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Light and fluffy, and loaded with flavor, these Protein Waffles, are not only healthy but will keep you full the entire morning. With only a handful of ingredients all of which are interchangeable, these waffles can be made dairy-free, gluten-free, or even egg-free.
Why This Recipe Works
Just because you want to enjoy waffles for breakfast doesn’t mean you have to go hungry the rest of the day after the carb crash. These waffles contain 14 grams of protein in just one waffle. You’ll not only be full but won’t have the heavy brick in your stomach feeling after eating them.
With only a handful of ingredients, these waffles are extremely versatile and I’ve included instructions on how to make any dietary changes you need such as gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free.
Add even more protein! Load them up with additional protein such as nut butter peanut butter, almond butter, or add actual crushed nuts such as hazelnuts or macadamia nuts. These waffles are easy to make and the recipe yields 4 waffles, but you can easily double or triple it if you’re meal planning or entertaining.
Ingredients Needed
Ingreident Notes
With only 7 interchangeable ingredients you can make these waffles as healthy or as decadent as you’d like. If you truly want these to be healthy then you can follow my guide for healthy protein waffles. I use this waffle iron, but any waffle iron will work.
- Old Fashioned Oats: I always make these waffles gluten-free and like to use gluten-free old fashioned oats, but any rolled oats will work as long as it’s not the quick cooking kind. The key to getting the right texture in this recipe is to grind the oats up into a flour-like consistency first in a food processor or blender. I don’t recommend using oat flour because it’s too dense and will make the waffles super hard.
- Greek Yogurt: there is a ton of protein in greek yogurt but you can also use cottage cheese. For a dairy-free alternative you can use dairy-free plain yogurt, avocados, mashed bananas, or even pumpkin puree.
- Oil: this is an optional add-in, but it’s a way to squeeze in some healthy fats into your breakfast as well. I like to use either avocado oil or melted coconut oil (all other ingredients need to be at room temperature before you mix in the melted coconut oil otherwise it will begin to solidify again).
- Cooking Spray: I recommend spraying your waffle iron well before you add the batter an again before you cook the next round of waffles. Depending on the ingredient combination you choose these waffles can end up being fairly soft so you may need to use some rubber tongs in addition to the cooking spray to sucessfully remove them from the waffle iron.
- Note on alternative flours: I have tried this recipe many, many times with other flours instead of using oats and everytime they turn out brick hard. I don’t recommend changing the oats to another type of flour.
Dietary Substitutions
- Gluten-Free Waffles: to make these waffles gluten-free you will need gluten-free oats. Check the labels of your other ingredients to be sure there’s no hidden gluten as well.
- Dairy-Free Waffles: for dairy-free waffles swap the greek yogurt for a dairy-free plain yogurt (brands such as Kitehill and Siggi’s are thicker similar to greek yogurt and work best).
- Egg-Free Waffles: Swap out the eggs for 4 flax eggs. To do this combine 4 tablespoons of flaxseed meal with 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of warm water. Let this mixture sit for about 10 minutes before mixing it into the batter. Note: This version of the waffle will not be as fluffy as the one with actual eggs.
Additional Add-ins and Flavor Options
I like to enjoy my waffles plain and with a nice drizzle of some organic maple syrup, but there are endless options of flavor combinations and add-ins. Below are some options you can try.
- More flavor. Change up the flavor of these waffles by swapping out the vanilla extract for almond extract, or other flavoring.
- Mix ins. You can easily add a mix-in to your batter such as chocolate chips, berries, dried coconut flakes, or even nuts.
- Add Toppings. As with any kind of waffle you can top these with your favorite toppings. To keep it healthy as some fresh berries and pure maple syrup, or you can be decadent and slather on some whipped cream.
- Make them chocolate waffles. Mix in 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar (omit if you’re cutting down on sugar) for a delicious chocolatey flavor.
- Try coconut waffles. Use canned coconut milk instead of greek yogurt for a sweeter flavored waffle. Make sure to use both the cream of coconut that gathers at the top of the can and the milk from the bottom. It will also be best to blend the ingredients together in a blender instead of hand mixing them so the coconut cream mixes evenly.
- Pumpkin protein waffles. Instead of using greek yogurt use pumpkin puree and sprinkle in some pumpkin spice.
How to Make Extremely Healthy Protein Waffles
The recipe in this post is a very simple protein waffle recipe that can be changed to fit your dietary needs and it can also be made extremely healthy. To make the ultimate healthy waffles use the ingredients below.
- 1 cup Gluten-Free Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 cup mashed Avocado, Banana, or Pumpkin Puree
- 4 Flax Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the waffle iron and lightly spray it with cooking spray.
- Ground the oats. Place the old-fashioned oats into a food processor or blender and pulse them until a coard meal with a flour-like consistency forms.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Pour the ground oats into a large mixing bowl and whisk together with the baking powder and baking soda until well mixeed.
- Mix in the wet ingredients. Add the Greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and oil to the dry mixture and whisk together until fully mixed. The texture will be lumpy.
- Cook. Place a heaping 1/2 cup of batter into each section of your waffle iron. Cook for 5 minutes or according to your waffle iron timer or directions.
Storage Information
- Freezing Instructions: Place the waffles onto a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until hard, about 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and place them into a resealable bag and arrange a piece of parchment between each waffle. The frozen waffles will last up to 3 months.
- Storage Instructions: Put the waffles in a resealable bag or an air tight container and store them in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Add more protein. You can easily add even more protein to these waffles by mixing in your favorite protein powders. Not all protein powders are the same though and could cause these waffles to harden a bit and not turn out as fluffy, most will work fine though. Only add 2 tablespoons of the powder.
- Eat them as a snack. Spread a delicious nut butter of your choice on top and sprinkle on some pumpkin seeds or chia seeds for some extra crunch and protein.
- Make pancakes instead. If you’d prefer protein pancakes then you can add 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt to create a thinner batter perfect for making pancakes. Prepare them on a lightly greased griddle as you would standard pancakes.
- For extra fluffy waffles beat 4 egg whites into slightly stiff peaks with a ribbon-like consistency and fold them into the batter instead of using the 4 whole eggs.
- Make a single serving. Once you learn how easy these are to make you can easily cut the recipe down into a single serving for a quick breakfast or great afternoon snack.
FAQs
Research has shown that a high protein breakfast can help with weight loss as well as boost your overall energy levels, however, you want to make sure you’re eating a quality protein. Waffles traditionally aren’t known to be good for you, but depending on the ingredients you choose to use you can make them into very healthy waffles.
I have tried this recipe multiple different times, with many different flours and the best version is with oats. Using flour, whether it’s an all-purpose flour or a gluten-free option, causes the waffles to turn out very hard and chalky in texture.
Related Recipes
If you made these Protein Waffles I want to hear all about it! Share a photo and tag me on Instagram using @AimeeMarsLiving and #AimeeMars so I can see your beautiful work. Enjoy!
Protein Waffles
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- Wire Whisk
- 1 Waffle Iron
- Rubber Tongs optional but this helps remove them from the waffle iron.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt or cottage cheese
- 4 large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 tablespoons Oil such as coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat your waffle iron and spray it lightly with cooking spray on both sides.
- Place the old fashioned oats into a food processor or blender and pulse until a coarse meal forms.
- In a large bowl whisk the ground oats, baking powder, and baking soda together.
- Add the Greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and oil to the bowl and whisk together until all the ingredients are well mixed.
- Place about 1/2 cup of batter into each section of your waffle iron and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or according to your waffle iron's directions.
Notes
- Add more protein. You can easily add even more protein to these waffles by mixing in your favorite protein powders. Not all protein powders are the same though and could cause these waffles to harden a bit and not turn out as fluffy, most will work fine though. Only add 2 tablespoons of the powder.
- Eat them as a snack. Spread a delicious nut butter of your choice on top and sprinkle on some pumpkin seeds or chia seeds for some extra crunch and protein.
- Make pancakes instead. If you’d prefer protein pancakes then you can add 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt to create a thinner batter perfect for making pancakes. Prepare them on a lightly greased griddle as you would standard pancakes.
- For extra fluffy waffles beat 4 egg whites into slightly stiff peaks with a ribbon-like consistency and fold them into the batter instead of using the 4 whole eggs.
- Make a single serving. Once you learn how easy these are to make you can easily cut the recipe down into a single serving for a quick breakfast or great afternoon snack.
Storage Information
- Freezing Instructions: Place the waffles onto a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until hard, about 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and place them into a resealable bag and arrange a piece of parchment between each waffle. The frozen waffles will last up to 3 months.
- Storage Instructions: Put the waffles in a resealable bag or an air tight container and store them in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.
