4 Ingredient Protein Waffle Recipe
Are you looking for a homemade protein powder waffle that also tastes great? With protein powder, egg whites, flour, and almond extract, this fool-proof protein waffle recipe is the best!
This low calorie, high protein, protein waffle has 206 calories total with 40 grams of protein, 9 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fat, and 2 weight watchers points!
Why make your own protein waffles?
Typically, waffles aren’t a great source of protein. Homemade waffles for 200 calories have around 5-8 grams of protein. And 200 calories of a store bought frozen waffle like Eggo has 4 grams of protein. (even the Kodiak Protein waffle, if scaled to 200 calories, only has 8 grams of protein.
Did I mention, THESE homemade waffles, with 200 calories, have 40 grams of protein!? Holy hannah. That’s a lot of protein. Plus, they’re much cheaper than storebought “protein” waffles. (for a list of my favorite ways to get protein, click here)
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Why I’m making protein waffles
I never thought I’d be able to start my day without cheesy eggs. I’ve been eating them for so long! But, whenever I eat them (and veggies) I tend to over-do it with the salt shaker. I won’t even tell you how high my daily sodium has reached.
So, in an effort to reduce my sodium, I decided to make some protein waffles for breakfast in order to take a break from sodium. I know I can eat my eggs without extra salt, but I’m taking baby steps here. (and a side note: dropping my sodium reduced the bloating I was having in my abs significantly!! I’m not talking about shrinking my waist by a little, I am talking shrinking it 2 inches over the last 7 days. I’ll share more about that soon!)
How to Get the Best Texture for Protein Powder Waffles
I’ve made protein powder pancakes and waffles before, many times. But, I’ve never been quite satisifed with the texture.
Cooking with protein powder sometimes makes your finished waffle or pancake either rubbery or spongey. Not really waffle-like. I also have tried a Belgian waffle iron and the mini-dash (which I love).
But, I knew I wanted these waffles crispy on the outside, and bread like in the middle. So, I finally bought a REGULAR square waffle iron. I am so glad I did. I think it gave the right density to these waffles that I was looking for.
So, I tested a variety of amounts of egg whites, protein powder, flour and no-flour, and different extracts.
Here’s what I found with my waffle testing!
The difference between all these tests were SUBTLE! That’s why I feel confident in saying, this recipe is fool-proof! You can make any of these swaps and you won’t notice a huge difference in your waffle.
- Too much egg white and the waffle grew like oatmeal overcooking in a microwave! It got really steamy and big. And the end result was more “eggy” than bread or cake like.
- Too much batter in the waffle iron ALSO got the waffle to overflow! Less batter is best, even if it means you see the grooves in your waffle iron. But again, overflowing isn’t that big of a deal.
- No flour actually worked out OK! In fact, these could easily be gluten free. The end result was SLIGHTLY more spongey and more like angel food cake.
- 1 tablespoon of flour was what I ended up with. I felt like it was a good balance of all the options.
- 1 tablespoon of self-rising flour had the best texture. But, I was going for lower sodium, and did you know that 1/4 cup self-rising flour has 360 mg of sodium. So, I decided to sacrifice some of the texture for less sodium.
- 2 tablespoons of flour it felt like no change. So, might as well save 36 calories and use 1 tablespoon of flour.
- I was curious if whipping to a thicker batter would make a difference. First, I just stirred the ingredients in a bowl and poured it in the waffle iron. The waffles were a little smaller, but texture was similar.
- Then, I blended the waffles in a blender for almost 2 minutes. I did get more waffle out of it, but the texture was again, similar.
- I also tested different protein powders. They were similar, but to get the calories and macros that I calculated, I used the Optimum Nutrition Vanilla (it has fewer carbs than other powders)
I’d love to hear from you if you try these!! Which way did you make them?
If you like this recipe, you might also like
The Very Best Protein Waffles
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (or 6 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla
Instructions
- Whisk or blend all ingredients together. Pour into a waffle maker sprayed with cooking spray.
- The flour technically can be left out, but then your waffle is spongier. Keeping the flour in will give you more of a cakey waffle, which is what I wanted. See my notes above for the recipe testing with no flour.
- Don't over fill. The batter will grow as it cooks. I only pour enough batter to still see the waffle iron grooves.
- I used a standard four square waffle iron.
- Once cooked, add sugar free syrup and whipped cream!
Notes
Nutrition
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My batter was completely watery/runny, so much so, I had to pour it into the waffle iron, no need to spread it, it just ran through the grooves (I had already added the flour to try and thicken it a bit). They just didn’t work at all, once cooked were only a lattice work with the ridges and empty holes in between and the texture was a hard rubbery. Is this a whey protein problem?
what kind of protein powder did you use? Every brand is pretty different in texture after mixed. The thickest brand I’ve tried is UMP, which is Also very tasty!! I would definitely try different powders if you want to make it again.
Iβm planning on making a big recipe of these for meal prep. Is one serving one waffle?
Hi Ashley!
It’s one big waffle (as in four squares).
You’ll have to let me know what you think of them the next day. I haven’t loved them the next day (but they aren’t bad putting them in a toaster the next day). But warmed in a microwave, they get kind of extra rubbery.
Amy
My first attempt at just egg whites and protein powder was not pretty. I am going to try one with flour (GF). However, thank you for this post, it really helps me put in perspective protein waffles.
Let me know how it turns out for you!!Β I will also add, that the brand and type of protein powder can make a big difference. Some protein powders give you chewier waffles, while Others give you more “cakey” waffles.
Amy
I am sure that 1/4 cup of self-raising flour cannot have 360 grams of sodium. You have your mearurements wrong. 1/4 cup of flour is barely 50 grams in itself.
Self rising flour has salt and baking powder or baking soda added to it, to make it “self rising’. So, it actually really is that high in sodium! Crazy, but I just confirmed with my bag of self-rising flour!
I’ll bet it’s a typo, supposed to be 360 milligrams, not grams
Ohhhhh!! You are right. That is the problem. LOL Thanks for catching that!
This was great! Added bananas on top and calorie free syrup and it was super tasty and filling. Definitely need some toppings to round out the flavor but I’ll absolutely be keeping this recipe on handπ
Yum! Bananas and syrup sound great. and you are right- it definitely needs some toppings!
Hi Amy, what is weight of “full receipt portion”? How many waffles did you get? Thanks.
Did I write that somewhere? It’s supposed to be “FULL RECIPE”. So, basically, it’s 200 calories if you eat the entire thing.
Can you use this recipe to make pancakes instead of waffles?
Hi Theresa! You can, but I don’t like the texture as much. As a pancake, it’s more rubbery than cakey. Not bad though!