Chaffles have taken the keto world by storm, and for good reason. These cheesy waffles are a quick, easy, and versatile way to enjoy a low-carb breakfast or snack. This article delves into the world of keto chaffles, providing you with everything you need to know to make the perfect chaffle every time.
What is a Chaffle?
A chaffle is essentially a "cheese waffle," a waffle made primarily from cheese and eggs. The basic chaffle recipe is incredibly simple, often consisting of just these two ingredients. This makes it an ideal choice for those following a ketogenic diet, as it is low in carbohydrates and high in fat and protein. Chaffles contain no wheat flour, making them gluten-free. They can also be vegetarian.
Why are Chaffles so Popular?
Chaffles have gained immense popularity due to several factors:
- Low-Carb and Keto-Friendly: Chaffles are naturally low in carbohydrates, making them a perfect fit for ketogenic diets.
- Quick and Easy to Make: With just a few ingredients and a waffle maker, you can whip up a batch of chaffles in minutes.
- Versatile: Chaffles can be customized with a variety of toppings and fillings, making them suitable for both sweet and savory dishes.
- Meal Prep Friendly: Chaffles can be easily frozen and reheated, making them a great option for meal prepping.
Basic Keto Chaffle Recipe
This basic keto chaffle recipe is a great staple to have for easy breakfasts and snacks! A chaffle is a “cheese waffle,” or a waffle made using cheese. It’s a delicious invention that’s quick to cook and uses a small list of ingredients. In fact, a chaffle can technically be made with only cheese and eggs (although I do add two other ingredients for my own preferences… I’ll explain below)!
Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup shredded cheese (such as mozzarella, cheddar, or Italian blend)
- 1 tablespoon almond flour (optional, for structure)
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder (optional, for fluffiness)
Instructions:
- Combine the eggs, shredded cheese, almond flour and baking powder in a small bowl and mix well.
- Preheat a waffle maker according to the directions and lightly spray with cooking oil if needed.
- Spoon the batter into the waffle maker and cook 2-3 minutes until steam is no longer coming from the machine.
- Let the chaffles cool on a wire rack. Chaffles become crispier as they cool.
This recipe makes 2 small chaffles using the Dash Mini Waffle Maker or 1 large chaffle in a larger waffle maker.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Tips for Making the Perfect Chaffle
Use a Good Quality Cheese: The type of cheese you use will significantly impact the flavor and texture of your chaffle. Mozzarella cheese is a popular choice for its mild flavor and melting properties, while cheddar cheese adds a sharper, more distinct taste. You can also experiment with other cheeses like Monterey Jack, Colby, Swiss, provolone, or pepper jack.
Don't Overfill the Waffle Maker: Be careful not to overfill your chaffle iron. The batter can ooze out if you add too much. If your chaffle starts to ooze, lift the lid of the iron/maker slightly, until the chaffle starts to cook, before slowly placing the lid down.
Cook Until Golden Brown and Crispy: Cook the chaffles for 3-4 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy. No one wants a soggy chaffle!
Let Cool Before Serving: Chaffles will not be crispy immediately out of the waffle maker. Letting your chaffles cool for a minute or two before digging in makes a huge difference. This allows the steam to escape, reducing moisture and helping them crisp up. If you’ve got the patience (and honestly, I don’t most days), you can double-cook your chaffles for an even crispier texture. Once they’ve cooled, pop them back into the waffle maker for another minute or two to dry them out further.
Experiment with Different Cheeses: Try Monterey Jack, Colby, mozzarella, or even a blend for extra flavor.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Consider Adding Almond Flour: Almond flour adds structure so it’s a bit more like a bread substitute. If you’re nut-free, you can use a scant 2 tablespoons of coconut flour instead.
Use Egg Whites Only: Using just the egg white results in a crispier texture and eliminates that overly “eggy” taste.
Chaffle Variations: Sweet and Savory
One of the best things about chaffles is their versatility. You can easily customize them to suit your taste preferences, creating both sweet and savory variations.
Savory Chaffle Recipes:
Everything Chaffles: This chaffle recipe is just one ingredient more than just the basic chaffle of egg and cheese. It contains almond flour to lighten the texture of the chaffle and to make it less "eggy" in taste. Another excellent reason to add almond flour is that the amount of batter is slightly increased without becoming loaded with carbs.
Ingredients: 1 Ounce 6 Cheese Italian Blend Cheese, 1 Large Egg, 3 Tablespoons Almond Flour, 1 Pinch Salt
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Instructions:
- Preheat Waffle Maker. Plug in and preheat the mini waffle maker. Many waffle makers have a light to indicate when it is preheated. For best results, be sure it is fully heated before proceeding.
- Chop the Cheese. Using a small chopping board and medium-sized knife, chop the shredded Italian cheese into smaller pieces. This allows the cheese to be more evenly distributed throughout the egg mixture.
- Beat an Egg. Crack the large egg into a small bowl and beat vigorously with a fork until the yolk and the white are well combined.
- Mix Batter. Add the cheese, almond flour, and salt to the egg mixture and stir with a fork, until the batter is well combined.
- Cook the Batter. Spray the waffle maker with butter-flavored non-stick cooking spray. Put ½ of the mixture into the center of the grill of a miniature waffle maker. Spread mixture to edges of grill and close waffle maker. Cook the chaffle for 5 minutes, or until toasty brown and cooked through. Using a small fork gently remove the chaffle and set it on a layer of paper towels or a wire rack to cool. Spray the waffle maker with butter-flavored non-stick cooking spray and cook the remaining chaffle mixture the same as the first one.
- Cool and Serve. Let the chaffles cool on a wire rack. Chaffles become crispier as they cool. Place them on a wire rack or folded paper towels to cool.
Bacon Chaffle: Add crispy, crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar for the perfect breakfast chaffle.
Taco Chaffles: Use chaffles as a crispy taco shell and fill them with seasoned taco meat, cheese, and your favorite toppings.
Open-Faced French Dip Chaffles: Add leftover roast and provolone cheese to the top of a chaffle and bake until the cheese is hot and bubbly!
Grilled Cheese Chaffle: A keto-friendly version of the classic grilled cheese sandwich.
Asian Style Chaffles: For a savoury chaffle recipe, make sure you add yummy herbs or spices such as rosemary, chili, or smokey flavours.
Sweet Chaffle Recipes:
Sweet Chaffle: Once you try this delicious keto sweet chaffle recipe you’ll understand why there is a chaffle craze. Hints of vanilla combined with a little sweetness are the secret behind this fabulous recipe. Feel free to tweak the recipe to suit such as adding a little cinnamon.
Serving Options: Top with butter and low carb strawberry or raspberry jam. Drizzle with a little sugar free maple syrup and cream. Top with Greek yogurt and berries. Top with maple syrup, berries and whipped cream. Serve with maple syrup and bacon on the side.
Maple Pumpkin Keto Waffles: These are a fall favorite. Sweetened naturally with sugar-free maple syrup and bursting with pumpkin spice, they’re perfect with roasted pecans and a scoop of sugar-free ice cream.
Blueberry Chaffles: Add blueberries to the batter for a sweet and fruity treat.
How to Use Chaffles
Chaffles are incredibly versatile and can be used in a variety of ways:
- Breakfast: Top with butter and sugar-free syrup like you would a regular waffle. Or you could eat them plain (like you would toast) with a side of eggs and sausage.
- Lunch: Top them with chili for Chili Cheese Chaffles. You can use them in place of bread for a keto-friendly deli sandwich (like this Keto Turkey Club Sandwich-Under 5 net carbs!). You could even top them with marinara and pizza toppings for a keto lunchable or with smashed avocado or eggs for tasty breakfast chaffle toast!
- Sandwiches: Use chaffles as a bread substitute for keto-friendly sandwiches.
- Tacos: Use chaffles as a crispy taco shell.
- Desserts: Top sweet chaffles with berries, whipped cream, or sugar-free ice cream.
Choosing the Right Waffle Maker
While you can make chaffles in any waffle maker, a mini waffle maker like the Dash Mini Waffle Maker is often preferred. It’s the perfect size for sandwiches, and I have no problem with the chaffles sticking! It makes the perfect sized waffle. My other favorite waffle iron is the Belgium waffle maker by Oster. This waffle maker has adjustable heat and can get really hot in order to crisp up the outside of the waffle. It is a larger waffle maker, but you can pour the entire batter mixture into the waffle iron.
Dash Waffle maker. This is my go-to waffle maker for most chaffle recipes. It’s the perfect size, making two 4-inch chaffles from one batch of batter. Plus, its compact design means it doesn’t take up much space in your kitchen.
Dash multi mini waffle maker - If you’re cooking for a crowd-or just don’t want to spend all day making individual chaffles-the Dash Multi Mini Waffle Maker is a lifesaver. It makes four 4-inch chaffles at once, which is such a huge time-saver when you’re feeding a big family (trust me, I know this firsthand!).
Storing and Reheating Chaffles
Yes, you can easily freeze chaffles. Allow the chaffles to completely cool off, then place them in a freezer bag (with parchment paper between each so they don’t stick together). If chaffles are frozen, thaw them on the counter (about 30 minutes) or overnight in the fridge.
For short term storage, first cool the chaffles to room temperature. Then place in an airtight container, with pieces of parchment paper in between the keto waffles to prevent sticking.
Freezing is actually my favorite way to store my chaffles! First let them cool to room temperature. Lay flat on a plate, place the plate in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once waffles are partially frozen, you can put them all in a plastic bag and return to the freezer.
To reheat the keto Mcgriddles from frozen, unwrap the plastic wrap and wrap in a paper towel. Microwave on the defrost setting or at 30% for 2 minutes. Then microwave on high for 50 seconds or until heated through.
Keto Chaffle Breakfast Sandwich - The Keto McGriddle
If you are looking for an easy keto breakfast that you can take with you on the go - to work or school, then this keto chaffle breakfast sandwich is your answer.
Egg and sausage are sandwiched between two maple flavored chaffles resulting in a breakfast bite that is similar to a McGriddle sandwich!
Ingredients:
- Maple flavored chaffles
- Breakfast sausage, fried
- Scrambled egg
- Butter or cream cheese
Instructions:
- Preheat waffle maker. It's not necessary to spray the waffle iron plates with cooking spray but can be done.
- Remove the maple waffle once finished cooking.
- Spread butter or cream cheese on one side of each maple chaffle.
- Assemble the sandwich with breakfast sausage, fried and scrambled egg.
Optional breakfast sandwich fixings
Besides eggs, there is a variety of meats, cheeses and spreads you can add to your breakfast chaffle sandwich.
Storing Chaffles
Store chaffles/waffles in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Common Questions About Chaffles
- Why is it called a chaffle? It’s a “cheese waffle” with a focus on being low-carb with a good amount of fat and protein.
- Do I have to use almond flour? No, you can use 2 tablespoons of coconut flour, but add 5 minutes to your prep time. Coconut flour is super absorbent and needs extra time to get the right texture. Some people choose to use no flour or baking powder at all; that’s fine, it’s just super dense, eggy, and not a great bread substitute.
- Can I make it dairy-free? I’ve not tried using any cheese substitutes in this recipe, so I’m not sure. I do think plant-based cheeses that melt okay would work, though.
- Are chaffles eggy? They can, especially if you’re sensitive to the taste of eggs. However, I’ve found that using just egg whites instead of whole eggs significantly reduces the eggy flavor. The yolk contains most of the fat, which can make the texture dense and the taste more noticeable.
- How long do chaffles last? Properly stored, chaffles will last 4-5 days in the refrigerator. For longer storage, you can freeze them. Once cooled, place your chaffles in a freezer bag or airtight container, separating each with parchment paper. Frozen chaffles will keep for 3-4 months.
- My chaffle stuck to the waffle maker. What did I do wrong? Whenever a chaffle sticks to the waffle maker, it's most likely because you tried to open it too soon before it was ready to release. The batter hasn't finished cooking so it sticks to the waffle maker. Just close it and let it cook some more until the waffle can easily come out. Although not always necessary, you could spray the waffle iron plates with cooking spray before adding the waffle batter.
- Can I omit the syrup? The syrup adds that classic McDonald's McGriddle flavor, but you can omit it if you don't have any or just want a plain keto breakfast sandwich.