Chicken and Waffle Casserole (Macro Friendly)
What is a chicken and waffle casserole?
This chicken and waffles casserole recipe is a unique twist on the classic fried chicken soul food dish. Think an egg casserole with crispy chicken nuggets and store-bought waffles, mixed in a cheesy egg mixture and then baked to perfection. The result? One of your new favorite breakfast casseroles.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- This Chicken and Waffle Casserole is the perfect shareable dish.
- Simple ingredients and freezer waffles make it super easy to whip up.
- This brunch beauty is a unique twist on the classic but with 25g of protein per serving.
Too easy to be true with frozen chicken and waffles
The best thing (besides how good it is, obviously!) is the ease of making it. Microwaved frozen nuggets and toasted store-bought waffles are mixed together and sprinkled with maple syrup and honey. Then, you whip up an egg and cheese mixture and toss it over the chicken and waffles. Let it sit for an hour, bake to golden perfection, and devour. I use Tyson Air Fried Perfectly Crispy Chicken Nuggets and Kodiak Cakes Buttermilk and Vanilla Power Waffles for the added protein. No joke, the first time I made this chicken and waffle casserole it was gone faster than I could even blink.
Want to use homemade chicken and waffles?
If you’re feeling wild and want to make your chicken and waffle casserole recipe more homemade, I certainly won’t stop you! Make Belgian waffles from scratch or from a box according to package instructions in a waffle iron. I’d definitely suggest checking out my friend Matt’s new waffle mix with PEScience. Cut into 2-inch pieces before mixing with chicken. Make sure any homemade chicken strips you use are also cut into bit-size pieces before mixing the whole thing together.
Is this gluten and dairy-free
If you use gluten-free nuggets and waffles, this chicken and waffle casserole recipe will be gluten-free. Applegate makes a good gluten-free nugget that my kids go wild for. Dairy-free you would need to swap the milk and cheese. Sometimes dairy-free cheese melts a little differently so keep that in mind when swapping for a dairy-free version.
Can you prepare this ahead of time?
Sure can! You can prep this chicken and waffle casserole overnight, just cover it with foil, and let it sit in the fridge for hours or up to overnight before baking. As it sits the chicken and waffles will soak up the egg mixture.
Variations and Substitutions
- Waffles: I used Kodiak Cakes Buttermilk and Vanilla Power Waffles. Using store-bought waffles makes it super easy. Or check out the new waffle mix from PEScience which I love.
- Chicken Nuggets: I used air-fried Tyson chicken nuggets. Any variation on popcorn chicken or chicken tenders works great. You could also try it with my Air Fryer Blackened Chicken for a spicy low carb twist.
- Milk: any type of milk or dairy-free alternative will work
Ingredients:
These are the main ingredients for Chicken and Waffle Casserole. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list and instructions.
How to make this Chicken and Waffle Casserole Recipe (a visual step-by-step):
Step 1: Prep the baking dish, nuggets and waffles
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and generously spray a 9×13 large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, making sure to get the edges well so the casserole doesn’t stick. Microwave the frozen chicken for 1-2 minutes until slightly thawed just enough to chop into bite-sized pieces. Toast waffles and chop them into bite-sized waffle pieces (Image 1). I cut each into 16 squares.
Step 2: Prep chicken and waffle mixture
In a large bowl, combine waffles and chopped chicken. Drizzle with the maple syrup and honey and season with salt and pepper (image 2).
Toss to coat and transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish (image 3).
Step 3: Prep egg mixture
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until fully combined (image 4).
Add in the shredded cheese, chopped green onions, and chives (image 5). Stir until combined.
Step 4: Mix the waffle and egg mixture together
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the waffle and chicken mixture in the baking dish, making sure all the waffles are soaked and the cheese spreads into a single layer. Press the waffles and chicken into the egg mixture to coat (image 6).
Step 5: Bake casserole
Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the casserole is set (image 7). If the top of the casserole begins to brown too quickly, cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.
What to serve with this casserole
This chicken and waffle casserole recipe is great with a sprinkle of sliced scallions and fresh chives. Add a little more maple syrup to make it a little bit sweeter. My personal favorite though, is to add some sliced jalapeños or hot sauce for a little bit of heat.
Let’s chat about serving size ..
I prefer to simply cut into equal slices when it comes to sturdy bakes like this or for example my Egg White Quiche recipe. The reason is I would rather be off by 5 grams than ruin the entire dish by digging for a couple of grams here and there .. but that is a personal preference and I recommend you do what works best for YOU. If you want to be exact, weigh your final dish minus the weight of your baking dish and divide by 6 for total grams per serving.
If you like this casserole be sure to check out some of our other easy breakfasts!
- Cinnamon Roll French Toast Egg Bake
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- Blueberry Breakfast Sausage
- Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!
Chicken and Waffle Casserole
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Ingredients
- 6 Kodiak Cakes Buttermilk and Vanilla Power Waffles toasted and chopped
- 15 pieces Tyson Air Fried Crispy Chicken Nuggets 340g
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- 1/2 cup lite pancake syrup 120ml
- 2 Tbsp. honey 42g
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup liquid egg whites 100g
- 1.5 cups low fat 2% milk 360ml
- 1/4 cup mild cheddar cheese shredded, 28g
- 1/4 cup Monterey jack cheese shredded, 28g
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 Tbsp. fresh chives chopped
Optional Toppings
- maple syrup
- green onions sliced
- jalapeños sliced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and generously spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray making sure to get the edges well so the casserole doesn’t stick.
- Microwave the frozen chicken for 1-2 minutes until slightly thawed just enough to chop into bite size pieces.
- Toast the waffles and chop into bite sized pieces. I cut each into 16 squares.
- In a large bowl, combine the toasted waffles and chopped chicken. Drizzle with the maple syrup and honey and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Stir in the shredded cheeses, chopped green onions, and chives.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly over the waffle and chicken mixture in the baking dish, making sure all the waffles are soaked and the cheese spreads evenly over the top. Press the waffles and chicken into the egg mixture to coat.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden and the casserole is set. If the top begins to brown too quickly, cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Drizzle with additional maple syrup if desired.
Notes
- Serving size and nutritional information is always an estimate and will vary with substitutions.
- Add fresh chives, sliced green onions, or jalapeños for a little heat.
- To lower the carbs in this dish use my Air Fryer Blackened Chicken in place of breaded chicken for a sweet and spicy twist.
OMG!! Not only is this recipe the perfect weekend breakfast, but the serving size will fill you up! I am so amazed at Danielle’s recipes. They are easy, healthy with great macros and the yummiest food. I cancelled most of my other meal subscriptions because our house prefers all of her recipes!
So glad you loved it!! Thank you!!
I made this for dinner tonight. My husband said it was a comfort food. So good and easy to throw together. I used homemade waffles from mix because that’s what I had on hand. I will definitely be making this again.
Never in my life have I had or had the desire to eat chicken and waffles. But, I love your recipes so decided to try it. This was really good and a nice change up to egg casseroles for breakfast – you can’t even taste the eggs and egg whites. I did forget to get chives and green onions from the store, but it was tasty without.
Can you use regular maple syrup? How much would that increase the carbs?
Of course you can! It would just be about double the carbs for regular syrup, not the entire recipe but double the carbs of the syrup alone. I’d suggest making the recipe in your tracking app for the most accurate nutrition facts with the labels you’re using.
Oh wow!! Just made this for dinner for my daughters and I – my oldest is SUPER picky. She loved this! Her one complaint…..it was a little too hot, haha!
😂😂 that’s awesome!! Thank you!!
Loved this recipe…husband and kids approved! I love all her recipes that use regular ingredients we already have at home. I may try to make this in 2 smaller dishes or maybe less egg since we all preferred the crunchier/edge pieces.
That’s a great idea!! So glad you all loved it!
So good! I meal prepped this for breakfast for the week. So easy, delicious, and easy to reheat all week!!
Yes! Best feeling ever to wake up knowing you have something ready to go.
This was so yummy and so easy!!! It was hit for my whole family! Thanks for such a fun recipe!
Making your own seasonings is the best!!
This was amazing! So many great flavors and the best part was it was super easy to make! I made this in the weekend to reheat in my air fryer throughout the week for breakfasts. So good!
Easy is key for me too!
I’ve always been a “chicken doesn’t go with waffles” kinda gal. Until i made this. It’s delicious and so savory and of course easy. LOVE! Thank you!