Grandma’s Waffle Sauce

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Creamy, rich, vanilla waffle sauce is the best possible topping for your favorite breakfasts.

For my family, Waffles-with-Waffle-Sauce is the only way to eat waffles. We pour Waffle Sauce over pancakes, German pancakes, waffles and french toast.

I’ve never served my grandmother’s Waffle Sauce to someone who hasn’t loved it, because this sauce has the ability to make an ordinary meal extra special.

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Grandma's Waffle Sauce is like nothing else you've ever tasted. It's a must have for waffles and pancakes! get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

In 1938, my grandmother moved to the Canal Zone in Panama as a newlywed. While there, one of my grandfather’s Navy friends came to a waffle dinner at their house.

He offered to make his mother’s “waffle sauce” to serve with their waffles that night. Ever since then, my family has been making this sauce to serve with pancakes and waffles.

Have you ever used fresh nutmeg? It is my favorite spice to use fresh because the aroma and the flavor is unforgettable.

I started grating fresh nutmeg over my grandmother’s waffles with waffle sauce years ago and ever since I’ve been grating nutmeg every chance I get.

Don’t be intimidated by this hard as rock spice. It’s easy as can be to use and once you’ve tried it, you’ll likely be as hooked on it as we are.

The Best Homemade Waffles are crispy, fluffy, buttery, and they're everyone's favorite meal of the day!

I’ve updated my grandmother’s recipe below with a gluten-free variation in the notes for the recipe below. However, other than that recipe note, this is the same recipe she served me through my childhood.

My kids have been known to actually cheer when they see the white sauce on the stove. As well as creamy, rich, peanut butter syrup for their favorite stack of homemade pancakes or waffles.

Pour Waffle Sauce over waffles or pancakes for an AMAZING breakfast treat!

The Blueberry Waffles pictured here have been a big personal favorite over the past year.

I know, I know, I am pretty sure I said that about the Ham and Cheese Waffles and the Cheddar Bacon Green Chile Waffles too!

Banana Waffles, Pumpkin Spice Waffles, and Banana Coconut Pecan Pancakes are a few more of our favorite things to serve with waffle sauce.

Liege Waffles, Chocolate Chip Eggnog Waffles, and Quick Brioche Waffles would all be terrific with grandma’s sauce as well.

Waffles with Waffle Sauce

COOK’S NOTE: To grate fresh nutmeg, simply rub the whole nutmeg along the surface of a fine grater. (I love my Microplane for this task.) If you grate more than you need for the recipe, you can store the extra ground nutmeg in a small airtight container.

Waffle Sauce

  1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the milk and set the stove heat to medium. Whisk smooth and continue stirring or whisking frequently as it cooks.
  2. Continue cooking until the sauce begins to bubble and has thickened.
  3. Remove pan from the heat, add the butter and vanilla and stir to combine.
  4. Pour the warm sauce over hot waffles, and grate or sprinkle nutmeg over the top.

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Grandma's Waffle Sauce is like nothing else you've ever tasted. It's a must have for waffles and pancakes! get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

Waffle Sauce

4.56 from 34 votes
Creamy, rich, vanilla waffle sauce is the best possible topping for your favorite breakfasts.
Pin Print Review
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 10 servings, or about 2 1/2-3 cups

Ingredients 

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour *
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or ½ vanilla bean, scraped)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly ground or store-bought)

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the milk and set the stove heat to medium. Whisk smooth and continue stirring or whisking frequently as it cooks. 
  • Continue cooking until the sauce begins to bubble and has thickened. Remove pan from the heat, add the butter and vanilla and stir to combine. Pour sauce over hot waffles and grate or sprinkle nutmeg over the top.

Notes

* Gluten-free alternative: ¼ cup brown rice flour may be substituted for the all-purpose flour in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 120kcal · Carbohydrates: 19g · Protein: 1g · Fat: 3g · Saturated Fat: 2g · Cholesterol: 10mg · Sodium: 41mg · Potassium: 64mg · Sugar: 17g · Vitamin A: 150IU · Calcium: 55mg · Iron: 0.1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @barefeetkitchen or tag #barefeetkitchen!

{originally published 1/31/13 – recipe notes and photos updated 7/29/21}

Waffle Sauce is an unforgettable topping for waffles, pancakes, or French toast! get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com
Grandma's Waffle Sauce is a family favorite.

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Mary Younkin

Mary Younkin

Hi, I’m Mary. I’m the author, cook, photographer, and travel lover behind the scenes here at Barefeet In The Kitchen. I'm also the author of three cookbooks dedicated to making cooking from scratch as simple as possible.

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    • Mary Younkin says

      It’s supposed to be a thick sauce, DeCe. However, if it cooked a little too long, it might have thickened too much. I typically pull it from the heat as soon as it thickens, but is still thin and pourable. It will thicken a bit more as it cools too. I’m glad you liked it!

  1. Angela Turner says

    The waffle sauce is amazing and sooo easy and quick to make! I’d give it 500 stars if I could. I didn’t have any nutmeg so that was the only change I made to the recipe. It’s awesome on its own, but if you really want the ultimate waffle experience put a small amount (about 1/2 tbsp of real butter) in a skillet over medium low heat and slice up a banana and cook alongside your waffle sauce. The waffle sauce and the bananas take about the same amount of time to cook. Pour the waffle sauce over your waffles and add a few slices of the cooked bananas. The taste is incredible!5 stars

  2. BJ Speck says

    We grew up using this same recipe for waffles and we call it white sauce. We don’t add nutmeg, but if you like it, it would be a nice flavor. Absolutely nothing goes on my waffles but white sauce. So delicious!5 stars

  3. Meghan Hansen says

    Wanted to love this but honestly didn’t think it had much flavor. Maybe I’m used to sweeter stuff and that’s what my mind had thought this would taste like but it was a bit disappointing. I added double vanilla and added some more sugar after the fact and it improved it slightly but this probably won’t be a family favorite unfortunately.3 stars

  4. Jane says

    I never had heard of “waffle sauce” when I was growing up, I was introduced to it after I got married. My in-laws had the family over for a waffle brunch on New Years Day and they always served white sauce with it. Over the years I’ve tried different recipes and they were ok, but this one has a much nicer flavor than the others. For personal preference I only used a tiny pinch of nutmeg and stirred it in the sauce – as a rule I despise the flavor of nutmeg but the barest hint of it works in the sauce. This will be the recipe I use from now on! Thank you 🙂5 stars

  5. Jenna Scott says

    Delicious and simple! So others know, half this recipe covered 5 normal sized Belgium waffles with sauce to spare!5 stars

  6. Paula Geiger says

    I also grew up on waffle sauce (or pudding as we called it). My kids love it and we always enjoy introducing it to others. To make ours we just use waffle batter. For every 1/4 cup batter, add one cup of milk, plus some vanilla. Cook slow on stove top and enjoy! I’m excited to try your recipe!

    • Mary Younkin says

      Paula – Yes! Waffles just aren’t the same with syrup instead of sauce. I can’t wait to hear what your kids think of this version.

  7. Magnolia Zaldívar says

    Hi Mary, I found your site and I love it! I want to know if in this
    recipe instead of sugar can I use stevia?4 stars

  8. Grant says

    I didn’t like this at all. I don’t know why I had higher hopes for this. Just really tasted like sweet to me and I reduced the amount of sugar by 1/3. IF I ever do this again I would probably see what a pint of fruit puree to add flavor. As is just not for me at all.1 star

  9. Sue says

    Ironically, I have made this same sauce for years, not for waffles but as a sauce over blackberry , peach, or cherry cobbler . My mother’s recipe from years ago, also!5 stars

  10. Gwen says

    Very similar to what we grew up with. We use cornstarch instead of flour.
    1/3 cup sugar, 1 heaping tbsp cornstarch, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla. Mix sugar & cornstarch together, whisk in milk and vanilla. Heat over medium high heat until it starts to boil and thicken, stirring constantly. What h very closely as this tends to burn easily.

    • Mary Younkin says

      Glad that I could introduce the recipe to you, Karrie. Waffle sauce has been a staple in our kitchen for many years. Hopefully it’ll be a hit for you as well!