This Is How All Your Favorite Chefs Make Waffles

Waffles seem so basic, but small changes can make big differences — aka big flavor. You'll stop resorting to the premade stuff and start whipping up restaurant-worthy brunches thanks to these inspired waffle tips from some of our favorite celebrity chefs. Here's how Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown, and more experts interpret homemade waffles.

File Giada's lemon almond waffles under brunch-party-worthy recipes. The Italian chef swaps regular milk for unsweetened vanilla-flavored almond milk to lend a pleasantly nutty flavor to the waffles that pairs well with a homemade lemon honey. They're crispy outside, chewy on the inside, and simultaneously light yet decadent.

If you're looking for a basic waffle recipe that'll please even the pickiest eaters, Alton Brown's waffle recipe is the way to go. It's proof that sometimes simple really is better, and you probably have all the ingredients on hand right now. A commenter who left one of many five-star reviews wrote, "Alton's recipe makes delicious waffles. They're crispy, flavorful, and have just the right amount of sweetness."

One of Trisha Yearwood's many cooking tips is that bacon makes everything better (we can't say we disagree). And since there's a good chance you'll be serving bacon with your waffles, why not put it inside the waffle instead? Trisha's bacon waffles recipe is the best way to attempt the hybrid, because instead of simply frying the bacon before adding it to the waffle mixture, the directions call for cooking the bacon in the waffle iron before topping it with a spoonful of batter, resulting in optimal bacon flavor throughout the waffle (plus easy cleanup).

If you've got patience (OK, and a Belgian waffle maker), you should make Ina Garten's overnight Belgian waffles. If you've ever had a Belgian waffle, you know how delicious and different they are, and Ina admitted she tried to re-create a recipe after eating them from street carts in Brussels, Belgium. "I came up with these delicious yeasty Belgian waffles. You make them almost entirely the night before, so all you have to do in the morning is stir in some eggs and heat up the waffle iron," she wrote in the recipe. They take a little more effort, but they're 100 percent worth it.

Those with a preference for sweeter waffles will undoubtedly love Ree Drummond's basic waffles. In addition to regular sugar, the recipe calls for one tablespoon plus one teaspoon of vanilla extract that adds another layer of flavor. The Pioneer Woman's recipe also calls for beating egg whites separate from the yolks to create a fluffy and smooth mixture that makes the waffles even lighter and airier on the inside.

There's nothing quite like Southern biscuits and gravy, and Mario Batali's ingenious recipe takes the breakfast to an entirely new level. His biscuit waffles with sausage gravy have the best of both worlds: a biscuit-like mixture that's cooked inside a waffle iron and topped with rich, homemade sausage gravy. In true Batali style, there's a touch of sophistication (reminder: he eats his scrambled eggs with shaved truffle) thanks to fresh rosemary, thyme, and chives in the waffles.

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