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
A classic Eggs Benedict using cheesy mini-waffles instead of English muffins.
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.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Any embedded link to a product earns me a portion of the purchase price if you click and buy it.
My husband and I got married in Jamaica, and even before that, I had a soft spot for Jamaican food. I love the blend of spices, and the heat doesn’t drown out the flavor, it enhances it. When we were down there, I ate jerk chicken or pork almost every day, and eventually when I feel like making it again, I’ll also post my jerk pork recipe. But today is something different.
This recipe is inspired by one I found on a sadly now-defunct recipe website called Jamaican It Paleo several years ago. It was a delightfully spicy chicken curry stew with greens and sweet potatoes, and while it took forever to make, I ate it frequently. Obviously, once I switched over to keto, that stew became off-limits because of the sweet potato. I always meant to try to recreate it without the sweet potato, but I haven’t gotten around to it until now.
There are several keys to this recipe that I’ll mention in here. The first is the Jamaican curry spice. This is not the same as regular curry powder, so don’t substitute that. I am lucky to have a local spice market that carries it, so I just use that. If you buy yours, just make sure the mix doesn’t contain added sugar! If you can’t find it, there are multiple recipes online. This one seems to be pretty standard. All of the ingredients except for the fenugreek can usually be found in your local grocery store. The fenugreek can easily be found in an Indian grocery, as it’s frequently used in Indian food as well. You’ll need 1/4 cup of the spice blend for this recipe. The other key is what you do with it. Most recipes just call for adding the spices in after the meat cooks. You’ll want to coat the meat with it and let it sit and marinate for at least a couple of hours. The longer you let it sit, the more flavorful your end product will be.
So now that you know the crucial deets, let’s get started on the actual recipe. Cube 3 pounds of chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks, then put it in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and toss in 1/4 cup of Jamaican curry powder. Make sure all the pieces are coated, and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. When you’re ready to cook it, set your Instant Pot to saute and add 2 tablespoons of avocado or coconut oil. You’ll want to cook the chicken in two or three batches. They don’t need to get brown and crusty, they just need to cook part-way and toast the spices. Stir them frequently, as the batches might be large enough that not every piece touches the bottom of the Instant Pot very well. Each batch should take about 6-7 minutes max.
The first batch of spiced chicken cooking in the Instant Pot.
While the first batch is cooking, chop half a medium onion, and, using gloves, remove the stem and seeds of one Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper and mince it finely. If you have ventilation in your kitchen, turn it on, and if not, open a window. Remove the first batch of chicken, add two more tablespoons of oil, and put in the second batch of chicken along with the onion and pepper. When it’s close to done, add a tablespoon of garlic and saute for another minute, then stir in a cup of chicken broth and scrape up all the lovely brown spices from the bottom of the pot. Add a can of coconut milk and set the pot for the Soup setting, or for about 30 minutes if your pressure cooker doesn’t have that particular setting. Allow for ten minutes of natural release, then use the quick release after that.
During the ten minutes of natural release, tear a bunch of collard greens into bite size pieces, making sure to remove the thick stems, then wash them in a salad spinner. If you can find callaloo, use it instead of the collard greens, as it’s much more authentic. I didn’t feel like hunting it down, so collard greens it was. Once the Instant Pot is able to be opened, add the collard greens to the chicken, stir them to wilt, then put the lid back on and pressure cook for another 5 minutes. Use the quick release, add up to two teaspoons of salt, and you have your stew. Serve it on its own or over cauliflower rice. Be careful dishing it up, especially if you have white countertops like I do, because the turmeric in the curry powder can stain. For the non-keto folks in your life, this would be great over mashed sweet potatoes or with some fried ripe plantains. This is one of those meals that ends up better after it sits overnight, so it’s perfect for meal-prep.
Instant Pot Jamaican Chicken Curry
A keto Jamaican stew made in the Instant Pot, with healthy leafy greens.
3poundsboneless, skinless chicken thighscut into bite-sized pieces
1/4cupJamaican curry powdersee notes above
1/2mediumonionchopped
1Scotch bonnet or habanero pepperstemmed, seeded, and minced
1tbspminced garlic
1cupchicken broth
1canfull-fat coconut milk
1bunchcollard greens or callaloo
2tspsalt
Instructions
Cut up the chicken thighs and put the pieces in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Add the curry powder and toss the chicken to make sure all the pieces are coated. Put the chicken in the fridge for at least two hours to marinate.
Set your Instant Pot to saute and add two tablespoons of avocado or coconut oil. Put 1/3 to 1/2 of the chicken in the pot and saute, turning frequently, for about 6-7 minutes. Remove from pot and add two more tablespoons of oil, then add the remaining chicken along with the chopped onion and pepper. Repeat, then add the garlic and saute for about a minute.
When the final batch of chicken is done, return the first batch to the pot, then add the chicken broth. Stir to scrape up the toasted spices from the bottom of the pot. When that's complete, stir in a can of coconut milk. Set the Instant Pot on the Soup setting, or for 30 minutes on high pressure. When the timer is finished, wait ten minutes, then use the quick release method.
During the ten minutes of natural release, remove the collard green leaves from the thick center stem and tear them into tiny pieces. Rinse them in a salad spinner. Once you've opened the Instant Pot, put in the collard greens, stir them a bit so they begin to wilt, and then put the lid back on and pressure cook for another five minutes. Use quick release to open the cooker again and add the salt, being careful to taste after the first teaspoon to see if you need more. Serve by itself or over cauliflower rice.
Macros per serving: 463 calories, 7 grams net carbs, 33 grams protein, 33 grams fat.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Any embedded link to a product earns me a portion of the purchase price if you click and buy it.
First off, I apologize for how awful this recipe looks. It’s damn near impossible to photograph. But because I really wanted to share this recipe, I just gave up trying to make it look presentable and took a quick snapshot of it directly from my lunch container. I’m sure if I took the time to stage it properly, I might have been able to improve it slightly, but the weather was gorgeous on Sunday and my neighbor invited us over to his pool, and well, priorities.
I should warn you that this soup’s flavor is based on a Cincinnati chili, not the traditional coney sauce, although they’re fairly close. For those of you who have never heard of Cincinnati chili, the first thing I should probably tell you is that it bears only the slightest resemblance to any sort of chili you might be used to. It’s more of a meat sauce than anything else. They serve it over spaghetti, usually, or on hot dogs. If you put cheddar cheese on top, it’s called a 3-way. Add beans or onions, it’s a 4-way. Add all of the above, and it’s a 5-way. Since we don’t eat beans, we’re having this soup as a 4-way with a cheese and onion garnish.
Start off by putting your Instant Pot on the Saute setting and adding 2 tablespoons of avocado oil.
Finely mince half an onion, and chop a package of 8 hot dogs into bite-sized chunks. I used Nathan’s hot dogs for this, because they’re what’s used in the classic Coney dog, and also they’re the only hot dogs my kids will eat, so they’re all I keep around. You might be able to find a lower-carb dog, and feel free to use those if you do. The Nathan’s have 1 gram of carbs per dog. Put the dogs and onions into the pot and saute until the onions turn translucent.
While that’s cooking, put together your spice blend. In a small bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons of chili powder, a tablespoon and a half of ground cumin, a rounded teaspoon of oregano, a rounded teaspoon of cinnamon, a half teaspoon of ground allspice, and a quarter teaspoon of ground cloves. Finally, stir in the “secret ingredient”, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. The brand I linked to, Guittard, is a very good low-carb variety, with only 1 gram of net carbs per tablespoon. Don’t put any salt and pepper in this, because you’ll want to adjust for that later. Some hot dog varieties are saltier than others, so you’ll want to taste it and season once it’s cooked.
When the onions are soft and translucent, add a tablespoon of minced garlic and saute for about a minute, then add the seasoning and toss it around to toast it for a minute or two. After that, pour in a can of tomato sauce and 4 cups of beef broth. I love these resealable containers, because if you’re making a recipe that calls for a smaller amount, you can just pop the cap back on and store it in the fridge for later. For this recipe, though, you’ll use a whole one. Stir until the spices aren’t all clumped up anymore, then bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling, crumble in a pound and a half of 85/15 ground beef. That’s right, you don’t cook it first. It ends up with a softer texture and smaller pieces if you put it in directly. Stir it constantly to break up the chunks, and once there are no big chunks of beef left, put the lid on and switch to the Soup setting on your Instant Pot. If you’re using a different brand that doesn’t have a soup setting, set yours for 30 minutes. Once it’s done, do a manual release, then remove the lid once you can safely do so. Turn it to saute and stir in 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar until it’s melted. This should thicken the soup a bit. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve with a garnish of chopped onion, cheddar cheese, and if you’d like, about a teaspoon of mustard. Yellow is fine, but I really like to use the classic Stadium Mustard if I have it. My macros for this recipe don’t count garnishes, so make sure you count yours separately if you’re tracking.
Keto Instant Pot Coney Dog Soup
A keto soup made in the Instant Pot with classic Cincinnati chili flavors.
Turn your instant pot on the Saute setting and add the oil. Chop the hot dogs into bite-sized pieces and mince the onion. Add them to the Instant Pot and saute until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
While the hot dogs and onions cook, mix together the chili powder, cocoa powder, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, allspice, and cloves in a small bowl and set aside.
When the onions are cooked, add the garlic and saute for about a minute, then pour in the spices and toss to coat and toast the spices for a minute more. Pour in the broth and tomato sauce and bring to a boil, then crumble in the uncooked ground beef. Stir to break up the clumps of beef.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and set it for the soup setting (or, if using a different pressure cooker, set for 30 minutes on high). When the timer goes off, use a manual release, and remove the lid once it's safe to do so.
Set the pot for Saute again, then stir in the cheddar cheese until it's melted. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with shredded cheddar, chopped onion, and a bit of mustard before serving.
Macros per serving, not counting garnishes: 446 calories, 8 grams net carbs, 24 grams protein, 34 grams fat.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Any embedded link to a product earns me a portion of the purchase price if you click and buy it.
Recent Comments