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A while back I had a post on protein waffles. I’ve since gone through a whole heck of a lot of experimentation and refined my process a bit. While I still will, on occasion make them the way I suggested here, I have found a way that ends up with a MUCH-improved texture and better flavor.
Simple Healthy Protein Waffles – Stupid Easy – Try them today!
While still easy, these waffles are not only 3 ingredients anymore. Making them with my old recipe left the end texture (especially if overcooked the waffles by accident, which I did all of the time) rubbery. Now, in my opinion, rubber is only good for things you don’t eat. Definitely NOT food, especially waffles that are supposed to be light, fluffy, and tasty.
Why Protein Waffles?
Most Americans do not get enough protein in their diets. Recent research has shown that US adults do not eat enough protein in their diets.
The base recipe for these waffles assumes a normal diet. I do have notes on how to modify the recipe for alternative diets (vegan, paleo, keto).
How to Improve the Texture and Why
As I mentioned, I wasn’t terribly happy with the texture of my waffles. Yes, they work, they are low carb and yes high protein, when cool they aren’t really any better than one of my son’s pool floats in terms of texture. I wanted a waffle that would be just as good reheated (or room temp as I leave waffles out as they cool and I will pick at them during the day) as it was when it was freshly made.
With any new problem, I turn to the internet to do some research. You can almost always find the answers you need on the interwebs. Some topics you need to do more digging on than others. As it turns out if more than half of your batter is protein power you’ll end up with a rubbery, dry waffle. You need moisture. I found that out in this article here from Protein Pow.
Back to what I was saying, moisture, you need moisture if your batter winds up being at least ½ protein. No one likes a dry rubbery waffle. This is the case with any kind of protein powder that I’ve used with my original recipe. I have used vegan and non-vegan proteins (blends, pea proteins, whey isolates, whey concentrates, whey blends), but without enough moisture, you end up with the same thing, a dry, rubbery waffle that’s not (to quote one of my favorite celebrity chefs Alton Brown) “Good Eats.”
Do not forget to moisturize!!!
You need an ingredient to “weigh down” the protein powder. You might be more able to get away with less when you use the vegan powders but for whey and casein, you cannot skimp on this step if you want a good texture.
Some popular options for moisture are cottage cheese, pumpkin puree, bananas, Greek yogurt, and applesauce. Some good choices are cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling). After a lot of testing, my hands-down favorite is cottage cheese. They do work best in a blender; however, you can mix them with a whisk. The texture changes if you leave the oats vs. grinding them up into flour. I’ve done it both ways and honestly, there isn’t any difference in taste.
How to make the waffles
Like with most things, there are a million ways to skin a cat. Protein waffles are no exception. I have tried most recipes out there and I have got my favorite.
Here is my base recipe and I will give you some options for mixing things up a bit and also swaps for paleo, vegan, and keto.
Protein Waffle Base Recipe
Ingredients
4 eggs
2 cups oats (see notes for swapping out this if you are gluten-free, paleo, or keto)
2 cups cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tablespoons milled flaxseed
2 scoops of protein powder of choice (optional, but I add it to bump up the protein content)
¼ cup milk of choice (cow, almond, coconut, etc.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the waffle maker.
- Place dry ingredients in a blender and process until the mixture is a fine powder.
- Add in the wet ingredients and process until smooth.
- Use non-stick spray to ensure your waffle doesn’t get hopelessly stuck on the waffle maker and then you have to stop what you’re doing (guess how I know this….)
- Use about ½ cup of the mixture per waffle (this assumes you’ve got a Belgium waffle maker).
- Cook the waffles until golden brown (2-3 minutes).
Notes – For Alternative Diets
For a Vegan waffle, you can use a flax egg substitute, chia seed egg, non-dairy milk, vegan protein powder, and pumpkin. Add the milk last since you can add more or less depending on the consistency.
To make a flax egg mix 1 tablespoon of milled flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of warm water and let it sit 10 minutes until a gel-like mixture forms. Do this for each egg and omit the extra milled flax.
To make a chia egg mix 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of HOT water. Wait 10 minutes until a gel-like mixture forms and use that in place of each egg.
For a Paleo waffle, you can use quinoa flakes, pumpkin, and non-dairy milk. Add the milk last since you can add more or less depending on the consistency.
For a Keto waffle, you can swap the oats for a 3 to 1 ratio of coconut and almond flour. You will need more liquid if you do a 1-to-1 swap so add more milk until you get the right consistency. As with the other swaps add the milk last so you can add more/less for the correct consistency.
Enjoy your Healthy Protein Waffles!
Once the waffle is golden brown remove it from your waffle iron and top with your choice of toppings. You can use peanut butter (or any nut butter of choice), chocolate sauce, maple syrup, mini chocolate chips, fresh berries, or a fruit compote.
It’s super easy to make a fresh fruit compote. All you need are whatever fruit you plan to use (fresh or frozen), and some sugar (maple syrup or honey work great here) and you cook it on the stove for a short while till it’s the consistency you desire, and bam! You’ve got fresh fruit compote.
This recipe makes 3-4 waffles depending on your waffle maker. When I took these photos, it made 3.5 waffles. They will keep in the fridge for about a week or for 2-3 months in the freezer.
To freeze let the waffles cool to room temperature before you wrap up. Use tight-fitting plastic wrap or a zip-top bag.
To defrost you can place it in the refrigerator overnight then reheat it in the toaster or toaster over to crisp back up. You can also microwave but then the waffle won’t be crispy. I’m not so concerned with a crispy waffle if I’m reheating them.
