Protein Sourdough Cottage Cheese Waffles

Craving a high-protein breakfast that doesn’t compromise on flavor? Look no further! This recipe for Protein Sourdough Cottage Cheese Waffles gives you everything you want: the perfect balance of crispy and fluffy, no added sugar, delivering a powerful 20g of protein per serving of two waffles from simple ingredients. They’re a fantastic way to use up sourdough discard and an ideal breakfast to meal prep for busy mornings, proving that healthy can be both easy and delicious.

 

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• Why You’ll Love This
• The Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Equipment Used
• How to Make this
• How To Store
• FAQ
• Other Recipes You Might Enjoy

Why You’ll Love This 

TL;DR

• Protein-Packed & Delicious: Get 20g of protein per serving of 2 waffles without the dry, chalky texture often found in high-protein recipes.
• Crispy & Fluffy: Enjoy waffles with a perfect balance of fluffy interiors and golden, crispy outsides.
• Simple Ingredients: Made with everyday ingredients like all-purpose flour, eggs, and cottage cheese—no exotic flours or specialty keto items needed.
• Perfect for Meal Prep: These waffles can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer for quick breakfasts all week.
• Sourdough Discard Hero: A fantastic way to use up your sourdough discard, adding a rich, tangy flavor, but it’s also easy to make without it.

Perfectly Crisp and Fluffy

I have probably said this a few times while making a new waffle recipe, but really, each of them got better and better, until I arrived at these cottage cheese protein waffles that I made with sourdough discard. They have that just right combo of super fluffy insides to the crispy outsides owed to coconut oil in the batter.

20g Protein Per Serving, Yet Never Dry

Two classic rectangular waffles give you about 20g protein, making this a fabulous healthy breakfast option. Yet there is none of the dryness you’d usually associate with high protein waffles, as the cottage cheese balances the waffle dough in a similar way that adding yoghurt to muffins does. Biting into one, you just feel super silky smoothness.

Note: In the nutrition calculation I initially used 1 waffle as serving, as this makes 6 waffles, hence it giving 9.9g protein (per waffle). But no one just eats one waffle. Right? Or is that just me?
So, to minimize confusion I adapted the nutrition label to now reflect the serving size of 2 waffles. This still depends on the size of your waffles of course, as waffle makers vary wildly in size and thickness.

No Added Sugar

Usually you’d add a little maple syrup or sugar to a waffle batter, but the sweetener from protein powder means, you can simply leave out any additional sugar and these easy protein waffles come out tasting just right, with a hint of sweetness to them.

Rise Without Baking Soda

Funny enough, one time I accidentally left out the baking soda from the base recipe I was using when making these cottage cheese waffles. And much to my surprise they rose beautifully and got a more even golden browning than when I had used soda. Ever since I don’t add any raising agents apart from the natural yeast in the sourdough to them.

Now, I mix mine using a blender, adding a good bit of air to the batter, which might have something to do with it. But since you need one to get the cottage cheese smooth anyway, I haven’t really tried it without.

Great Use For Sourdough Discard

If you have a sourdough starter, this is the perfect Sourdough discard waffle recipe to use it up. It adds depth of flavor, a hint of tang and that addictiveness only sourdough recipes have. Give it a try!

No sourdough discard? No worries! Simply replace it with ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup milk.

Fabulous for Meal Prep

You can make these ahead in all sorts of ways from just mixing the batter in the evening and enjoying a little bit of overnight fermentation benefits or baking them on a Sunday and enjoying toasted throughout the week either from the fridge or even from frozen. I always feel waffles are even better after toasting, as they get a crispier exterior.

Ingredients You Probably Have at Home

This recipe uses simple AP flour, eggs, cottage cheese and whatever protein powder you have at home. (Whey, Casein, Spent Barley all work well.) No exotic types of flour or keto ingredients. Just amazing waffles with all the protein you could want.

Ingredient Notes

As always I just mention some notable ingredients as the full list with needed amounts is in the recipe card.

• Cottage Cheese – This is what gives this recipe it’s characteristic high protein content and super silky feel. I use the full fat version which has about 4% of fat. I feel it works best to give the perfect mouthfeel and balance the protein powder, which can otherwise lead to dry waffles.
• Sourdough Discard – I tend to use discard that was fed within 2-3 days before using. You can use older discard, but if you do add 1-2 tbsp of maple syrup to balance out the tangy flavor. Same goes if you allow them to ferment overnight before baking. (Which is a fabulous idea to get you more bang for your buck from the protein, as explained in my post on the topic.)
• Protein Powder – My all-time favorite is MyProtein Whey Concentrate vanilla, as it’s so versatile. This is neither affiliated nor sponsored. Just the powder I found to taste best after trying a fair few. If you never found one you actually enjoy, give this one a try.
• All Purpose Flour – The simplest flour is best here, as you wouldn’t want a strong gluten development like from bread flour. Self-raising would work too, and lead to even fluffier waffles. Though I never feel it’s needed with these.
• Coconut Oil – I do love the coconutty flavor in my waffles and pancakes, and it adds the perfect crispy exterior to these healthy sourdough waffles.

A Note On Salt

Or the lack thereof in this recipe:
Cottage cheese has usually already salt added to it, so I found I don’t need any additional salt.
Check the ingredients of yours or have a taste. If yours has no salt, you might want to add a pinch for better flavor.

substitutions

• Cottage Cheese – Low fat (about 4% not 0%) Greek yoghurt would work very similar, if with a little less protein. So would vegan low fat Greek yoghurt.
• Protein Powder – A mix of casein and whey works fabulous in most baking. Pure casein is good too, but a little more drying, so add a tablespoon of milk if you use it.
• For a vegan version, my best baking experience has been with spent barley protein powder, which adds a stunning malty flavor too. Use 1 tbsp less cottage cheese for that swap.
• Personally I have not used the classic vegan pea protein or similar, as I find it adds a chalky feel to anything it touches, which I just can’t enjoy. If you want to try it, I would add at least 1 tbsp plant milk to the batter to make up for it’s very absorbent nature.
• Sourdough Discard – If you don’t have sourdough starter or discard, here is a post on how to make your own. If you’d rather make the waffles without sourdough, use 1/4 more flour & 1/4 cup milk or water. You might have to add 1 tsp baking soda for perfect rise without sourdough.
• Flour – A gluten free flour mix will work, though might lead to slightly denser waffles. If you do use it, make sure to add 1 tsp baking soda to the batter.
• You can however absolutely replace 1/3 cup of the flour with fine whole wheat flour if you like. I did that in most of my other waffles recipes (like the Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles ) and it adds a lovely nutty flavor. Plus a little more nutrition.
• Coconut Oil – Melted butter or vegan butter work in its place. So does a mild olive oil or avocado oil. Just make sure the flavor of the oil you are using is fairly neutral.

Toppings

These are what takes your waffles over the…well…top. Excuse the pun. You can get as creative as you like!
Here are some of my favorites:

• I love my waffles with cottage cheese dusted with icing sugar and a blueberry in every single square, because what else would they be for?
• Ah yes, for holding copious amount of maple syrup and butter, right?
• You can also up the protein even further by mixing a cup of fat free Greek yoghurt with a scoop of your favorite protein powder and dollop this “Protein pudding” on top of your waffles. (There, you got a bonus protein pudding recipe included. 😉)
• Go wild with the fruits. I love them with strawberries, cherries, plums, peach, or pears. Use whatever you have at home and love.
• OK, I have a confession to make: My secret indulgence are waffles (or pancakes) with slightly melted Nutella, sliced banana and, for the adult version, if I have them as dessert or dinner (which I often do! Who said you can have waffles only for breakfast?) a little bit of advocaat drizzled over. So indulgent!
• Of course you could also go with some warmed almond butter and honey. And while you are at it, sprinkle some flaked almonds on top for crunch.
• And my latest obsession: Poppy seed sugar (simply process a few tablespoons of poppy seeds and some sugar in spice grinder or food processor until fine) sprinkled over. That one would be particularly good with cherries.

Variations

• Add some berries right into the batter. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries all work nicely.
• Use Chocolate Chips and maybe swap the vanilla to chocolate protein powder for a double choc version.
• Chop an apple into small pieces and include 2 tsp cinnamon for cinnamon-apple waffles.
• Use unflavored protein powder and add in a handful of grated cheese for savory waffles. Some crispy bacon bits wouldn’t go amiss either. Come to think of it…that would be really nice with a bit of sweetcorn added in.
• Swap one of the eggs out for a mashed banana for banana cottage cheese waffles.
• Try out my fall waffles with pumpkin puree for a different take on protein waffles.

Equipment Used

• Blender – I love my Vitamix* for this recipe as it blends both the cottage cheese and the waffle batter to smooth perfection. I realise most recipes say to stir in the flour by hand, to avoid overmixing, but I found a very brief blitz works just fine.
• Waffle Maker* – Mine is from Breville. The cheaper version to the linked one, which for some weird reason is not available in the US.
• Cookie Scoop* – This is entirely optional but super helpful when you try to get the right portion for your waffle maker without a mess. Mine works perfect with the biggest scoop, which holds about 1/3 cup.

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How to Make this

Blend The Ingredients

• Start by adding eggs, cottage cheese, vanilla, protein powder, and melted, cooled coconut oil to your blender. Blend until smooth.
• Drop in the sourdough discard and flour and briefly blend again.
• Allow to stand for a few minutes (or overnight if you want to get ahead for breakfast) while you pre-heat your waffle maker.

Bake Your Cottage Cheese Protein Waffles

• Lightly brush the grid of your waffle maker with a little coconut oil.
• Using your cookie scoop or a measuring cup, fill your waffle maker with batter according to the device instructions.

• These sourdough discard waffles should come out lovely and golden, with the perfect crisp edges when they are done.
• Store the ready baked ones on a plate lined with a paper towel while you bake the rest, so they don’t get soggy from condensation.
• Enjoy with your favorite toppings and a hot cuppa (or cold, if that’s more your thing).

Tips for Perfect Waffles Every Time

• Since there are lots of different waffle makers out there, please follow your specific instructions of yours for the amount and how long to bake them.
• Mine takes about 7-8 minutes per 2x 1/3 cup batter waffles.
• A good indicator is watching the steam. A lot of steam coming out at the sides means your waffle still needs time. If the steaming is nearly gone, it should be ready.
• Once your waffle is nearly baked, you can open the top of the waffle maker and check. Some don’t bake evenly, so it can be a good idea to flip the waffle once.
• Take note of how long your preferred browning takes, then set an alarm for it, so you can make your coffee and toppings while your waffles are baking.
• Apply a little bit of oil after each waffle, so nothing sticks.
• To avoid a drippy mess, start by using a little less batter rather than too much. It expands a fair bit. You can always add a little more with the next waffle, if it didn’t fill the grid as you wanted.

Watch The Video

How To Store

Protein Sourdough Cottage Cheese Waffles keep fresh in an airtight container or freezer bag in the fridge for up to 4 days.

They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Ideally lying flat, so they don’t bend out of shape.

I love these High-protein waffles toasted even more than fresh, as they crisp up so nicely! You can toast them right from the freezer, making them the perfect meal prep staple.

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

And if you enjoyed this recipe, please consider rating, sharing, or leaving a comment – your feedback truly helps my blog grow!

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