Make these sweet potato waffles with fried egg, bacon, and scallions for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Great way to use up leftover sweet potatoes.
Breakfast for dinner. When my son was little, we called it “upside-down day”!
Waffles for supper are an especially comforting way to end the day. They’re relatively quick to make from scratch and they change up the meal routine in an unexpected way.
Any break in routine feels slightly festive, no matter how simple.
Speaking of festive, these sweet potato waffles would be a great choice to serve a house full of guests on a holiday weekend. They’re good any time of day, really — breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. No matter how much we feast, we still need to eat the next day!
If you have leftover sweet potatoes in the fridge, mash them up and use them in this waffle batter. And if you don’t have leftovers, it’s still worth the extra step of baking a sweet potato just so you can make these waffles.
The fried egg on top isn’t mandatory, but it makes this into a more substantial meal.
My method for making a sunny-side-up fried egg is to cook it covered and over low heat for about two minutes. When all but a thin rim of the white around the yolk is opaque, cover the pan again, take it off the stove, and let the residual heat from the pan continue to cook the egg for about thirty seconds with the lid on.
Low and slow wins every time for a pretty, smiley egg.
But don’t wait for a special occasion to make these waffles. Make them now!
Sweet Potato Waffles with Fried Egg, Bacon, and Scallions Recipe
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 7 waffles, depending on the size of your waffle iron
Leftover sweet potatoes are perfect for this recipe. Just mash them with a fork and measure out the amount needed for this recipe.
If you don’t have leftovers, roast a whole sweet potato following this method: prick all over with a fork, place on a foil-lined baking sheet, and roast at 350°F for 45 to 60 minutes, until very soft.
Ingredients
For the waffles:
- 12 ounces bacon
- 1 cup (140g) flour
- 6 tablespoons (103g) cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sweet potato mash (See Recipe Note)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- Cooking spray or vegetable oil (for the waffle iron)
For the fried eggs:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 or more large eggs (at least one per person)
- Honey, for drizzling
Special equipment:
Method
1 Cook the bacon: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Break each slice into a few pieces (large pieces or crumbles, whichever you like!).
2 Heat the waffle iron: Get the waffle iron heating so that it’s piping hot when you’re ready to make your first batch of waffles. Also, place a baking sheet in the oven and set the oven to its lowest temperature to keep the finished waffles warm before serving.
3 Mix the dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined.
4 Separate the eggs and beat the whites: Separate the yolks and whites into separate bowls. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Set aside.
5 Prepare the batter: In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, mashed sweet potato, buttermilk, and melted butter until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Gently fold in the egg whites. Stir in the scallions, reserving a few for sprinkling over the top.
6 Cook the waffles: Brush or spray the waffle iron with vegetable oil. Ladle the batter into the waffle iron—the amount will vary according to the size of your particular waffle iron; use enough to fill the mold. Top with a few bacon pieces and close the lid.
Bake the waffles until brown and crispy. Repeat until all the batter is used. Keep the finished waffles warm in the oven while you make the eggs.
7 Fry the eggs: In a skillet over low heat, melt the butter. Swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Break the eggs into the skillet, and cover the pan.
Cook for 2 minutes, or until all but a thin rim of egg white around each yolk is opaque. Remove the pan from the heat, keep covered, and let sit for about 30 seconds to finish cooking.
8 Serve the waffles: Drizzle a little honey on each waffle and top with a fried egg.
