The earliest known written recipe for waffles dates to the 14th century. It appears in the French household manual Le Ménagier de Paris, generally dated to around 1393, making it the earliest surviving written waffle recipe identified by historians.
The manuscript contains several related preparations. They call for ingredients such as eggs, salt, wine, and flour, with the mixture cooked between heated irons. Some versions include cheese, while another instructs the cook to grease the iron with oil or fat if the batter sticks.
These medieval waffles were much thinner and less airy than modern Belgian or American waffles. The recipes contain no modern baking powder, and the word “waffle” covered foods that were closer to crisp wafers or unleavened cakes. Deeper waffle patterns and more recognizable modern forms developed gradually as leavening became common.
The 14th-century date is sometimes confused with later recipe milestones. A Dutch waffle recipe from the 16th century is among the next known examples and includes measurements, sugar, and spices. The first written recipe is therefore medieval, long before waffles became a standardized breakfast food.