A few weeks ago on Facebook, something strange happened in the keto groups. Suddenly, everyone was talking about “chaffles”, miniature waffles made from egg and cheese, made in a special miniature waffle iron that people were buying for $10 on Amazon. One person who worked at Bed, Bath, and Beyond had to attend a special training to learn about the features of the waffle maker after they experienced an “unexplained increase in sales”. Never underestimate the power of keto people finding a new fake bread source.
And to be fair, chaffles are pretty awesome, both in their utter simplicity as well as their usefulness and versatility. Recipes for chaffles are multiplying like tribbles all over the internet. I started out slow, just making a bacon and egg breakfast sandwich, but after that I was hooked. I have about a billion ideas for chaffle recipes swirling around in my head. I made two different chaffle recipes yesterday. I’ll be making another one tonight. I just came up with #4 today and will likely be giving that one a try this weekend. I might, just maybe, have a bit of a chaffle problem. I might need a chafflevention.
Know what else I’m addicted to? Hollandaise sauce. I’ve been known to drink it out of the container I make it in. No joke. I’m gross. I’m the only one in the house who likes it, and I hate seeing it go bad, you know? So it becomes a beverage. Don’t you dare judge me. It only made sense to try eggs Benedict with chaffles instead of English muffins. Honestly, can you think of anything more keto than butter, eggs, cheese, more eggs, even more eggs, and ham? I can’t.
This recipe has a few steps to it, but none are that difficult. I’ll start with the hollandaise. Making this the old-fashioned way is an enormous pain in the ass, not gonna lie. Half the time you’ll end up with really lemony scrambled egg butter. The key to easy hollandaise sauce that’s done in about five minutes without having to drag out a double boiler and stress about how hot it gets? An immersion blender, otherwise known as a stick blender. This is the one I use, but if you order a different one, just make sure it comes with a tapered cup for blending. You can make mayonnaise and salad dressings with it, and it makes pureed soups like my Loaded Faked Potato Soup an absolute breeze. This is one of those kitchen appliances that gets a ton of work in my house, and it doesn’t take up much space at all. If you don’t have one yet, get one. It’s a necessity.
To make the hollandaise, put three egg yolks and a tablespoon of lemon juice in the bottom of the cup that came with your immersion blender. Throw in a pinch or two of salt, and either a quarter teaspoon of dijon mustard or a dash or two of hot sauce if you’d like a little zip. Melt a stick of butter (1/2 cup) in the microwave, let it cool for a couple of minutes (the perfect time to start preheating your Dash and putting the water in your egg poacher pan to boil), then carefully pour it on top of the egg yolks in the blender cup. Put your blender down to the bottom of the cup and pulse it. You should see little creamy clouds of egg yolks emulsified with butter start to billow up from the bottom. Keep pulsing, and as it gets more and more emulsified you can start to lift the blender from the bottom while you’re pulsing. Eventually all the butter and egg yolks will be incorporated together into a thick and creamy sauce. I’ll put a video up at some point so you can see what this looks like, because it’s kind of hard to describe. You should be blending for less than a minute total.
The chaffles and eggs can be started at the same time. When I posted the picture of the finished product on Facebook, one of the things I heard the most was “How did you get your poached eggs so perfect?” I’ll fully admit it, I’m a cheater. I use this egg poacher pan, which makes perfectly-shaped poached eggs every time. You fill the bottom of the pan with water, heat it to boiling, then pop the eggs in the non-stick cups and put the lid back on. About four minutes later you get perfect poached eggs with runny middles. And this is about how long it takes to make a couple of chaffles. For two chaffles, beat one egg in a bowl and put it aside. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar directly onto the waffle plates, then pour half the egg (about a tablespoon and half) onto the cheese, then put another tablespoon of cheese on top. Close the waffle iron and cook it for about two minutes. Open it gently and be careful with the steam. If it’s golden brown, it’s done. Remove it gently with a fork, then repeat for the second chaffle. If you want, stick the Canadian bacon in the Dash when you’re done–it’ll do a great job of heating that up too. To assemble, put a piece of Canadian bacon on each chaffle, top with a poached egg, and pour a tablespoon or two of hollandaise on top of each one. Serve with black coffee, and if you find a keto mimosa recipe, let me know!
Chaffles Benedict
Equipment
- Dash mini-waffle iron
- Immersion blender
- Egg poacher pan
Ingredients
For the Hollandaise Sauce
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 pinches Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp dijon mustard or hot sauce optional
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter
For the Chaffles Benedict
- 12 large eggs divided
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 8 slices Canadian bacon
Instructions
For the Hollandaise Sauce
- Put the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and optional dijon mustard or hot sauce into the bottom of the cup that came with your immersion blender.
- Melt the butter in a separate container in the microwave, then allow it to cool for a couple of minutes. Pour the butter over the egg yolks.
- Put the head of the immersion blender in the bottom of the cup and pulse it. You should see the bottom of the mixture begin to become cloudy and pale yellow. As you continue to pulse, the cloudy layer should begin to rise up to the surface. Gently rock and lift the head of the blender as you continue to pulse. Eventually, when the mixture is mostly emulsified, you can lift the head of the blender all the way to the surface to finish the sauce. It should be thick and creamy with no chunks, and should easily coat a spoon without running.
For the Chaffles
- Heat up the waffle iron. Pour water in the bottom of your egg poacher pan and put it over medium-high heat.
- Beat 4 of the eggs in a small bowl. Reserve the remaining eggs for poaching.
- Sprinkle a tablespoon of cheese onto the bottom of the hot waffle iron. Add about a tablespoon and a half of the beaten eggs, being careful not to overfill, then sprinkle another tablespoon of cheese on top. Close the waffle iron and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the waffle and repeat for all remaining egg and cheese. You should end up with 8 chaffles. Keep the finished ones in the oven on warm.
- Fry the Canadian bacon in a frying pan, heat in the microwave, or heat two at a time in the waffle iron.
- To poach the eggs, crack them directly into the cups and cook until the exterior is just set, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. To assemble, place a slice of Canadian bacon on each chaffle, then top with a poached egg and Hollandaise. Sprinkle with pepper and serve immediately.
- Macros per serving: 601 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 34 grams protein, 51 grams fat.
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