Kid-Friendly Protein Waffle
You’ve never tried waffles like this before! Whole-food, high-protein eggs cook right on top of waffle batter to make a kid-friendly, all-in-one breakfast.
Breakfast ruts are real, and no fun at all. Cereal? Had it yesterday. PB toast? The day before that. Scrambled eggs? Potential whining ahead.
We know it’s important to send our kiddos out the door having eaten a balanced breakfast, so here’s a way to shake things up at your morning meal, while still achieving balance: Kid-Friendly Protein Waffles!
In these easy, fun-to-make waffles, a whole egg is cracked on top of the batter you add to the waffle iron, creating a crazy-creative hybrid of waffles and eggs that comes out with the familiar waffle-iron shape.
Top these waffles how you would an ordinary waffle: with fresh fruit, a bit of pure maple syrup, or honey. Three cheers for a healthy, balanced breakfast!
Protein for Picky Eaters
Kids, especially young ones, can be particular about their protein. If you can’t entice your kids to eat scrambled eggs or egg cups (delicious as egg cups may be) this waffle may be the ticket to getting your kids into eggs.
The texture and flavor of the egg blends in well with the waffle it’s cooked with, and of course, a teaspoon of pure maple syrup or a handful of fresh juicy fruits can inspire picky eaters even more.
Tempting as it may be to try to conceal the fact that there’s an egg on top of your picky eater’s waffle, we recommend you tell them straight what they’re eating. Not only will you build trust, you’ll also give them a chance to revise their opinion about eggs.
And remember never to give up. It can take years for kids to come around to non-preferred foods, but as long as you keep offering nutritious foods, your kids will become balanced eaters.
A High-Protein Waffle Unlike Any Other
You can add a scoop of protein powder to your regular waffle batter, if you like. But when it comes to helping our kids get balanced nutrition, nothing beats whole foods.
Protein-rich eggs in this recipe provide an extra 6-7 grams of protein per waffle. And there’s more to eggs than their protein: important nutrients like choline (for healthy brain development) and lutein (for healthy eyes) abound in eggs.
You might not spend much time thinking about these uncommon nutrients, but you really don’t have to! Just focus on whole food ingredients, and your kids will get the whole nutritional package.
Tips for Making Great Protein Waffles
If you’ve made regular waffles before, you’re already on the road to making successful protein waffles. Here are a few special tips that will help these eggy waffles turn out great.
- Add a little less waffle batter to the iron than usual. This might seem obvious, but if you try to scoop a generous amount of batter on top of the egg, you’ll be dealing with overflow.
- Do break the egg yolk with a fork, but be gentle with your waffle iron. Nonstick surfaces on most waffle irons can scratch easily, causing them to lose that all-important nonstick quality.
- If you have a favorite waffle batter recipe, feel free to sub it in, and just borrow our trick of an egg on top. It will work!
- If you’re worried about first impressions with picky eaters, serve the waffles upside down. Remember: you’re still letting them know there’s egg in their waffle. But this gentle introduction might inspire them to take that first bite.
- Try freezing cooked waffles for an even quicker breakfast. Cool the waffles on a rack completely, then slip them into a gallon freezer bag with a piece of parchment paper between each waffle to prevent sticking. Freeze, then reheat later in the toaster oven.
More Rut-Busting Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast never has to be boring. We’ve got loads of ideas! Try more high-protein breakfast ideas like an Egg in a Basket, Breakfast Egg Bars, or these Ricotta-Filled Crepes.
Kid-Friendly Protein Waffle
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour, whole wheat
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat waffle iron and spray with cooking spray.
- Combine the first 3 ingredients into a bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients (except the eggs) into a separate bowl. Whisk together.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined; do not over mix.
- Crack an egg into the waffle iron; break the yolk with a fork. Then pour 1/3 cup batter over the egg (or enough batter to fill your iron.)
- Cook 3-4 minutes or until egg is cooked and waffle is golden.
- Repeat with remaining eggs and batter.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Hi Nat, LOVE THIS! Tried this today and they were amazing! My kids loved it. Thanks!
Why don’t you mix the egg into the batter? Why crack it in separately?
Hi Rachel! The idea here is to add one whole egg per waffle to boost the protein. (Usually there’s only one egg in an entire batch of waffle batter.) You can try adding all the eggs into the waffle batter and stirring them in, though we haven’t tried it that way. Might be a neat experiment!
I knew my kids wouldn’t go for them if they could see the egg, so I mixed them in with the wet ingredients. I added a few chocolate chips, and my oldest said they were the best waffles ever.
Awesome, thanks for sharing Erin!
I couldn’t get my head around a whole egg with honey! I still can’t decide whether they are sweet or savoury! What would you partner with them – my sons would either put tomato sauce on eggs or maple syrup on waffles! Any suggestions? That said they are delicious! I just can’t make out how! So I think they might just be genius! My son has an Arctic Challenge (freezing pool) challenge tomorrow so I think the protein boost will be perfect. Thank you!
Hi Louisa, we pair these with sweet toppings. The egg taste is not particularly savory mixed with the waffle batter. 🙂
hi natalie
Thank you for the recipe! I put the eggs into the batter and used regular yogurt and almond milk. My nephews loved them.
How is this healthy with 15 grams of fat?
Kids need fat in their diet. There is actually only 10 grams per serving. If you are feeding a toddler, they likely won’t eat an entire waffle. For an older child, this is an appropriate amount of fat at a meal.
Have you ever used this batter (with the egg mixed in) to make pancakes? Think it would work well?
We have not- you could try!
My youngest is currently in his bread phase. He will eat just over a quarter of one of these, and with his current mixed veggie kick I’ll call that a dinner win! I used his plant-based vanilla formula instead of milk and omitted the vanilla extract. Even with the honey I think these are not too sweet to consider savory. My batter came out suuuuuuper thick so I ended up mixing in the eggs and still got about 6 waffles.