Al Roker: weatherman by day, chef by night. Through the years, the TODAY co-anchor has shared many of his delicious recipes, from his take on an Aperol spritz to a ribeye steak with anchovy butter. For breakfast, Roker has a crowd-pleasing recipe that satisfies both salty and sweet cravings. Yes, we’re talking about his bacon waffles.
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“Sometimes life-changing discoveries happen by accident: penicillin, X-rays, Velcro and these savory-sweet waffles that will have you wondering, ‘Where have bacon waffles been all my life? Why are chicken and waffles getting all the attention?'” Roker writes in an excerpt of Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By, published by TODAY.
Roker describes his waffle recipe as “a breakfast miracle” and “the perfect transport system for bacon, butter and syrup.” If your mouth is already watering, read on for all the decadent (yet surprisingly simple) details.
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Al Roker’s bacon-stuffed waffles has an unexpected secret ingredient
If you’re looking for a showstopper brunch recipe, the beloved TODAY weatherman has your back. In December 2015, Roker taught TODAY co-anchor Dylan Dreyer how to make his bacon waffle recipe step by step.
To make the batter, you’ll need flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, sugar, milk, melted butter, and Roker’s secret ingredient that adds an extra layer of flavor. “My secret ingredient — malted milk powder,” Roker revealed during the TODAY segment.
To save time in the morning, Roker noted that you can prep and mix all the dry ingredients ahead of time. “You can store it in the fridge or the freezer, keep it in airtight containers,” he said.
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And for the star ingredient of the recipe – bacon — Roker has a preferred cooking method. “When you’re making a lot of bacon … I like to do it in the oven. You line a cookie sheet with parchment paper,” Roker explained.
Roker also revealed another cooking technique to make the waffles extra fluffy: Whisk the eggs “with a little sugar” because it “aerates them” before adding them to your dry ingredients.
Once your batter is set, you’re ready to ladle it into your waffle iron. But as Roker advised, make sure it’s “not too high or it’ll be like a volcano.” Then simply add your bacon. “You put the bacon [on top of the batter], you close it up, it will bake, and then voilà,” Roker said. “The bacon is hidden inside the waffle.”
Finally, simply drizzle some warm maple syrup on top and enjoy.
Get the full recipe for “Al Roker’s Bacon Waffles” in Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By cookbook and on TODAY.
Al Roker fell in love with cooking as a kid watching his mother in the kitchen
Roker told Parade that he started to take an interest in cooking when he was a kid observing his mother, Isabel, whip up meals in their Queens kitchen. “I watched my mom cook,” he said. “I hung around the house a lot and just watched this magic happen. Here’s the stuff that you take out of a bag and a couple of hours later there’s food on the table … For a lot of people, food is love, so I just really gravitated to that.”
Cooking is clearly in the Roker family genes as his daughter Courtney Roker Laga is a trained chef and recipe developer. Roker Laga co-wrote Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By with her dad.
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Roker revealed during an October 2024 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show that one of his favorite childhood dishes is a simple comfort food classic. “One my favorite meals my mom used to make, especially in the winter, would be grilled cheese and tomato soup,” he said, adding that Courtney’s grilled cheese recipe secret is to use mayo “instead of butter as your fat” on the outside of your bread.
Roker shared during a 2021 segment of TODAY that he loves to cook his late mom’s recipes, such as her oxtail stew, because it keeps her “memory alive.”
“Everything smelled great,” he said. “When you opened the door from school and walked in the house, those aromas would just hit you and your mouth would start watering before you really got into the living room.”
Dining and Cooking