We all love those family Sunday brunches at Waffle House!
This American restaurant offers something for every occasion, whether it’s breakfast time or you are craving some late-night munchies! But can you eat keto at Waffle House?
Going by the name of the place, you can guess what it serves the best (Hint: It’s not salad!)
Sadly, a waffle is filthy-rich in carbs which would surely upset the keto gods!
Glancing at the menu and deciding on a low-carb order can be quite overwhelming, especially if you are a beginner! But that’s where we specialize!
We have carefully analyzed the menu to bring you this in-depth guide for surviving keto at a Waffle House.
Is Waffle House Keto-Friendly?
Waffle House is one of those places that serve breakfast all day long! Eggs and waffles are the bread-n-butter for this South-American chain.
As delicious as they taste, those breakfast bowls are actually packing a ton of carbs!
The most common breakfast order at a Waffle House Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hashbrown bowl which contains a whopping 63 grams of carbs!
Luckily, Waffle House offers a variety of low-carb toppings for the keto dieters: Bacon, sausage, ham, and cheese.
Never underestimate the value of these side toppings! If you’ve been following my keto restaurant guides section, you know how they can be life saviors sometimes (or keto saviors?)
Waffle House can be quite keto-friendly if you stick to the basics. That includes saying no to toast, waffles, and hashbrowns, and opting for a combination of eggs, cheese, bacon, ham, or sausage.
At the end of the day, it’s all comes down to your carb count. You will be okay as long as you are eating below 20g of net carbs and staying off sugar.
I would also give them extra brownie points for the ease of customizations they offer!
I’ve got a lot of strange looks in restaurants whenever I ask them for my “keto customizations”. Luckily, Waffle House has plenty of options by default, which makes ordering keto a cakewalk!
Keto Options at Waffle House
Now I shall walk you through the entire menu with my Keto Filter turned on. Whether it’s the hashbrowns bowls or those beef hamburgers, we’ve got it covered!
RELATED: Gluten Free options at Waffle House
Breakfast All-Star Special
This grandeur meal breakfast combo contains 2 scrambled eggs with your choice of toast and toppings.
Throw in a raisin toast or a grilled biscuit, and you end up with over 30g of carbs in a single meal.
Instead, have those scrambled eggs with bacon, sausage, or country ham. The entire meal will round up within 5g net carbs.
Breakfast Hashbrown Bowls
To keep things keto, you must nix the hashbrowns from these breakfast bowls, which will get you rid of the majority of carbs.
Each bowl comes with 2 scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, 2 slices of American cheese, and your choice of meat topping.
Here is the carb count for each Breakfast Hashbrown Bowl (without hashbrowns!):
- Sausage Egg & Cheese Hashbrown Bowl: 4g net carbs
- Bacon Egg & Cheese Hashbrown Bowl: 3g net carbs
- Ham Egg & Cheese Hashbrown Bowl: 7g net carbs (Country Ham has way more carbs than City Ham!)
Egg Breakfasts
Their Egg Breakfasts contain a combination of toast, hashbrowns, cheese, and scrambled eggs (obviously!).
In each menu item from this section, you must nix the toast, grits, and hashbrowns.
Here’s the good news: You may opt for sliced tomatoes as a topping which will add 1g net carbs to your meal.
Following is the carb count for each customized Egg Breakfast:
Remember, no toast, biscuit, grits, or hashbrowns
- Cheese ‘N Eggs (2 Scrambled Eggs with Cheese): 2g net carbs
- T-Bone & Eggs (T-Bone Steak and 2 Eggs – Scrambled): 3g net carbs
- Steak & Eggs (Sirloin Steak and 2 Eggs – Scrambled): 3g net carbs
- Country Ham & Eggs (Country Ham and 2 Eggs – Scrambled): 2g net carbs
- Chicken & Eggs (Grilled Chicken and 2 Eggs – Scrambled): 3g net carbs
- Meat Lover’s Chicken & Eggs (2 Pieces of Grilled Chicken and 2 Eggs – Scrambled): 3g net carbs
- Pork Chops & Eggs (2 Grilled Pork Chops and 2 Eggs – Scrambled): 3g net carbs
- Meat Lover’s Pork Chops & Eggs (3 Grilled Pork Chops and 2 Eggs – Scrambled): 3g net carbs
If the food seems too boring, you may add a serving of sliced tomatoes, which adds 1g net carbs to your meal.
Omelet Breakfasts
If you can’t stand the taste of scrambled eggs, welcome to the world of Omelet! I personally feel omelet is the best way to eat eggs because it leaves so much room for creativity!
Unfortunately, its flexibility also leaves scope for a major keto disaster! Adding a slice of bread will skyrocket the carb count in your so-called “healthy breakfast”.
For a keto-friendly omelet at Waffle House, you’ve got to ditch the toast, grits, and hashbrowns.
Here’s the carb count for each omelet variant:
Remember, no toast, grits, or hashbrowns
- Cheese Omelet Breakfast (2 Egg Cheese Omelet): 3g net carbs
- Ham & Cheese Omelet Breakfast (2 Egg Ham & Cheese Omelet): 5g net carbs
- Cheesesteak Omelet Breakfast (2 Egg Cheesesteak Omelet): 3g net carbs
- Fiesta Omelet Breakfast (2 Egg Fiesta Omelet): 12g net carbs (Not keto-friendly!)
Luckily, Waffle House allows you to build your own 2-egg breakfast with plenty of keto-friendly toppings!
Low Carb Meats & Add-Ons for Omelet
- Bacon: 0 carbs
- Sausage: 0 carbs
- Grilled chicken: 0 net carbs
- Cheesesteak: 0 carbs
- Melted American Cheese: 1g net carbs
- Hickory Smoked Ham: 2g net carbs
- Grilled Tomatoes: 2g net carbs
- Jalapeno Peppers: 2g net carbs
Also Read: Black Bear Diner Keto Options
Salads
Finally, we have come to the safest food option out there! Salads are a keto savior when you are dining at a new place and don’t just want to sit there staring at your pals.
Waffle House offers two types of salads:
- Garden Salad: 5g net carbs
- Grilled Chicken Salad: 5g net carbs
However, you may ask them for a customized salad and they’ll be (probably) happy to comply.
Follow these best strategies for a keto-friendly salad at Waffle House:
- Stick with leafy greens like lettuce, broccoli, kale, asparagus, etc. That means no tomatoes, onions, or mushrooms.
- Ditch those croutons.
- Feel free to throw in some melted American cheese (it has zero carbs!)
- Use sausage, bacon, chicken, or Country Ham to make your keto salad more filling.
- Do not fall for Bert’s Chili topping. It has a whopping 6g of net carbs for such a tiny quantity!
Beverages
What’s better than the good ol’ water?
If you really want a keto-friendly beverage at Waffle House, stick to these options:
- Coffee: 1g net carb
- Dark Roast Coffee: 1g net carb
- Coffee- Decaf: 1g net carb
- Diet Coke: (Really? You doubting its carb-less-ness?)
- Unsweetened Ice Tea: 0 carbs
Tip: Always carry a small sachet of Stevia/Swerve to sweeten your sugar-free beverages.
Is Waffle House Chili Keto?
Chili is a classic (and spicy!) blend of beans and tomatoes, both of which are jam-packed with carbs. As a result, chili gets a bad rep in the keto community.
The only keto-friendly chili is the one you make yourself!
Never trust a store-bought Chili or the ones you find at restaurants. First, you really don’t know how much ketchup is going in there (which has a ton of sugar).
Secondly, companies add a lot of dirt-cheap fillers which quickly inflate the portion sizes. Sadly, they also add a bulk of sugar to your Chili.
Here’s the carb count for each chili option at Waffle House:
- Regular Bert’s Chili™: 11g net carbs
- Large Bert’s Chili™: 18g net carbs
- Bert’s Chili™ as a topping: 6g net carbs
Even the smallest serving (topping) isn’t worth your precious carbs on the keto diet.
Major Keto BLUNDERS To AVOID at Waffle House
You now have a fair idea of all the keto-friendly options at Waffle House. But half information is often considered dangerous!
Here are some of the worst choices that can quickly throw you out of ketosis:
Hashbrowns
Hashbrowns are the least keto-friendly food on the planet, having potato as their prime ingredient!
They are made with finely chopped potatoes which are further fried until golden brown. A single serving of Waffle House Hashbrowns contains 59 grams of carbs.
Waffles
No, their waffles aren’t made with almond flour.
But instead, they use highly processed white flour to churn out those smooth, fluffy, yet crispy waffles. A single serving contains 55 grams of carbs.
I know it sounds horrendous to visit a Waffle House and not eat a waffle! But that’s the only way to keep rocking ketosis.
Biscuits
Biscuit is a staple breakfast item with a soft and crumbly texture. As delicious as it tastes, we keto-ers are better off without it!
A single serving of grilled biscuits contains 34 grams of carbs.
Waffle House Classic Dinners
The pre-set dinners from Waffle House comes with:
- Your choice of meat.
- A slice of toast
- Hashbrowns
- And a blend of melted cheese and sauteed onions.
Each classic dinner on average contains 55g of carbs!
Conclusion
So is Waffle House keto-friendly?
Waffle House has plenty of keto-friendly options and they aren’t just limited to plain and simple eggs! Meat options like bacon, sausage, and Country ham hardly contain any carbs at all.
Plus, they’ve also got melted American cheese to please your taste buds!
Follow the guidelines mentioned above and you are well on your way to a delicious low-carb meal!
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