Waffles are unforgiving: a machine that runs cool gives you pale, floppy discs, and one that runs hot burns the outside before the middle sets. A recent test worked through ten waffle irons on a standardised routine, baking every one with both a classic and a vegan recipe, and weighting the result heavily — the baked waffle counts for 40 per cent of the grade, with handling and equipment at 20 per cent each, plus separate marks for cleaning, energy use and environmental impact. Preheat and bake times were measured, along with stability, lid and handle usability, browning steps and whether the machine stores away tidily.
The short version
- Best overall: Gastroback 42424 — the most thought-through machine here, and the only one with a countdown display.
- Cleverest design: Krups FDD95D Professional — rotates to spread the batter evenly.
- Best value: Cloer 1621 — perfect waffles from a simple, inexpensive iron.
- Best for families: Tefal WM 311D — two heart waffles in the time others take for one.
Best Overall: Gastroback 42424
Graded 1.5 (very good), with very good marks for both baking and equipment, it sits in the upper price tier and earns it with details the rest lack. There is a proper on/off switch, so you can pause between batches rather than leave the plates cooking. The supplied batter portioner takes the guesswork out of how much to pour — the single most common way to ruin a waffle. A generous overflow guard catches what escapes anyway, and the display with a countdown plus an audible signal when the waffle is done means you are not lifting the lid to peek.
Its weaker marks are for energy use and environmental impact, both rated satisfactory, and cleaning is good rather than excellent. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
Cleverest Design: Krups FDD95D Professional
Graded 1.9 (good), with very good marks for cleaning and environmental impact. It does something none of the others do: once the batter is in the generous plates, you rotate the whole machine on its axis, which spreads the batter far more evenly than the static designs manage. Anything that escapes lands in a large removable drip tray.
It offers six browning levels, but the test found only the top three produced sensible results — worth knowing, because it makes the lower half of the dial largely decorative. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
Best Value: Cloer 1621
Graded 2.1 (good) with a good energy mark, and it makes a strong first impression: a clear manual with genuinely useful waffle tips, a large handle and a simple dial that explains itself. It reaches temperature in just under 3 minutes on the lowest setting and bakes a waffle in about 2 minutes, with a lamp to tell you when it is done.
The results are convincing, but skewed: even the first of its five browning levels produces a fairly brown waffle, so this is an iron to run at the bottom of its range rather than the top. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
Best for Families: Tefal WM 311D
Its advantage is immediate — it bakes two heart waffles at once, which is the difference between feeding one impatient child and feeding two. The baking result convinces, and setup is quick, with a green lamp signalling readiness.
Getting there has friction, though. Once the batter is in there is neither visual nor audible feedback, so you are timing it yourself, and the manual is badly formatted and hard to follow. Its environmental mark is good. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
Also Tested
The Bestron AMW500PBS (2.3) is a genuine looker, sold in several colours and compact enough for almost any kitchen, with a very good energy mark and a low price. The compromises follow from that: it is not especially stable and slides around on its own cable, so watch it in use, and there are no browning levels at all — the result is always the same, though it is a good one.
The Krups FDK 251 (2.4) is the elegant option and bakes two Belgian waffles at once, with a useful separate on/off switch. It runs at a fixed heat, so your only control is when you take the waffles out, and its lid catch — handy for storing the machine on its side — is awkward during baking. Handling is rated only satisfactory.
The Braun MultiGrill 9 Pro CG 9167 (2.6) is barely a waffle iron at all: interchangeable plates let it grill meat and vegetables, cook burgers or bake waffles, and it comes with a temperature probe, a batter spoon and several cooking positions. It is the most expensive machine in the test, and as a waffle iron its baking is rated only adequate — buy it as a multi-cooker, not for waffles.
The Wilfa Grand Double (2.8) is plain and focused, with a lid dial offering five large steps and many positions between, plus a lamp that switches from red to green when preheating or baking finishes and an optional signal tone — whose switch, oddly, sits on the underside of the machine where you cannot reach it mid-bake.
The Russell Hobbs 26810-56 is a 3-in-1 sandwich toaster that bakes waffles with the supplied plates. That versatility saves space and money, but the catch on the handle that sandwiches require gets in the way of waffles: in testing it closed by itself even though the manual warns against using it that way.
The Severin WA 2103 (3.1) disappointed. The manual is carelessly put together, and more seriously the green lamp is misleading — it signalled a finished waffle while the browning was plainly unfinished. If you like your waffles pale rather than crisp you will get along with it; otherwise ignore the indicator and judge by eye. Its equipment mark is only adequate. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
How the Testing Works
Baking (40 per cent): every machine bakes waffles from a classic and a vegan recipe, and the results are marked like schoolwork. Handling (20 per cent): stability and operation, how much fuss the preheat settings involve, how usable the lid and handle are, the measured preheat and bake times, whether there are multiple browning levels, and whether the machine stores away compactly. Equipment (20 per cent): what functions and accessories the iron offers. Separate marks then cover cleaning, energy consumption and environmental impact.
Frequently asked questions
How do you use a waffle maker? Preheat it first — around 3 minutes on a low setting for a simple iron — and wait for the ready indicator before the batter goes in. Use a fixed quantity of batter each time, which is why an iron that includes a portioner has a real advantage: too much overflows, too little leaves thin waffles. Close the lid and time it; a good machine bakes a waffle in roughly 2 minutes, and the better ones tell you when it is done with a lamp, a countdown or a tone. Be aware that indicators are not always trustworthy — one machine in this test signalled a finished waffle while the browning was clearly unfinished.
Does the browning dial matter? More than the number of steps suggests. One iron here produced usable waffles only on its top three of six settings, while another browned strongly even on the first of five. Machines with no adjustment at all still baked well, so treat the dial as something to learn on your own machine rather than a specification to compare.
Can you make vegan waffles in one? Yes — every machine in this test was baked with a vegan recipe as well as a classic one, and the results counted equally towards the grade.
What should I look for if I have a small kitchen? Compact irons exist and bake perfectly well, but check stability: the smallest machine in this test slides about on its own cable. A lid catch that lets the machine stand on its side helps for storage, though on one model that same catch is a nuisance while baking.
