Give Your Waffles A Giada De Laurentiis Twist With This Italian Grain

Sure, airy, fluffy waffles will always be a classic, but it's fun to give the breakfast staple a hearty spin every now and then. Swapping out or combining flour with heftier grains thickens the batter beautifully, providing the dish with a thick finish. To give your waffles an earthy flair, follow in the steps of Giada de Laurentiis and make them with polenta.

In a recipe for Fourth of July Waffles shared on her Giadzy blog, De Laurentiis added polenta into the batter, effectively elevating the dish. The coarse cornmeal is traditionally used for porridge in northern Italy, but it's great for sprucing up sweet treats, as well. Polenta sweetens cakes with a mild corn flavor, and it does the same for waffles. Alongside a newfound earthiness, polenta provides waffles with a subtle crunch on the outside and a tender, denser crumb, making the dish even richer.

When giving buttermilk waffles an earthy touch with polenta, swap out half of the flour with the cornmeal. After adding equal parts of flour and polenta to a bowl, follow it with baking soda, buttermilk, eggs, baking powder, sugar, melted butter, and a pinch of salt. Whisk the ingredients until they're well combined and pour the batter onto your greased, heated waffle iron. Heat the waffles until the exterior is crisp and golden brown.

De Laurentiis topped off her Fourth of July polenta waffles with berries and whipped cream, but there are plenty of ingredients that work well with the waffles at any time of the year. If you're craving a cozier taste from the dish, use polenta to whip up some pumpkin pie waffles with cinnamon butter. The nutty pumpkin puree and crumbled Biscoff cookies bring the depth out of the polenta.

If you're the type of person who likes savory waffles, take a note from what polenta is traditionally served with. Italians pair the porridge with everything from mushrooms and tomatoes to cheese and veggies. You can omit the sugar when making polenta waffles and use the savory ingredients as a topping, or fold them into the batter. Salty parmesan or Pecorino Romano complements the mild cornmeal, while sauteed mushrooms and crumbled Italian sausage provide the waffles with a meaty flavor.

To give the waffles a subtle kick, fold in some fresh herbs and peppers. Both sesame scallion waffles and jalapeño cheddar waffles mesh seamlessly with polenta's corn-forward taste, balancing out the sweet grain perfectly.