Another key consideration when it comes to waffle makers is whether or not they’re easy to clean. Most aren’t bad, so long as you maintain the nonstick surface by brushing vegetable oil across it from time to time. Some of those nonstick surfaces are less effective than others.
There’s a learning curve with the Presto Stuffler’s stuffed waffles — if you don’t pour enough batter to fully form around the sides of your filling, you’ll end up with a mess like this.
For instance, the Black & Decker nonstick waffle plates seemed to lose some of their resiliency after just a few uses, which doesn’t inspire much confidence in their longevity. Meanwhile, the Breville waffle maker has a great nonstick surface, but the walled cavity, which cooks your waffles a bit like pan pizzas, makes it difficult and sometimes a bit messy to get the waffles out.
As for stuffed waffles, the Presto Stuffler’s so-so nonstick surface did a decent job in most tests but seemed to struggle with wet fillings, like my cherry pie waffle. It also includes a set of tongs that clamp around the side of the waffle during the cook but they aren’t dishwasher-safe and leaked batter out the back during every test.Â
As for the inevitable overflows, your best defense is a good drip tray or a batter moat around the rim of the iron. Concave moats with lots of room for excess batter are the best (the Breville’s is a good example, in spite of how hot it gets), but beware of flat, skinny moats, because they won’t put up much of a fight when you pour a little too much.Â
Thin-style waffle makers like this Cuisinart model overflow easily. Get a thick-style waffle maker with deep nooks if you want more wiggle room for your batter.
The worst offender here was the Cuisinart. It’s a thin-style waffle maker with shallow nooks, so it doesn’t take very much to pour a little too much and overflow it (as I did more than once during my tests). Once that happens, the moat stands little chance of saving you, and you’ll end up with gooey batter all over your countertop.
Meanwhile, the top pick Presto FlipSide checks all of the boxes: deep nooks, a great nonstick surface and a concave batter moat around the rim. It didn’t drip or overflow once throughout all of my tests.Â
The Hamilton Beach waffle maker was even better thanks to its king-size, catch-all drip tray and its removable, dishwasher-safe waffle plates. Just make sure to give them a light brush with vegetable oil whenever they come out of the dishwasher to help maintain the nonstick surface.
