Squaffles – The Definitive History and Recipe

Squaffles. I made up a word, right? Wrong.

I did make up a recipe. It’s a breakfast waffle with butternut (or other) squash in the batter, along with pumpkin butter and ground pumpkin seeds for added flavor and protein. So very good topped with more pumpkin butter and tahini!

Then, I decided to anger the SEO gods by using this completely new word, squaffles, as my post and recipe title.

I checked Google Trends, and found that people do search for the word waffle. People do search for the word squash. They don’t search for the word squaffle. I was so sure that this vaguely inappropriate sounding portmanteau would have sat, unused, throughout human internet history. I was so wrong.

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Squaffles: Genesis

If you, dear reader, plug the word squaffles into your search engine of choice, you will discover that I am far from the first Dr. Frankenstein to manifest this monster of a word.

The first mention I can find is in 2012. Squaffles appeared in Canada’s Best Health Magazine that year, as a rosemary-spiked somewhat savory squash waffle, to be topped with a poached egg at brunch. Those Canadians, always innovating!

A blogger posted this squaffles recipe in 2015. Another Canadian. Wise people.

As documented by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2016, yeasted squaffles are served at a B&B in Wisconsin, owned by a person who sadly just lost election to the state legislature by four percentage points. Or happily, if you are a republican.

Squaffles Go Big

Early in 2017, capitalizing on the low-carb trend, Sainsbury’s (the largest grocery chain in the UK), launched squaffles as a frozen bag of waffle-cut butternut fries. Chips, I suppose, to the English. Sainsbury’s social media manager liked the name so much, they said it three times, then proceeded to launch the hashtag #Squaffles4Life. I have questions.

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Since the 2017 launch, Sainsbury’s squaffles have acquired some fans. Searching the hashtag on twitter and instagram generates the most british series of food pics you can possibly imagine.

It's great. Squaffle squaffle squaffle… Just gets better and funnier everytime you say it!. #Squaffles4Life Amanda

— Sainsbury's (@sainsburys) February 22, 2017

2018: Squaffles Are Recognized by Science

On her New Year’s Eve blog post at the dawn of 2018, no less than a professor of linguistics noted the addition of squaffles to our language. Six years late you are, Dr. Gasser.

That same year, a preschool in Boulder, Colorado let us know that the children enjoy squaffles as a favorite snack. Meanwhile, breaded zucchini, panini-ed in the waffle iron, were dubbed squaffles by the Denver Post.

2018: a big year for squaffles.

Squaffles Minus Squash Equals . . .

As the rotting pit of despair we call 2020 neared its conclusion, the Squab Producers of California, while redesigned their website for the third time since launching in 1998, posted a squaffle recipe that includes no squash at all. Instead, as you might imagine, the squ- sound at the start of this dish originates from a whole other life form, squab. Squab is fancy pigeon. Wikipedia, near the start of its wonderfully-written page on squab, says “the meat is widely described as tasting like dark chicken.” These squaffles tweak the soul food favorite, chicken and waffles, but laying the smaller fried bird upon the gridded bed, to be doused with syrup and enjoyed.

Hallelujah, You’ve Reached the Squash Waffles Recipe. Which Squash?

Butternut is in the title, but you can use any cooked winter squash that has been prepared by baking, by steaming, or in an Instant Pot. Buttercup, kabocha, delicata, acorn, and tetsukabuto squash would all be good.

You didn’t hear it from me, but if you’ve got a leftover sweet potato, make some swaffles, they’ll be just as delicious.

Tips and Substitutions

Waffle cuisine is pretty forgiving. There are aspects of this recipe that you can easily change or omit, depending on how much time and what ingredients you have. I separate the eggs and fold in the whites. This technique appears in a lot of waffle recipes and it’s a good choice here because it adds rise, when the squash could make the waffle denser and heavier. But if you don’t want to mess with separating eggs and whisking or beating, you’ll still end up with a tasty waffle. Melted butter in the batter is also common in waffle recipes, perhaps dating back to the days before non-stick surfaces. Of course more butter is always good, but if you leave it out, or substitute an oil you prefer, the recipe will work.

The recipe calls for pumpkin seeds, pulverized in a coffee grinder or mini food processor. These are the green colored (hulled) seeds, known as pepitas, not pumpkin seeds with the whitish hull still on. Many grocery stores offer Bob’s Red Mill brand pumpkin seeds, or you can find them in the bulk foods area. The pumpkin seeds are thematic in this recipe, but not common in many kitchens. If you don’t have pepitas in the pantry but you like the idea of a different ground nut in your batter, go for it. I’ve been throwing ground nuts into pancake and waffle batters for years. Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, or sunflower seeds are all tasty. Sesame seeds and hemp hearts are small enough to go in whole without changing the texture.

In keeping with the theme, I suggest pumpkin butter and tahini on top of the waffles. I used Trader Joe’s brand pumpkin butter. Most stores carry a similar product. Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds and I just love the way it pairs with sweets of all kinds, whether maple syrup, jam, or pumpkin butter, but it may not be for you. These waffles will be superb with good old maple syrup and a pat of butter if that’s what you’ve got or prefer.