Introduction
Lately I've been wanted to make either waffles or pancakes. I stumbled across a two ingredient waffles recipe and was interested. And then I saw another one. And another one. And another.
In the end, I ended up with 4 recipes I wanted to try that I found, plus 2 bonus ones that I came up with that I think may work as well. All six recipes use just two ingredients; their star ingredient and eggs.
The way I see it, we have 3 types of waffles. Either sweet, savory, or somewhere in the middle. The sweet waffles would be the banana, sweet potato, and applesauce, and the savory waffle is the chaffle. That leaves the nut butter and yogurt waffles falling somewhere in between, able to go either direction.
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Today, I'm going to make all six waffles, eat a quarter of each one, and find out which ones I like best and why. I should stop waffling about and just get into the cooking.
Table of Contents
Nut Butter Waffles
These keto waffles are the highest in fat, protein, and calories on the list, while being the second highest in fiber and second lowest in carbs. Compared to the lowest calorie option, applesauce, these nut butter waffles have nearly double the calories and fat, but double the protein.
Any kind of natural nut or seed butter will work here, like peanut, almond, sunflower seed, or tahini, but today I'm going with pistachio butter. Pistachio butter is just what I had on hand at the time. Just use something with only nuts and salt, no hydrogenated oils, sugar, or preservatives.
Ingredients
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Source: Beauty and the Foodie
"Chaffles"
Known as "Chaffles", these cheese waffles features you guessed it, cheese. I'm guessing this recipe went viral or something, because I saw it all over the place when looking up recipes. Like the nut butter waffles, these are another keto recipe.
Despite being higher in fat than the next three recipes, these have about the same calories, since they are significantly lower in carbs. I'm the most excited about these ones actually, since odd recipes tend to peak my interest. But can I still put syrup on it, or should I be spreading hummus on it instead?
Ingredients
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Source: Life After Wheat
Banana Waffles
I've made three ingredient banana waffles before (with the addition of oats), but never just two ingredients (omitting the oats). The bananas should provide moistness and sweetness to the waffles for minimal calories.
They're the second lowest in calories, tied for the lowest in fat with sweet potato and applesauce, and contain the most carbs and sugar of the six batches. I'm thinking that either banana or sweet potato will taste the best.
Ingredients
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Source: The Kitchn
Sweet Potato Waffles
This is actually the first recipe of all of them that I found, and what inspired this experiment. It's identical to the banana and applesauce batches, but with mashed sweet potato instead.
Sweet potatoes actually have more potassium that bananas, plus more micronutrients as well. But this recipe is less convenient, as you need to already have a roasted sweet potato. My guess is that either sweet potato or banana will taste the best.
Ingredients
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Source: The Modern Nonna
Applesauce Waffles
Next up, we have waffles with unsweetened applesauce. These are the lowest in calories, nearly half that of the nut butter waffles. They are the lowest in fat, along with sweet potato and banana
But as applesauce is less sweet than bananas or sweet potatoes, and it's missing the fat from the nut butter or cheese, my assumption is that these ones will taste the worst. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm predicting a sweet omelette.
However, they're the easiest to make. No waiting for bananas to get ripe, prepping a sweet potato ahead of time, or blending up a nut butter. Just measure from the jar in the fridge.
Ingredients
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Yogurt Waffles
Finally, we have waffles with plain nonfat Greek yogurt. These are the second lowest in calories, with only the applesauce waffles having less. More imporantly, these Greek yogurt waffles are the highest in protein; 24 g for just 215 calories. With zero protein powder, these high protein waffles are also a great source of healthy fats and micronutrients, from choline to vitamin D to selenium.
Ingredients
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Optional Additions
Below are some optional additions you can add to any of the waffles or pancakes to boost either the flavor or texture. But for sake of comparison, I'll be using just the two base ingredients today.
Cooking
Reheating
As I wanted to put all waffles on an even playing field, I didn't think it would be fair to eat these soon after cooking. Because then some would be fresh, and some would be sitting out for up to 30 minutes. So instead, I made all six of these waffles the night before, and put them in the fridge overnight.
For breakfast next day, I took out a quarter of each waffle, and heated them up at the same time. 400F for about 3 minutes in the air fryer seemed to do the trick. The extra waffles were frozen for a later date; this will be my breakfast for the week. Reheating from frozen, I'm guessing they will take about 6 minutes.
Results
Nut Butter
These were by far the worst waffles. They were also the highest in fat and calories; normally that works out to be the other way around. The batter was nearly impossible to mix together, as no matter how hard I tried I still had visible pistachio butter clumps. Once baked, this waffle tasted like a crappy bland omelette. Would not recommend. 1/10.
Cheese
The Chaffle was actually not bad, but definitely not a waffle. It was like eating crispy fried cheese with a little bit of egg. If you like super cheesy scrambled eggs or omlettes, this could be a good "bread" base for some avocado toast or something. But not a waffle, and I don't think I'll be making this one again. 4/10.
Banana
The bananas was definitely my favorite, though the top 3 were all very close. The banana provided the perfect amount of sweetness and moistness, while distinctly tasting like banana (which I was a fan of). Topped with peanunt butter or with chocolate chips mixed in, this is actually a really solid waffle. First one to have no egg flavor as well. 8/10.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potato was a very close second. It had virtually the same sweetness and texture as the banana waffles, but with a sweet potato flavor instead of banana. I already associate the flavor of waffles/pancakes with banana, so maybe the fact that it was sweet potato, something I'm not used to, is why I'm ranking it slightly lower. This was still a very good waffle though, and something I'd make again. The only downside is I need to remember to prep a sweet potato the day before, which takes an hour to roast. 7.5/10.
Applesauce
Next up, the applesauce one blew me away. Not because it was my favorite (it's actually #3), but because I was the most surprised. I thought I was going to end up with a sweet omelette in a waffle shape; this one was my prediction for being the worst (by far). But I was definitely proven wrong. It was slightly squishier and less sweet than both the banana and sweet potato waffles, but still very good. It's worth noting that the applesauce one was the only one to fall apart upon taking it out of the waffle maker, but this is likely because I made applesauce first, so the waffle iron wasn't as hot as it was for the other four. 7/10.
Greek Yogurt
Finally, the yogurt waffle, which was surprisingly good. While the chaffle was cheesy in a bad way, this yogurt waffle was cheesy in a good way. It had a mild cheesy flavor oddly enough, but not in an overpowering way. I definitely see myself using this batter again to make a great fluffy omlette or scrambled eggs. Sometimes, I add liquid egg whites into my eggs for more protein, like in my Higher Protein Scrambled Eggs and Spinach & Mushroom Scrambled Eggs. But going forward, I think I'll just whisk in some Greek yogurt. It's cheaper, and I hardly ever buy egg whites anyway. I could very easily see this waffle going the sweet route too though; mix some cinnamon into the batter, add a scoop of Banana Nice Cream on top, and drizzle the top with natural peanut butter, and you have a delicious high protein, healthy, sugar free waffle sundae. 7/10
Overall
If I had to choose one of the six to make regularly, my vote goes to bananas. They just barely nudged out sweet potato for the best flavor, and I've already been having banana pancakes and waffles for years. That's assuming I have a ripe banana laying around, then applesauce would be the runner up. Although I slightly prefer the taste of the sweet potato, I would actually be more willing to make the applesauce one again over it, since it doesn't require any prep. If you wanted a savory waffle, then the Chaffle or Greek yogurt waffles are definitely the way to go. And stay away from the nut butter waffle; that thing was kinda gross imo.
Nutritional Comparison
Variations
Conclusion
So would I make these again? Three of them definitely yes, two are a maybe, and the other is a hard no. I'm no stranger to banana pancakes; see my Banana Protein Pancakes. I've also made my Pumpkin Protien Pancakes with sweet potato before, and both of these recipes also work as waffles. Never before have I had an applesauce pancake or waffle, and I was pleasantly surprised. I would be more than willing to make either the banana, sweet potato, or applesauce pancakes for a brunch with friends or family, though I think that myself (and others) will all prefer the banana.
.png)
Sources
Lately I've been wanted to make either waffles or pancakes. I stumbled across a two ingredient waffles recipe and was interested. And then I saw another one. And another one. And another.
In the end, I ended up with 4 recipes I wanted to try that I found, plus 2 bonus ones that I came up with that I think may work as well. All six recipes use just two ingredients; their star ingredient and eggs.
The way I see it, we have 3 types of waffles. Either sweet, savory, or somewhere in the middle. The sweet waffles would be the banana, sweet potato, and applesauce, and the savory waffle is the chaffle. That leaves the nut butter and yogurt waffles falling somewhere in between, able to go either direction.
Today, I'm going to make all six waffles, eat a quarter of each one, and find out which ones I like best and why. I should stop waffling about and just get into the cooking.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Nut Butter Waffles
- "Chaffles"
- Banana Waffles
- Sweet Potato Waffles
- Applesauce Waffles
- Yogurt Waffles
- Optional Additions
- Cooking
- Reheating
- Results
- Nutritional Comparison
- Variations
- Conclusion
Nut Butter Waffles
These keto waffles are the highest in fat, protein, and calories on the list, while being the second highest in fiber and second lowest in carbs. Compared to the lowest calorie option, applesauce, these nut butter waffles have nearly double the calories and fat, but double the protein.
Any kind of natural nut or seed butter will work here, like peanut, almond, sunflower seed, or tahini, but today I'm going with pistachio butter. Pistachio butter is just what I had on hand at the time. Just use something with only nuts and salt, no hydrogenated oils, sugar, or preservatives.
Ingredients
- 2.5 tbsp (40 g) Pistachio butter
- 2 large (101 g) Egg
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Servings: 1
Calories: 376
------------------------------------------
Total Fat: 28.3g (36 %)
Sodium: 301mg (13 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 12.0g (4 %)
Fiber: 4.1g (15 %)
Total Sugar: 3.1g
Protein: 20.9g (42 %)
Total Fat: 28.3g (36 %)
Sodium: 301mg (13 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 12.0g (4 %)
Fiber: 4.1g (15 %)
Total Sugar: 3.1g
Protein: 20.9g (42 %)
"Chaffles"
Known as "Chaffles", these cheese waffles features you guessed it, cheese. I'm guessing this recipe went viral or something, because I saw it all over the place when looking up recipes. Like the nut butter waffles, these are another keto recipe.
Despite being higher in fat than the next three recipes, these have about the same calories, since they are significantly lower in carbs. I'm the most excited about these ones actually, since odd recipes tend to peak my interest. But can I still put syrup on it, or should I be spreading hummus on it instead?
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (57 g) Shredded mozzarella cheese, low moisture part skim
- 1 large (50 g) Egg
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Servings: 1
Calories: 241
------------------------------------------
Total Fat: 16.2g (21 %)
Sodium: 441mg (19 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 3.6g (1 %)
Fiber: 0.0g (0 %)
Total Sugar: 1.1g
Protein: 19.7g (39 %)
Total Fat: 16.2g (21 %)
Sodium: 441mg (19 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 3.6g (1 %)
Fiber: 0.0g (0 %)
Total Sugar: 1.1g
Protein: 19.7g (39 %)
Banana Waffles
I've made three ingredient banana waffles before (with the addition of oats), but never just two ingredients (omitting the oats). The bananas should provide moistness and sweetness to the waffles for minimal calories.
They're the second lowest in calories, tied for the lowest in fat with sweet potato and applesauce, and contain the most carbs and sugar of the six batches. I'm thinking that either banana or sweet potato will taste the best.
Ingredients
- 1 medium (110 g) Banana, overripe
- 2 large (101 g) Egg
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Servings: 1
Calories: 247
------------------------------------------
Total Fat: 10.4g (13 %)
Sodium: 131mg (6 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 26.1g (9 %)
Fiber: 2.9g (10 %)
Total Sugar: 13.5g
Protein: 13.7g (27 %)
Total Fat: 10.4g (13 %)
Sodium: 131mg (6 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 26.1g (9 %)
Fiber: 2.9g (10 %)
Total Sugar: 13.5g
Protein: 13.7g (27 %)
Sweet Potato Waffles
This is actually the first recipe of all of them that I found, and what inspired this experiment. It's identical to the banana and applesauce batches, but with mashed sweet potato instead.
Sweet potatoes actually have more potassium that bananas, plus more micronutrients as well. But this recipe is less convenient, as you need to already have a roasted sweet potato. My guess is that either sweet potato or banana will taste the best.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120 g) Sweet potato puree
- 2 large (101 g) Egg
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Servings: 1
Calories: 257
------------------------------------------
Total Fat: 10.2g (13 %)
Sodium: 173mg (8 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 25.8g (9 %)
Fiber: 4.0g (14 %)
Total Sugar: 7.8g
Protein: 14.9g (30 %)
Total Fat: 10.2g (13 %)
Sodium: 173mg (8 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 25.8g (9 %)
Fiber: 4.0g (14 %)
Total Sugar: 7.8g
Protein: 14.9g (30 %)
Applesauce Waffles
Next up, we have waffles with unsweetened applesauce. These are the lowest in calories, nearly half that of the nut butter waffles. They are the lowest in fat, along with sweet potato and banana
But as applesauce is less sweet than bananas or sweet potatoes, and it's missing the fat from the nut butter or cheese, my assumption is that these ones will taste the worst. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm predicting a sweet omelette.
However, they're the easiest to make. No waiting for bananas to get ripe, prepping a sweet potato ahead of time, or blending up a nut butter. Just measure from the jar in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120 g) Unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large (101 g) Egg
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Servings: 1
Calories: 200
------------------------------------------
Total Fat: 10.1g (13 %)
Sodium: 132mg (6 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 14.8g (5 %)
Fiber: 1.4g (5 %)
Total Sugar: 11.5g
Protein: 12.7g (25 %)
Total Fat: 10.1g (13 %)
Sodium: 132mg (6 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 14.8g (5 %)
Fiber: 1.4g (5 %)
Total Sugar: 11.5g
Protein: 12.7g (25 %)
Yogurt Waffles
Finally, we have waffles with plain nonfat Greek yogurt. These are the second lowest in calories, with only the applesauce waffles having less. More imporantly, these Greek yogurt waffles are the highest in protein; 24 g for just 215 calories. With zero protein powder, these high protein waffles are also a great source of healthy fats and micronutrients, from choline to vitamin D to selenium.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) Plain nonfat greek yogurt
- 2 large (101 g) Egg
Nutrition Facts
------------------------------------------
Servings: 1
Calories: 215
------------------------------------------
Total Fat: 10.4g (13 %)
Sodium: 170mg (7 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 5.0g (2 %)
Fiber: 0.0g (0 %)
Total Sugar: 3.7g
Protein: 24.1g (48 %)
Total Fat: 10.4g (13 %)
Sodium: 170mg (7 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 5.0g (2 %)
Fiber: 0.0g (0 %)
Total Sugar: 3.7g
Protein: 24.1g (48 %)
Optional Additions
Below are some optional additions you can add to any of the waffles or pancakes to boost either the flavor or texture. But for sake of comparison, I'll be using just the two base ingredients today.
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp (1.5 g) cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp (0.75 g) salt
- 1/8 tsp (0.5 g) baking powder
Cooking
- All six batches of the waffles cook identically. Start by preheating your waffle iron over medium high heat with a spray of oil on each side. Let preheat for at least 10 minutes. You need it super hot, or the waffles won't cook correctly.
- Mix together the eggs and other ingredient in a small bowl until smooth. For the banana and sweet potato, mash them with a fork before adding in the eggs. For the nut butter, microwave it for about 30 seconds to melt it before whisking with the eggs.
- Pour the batter into the pan, and cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until browned to your liking. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Make sure to spray the waffle iron with oil between making each waffle if you're making multiple.
Reheating
As I wanted to put all waffles on an even playing field, I didn't think it would be fair to eat these soon after cooking. Because then some would be fresh, and some would be sitting out for up to 30 minutes. So instead, I made all six of these waffles the night before, and put them in the fridge overnight.
For breakfast next day, I took out a quarter of each waffle, and heated them up at the same time. 400F for about 3 minutes in the air fryer seemed to do the trick. The extra waffles were frozen for a later date; this will be my breakfast for the week. Reheating from frozen, I'm guessing they will take about 6 minutes.
Results
Nut Butter
These were by far the worst waffles. They were also the highest in fat and calories; normally that works out to be the other way around. The batter was nearly impossible to mix together, as no matter how hard I tried I still had visible pistachio butter clumps. Once baked, this waffle tasted like a crappy bland omelette. Would not recommend. 1/10.
Cheese
The Chaffle was actually not bad, but definitely not a waffle. It was like eating crispy fried cheese with a little bit of egg. If you like super cheesy scrambled eggs or omlettes, this could be a good "bread" base for some avocado toast or something. But not a waffle, and I don't think I'll be making this one again. 4/10.
Banana
The bananas was definitely my favorite, though the top 3 were all very close. The banana provided the perfect amount of sweetness and moistness, while distinctly tasting like banana (which I was a fan of). Topped with peanunt butter or with chocolate chips mixed in, this is actually a really solid waffle. First one to have no egg flavor as well. 8/10.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potato was a very close second. It had virtually the same sweetness and texture as the banana waffles, but with a sweet potato flavor instead of banana. I already associate the flavor of waffles/pancakes with banana, so maybe the fact that it was sweet potato, something I'm not used to, is why I'm ranking it slightly lower. This was still a very good waffle though, and something I'd make again. The only downside is I need to remember to prep a sweet potato the day before, which takes an hour to roast. 7.5/10.
Applesauce
Next up, the applesauce one blew me away. Not because it was my favorite (it's actually #3), but because I was the most surprised. I thought I was going to end up with a sweet omelette in a waffle shape; this one was my prediction for being the worst (by far). But I was definitely proven wrong. It was slightly squishier and less sweet than both the banana and sweet potato waffles, but still very good. It's worth noting that the applesauce one was the only one to fall apart upon taking it out of the waffle maker, but this is likely because I made applesauce first, so the waffle iron wasn't as hot as it was for the other four. 7/10.
Greek Yogurt
Finally, the yogurt waffle, which was surprisingly good. While the chaffle was cheesy in a bad way, this yogurt waffle was cheesy in a good way. It had a mild cheesy flavor oddly enough, but not in an overpowering way. I definitely see myself using this batter again to make a great fluffy omlette or scrambled eggs. Sometimes, I add liquid egg whites into my eggs for more protein, like in my Higher Protein Scrambled Eggs and Spinach & Mushroom Scrambled Eggs. But going forward, I think I'll just whisk in some Greek yogurt. It's cheaper, and I hardly ever buy egg whites anyway. I could very easily see this waffle going the sweet route too though; mix some cinnamon into the batter, add a scoop of Banana Nice Cream on top, and drizzle the top with natural peanut butter, and you have a delicious high protein, healthy, sugar free waffle sundae. 7/10
Overall
- Banana: 8/10
- Sweet Potato: 7.5/10
- Applesauce: 7/10
- Yogurt: 7/10
- Chaffle: 4/10
- Nut Butter: 1/10
If I had to choose one of the six to make regularly, my vote goes to bananas. They just barely nudged out sweet potato for the best flavor, and I've already been having banana pancakes and waffles for years. That's assuming I have a ripe banana laying around, then applesauce would be the runner up. Although I slightly prefer the taste of the sweet potato, I would actually be more willing to make the applesauce one again over it, since it doesn't require any prep. If you wanted a savory waffle, then the Chaffle or Greek yogurt waffles are definitely the way to go. And stay away from the nut butter waffle; that thing was kinda gross imo.
Nutritional Comparison
| Nutrient | PB | Cheese | Banana | Sweet Potato |
Applesauce | Yogurt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 376 | 241 | 247 | 257 | 200 | 215 |
| Protein | 20.9 g | 19.7 g | 13.7 g | 14.9 g | 12.7 g | 24.1 g |
| Fat | 28.3 g | 16.2 g | 10.4 g | 10.2 g | 10.1 g | 10.4 g |
| Net Carbs | 7.9 g | 3.6 g | 23.2 g | 21.8 g | 13.4 g | 5.0 g |
| Fiber | 4.1 g | 0.0 g | 2.9 g | 4.0 g | 1.4 g | 0.0 g |
| Sugar | 3.1 g | 1.1 g | 13.5 g | 7.8 g | 11.5 g | 3.7 g |
Variations
- Pancakes: You can also make pancakes instead; just preheat your pan over medium heat with oil for about 10 minutes. Flip when the top (raw) side just starts to have holes/bubbles. Cook until both sides are lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Banana Chocolate Chip: Add 1 tbsp (15 g) mini chocolate chips into a Banana Waffle.
- Banana Walnut: Add 1 tbsp (15 g) chopped walnuts (or other nuts) into a Banana Waffle.
- Pumpkin Spice: Add the following into a Sweet Potato Waffle:
- 1 tsp (3 g) cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (1.5 g) ginger
- 1/4 tsp (0.75 g) nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp (0.375 g) cloves
- Apple Spice: Add the following into an Applesauce Waffle:
- 1 tsp (3 g) cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (1.5 g) ginger
- 1/4 tsp (0.75 g) nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp (0.375 g) cloves
- Waffle Sundae: Top a Yogurt Waffle, Banana Waffle, Sweet Potato Waffle, or Applesauce Waffle with Poor Man's Ice Cream or Banana Nice Cream.
- Chicken and Waffles: Top a Chaffle or Yogurt Waffle with a piece of Italian Breaded Chicken or Gluten Free Chicken Fingers
- Avocado Toast: Replace the bread in your Versatile Avocado Toast with either a Chaffle or Yogurt Waffle.
- Ultra Keto: Heavily oil your waffle iron before making a Nut Butter Waffle, so it's easy to take out of the iron and scoop right into the garbage.
Conclusion
So would I make these again? Three of them definitely yes, two are a maybe, and the other is a hard no. I'm no stranger to banana pancakes; see my Banana Protein Pancakes. I've also made my Pumpkin Protien Pancakes with sweet potato before, and both of these recipes also work as waffles. Never before have I had an applesauce pancake or waffle, and I was pleasantly surprised. I would be more than willing to make either the banana, sweet potato, or applesauce pancakes for a brunch with friends or family, though I think that myself (and others) will all prefer the banana.
Sources