Guess what? I finally found cottage cheese in French supermarkets (cue happy dance in the dairy aisle), and voilà. Here's my latest savoury breakfast obsession: Cottage Cheese Waffles.
They're high in protein, rich in calcium and B12. Top with salmon, avocado or an egg for even more protein - or go sweet with fruit and maple syrup. Go on, waffle smarter.
These waffles turned out deliciously perfect! I love savory waffles, so I added chives and a pinch of onion powder to the recipe. I also substituted a tablespoon of melted butter for the oil. Will put these on my regular rotation. - Sandra
Protein Waffle Recipe with Cottage Cheese
If you love breakfasts in France, you'll appreciate just how sweet its reputation is. A typical petit déjeuner consists of tartines (sliced baguette with butter), fluffy brioche, croissants, and thin French pancakes or crêpes - usually with a huge variety of sweet toppings, mainly jam. Not great for controlling our sugar levels, is it?
French breakfasts are not normally savoury. So, in my quest to make more savoury breakfasts packed with protein, I set about making this healthy protein waffle recipe using cottage cheese. The result is 24g protein per serving.
By using nutrient-rich flours like wholemeal, buckwheat or spelt and topping them with savoury goodies like smoked salmon and avocado, you can turn simple waffles into a healthy meal. Plus with cottage cheese now even gracing the shelves of French supermarkets, there’s no excuse not to give these a whirl!
3 Ingredient Cottage Cheese Waffles
What we love about these cottage cheese waffles is that they're quick to make with only 3 main ingredients. There's no need to let the batter rest beforehand and no need to blend it either. Here's what you'll need:
- Cottage Cheese - prefer not to see the curds? Then blend the batter but there's no need. Using lower fat would reduce calories slightly but we prefer full fat.
- Fresh Eggs - organic, free-range at best and, if in France, look for the Bleu Blanc Coeur label, as they're higher in Omega 3.
- Flour - although plain all-purpose flour is good with a little baking powder, experiment with different kinds. We love wholemeal, spelt or buckwheat to add more flavour. Although there are no oats, adding a tablespoon of oat bran or wheat bran just makes us feel that extra fabulous. Those following a gluten-free diet can easily replace the wheat flour with buckwheat, rice or oat flour using the same quantity.
Add a little seasoning - don't forget the salt (fleur de sel or celtic sea salt) and add some spice and/or herbs of your choice, depending on your topping (see ideas below).
How to Make Healthy Cottage Cheese Waffles
Heat the waffle iron to the desired setting (either crispy or soft). Add sunflower oil if the waffle iron isn't non stick, otherwise we add it for extra crispiness.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs into the flour and baking powder until the batter is smooth. If using, add the oat bran. Whisk in the cottage cheese and rest of the ingredients. There's no need to blend or let the batter rest.
Ladle a little of the batter onto the waffle iron, keeping it in the middle. Heat for about 4-8 minutes depending on the size of your iron. As ours is quite big, we leave it to sizzle for a maximum of 8 minutes.
Serve immediately with the topping of your choice.
Have leftovers? Then the waffles also freeze well.
To reheat, just pop them in the toaster.
How to Serve
These cottage cheese waffles are best served with a topping. While I've made them neutral so that you can enjoy both sweet or savoury toppings, feel free to add fresh herbs (e.g.rosemary, chives), pepper and spices to the batter to suit more savoury flavours. While they're filled with cottage cheese, they don't taste cheesy so great paired with an even bigger variety of toppings.
On their own with 24g of protein per serving, top waffles with more healthy protein-rich foods such as seeds and nuts:
- smoked salmon, avocado and fromage blanc or Skyr, both high in protein
- smashed avocado, crème fraîche, chilli flakes and toasted pumpkin seeds
- fresh goat's cheese, fresh fruits like figs (or fig jam) and toasted walnuts
- for the less savoury fans: almond purée (or peanut butter) and sliced banana or maple syrup
Create your own unique twists. As long as there’s cottage cheese in your fridge, the possibilities are endless. It’s the 'whey to go!'
More Recipes
- Cottage cheese pancakes with pumpkin purée (either savoury or sweet).
- Extra cheesy and gluten free crispy cheese waffles.
Cottage Cheese Waffles
Equipment
- waffle iron
Ingredients
- 75 g (3oz/½ cup + 1 heaped tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour use half and mix rest with either wholemeal, buckwheat or spelt flour (See NOTES)*
- 3 large eggs organic
- 180 g (6oz/0.8 or ¾ cup) cottage cheese
- ½ tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt fleur de sel or Celtic sea salt
- 1 tablespoon oat bran optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil optional
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or chives optional (or other herbs, according to topping)
Instructions
- Heat the waffle iron to the desired setting (either crispy or soft). Add canola oil if the waffle iron is not non stick, otherwise we add it for extra crispiness.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs into the flour and baking powder until the batter is smooth. If using, add the oat bran. Whisk in the cottage cheese and rest of the ingredients. No need to blend or let the batter rest.
- Ladle a little of the batter onto the waffle iron, keeping it in the middle. Heat for about 4-8 minutes depending on the size of your irons. As ours is quite big, we leave a maximum of 8 minutes.
Notes
So high in protein, calcium and B12 (excellent for muscle repair, bone health and energy metabolism).
Sandra
These waffles turned out deliciously perfect! I love savory waffles, so I added chives and a pinch of onion powder to the recipe. I also substituted a tablespoon of melted butter for the canola oil. Will put these on my regular rotation.
Jill Colonna
Love that you added chives etc and you liked them, Sandra. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your review. Cheers to a delicious New Year and hope you enjoy many more recipes here!
Sandra
Hi Jill,
Do you have the nutrition information for this recipe as listed? I would particularly like to know the protein count.
Thanks!
Jill Colonna
Hi Sandra,
I need to find a better nutritional info counter, as I'm getting conflicting information on the same recipe! Perhaps that's why I didn't add it on this one - it's strange. But I can at least tell you that there is 32g protein per serving. Hope this helps - and thanks for the reminder to do something about this for the New Year! All the best, Jill
Lisa
Super - we enjoyed with smoked salmon it is indeed an absolute delight - thank you so much Jill for this great recipe !
Jill Colonna
Wow - that was quick making this, Lisa. Thanks for your feedback - so glad you liked it!