12 best waffle makers – top machines on test

We used our triple-tested waffle recipe to put electronic waffle makers through their paces. We made several batches of waffles and compared consistency of results. When waffle machines had multiple functions, including toastie and panini functions, we tested these too.

Read on to discover our top buys. For over 600 buyer’s guides, visit our product reviews section and find guides to everything from the best regular toasters and best sandwich toasters to the best bread machines.

This guide is regularly updated with new models that have been tried, tested and top-rated by Good Food’s reviews experts. Those featuring earned it based on their performance during rigorous, impartial product testing. Included is a selection of new releases and firm favourites that continuously hold their position against new brand models. We will only ever feature waffle makers that prove to be good value for money. The newest additions were tested and reviewed by expert, Elaine Lemm.

Jump to:

• Best waffle makers at a glance
• Best waffle makers to buy
• How we tested waffle makers
• What to look for when buying a waffle maker
• How to make waffles in a waffle maker
• Our best waffle recipes

Best waffle makers at a glance

• Best waffle maker for cleanliness and good looks: Sage – the no mess waffle, £109.95
• Most versatile waffle maker: Cuisinart 2 in 1 waffle machine, £40
• Best waffle machine for menu choice and personalisation: Gastroback Advanced Control Waffle Iron, £129.90
• Best waffle maker for big families: Lakeland No Mess waffle maker, £59.99
• Most innovative waffle maker: American Originals Flip Over waffle maker, £20
• Best mid-priced waffle maker: Breville DuraCeramic waffle maker, £47.99
• Best compact waffle maker: VonShef Dual Belgian waffle maker, £22.99
• Best waffle maker for big appetites: Salter Deep Fill waffle maker, £23.89
• Joint best overall waffle maker: Sage the Smart Waffle Pro, £179.95
• Best multi-purpose waffle makers: Salter 3-in-1 snack maker, £42.99
• Best blow-out waffle maker: Dualit Waffle iron, £191.99

Best waffle makers to buy

Cuisinart 2-in-1 waffle and pancake maker

Pros

• Versatile, quick and easy to use, great results
• Comes with American pancake plates
• Plates for toasted sandwiches and grilling can be bought separately

Cons

• Beware the locking catch on the handle

Wattage: 1000

Star rating: 5/5

The Cuisinart 2-in-1 waffle and pancake maker has a large footprint, makes great waffles quickly and easily, and looks great on the worktop. Plus, it comes with pancake plates (grill and sandwich-making plates are available separately), making this one of the most versatile machines on test.

Operating this waffle maker is easy, with clear, precise instructions in the enclosed book and recipes so you can produce delicious waffles and pancakes in no time.

Gastroback waffle iron advanced control

Pros

• High-quality, good-looking machine
• Choice of texture on finished waffles
• Precision cooking

Cons

• Takes a little time to work out how to use it

Wattage: 1600

Star rating: 4.5/5

The Gastroback waffle iron is a serious machine, made of high-quality materials with German engineering. It also comes with a wealth of added extras.

There are five different function menus, including classic waffles, Belgian-style, chocolate, buttermilk and a custom option. Additionally, you can choose your preferred texture – soft inside and crisp outside, or crisp all the way through.

Progress rotary waffle maker

Pros

• Exceptional price with good results
• Inventive recipes in the online manual

Cons

• The base feels flimsy

Wattage: 1000

Star rating: 4.5/5

The Progress waffle maker may be the cheapest on the test, but it delivers thick, tasty waffles every time. The waffle maker is very light, but sits nicely on the worktop – even when flipping the waffle plates, it stays steady.

This gadget makes a large, round, fluffy waffle, which can be cut in half or quartered, making it perfect for small hands.

Sage the No-Mess Waffle

Pros

• A good-looking machine with a small footprint

Cons

• Produces small waffles and sometimes difficult to cook them to your liking

Wattage: 750-900

Star rating: 4/5

There’s no denying the Sage No-Mess is a good-looking, quality machine that's simple to use and, as the name suggests, does not make a mess. This is thanks to the deep, efficient moat around the plate that catches any overspill without burning or sticking.

The Sage offers different settings for varying the colour of the resulting waffle, which also changes the texture (the darker it is, the crispier it is). The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the waffle maker can be up and running in minutes.

Lakeland No Mess waffle maker

• Available from Lakeland (£59.99)

Best waffle maker for a big families

Pros:

• Cuts down on leakage
• Great for batches
• Good for even cooking

Cons:

• Big footprint

Wattage: 1200W

Star rating: 4.5/5

If you’re feeding a large family – or just have a large appetite – this waffle maker from Lakeland will enable you to make a batch of four at a time. This has a clever design to avoid spillage.

Mess is a bit of an occupational hazard when making waffles as it’s all too easy to ladle just a little too much mixture into the machine, which duly squelches out when cooking. The Lakeland machine has deep ridges at the sides so if you do put too much in, it will leak there rather than out on to your worktop.

This waffle maker is easy to use, with a red light to show it is heating up which switches to green when it is ready. Results were good with thick, evenly cooked waffles produced at a reasonable speed. Read our full review of the Lakeland No Mess waffle maker

• Available from Lakeland (£59.99)

American Originals Flip Over waffle maker

Most innovative waffle maker

Pros:

• Good looking
• Well priced
• Slim

Cons:

• Difficult to clean if you overfill it

Wattage: 700W

Star rating: 4/5

This is a cheerful, fun and fairly inexpensive machine that produced decent waffles reasonably quickly. It’s long and slim so ideal for small kitchens short on worktop space.

What makes this American Originals waffle maker stand out is that you flip it over – the whole machine that is, not the waffle – halfway through cooking to get evenly cooked waffles.

Given the high standards of our samples, we didn’t find the waffles were noticeably more evenly cooked than others but the end result was good quality waffles.

One downside was that we found it quite hard to clean the machine if you overfill it. Read our full review of the American Originals Flip Over waffle maker. Read our full review of the American Originals flip over waffle maker.

Breville DuraCeramic waffle maker

Best mid-priced waffle maker

Pros:

• Dura-ceramic coating
• Good texture and colour

Cons:

• Slower than some

Wattage: 800W

Star rating: 5/5

Solid, heavy and no-nonsense, this is a waffle maker for the true waffle enthusiast.
The name Breville is synonymous with sandwich makers and its waffle maker is built along the same lines. Every detail has been thought of from the easy to remove, washable plates to clear indicators and a heavy-duty non-stick coating on the plates.

The waffles themselves are among the best we tried – and we dutifully chomped through dozens for this test. Sizeable and thick, they are crunchy on the outside while soft on the inside. This is not the quickest machine, taking just over four minutes to heat and seven minutes to produce waffles. Read our full review of the Breville DuraCeramic waffle maker.

VonShef Dual Belgian waffle maker

Best compact waffle maker

Pros:

• Compact design
• Quick to heat and cook
• Good price

Cons:

• Wipe-clean only

Wattage: 1000W

Star rating: 4.5/5

The VonShef is a good, straightforward, no-fuss waffle maker that makes a pair of waffles at a time. It looks like a sandwich maker so if you have one of those too, you might accidentally grab the wrong one. Its small footprint makes it easy to store while it doesn’t take up too much space on the worktop. Most importantly, it made evenly cooked waffles – fast.

This heats up quickly, in just two and a half minutes, and our waffles were done after just four. The waffles were a little thinner than average, though. This is a good size for a small family and its speed means that you can make extra batches rapidly.

Plates are non-stick and aren’t removable, so you’ll have to wipe them down with a cloth after use. Read our full review of the VonShef Dual waffle maker.

Salter Deep Fill waffle maker

Best waffle maker for big appetites

Pros:

• Large, thick waffles

Cons:

• Waffle less crispy on the outside than lots of models
• Slower to cook then some

Wattage: 900W

Star rating: 4/5

This one’s for you if you like your waffles big. It’s a simple-to-operate machine that produces waffles that are large in size as well as deep. We found this could take a lot of mixture.

Instructions for the Salter machine are clear although it’s a shame there are no recipes. This heats up reasonably quickly – in about three minutes – but waffles take longer than average, probably because of their size. The instructions suggested 5-10 minutes and we found ours turned out best at the upper limit of these.

The waffle maker has non-slip feet and effective non-stick plates, but the power cord could have been longer.

The waffles themselves were softer on the outside than others we tested, and light and fluffy inside. Read our full review of the Salter Deep Fill waffle maker.

Sage the Smart Waffle Pro

• Available from Sage (£179.95)

Joint best overall waffle maker

Pros

• Stylish machine producing

Cons

• Expensive
• Slower than many

Wattage: 1000W

Star rating: 5/5

This is one of the most expensive waffle makers we tested and is aimed at those who are really serious about their snacks. There’s no guesswork needed with this Sage machine. You choose your type of waffle from a choice of five and can also select how brown you want it to be, with a range of one to 12. There’s even a “bit more” button you can press if you want it just a little browner.

The machine will tell you when your waffles are ready, with a digital counter counting down the seconds. And unlike most machines, there are no lights. Instead, there’s a beep when it’s heated up and another announcing that your waffles are ready.

The waffles themselves were huge – about 12 x 12cm and noticeably thick. Browning was also very deep and even, and the waffles were crispy on the outside and soft inside.

This is a heavy, stylish machine that looks more like something you’d expect to find in a café then for the average household kitchen. Read our full review of Sage’s the Smart Waffle Pro.

• Available from Sage (£179.95)

Salter 3-in-1 snack maker

Best mutli-purpose waffle maker

Pros:

• Interchangeable plates
• Good textured waffles
• Indicator lights

Cons:

• Longer cooking time

Wattage: 900W

Star rating: 4/5

This hardworking Salter machine comes with three sets of interchangeable plates for waffles, paninis and sandwiches and outdid other multifunction machines in the texture and taste stakes. It makes impressively large and deep waffles that were soft and light in the middle with a crunchy exterior.

The high hinge of the machine helps to create a uniform thickness, although the colour was a little uneven. The deep, wide plates can take lots of batter so we had to experiment with quantities to get it just right. The sandwich and panini plates are just as generously sized but were slightly trickier to remove than other brands we tested.

Given its versatility and generous portions, it is surprisingly compact, although it doesn’t come with a storage solution so has to be packed away carefully to avoid scratches. However, there is a useful cable tidy and clips for keeping the plates secure when stacked. Read our full review of the Salter 3-in-1 snack maker.

Dualit waffle iron

Best blow-out waffle maker

Pros:

• good non-stick
• replaceable parts
• solid build

Cons:

• Expensive
• Large
• No temperature indicator lights

Wattage: 1600W

Star rating: 4/5

This heavy-duty Dualit machine sits at the catering end of the waffle maker spectrum. It has two individual plates that can be switched on separately, making it perfect for catering for a crowd. The style of waffle is flat and round, so they cook quickly and we were impressed with the results. The waffles were even, crisp and fluffy.

While there is no clip on the handle, the weight of the top lid is enough to achieve a good press. We had a few trials before getting batter quantities right – too much batter and it erupts (although there is an overflow channel). Too little and you end up with a crispy cracker.

The plates are non-stick and only require a little oil. They aren’t removable so special care needs to be taken to clean them and rid the many small indentations of residual oil. The machine does get very hot and the lid should be handled with care – we recommend using a dry cloth.

At 1600W, this is a powerful machine, but if you love waffles and have the space, then this is an efficient and reliable option. Read our full review of the Dualit waffle iron.

How we tested waffle makers

Each maker was used to make several rounds of waffles using our triple-tested Good Food batter recipe. This meant we could check for consistency in waffle results to fairly compare the machines. We could also make sure the machines were able to maintain temperature and cope with making a number of waffles in a row if cooking for a group of people.

Some machines doubled up as toastie and panini makers. Their ability to make waffles was the primary concern but we tested all functions to make sure they were good all-rounders.

What to look for when buying a waffle maker

Quality of non-stick: Nearly all waffle makers come with non-stick plates. The non-stick coating needs to be durable. We looked for plates that released the waffles easily after cooking with no sticking or tearing.

Indicator lights: Having one light to show that the machine is turned on and a second light to indicate the waffle maker has come up to cooking temperature is a very useful feature.

Removable plates: Though not essential, having removable plates can make cleaning easier.

Overrun channel: Some machines have a useful ‘overrun’ channel that collects excess batter and prevents it from running down the side of the machine.

Speed of cooking: We looked for machines that cooked quickly and efficiently.

Texture of waffle: We looked for waffles that were fully cooked and fluffy on the inside with a crunchy but not overcooked exterior.

Colour of waffle: We looked for even golden colour across the waffle, rejecting machines with obvious hot spots or that burnt on the outside before cooking the middle.

Thickness of waffle: Some machines with narrow hinges tend to squash waffles along their edge. We looked for waffles of uniform depth.

How to make waffles in a waffle maker

Our easy homemade waffles recipe is designed to be used in a standard electric waffle maker like the ones listed above (in fact, we put the machines through their paces using this recipe).

Use the manufacturers instructions to heat the waffle maker up to temperature, then spoon the batter into the mould, close the lid and cook for 5 minutes or following the instruction manual.

Once you've completed your batch, crisp up the waffles in the oven for 5 minutes and serve warm with toppings of your choice.

Our best waffle recipes

Classic waffle recipe
Belgian waffles
Cheese & herb waffles
Vegan chive waffles
Waffles with banana & salted caramel
Marmite eggs Benedict with waffles
All our top waffle recipes

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