I had the opportunity to go to my first proper Farmer’s Market last weekend – and wow, did it ever live up to my expectations! Garlic, peppers of all kinds and assortments (stuffed poblanos, anyone?), buffalo meat, eggs, sheep cheese, green beans, homemade soaps, fresh flowers, beautiful pumpkins, and… PURPLE CAULIFLOWER! I was super excited to find purple cauliflower as it’s just at the end of the season and I’ve been on a mission for it.
We decided to pick up the purple cauliflower and had fun experimenting with it – did you know it turns water green when steamed? My girlfriend made for us one of her specialty dishes – cauliwaffles! We had them two ways, the first breakfast was eggs benedict with prosciutto, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. The second morning was with a homemade smoked salmon dip – the waffles taste GREAT reheated in the oven, but are amazing cold too. Both dishes hit the spot on the cooler fall mornings we’re having now.
These things are perfectly crisp and all the different flavors of cheeses come through with each and every bite. These are also pretty “oops” proof – you can put them in the pan and forget them for a bit, and they’ll still turn out great – even after leaving them in for 10+ minutes, I’ve never had a problem with them sticking.
It really helps to have a belgian waffle maker that can flip because it helps distribute the heat evenly and cook it throughly when its upside down.
Yields 4 servings (halves) Cauliflower Breakfast Waffles
The Preparation
Cauliflower Breakfast Waffles:
- 160 grams cauliflower, grated
- 3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 3 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper, to taste
Eggs Benedict (Single Serving):
- 2 large egg
- 2 ounces prosciutto
- 2 tablespoons hollandaise sauce, such as Trader Joe's
Herbed Salmon Spread (Single Serving):
- 1.2 ounces smoked salmon
- 1 ounce cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 2 teaspoons fresh chives, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
The Execution
1. Get your fresh cauliflower and chives ready. Break down the cauliflower into florets so that you can easily grate by hand or in a food processor (with grating attachment).
2. Grate cauliflower and cheese using your food processor, then remove the bowl from the base.
3. Add chopped chives, 3 eggs, and seasoning to taste.
4. Heat belgian style waffle maker and when ready spoon cauliflower mixture into the waffle maker.
5. Let cook, flip, and cook on the other side. This is ~8-10 minutes.
6. Take your pick on what to top it with – you can have eggs benedict style with 2 poached eggs, 2 slices of prosciutto, and 2 tbsp. hollandaise sauce, OR —
7. You can make your own salmon spread (recipe up top) to create a delicious smokey and herbed flavored waffle for breakfast. Both fantastic and delicious in their own ways. Enjoy!
This makes a total of 4 servings of Cauliflower Breakfast Waffles. Each serving comes out to be 344 calories, 25.3g fats, 3.6g net carbs, and 24.3g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 160 gram cauliflower | 37 | 0.8 | 6.6 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| 3 tablespoon fresh chives | 3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese | 168 | 12.5 | 1.2 | 0 | 1.2 | 12.4 |
| 1/4 cup parmesan cheese | 108 | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9.6 |
| 1/2 cup cheddar cheese | 247 | 20.4 | 1.9 | 0 | 1.9 | 14 |
| 3 large egg | 236 | 15.7 | 1.2 | 0 | 1.2 | 20.7 |
| 1/2 teaspoon onion powder | 4 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder | 5 | 0 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.3 |
| 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes | 1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 large egg | 157 | 10.5 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 13.8 |
| 2 ounce prosciutto | 111 | 4.7 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 15.8 |
| 2 tablespoon hollandaise sauce | 165 | 17.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.6 |
| 1.2 ounce smoked salmon | 40 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 |
| 1 ounce cream cheese | 97 | 9.6 | 1.2 | 0 | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| 1 tablespoon sour cream | 28 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| 2 teaspoon fresh chives | 1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon dried dill | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 1/8 teaspoon onion powder | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Totals | 1412 | 103.4 | 19.4 | 4.8 | 14.6 | 100.2 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 353 | 25.9 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 25 |
Cauliflower Breakfast Waffles
Ingredients
Cauliflower Breakfast Waffles:
- 160 gram cauliflower grated
- 3 tablespoon fresh chives chopped
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese grated
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ½ cup cheddar cheese grated
- 3 large egg
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
Eggs Benedict (Single Serving):
- 2 large egg
- 2 ounce prosciutto
- 2 tablespoon hollandaise sauce such as Trader Joe's
Herbed Salmon Spread (Single Serving):
- 1.2 ounce smoked salmon
- 1 ounce cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 2 teaspoon fresh chives chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Get out the fresh cauliflower and chives. Break the cauliflower into florets. Finely chop the chives.
- Grate the cauliflower and cheese using a food processor, and then remove the bowl from the base.
- Add the chopped chives, eggs, and seasonings. Mix well.
- Heat up a Belgian-style waffle maker and when it's ready, spoon the cauliflower mixture inside.
- Let cook, flip, and cook on the other side. This should take around 8–10 minutes.
- Make these eggs Benedict–style by adding poached eggs, prosciutto, and hollandaise sauce; OR:
- Mix the ingredients for the salmon spread to create a deliciously smoky, herby breakfast waffle. Both variations taste delicious. Enjoy!
Sounds delicious! Would it work without the cheese? I can’t have dairy!
Unfortunately it wouldn’t work without the cheese. You’re welcome to use some of the other waffle recipes on the site that use a flour alternative and eggs, though.
Doesn’t the eggs benedict have sugar in it?
Why would it? It’s just egg and hollandaise sauce. I got the sauce from Trader Joes, but even if you made it from scratch it would have minimal amounts of carbs in (egg yolks, butter, lemon juice).
Ah yes! Thanks for the reply!
Sure thing 🙂
I just made what seems to be more like a cauliflower quiche. Tastes really good though. I don’t have a belgian waffle maker, just a regular. One thing that wasn’t clear is do you leave the lid up and only cook one side at a time? I ask because you say to cook one side and then flip it. I’m going to try again and use less egg maybe.
I close the waffle maker the entire time it’s cooking, I just had it open for photos. They should be crispy to the touch.
Does the cauliflower need to be precooked beforehand? I seen many recipes where you have to cook the cauliflower first! Thank you 🙂
No, it is raw. As long as you grate it, it should be in small enough chunks to cook in the waffle maker no problem 🙂
Incredible recipe! Thank you for sharing.
I was lazy and blended everything (following your order).
Had fried eggs, bacon and avacado on mine. Worked out really well
I also used allepo peppers for a bit more flavor and less spice.
This recipe is awesome. I’m trying it this week with a smoked salmon spread.