unexpected source: Tyler the Creator, a multi-Grammy-winning musical artist. While food may not be a profession for him, it is somewhat of a passion, and waffles are a favorite dish that he says he could eat every day. He's no foodie who insists on homemade every time, though, as he has a method for cooking the frozen kind that transforms them into something truly worthy of the finest maple syrup (something else he has strong feelings about).

The musicians frozen waffle preparation begins with buttering them on both sides and frying them in a pan. As the first side browns, he sprinkles cinnamon on the side facing up. After about 45 seconds, he flips the waffle and sprinkles cinnamon on the cooked side as the other one fries. It's to be noted, though, that his waffle appears to be thawed and fairly floppy before cooking, so one that's still frozen might take more time. The camera crew who got to sample Tyler's culinary creation seemed to find the pan-fried waffles much more satisfying, as did fans who subsequently tried the hack at home. If we could make one tweak to the recipe, however, it would be to mention that you can always supplement or replace the spice with nutmeg, cardamom, or any other seasoning you feel would taste good on a waffle — there's no reason why cinnamon should hold a breakfast monopoly.

Pan-frying your waffle is a better way of achieving the same thing since it results in a frozen waffle that tastes like an upgraded version of the toaster-heated kind. If you really want to take things to a different level, though, you'll need to replace the butter with a few inches of oil and make a deep-fried waffle. The lazy(ish) approach involves simply dropping a naked waffle in hot oil until it's crunchy and brown, but you can also dip the frozen waffle into batter before you cook it(redundant though this may seem). If you choose the former method, there's no need to thaw the waffles before frying, but if you do plan to batter them first you'll need to heat them briefly in the toaster or microwave since the batter sticks better to thawed waffles.

Deep-fried waffles definitely come in on the more indulgent side of the breakfast food spectrum, so they're the sort of thing you might cover with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. You could also sprinkle a fried waffle with powdered sugar and impale it on a wooden skewer to create your new favorite faux fair food.

Dipping a frozen waffle in batter and frying it might seem kind of crazy, but how about turning it into an entirely different breakfast dish? No, we're not talking about squashing out all the indents to make it into a pancake, since while possible, that seems fairly pointless. Instead, what we have in mind is using it as the base of yet another member of the sweet breakfast "big three": French toast.

French toast waffles are a dish that seems to have originated on TikTok (quel surprise). To make them, you simply combine a few steps from our two previous suggestions. First, dip waffles that have been at least partially thawed in the same type of batter you'd use for French toast (or to make the aforementioned deep-fried waffles). Once they're thoroughly coated, fry them in butter a la Tyler the Creator. You could also bake them in the oven or use thawed waffles to take the place of bread in our overnight french toast casserole.

While it's possible to cook your frozen waffles in an oven or air fryer, there's no particularly compelling reason to do so as they won't taste much better than ones made in a toaster. Unless, that is, you add some extra ingredients. If you're looking for a more savory treat, consider using a frozen waffle as the basis for a breakfast pizza.

This time around, you don't need to thaw the waffle, but are instead going to pre-cook it using either the oven (since this needs to be preheated anyway) or the toaster. Once the waffle is done, spread it with a dab of tomato sauce, then cover the sauce with shredded mozzarella. As a nod to the morning meal, you can also add a crumbled, cooked breakfast sausage patty, or you can stick with more traditional toppings like mushrooms and pepperoni. Bake the waffle until the cheese melts, at which point your waffle pizza is ready to eat.

Plain frozen waffles (as opposed to cinnamon-flavored, chocolate chip, or blueberry ones) may have a somewhat sweet flavor, but they don't tend to be overly sugary. Because of this, you can put them to use for savory purposes like sandwich making. This can be as simple as an Eggo PB&J (or waffles of another brand, of course), but you could also use cooked frozen waffles as the base for a classic BLT. They'd also lend some interesting texture to a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich made with sharp cheddar or smoked gouda, and they're a no-brainer for a sandwich that's meant to be somewhat sweet like a Monte Cristo, made with ham, turkey, gruyere, and raspberry jam.

Frozen waffles, once cooked, can also take the place of burger buns. As they are flatter than standard buns, they'd be well suited for smash burgers. Want to put a twist on a different fast food favorite? Sandwich grilled onions, Swiss cheese, and some thin-cooked patties between waffles to create a slightly-less-classic patty melt. 

Bubble waffle sundaes may be trendy these days, but the fact is, the type of waffle on the bottom may not matter too much when the emphasis is on all of the toppings. This means there's no reason not to start with a standard frozen waffle. Just cook it as crispy as possible (maybe two rounds in the toaster), and focus on embellishing it with sweet stuff.

One hyper-local treat you may not be aware of unless you frequent the Greek diners of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the polar bear waffle, which is a dish that involves a waffle (of course) topped with a very specific set of ingredients: butter pecan ice cream, strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream. If you swap the butter pecan ice cream for Neapolitan and add chocolate syrup, crushed pineapple, and peanuts, you'll have a banana split waffle instead. You could, of course, go with any other combo of ice cream and toppings, such as a classic vanilla and hot fudge pairing or a turtle sundae with hot fudge, caramel, and pecans. As long as it all fits on a waffle, you're as golden as a freshly-baked Eggo.

One concept we don't explore all that often but that's always fun when it comes up is that of trompe l'oeil foods. This term, borrowed from the art world, means "to deceive the eye," and when used in a culinary sense, you might think of a cake that is shaped and decorated to look like an oversized hamburger. Should you ever feel moved to create such a cake, we have the perfect (and very simple) accompaniment: frozen waffles turned into trompe l'oeil french fries.

The way to make these starts with cooking a frozen waffle and then slicing it into strips that are roughly the size and thickness of fries. (You could also cut them into smaller circles to look like waffle fries, but this would result in more waste.) Sprinkle the "fries" with granulated sugar, not powdered, because this substance closely resembles salt in appearance. For added verisimilitude and flavor, serve the fries with a small cup of pureed red berries or berry jam to make for a dessert version of tomato ketchup. If you're not quite so dedicated to fooling the eye, however, feel free to serve them with a different dip, like chocolate or caramel sauce.

Our final entry returns to the concept of food on sticks that we first explored while contemplating the concept of deep-fried waffles. Here, however, we're not going to skewer a whole frozen waffle, but will instead cook it, cut it into bite-sized chunks, and use it to make waffle kebabs.

One way to make waffle kebabs is to alternate the chunks with strawberries, sliced bananas, pineapple, mango, or any other fruits you have on hand. If you want to keep things relatively healthy, serve these waffle-fruit kebabs with a yogurt dip. For a more indulgent dessert, you could add some marshmallows to the skewers along with the waffles and fruit. You might also drizzle them with melted chocolate (dark, milk, or white) and sprinkle the chocolate with chopped nuts or shredded coconut.

It's also possible to use frozen waffles to make a fun-to-eat skewer version of the ever-popular chicken and waffles entree. To do so, simply alternate waffle pieces with cooked chicken nuggets on a skewer, then serve it with a dipping cup of maple syrup.