Sourdough Waffles and Buttermilk Fried Chicken

One of my guilty pleasures is chicken and waffles! Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, it’s the perfect meal for any time of day!

I've always been a fan of waffles (especially chicken and waffles) but I also have a super cliche story about traveling to Belgium two years ago and having a new found appreciation for good Belgian waffles. I won't bore you with the details, but if you're ever in Ypres, Belgium hit me up for waffle recommendations. We went to every single waffle place in town (there are a lot), so you could say I'm now an expert on the matter.

So since I can't fly to Belgium every time I want waffles, I now just make my own!

One of the ingredients that make true Belgian waffles so good is that they use yeast as the main leavening agent. So since I love any excuse to use my sourdough starter, I present you with these delicious Belgian sourdough waffles! 

Don’t have a sourdough starter? Never fear! Just check out my Sourdough Guide for all my tips and tricks!

Sourdough Waffles

Just whip up the batter the night before, cover it and leave it on the counter to bake in the morning! So easy and SO yummy! 

For all of my sourdough recipes, I measure my ingredients in grams. If you don't have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend getting one! You can find lots of affordable ones on Amazon* that work great!

The night before you want to make your waffles, whisk together the sourdough starter, flour, sugar, and buttermilk until fully combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter overnight at a cool room temperature (65-70 degrees). The batter should be bubbly and very active!

Right before you are ready to make the waffles, whisk together the eggs and melted butter and add to the waffle batter. Then mix in the baking soda and salt (the batter will bubble even more and get very fluffy). 

Heat your waffle iron and spray with a non-stick pan spray (Baker's Joy* is my favorite), then pour the waffle batter onto the hot iron and cook according to manufacturers instructions and repeat!

Note: most waffle makers will cook your waffles in about 4-6 minutes. You should see steam escaping from the sides during cooking, so watching for the steam to stop is a good way to gauge how long to cook your waffles. 

Keep your waffles warm and crispy by sticking them on a baking sheet in the oven set to about 200 degrees.
These also freeze great! Store in a freezer bag for up to 6 months. When you're ready to eat, remove from the freezer and let thaw for about 10 minutes, then pop them in  the toaster! 

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Buttermilk fried chicken is a southern classic. Marinating the chicken in buttermilk and spices makes the chicken super moist and flavorful! It pairs perfectly with the sourdough waffles but it’s also delicious on its own!

The night before you want to make the chicken. Add the chicken, buttermilk, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, paprika, sage, and thyme to a medium sized bowl and mix until evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight.

Note: if you don't have buttermilk, simply mix 2 cups of regular milk with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and let stand for about 5 minutes before using as a buttermilk substitute. 

When you’re ready to make the tenders, start heating about 1-2 inches of canola oil in cast iron or dutch oven (about 2-3 cups depending on the diameter of your pan) over medium-high heat. You want the oil to reach about 350-370 degrees. You can tell it's ready by dropping a little bit of flour in the pan and if it sizzles, it's ready!

Mix together the flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp cayenne pepper. Dredge the marinated chicken tenders in the flour mixture and fry for about 7-9 minutes. Turn the tenders with tongs every 2-3 minutes so they get evenly browned. Only fry about 3-4 tenders at a time so as not to crowd the pan (you can do more at a time if you have a wider pan). 

After frying the tenders, you can keep them warm and crispy on a baking sheet in the oven at about 200 degrees. You don't want to just put them on a plate and cover them as that will create steam which will ruin the crispy texture!

Drizzle with honey and enjoy! For extra flavor and heat, I highly recommend trying Mike’s Hot Honey*. You can get it on amazon and at most local grocery stores. It’s sweet, spicy, and sooo good!

They're also great with honey mustard (check out my homemade Honey Mustard recipe). 

If you make this recipe, please leave us a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers.

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