Most of you already know I’m a big fan of savory food, so if you are too – you’ll definitely appreciate this new found favorite of mine! Now, you may be thinking this sounds just a tad too decadent, but it is definitely worth the time it takes to make! The crispy cauliflower waffle is a fantastic counter-part to the sweet and salty ground beef and bacon mixture. The cheese on top is just like the icing on a cake – it has to be there and you know it’s all the much better for being so.
I will be the first to say that this meal is pretty calorie dense. If your macros allow for it (which luckily mine do), you can eat an entire waffle for yourself and not even feel bad about it. If you keep up with the website, you also know that I don’t condone a daily snacking habit – so your macros should definitely allow for a meal like this if you’re looking to eat the entire waffle (which is a very generous portion).
On a side note, over the last few months I’ve become pretty acquainted with cauliflower crumbles. They’re convenient for me: I can rice them extremely quickly to cook right away, I can add them to eggs or other quick dishes to get a really nice flavor, texture, and a vegetable into my meal. Overall, I recommend them – they’re not Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower, but that stuff seems to be sold out just about every time you go.
Yields 2 half waffle servings of BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Waffles
The Preparation
Waffles:
- 1 1/2 ounces cheddar cheese
- 105 grams cauliflower, riced
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 large egg
- 4 tablespoons almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
Topping:
- 4 ounces bacon
- 4 ounces ground beef (70/30)
- 4 tablespoons low-carb bbq sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
The Execution
1. Shred up 3 oz. worth of cheddar cheese. Half will go into the waffle and half will go on top, so make sure you keep it to the side. Grating your cheese (either by hand or in a food processor) is always a good idea as it keeps the carb counts down as well!
2. Measure out the cauliflower crumbles over a scale if you’re not comfortable using a cup. It’s about 125g.
3. Mix in half of the cheddar cheese. Then mix in all of the Parmesan cheese, eggs, almond flour, and spices. Set aside for the time being.
4. Slice bacon into thin strips and pan fry over medium-high heat.
5. Once the bacon is partially cooked, add in the beef. I like the let the beef and bacon get pretty over-cooked, to the point where it’s got nice crispy bits all over. This is to counter the softer inside of the waffle. If you prefer a more rare texture to the beef, make sure you add it in only two minutes or so before the bacon is done cooking.
6. Add any excess grease from the pan into the waffle mixture that you have set aside.
7. Immersion blend the waffle mixture into a thick paste.
8. Add half of the mixture to your waffle iron and cook until it’s crisp. Keep in mind that cauliflower waffles tend to take a little bit longer to cook (there’s much more moisture). A good rule of thumb to use is that the waffle is finished once there is little to no steam coming from the waffle iron. Repeat for the second waffle.
9. While the waffles are cooking, add in the Sugar-free BBQ Sauce to the bacon and ground beef mixture in the pan.
10. Assemble the waffles together by adding half of the ground beef mixture and half of the remaining cheddar cheese to the top of the waffle.
11. Broil for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted over the top.
12. Serve immidiately. Feel free to slice up a green onion while the pizzas are broiling to sprinkle over the top.
This makes a total of 4 servings of BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Waffles. Each serving comes out to be 440 calories, 36.2g fats, 3.5g net carbs, and 23.4g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 1 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese | 172 | 14.2 | 1.3 | 0 | 1.3 | 9.7 |
| 105 gram cauliflower | 24 | 0.5 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| 3 tablespoon parmesan cheese | 81 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 7.2 |
| 2 large egg | 157 | 10.5 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 13.8 |
| 4 tablespoon almond flour | 162 | 14 | 6.2 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 5.9 |
| 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder | 3 | 0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon onion powder | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 ounce bacon | 604 | 52.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30.2 |
| 4 ounce ground beef (70/30) | 376 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.3 |
| 4 tablespoon low-carb bbq sauce | 23 | 0 | 4.6 | 0 | 4.6 | 0 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese | 172 | 14.2 | 1.3 | 0 | 1.3 | 9.7 |
| Totals | 1776 | 145.6 | 20.3 | 6.2 | 14 | 95 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 444 | 36.4 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 23.7 |

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Waffles
Ingredients
Waffles:
- 1 ½ ounce cheddar cheese
- 105 gram cauliflower riced
- 3 tablespoon parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 large egg
- 4 tablespoon almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Topping:
- 4 ounce bacon
- 4 ounce ground beef (70/30)
- 4 tablespoon low-carb bbq sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ½ ounce cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Slice the bacon into thin strips and pan fry over medium-high heat. Once the bacon is partially cooked, add in the beef and cook until crispy.
- Shred the cheddar cheese by hand or in a food processor. Set aside. Measure out the cauliflower crumbles using a scale or measuring cup. Mix in half of the cheddar cheese. Next, add the parmesan, eggs, almond flour, and spices. Set aside.
- Add any excess grease from the pan into the waffle mixture. Using an immersion blender, blend the waffle mixture into a thick paste.
- Add half of the mixture to the waffle iron and cook until crisp. Keep in mind that cauliflower waffles tend to take a little bit longer to cook (there's much more moisture). A good rule of thumb to use is that the waffle is finished once there is little to no steam coming from the waffle iron. Repeat for the remaining waffles.
- While the waffles are cooking, add the sugar-free BBQ sauce to the bacon and ground beef mixture in the pan. Season well.
- Assemble the waffles with the ground beef mixture and shredded cheese on top. Broil for 1–2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve hot and enjoy!




















What are cauliflower crumbles? How do you make them? Or do you only buy them? No trader Joe’s near me.
You can find them near the salad pre-mixes in Target. They’re from Green Giant. Alternatively, you can just rice normal cauliflower – I just find the crumbles really convenient.
I would love to make this for my sis-in-law and her girls! They are all lactose intolerant, however. Is the cheese that’s in the waffle there for flavor or structure as well?? Just wondering what to use in place.
It’s there for structure as well; though if you use aged cheeses, you should be okay. Generally speaking aged cheese doesn’t have lactose (or only trace amounts). Most people that are lactose intolerant don’t have a problem with it.
Hi, when you say four servings does that mean it makes four separate waffles with toppings? Thanks!
No, it would be half of a waffle; though if your macros allow for it, you could have 1 full waffle. If you want 4 smaller servings, you could always add smaller amounts of batter to the waffle maker and make small waffles.
What do they mean with the serving ?? is serving means the whole waffle or only one piece which means the quarter of the waffle
One serving would be half a full waffle. If your macros allow for it, you could eat a full waffle, though.
Made this yesterday (just the waffle portion) and I’m topping it today with mozz cheese and some pepperoni! Cannot wait until lunch time!!!
Enjoy! If you ever get the chance, try the full recipe out, it’s delicious 🙂
Will the waffles store well? I would like to pre-make them and have them handy at meal time. Any suggestions?
For waffles, I like to just store the batter because they don’t take too long to cook. Though you could pre-make waffles with no toppings and just re-heat them in the oven under the broiler to get the crispiness back.
I tried this but it just fell apart in the waffle iron. I attempted pancake style and it fell apart too. Any suggestions???
It should cook and come out as one piece in the waffle iron. Is it possible to turn the setting up for the heat on your waffle iron? Possibly keeping them in longer (without opening it) will also help. A good rule of thumb with waffles is to cook it until very little or no steam is coming out of the waffle iron.
I appreciate the full breakdown of the nutrients. That way, if I want to tweak the recipe, I don’t have to refigure all the ingredients, just that one.
The Cauliflower Crumbles are supposed to be raw or cooked?
It shouldn’t matter. They’re small so they’ll cook in the waffle maker either way.
I did this in a pancake pan and added cheese, passata, mushrooms, quorn salami and jalapenos.Finished with Italian herbs. It was unbelievable! I will be doing this as often as possible.
That sounds amazing!
You are my favorite 🙂
Every recipe I’ve tried from you has been my “favorite”. I sense that with this, as well.
Aww, thank you so much Cheri!
Great recipe! Can you use grated cauliflower?
I think it would work fine, but since the shape of the cauliflower pieces would be different the texture of the waffle might change somewhat as well.
Can I use coconut flour? I’m allergic to almonds.
I don’t have a hand held blender like the on linked in your recipe. Can I use regular mixer? Or a blender?
im alil confused about serving size 4 r u saying one whole waffle with the 4 divides or the 4 slices of a waffle
Hi Vic, the recipe makes 2 waffles. Each serving will be half of a whole waffle (two slices.)
I don’t have a waffle maker, would it work if I tried to cook it on a frying pan?
I think you could make pancakes with the batter and then top as the rest of the recipe says. Please let me know how it goes!
Hey guys, I don’t know if i am missing something I the writing…but does the cauli have to be cooked?
I used raw cauliflower crumbles in this one. Raw cauliflower rice would work as well. It will cook the cauliflower in the waffle maker.
Has anyone tried this in a Dash mini waffle iron? I don’t have a full size one. How many would it make in a Dash?
I imagine it would be the same as a regular waffle iron, just that it would make more waffles and need to cook for a little less time per waffle.