Waffle House is a ubiquitous American restaurant chain, famed for its late-night eats, Sunday brunches, and family gatherings centered around quintessential breakfast foods. While Waffle House is well-known for its (typically) greasy, late-night breakfast and, of course, waffles, it might surprise you that there's actually a good number of options on the menu under 500 calories. For those who are health-conscious or have specific dietary needs, navigating the Waffle House menu might seem challenging. However, with a bit of knowledge and strategic ordering, it's possible to enjoy a meal at Waffle House without compromising your health goals. This article provides directional guidance on healthier options available at Waffle House, offering insights into lower-calorie choices, balanced meals, and smart substitutions. Note: This article is not intended to be medical advice; it is merely directional guidance. It is critical to get enough calories while still hitting your needed nutrients for optimal physical performance. Health looks different for everyone, which means you may need more or less food than other people.
Understanding the Waffle House Menu
The Waffle House menu boasts a wide array of offerings, ranging from classic breakfast items to burgers, sandwiches, and dinners. The restaurant's full nutrition information can be found online. However, the majority of the items at Waffle House contain carbs, such as the waffles, hashbrown bowls, and breakfast specials that come with your choice of toast or grilled biscuit. Common allergens present in the Waffle House menu include milk, gluten, tree nuts, soy, egg, and wheat.
Healthier Options at Waffle House
Despite its reputation for indulgent fare, Waffle House does offer several items that can be incorporated into a healthy eating plan. Making some healthy substitutions here and there is key to getting some of those orders under that calorie total. Choices lower in calories and fat may include a small serving of grits, a small chili, or a grilled chicken sandwich.
Salads
If you’re looking for nutrient-rich foods, Waffle House's salads provide nutrition with fewer calories and fat. The healthiest Waffle House option is the salad. Waffle House offers only two choices: the garden salad and grilled chicken salad.
Garden Salad: The classic Waffle House Garden Salad is a pretty standard side salad with Romaine and iceberg lettuce, cucumber, and sliced tomatoes. The garden salad doesn't contain any of the eight most common allergens, and it only contains 35 calories, 0g of fat, 0g of saturated fat, 7g of carbohydrates, 5g of sugar, 2g of protein, and 20mg of sodium. You'll also get some fiber from veggies like romaine and iceberg, but not as much as is recommended. For reference, you should strive for between 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day to keep things moving in your body, and this garden salad only has 2 grams. However, everyone is different and may need more or less fiber in their diet. However, it needs the addition of both protein and carbs to be a well-balanced meal. Luckily, you can add chunks of chicken to your salad for around 150 calories. Waffle House's garden salad has a mixture of both romaine and iceberg lettuce, so you'll certainly be hydrated.
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Grilled Chicken Salad: If you are looking for a protein rich meal that is low in carbs, one of the best Waffle House salads is the Grilled Chicken Salad. The grilled chicken salad is still a healthy option and even adds extra healthy protein to your meal, although this option comes with a hefty amount of cholesterol and sodium.
Sandwiches
Waffle House has a fantastic range of lunch sandwiches. The ingredients on several sandwiches include a mix of grilled cheese, chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and/or country ham.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich: The Grilled Chicken Sandwich is among Waffle House's most popular menu items, with tender chicken breast, sliced tomatoes, and lettuce on a grilled bun. The Grilled Chicken Sandwich from Waffle House has just 480 calories, which is one of the lower-calorie options on the menu. This sandwich has a good balance of protein and carbs, thanks to the chicken and the grilled bun. This sandwich features 33 grams of protein, 28 grams of carbs, and 27 grams of fat. If you're looking to stay full without overdoing it, this sandwich has an ideal mix of nutrients. Although this isn't what you may picture when you think of Waffle House, the Grilled Chicken Sandwich is a great option for lunch or dinner.
Classic BLT Sandwich: One of my favorites is the classic BLT. Waffle House's BLT sandwich has 275 calories, 13.5g of fat, 4g of saturated fat, 27g of carbohydrates, 4g of sugar, 12g of protein, and 780mg of sodium.
Egg Sandwich: You can't beat a classic egg sandwich, and I think the one from the WH is delicious! The egg sandwich has 220 calories, 8.5g of fat, 2g of saturated fat, 27g of carbohydrates, 4g of sugar, 10g of protein, and 320mg of sodium.
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Grilled Ham Sandwich: I love a classic deli sandwich, and the grilled ham sandwich from the Waffle House is actually pretty darn good.
Ham and Egg Sandwich: So, I just talked about the grilled ham sandwich, and if you want to take that up a notch, you have to order the ham and egg sandwich. It instantly adds some more protein and healthy fats to the meal without adding any unnecessary calories.
Breakfast Options
Two-Egg Breakfast: If you're just looking for a simple high protien low calorie breakfast, order the two eggs any style. I prefer to get them sunny side up, but they'll prepare them any way you want! The traditional Egg Breakfast from Waffle House includes two eggs (duh), your choice of side (either tomatoes or hash browns), and toast. The two-egg breakfast with two scrambled eggs contains 180 calories, 14g of fat, 4g of saturated fat, 2g of carbohydrates, 2g of sugar, 12g of protein, and 120mg of sodium. This option skips the toast and sides.
Build-Your-Own Omelet: Waffle House's Toddle House Omelets are pretty high in calories, but if you build your own, these beloved breakfast choices can also be among the healthiest. A basic ham and cheese omelet is around 400 calories and will also give you about 30 grams of protein. Choose two eggs, bacon, grilled mushrooms, and jalapenos for just 520 calories. Plus, adding the grilled mushrooms is a win as far as nutrients go. Mushrooms have critical micronutrients like copper, vitamin B, phosphorus, and more. Additionally, this omelet has 0 trans fat, which means it doesn't add bad cholesterol to your system.
Ham, Egg, & Cheese Bowl: Although this is just a side, the Ham, Egg, & Cheese Bowl is packed with flavor for just 290 calories. Grits add iron and carbs to the meal, and the egg and ham are great sources of protein. Additionally, eggs aren't just good sources of protein - they're also chock-full of micronutrients, which are vitamins and minerals that have an impact on brain and body function.
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Other Entrees and Sides
Bert's Chili: Grabbing a quick dinner at Waffle House but don't want anything too heavy? Choose a side of Bert's Chili, which is only 150 calories before toppings are added. We recommend adding onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos on top, as they add freshness to your meal. Jalapeños are great for more than just a spicy marg (although we love those too). They have critical micronutrients like potassium, copper, magnesium, vitamin B6, iron, and more. Beans don't have a lot of fat or cholesterol, which makes them a good source of protein (without the fat you may find in meat). The ubiquitous Waffle House chili is available as a side, an entree, and an addition to various menu items.
Grits: I love Southern grits, and the cheese grits at the WH are actually bangin'. Grits add iron and carbs to the meal.
Classic Waffle: Although this seems counterintuitive, you can still order a Classic Waffle from Waffle House and not go overboard. The Classic Waffle is warm, crispy, and under 410 calories. However, you may leave the restaurant still hungry (since the waffle is a simple carb and doesn't include protein). It is worth noting that this meal has a significant amount of sodium at 870 grams, so those with high blood pressure may want to choose something else. For reference, the Institute of Medicine says the average person should aim for between 1500 to 2300 grams of sodium for the entire day. However, the Classic Waffle wins points for having zero trans fat.
"Original" Angus hamburger: If you're craving a classic burger, the original angus hamburger is an excellent order. You can even lower the carbs and order it on a lettuce bun. The "Original" Angus hamburger contains 465 calories, 33g of fat, 12.5g of saturated fat, 30g of carbohydrates, 5g of sugar, 11g of protein, and 520mg of sodium. The Quarter-Pounder Angus Burger from Waffle House has 570 calories and comes with onions, lettuce, and tomatoes (no cheese). As far as the onions go, they aren't just to add a pop of flavor to your burger (although they are great for that too). Onions have nutrients like manganese, vitamin B, and vitamin C. Additionally, Angus beef is known to have a variety of nutritional properties.
Smart Substitutions and Modifications
One of the keys to eating healthy at Waffle House is to make smart substitutions and modifications to your order. Here are some examples:
Choose wheat toast over white toast: Wondering why wheat bread is a better nutritional choice than white bread? It has more micronutrients left intact when compared to white bread. Essentially, you'll get additional vitamins and minerals with wheat or whole grain that you may not get with traditional white bread.
Swap hashbrowns for grits or sliced tomatoes: The healthiest side is sliced tomatoes with 10 calories.
Skip the cheese: The Quarter-Pounder Angus Burger from Waffle House has 570 calories and comes with onions, lettuce, and tomatoes (no cheese).
Request a lettuce bun instead of a traditional bun: If you're craving a classic burger, the original angus hamburger is an excellent order. You can even lower the carbs and order it on a lettuce bun.
Considerations for Specific Dietary Needs
Food Allergies: Anyone with severe food allergies might want to avoid the Waffle House nutrition option, as the restaurant can't guarantee that its cooking environment is free from any specific allergen.
Low-FODMAP Diet: Although Waffle House entrees come with a number of sides, including toast, grits, and hashbrowns, you can follow a low-fat diet if you order strategically and skip the sides (with the exception of sliced tomatoes).
Vegetarian Diet: You can stick to a vegetarian diet. The egg choices don't have to include meat, and soy is the only allergen in hashbrowns.