Pizza waffles are the ultimate way to give your waffle maker some love any time of day.
The normal thing to do when someone gifts you a shiny new waffle iron is to rummage through old cookbooks for the perfect recipe and write "WAFFLES!" on the calendar for next Sunday morning. But if savory is more your jam—or if, ahem, you have your own pizza blog—this mozzarella- and pancetta-stuffed waffle recipe may seem like a better option.
My sister's mother-in-law won a Belgian waffle iron a few weeks ago as part of a casino promotion, and since she had no use for it and my sister and brother-in-law already have one, it was passed on to me. Hand-me-downs for the win! Of course, as soon as I got it out of its packaging, the first thing I thought of was pizza waffles. And after one not-so-successful attempt last week, I figured it out: The trick is to use no more than one-half ball of dough per waffle and just the right amount of pizza filling.
Note: Your waffle iron will get really crusty (see below). Just unplug it and push it to the side while you enjoy your hot pizza waffles, then click here or here or here for cleaning instructions.
Looking for more knots and rolls and pizza snacks?
- Garlic Knots
- Pizza Rolls
- Spinach and Artichoke Calzones
- Muffuletta Calzones
- Christmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread
Pizza Waffles with Marinara Dipping Sauce
Equipment
- Belgian waffle iron (or 1-inch-deep waffle iron)
- Rolling Pin
- pastry brush
Ingredients
- 2 cups super-easy marinara sauce (or your favorite marinara sauce), divided
- 1 (14- to 16-ounce) ball pizza dough
- 4 thin slices pancetta (or 2 to 3 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni)
- Dried oregano
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat a Belgian or other 1-inch-deep waffle iron on the medium-high setting. (If yours goes up to 6, turn the dial to 4.)
- Cut the ball of dough into four equal-size pieces. Set two pieces aside and cover them with a damp dish towel. On a floured work surface, roll or stretch out the first two dough pieces to fit inside the mold of your waffle maker. Mine makes 6-inch round waffles, so I rolled my dough pieces out to a diameter just short of 6 inches.
- Spread a spoonful of marinara sauce onto one of the rolled/stretched-out dough disks and spread it out, leaving a 1-inch border of dough all around. Place 2 slices of pancetta on top of the sauce, than half of the cheese. Sprinkle with oregano.
- Brush the exposed border of dough with olive oil, then brush some more olive oil around the perimeter of the second rolled/stretched out dough disk. Invert the naked dough disk onto the topped on and pinch around the edges to seal. Brush the top with olive oil.
- Open your waffle iron (it should be really hot by now) and coat it with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully invert the pizza dough packet onto the iron, oiled side down, and brush the top with more olive oil. Close the waffle iron and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the crust is golden brown but still springy to the touch. (This part is loud and messy, as some of the cheese and sauce will bubble and ooze out of the waffle iron.) When the waffle is done, remove it from the iron.
- Roll out the remaining portions of dough and repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 to make a second waffle.
- Fill a ramekin or small bowl with some of the marinara sauce. Cut the waffles into wedges or sticks and serve them with the sauce for dipping.
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