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Taco topped cornbread waffles are an insanely delicious dinner idea that combines all your favorite taco ingredients, piled high on top of a rich and fluffy cornbread waffle! It is a super easy recipe and a dinner game changer.
Get ready for a fun meal that’ll make you totally rethink how you make and eat tacos! Consider the cornbread waffles in this recipe as the corn tortilla holding together your taco, or almost like you are eating tamale pie… It’s certainly not traditional, but it’s so fast, so good, and it’s a great way to stretch or use up taco leftovers and turn them into another meal that isn’t just plain tacos, again.
If you love breakfast for dinner, you’ll definitely want to check out my Cornbread Waffles with Pulled Pork, Beans, and Slaw and Crispy Ham and Cheese Waffles recipes. They are some of the best recipes for a fun twist on waffles!
Table of Contents
17 Best Cornbread Recipes Ever!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Innovative: It’s such a fun way to change up taco night or use up taco night leftovers in a creative way.
- Family Friendly: Pretty much everyone loves waffles and tacos so combining the two into a family friendly dinner is basically a no-brainer.
- Customizable: Meals where everyone can customize them with their own combination of toppings are always amazing.
Ingredients
For the waffles
- All-Purpose Flour
- Yellow Cornmeal
- Granulated Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Buttermilk
- Eggs
- Light Oil
For the toppings
- Taco Meat: any kind you like or have leftover such as ground beef, chicken, or pork
- Cheese
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Sour Cream
- Hot Sauce
- Any other taco toppings you like
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Taco Topped Cornbread Waffles
Step #1. Heat up the waffle iron.
Step #3. Cook the waffles in your waffle maker until the batter is gone. Place on a wire cooling rack in a single layer.
Step #2. Combine all the dry waffle ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add all the wet waffle ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Step #4. Serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Recipe FAQs
Melted butter burns a lot easier than oil does, so I wouldn’t recommend using it to make waffles. I like using a nice, light oil, like avocado, canola, or vegetable. They’re not overpowering, but they keep the insides of the waffles moist.
Every waffle iron is a little different and has its own way to signify that the waffles are done. Many have a light that turns on or a beep that sounds when the batter is done cooking. If you have an older waffle maker that doesn’t have a way to communicate it’s done cooking, keep an eye on the steam. When steam stops coming out the sides of the maker, it’s generally done cooking.
Cornbread waffles go GREAT with anything you’d normally eat cornbread with! Pair them with your favorite chili or grilled meat, or treat them like a regular old waffle, and pile them up with some butter and syrup (or honey!).
Expert Tips
- Make sure your waffle iron is nice and hot before adding the batter. It may take a little extra time in between each waffle but it’s worth it for the delicious results.
- In between each waffle, grease the waffle iron with a little cooking spray or a brush of oil. Even a non-stick waffle iron can stick sometimes.
- If you need to keep the waffles warm, turn your oven on to 200°F and place them on a rack in a single layer inside it while you cook the rest.
- Be careful not to overfill your waffle iron. It can be hard to judge just the right amount but it’s better to have a little less than overfill it and have batter dripping down the sides.
How do you store leftover cornbread waffles?
When you’re done making a batch of cornbread waffles, let them cool completely on a wire rack (being careful to not stack them, which makes them soggy). After they’ve cooled, keep them in a plastic sealable bag or airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, put them on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree F. oven for 7 to 10 minutes, or until hot.
These cornbread waffles would be perfect with these recipes
- Easy Slow Cooker Chili
- Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- Easy Mexican Black Beans for Tacos
- Instant Pot Chipotle Chicken Taco Meat
- Easy Crispy Instant Pot Pork Taco Recipe
- Steak Carnitas Meat in the Crock-Pot
More Waffle Recipes to Consider
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Taco Topped Cornbread Waffles
Ingredients
For the waffles:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup light oil, such as canola, avocado, or vegetable
For toppings:
- Taco meat, such as cooked hamburger or shredded pork
- Cheese
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Sour cream
- Hot sauce
- Any other taco toppings you like
Instructions
- Plug in your waffle iron, and get it heating (I have found that the deep wells of a Belgian-style waffle maker work great for this recipe).
- In a large bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mixture, and add the buttermilk, eggs, and oil. Whisk to combine well.
- Cook the batter according to the manufacturer’s directions of your waffle iron.
- Repeat with remaining batter.
- When one waffle is done, let it rest on a wire rack, taking care not to stack the waffles (the steam they produce makes them soggy if you stack them on a plate).
- Serve hot with your favorite taco toppings on top.
Notes
- You can use store-bought buttermilk or homemade buttermilk. To make homemade buttermilk, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to a 2-cup measuring cup. Fill the rest of the measuring cup up with milk (to the 2-cup line, since that’s how much you need). Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes before using.
- If you like a crispier waffle, brush the waffle iron with a little butter or oil (or spray with a little nonstick spray) before adding the batter.
- Be careful not to overfill the waffle iron.
- Keep the waffles warm in a single layer in a 200°F oven.
