Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Stroopwafel
Two thin waffle wafers pressed around a layer of warm caramel syrup, the Dutch treat meant to rest on your coffee cup.
Dutch · advanced · serves 12
prep 40 min · cook 30 min
~429 cal · 4g protein · 67g carbs · 16g fat · 1g fiber · 41g sugars · 10g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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The stroopwafel was born in the city of Gouda in the late 18th or early 19th century, reputedly from a baker using up crumbs and leftover syrup. It became one of the Netherlands' most iconic sweets, sold warm and fresh from market stalls across the country.
It is made by pressing a spiced dough in a special iron into two thin, crisp waffle wafers, then slicing them apart and sandwiching them with a layer of warm stroop, a thick caramel syrup. The Dutch way to eat one is to balance it over a hot cup of coffee or tea, letting the steam soften the caramel inside.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 12
3 cups flour
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 cup sugar (for the dough)
1/4 cup warm milk
a pinch a pinch of salt
1 cup brown sugar (for the stroop)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup dark syrup (for the stroop)
Hard to find? golden syrup, or half corn syrup and half molasses - Dutch keukenstroop is the real base; golden syrup is lighter, and the corn syrup and molasses mix comes closest to its colour and depth
Instructions
1
Make a soft dough with the flour, most of the butter, the egg, yeast, sugar, warm milk, and salt, and let it rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
2
Press small balls in a hot waffle iron into thin, crisp waffles, then slice each in half horizontally while warm.
✎ Chef’s note
Split the hot waffle in two the moment it comes off the iron. Once it cools and crisps it cannot be sliced without shattering.
3
Warm the syrup with the brown sugar, the remaining butter, and the cinnamon into a thick, spreadable stroop.
4
Sandwich pairs of thin waffle halves with the warm caramel.
Gouda market tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Gelderland. The Dutch province of Gelderland cooks hearty country food, stamppot, smoked sausage, and rich winter stews. Farmland and forest shape its comforting table.
🗺️
Netherlands. Dutch food is hearty and unpretentious, stamppot mash, split-pea snert, herring eaten by hand, and an epic love of cheese. A colonial past brings Indonesian rijsttafel and sweet treats like stroopwafels and hagelslag.
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Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Netherlands meal
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Frequently asked questions
What is Stroopwafel?
Two thin waffle wafers pressed around a layer of warm caramel syrup, the Dutch treat meant to rest on your coffee cup.
Where does Stroopwafel come from?
Stroopwafel is a Dutch dish from Gelderland, Netherlands.
Can Stroopwafel be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Stroopwafel recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Stroopwafel safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Stroopwafel take to make?
About 70 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 12.
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