Waffle House's Most Nutritious Options

If you're looking for healthy Waffle House options, look no further than the two-egg breakfast with scrambled eggs, offering protein for relatively few calories.

Waffles

The most ordered option on the Waffle House menu is the humble waffle. You won't find a wide variety of waffle choices, however. Choose from a classic waffle or order waffles with different toppings, such as pecans, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips.

To stay low in calories when ordering waffles, avoid the syrup and toppings, and stick to a small pat of butter or jam.

Classic Waffle

Classic waffles don't include toppings; all other Waffle House waffle menu choices do. Or keep your calorie count in check by using a small dollop of syrup or butter—or avoid them altogether. One order of plain classic waffles contains 410 calories, 18g of fat, 10g of saturated fat, 55g of carbohydrates, 15g of sugar, 8g of protein, and 870mg of sodium.

Peanut Butter Chip Waffle

Peanut butter chips contain the most carbs and sugar of any waffle toppings. If you need something crunchy on your waffle, ordering the pecan topping can fulfill that craving. Although higher in fat than peanut butter chips, these nuts offer healthy fat. For those who prefer a topping sweeter than pecans, the chocolate chip waffles have half the fat of peanut butter chip waffles and no sodium.

The peanut butter chip topping contains 150 calories, 8g of fat, 7g of saturated fat, 17g of carbohydrates, 16g of sugar, 3g of protein, and 95mg of sodium. These Waffle House nutritional values include only the topping. You must add the classic waffle nutrition counts on top of these numbers for the dish's total: 560 calories, 26g of fat, 17g of saturated fat, 72g of carbohydrates, 31g of sugar, 11g of protein, and 965mg of sodium.

Breakfast Hashbrown Bowls

The hashbrown bowls include a large order of hashbrowns, a protein of your choice, two scrambled eggs, and two slices of American cheese. Your choices for protein are sausage, ham, and bacon. If you exclude any of these ingredients, you can reduce the dish's total calories.

Ham, Egg, & Cheese Hashbrown Bowl

The ham, egg, & cheese hashbrown bowl has 780 calories, 39g of fat, 14g of saturated fat, 66g of carbohydrates, 6g of sugar, 40g of protein, and 2,110mg of sodium. The ham alone contains 1,000mg of sodium. To remove some sodium, skip the ham and order an egg & cheese hashbrown bowl.

Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Hashbrown Bowl

The sausage, egg, & cheese hashbrown bowl has 920 calories, 60g of fat, 22g of saturated fat, 63g of carbohydrates, 4g of sugar, 32g of protein, and 1,620mg of sodium. If you skip the two cheese slices, you can reduce the sodium count by 500mg.

Egg Breakfasts

Waffle House offers a number of egg breakfast choices. They include an egg-only or egg-and-cheese option, as well as protein offerings such as T-bone and sirloin steak with eggs.

All egg breakfasts come with your choice of toast (white, wheat, or raisin) and a side (grits, hashbrowns, or sliced tomatoes). To keep your order as nutritious as possible, stick to wheat toast and sliced tomatoes for your sides, or skip the sides altogether.

2 Egg Breakfast: 2 Eggs, Scrambled

The two-egg breakfast with two scrambled eggs contains 180 calories, 14g of fat, 4g of saturated fat, 2g of carbohydrates, 2g of sugar, 12g of protein, and 120mg of sodium. This option skips the toast and sides. If you order wheat toast and sliced tomatoes (the most nutritious sides), you'll add 220 calories for the toast and 10 calories for the tomatoes.

T-Bone & Eggs: T-Bone Steak and 2 Eggs, Scrambled

The popular T-bone steak and two scrambled eggs has 1,230 calories, 73g of fat, 23g of saturated fat, 3g of carbohydrates, 3g of sugar, 139g of protein, and 1,835mg of sodium. Low in carbs and high in protein, this option can fit a Keto-friendly diet if you eat a quarter of the steak. The healthiest side is sliced tomatoes with 10 calories. The grits and hashbrowns add 240 and 300 calories, respectively.

Hashbrowns

Alongside its breakfast hashbrown bowls, Waffle House offers hashbrowns sides served regular, scattered, smothered, or covered. Customize your hashbrowns and eliminate high-sodium and high-calorie toppings such as chili, gravy, ham, and cheese to enjoy the potatoes with better nutrition.

 Regular Hashbrowns

An order of regular hashbrowns features grated potatoes fried until golden. One serving comes out to 190 calories, 7g of fat, 2.5g of saturated fat, 29g of carbohydrates, 3g of protein, and 240mg of sodium.

Triple Hashbrowns All-the-Way

Waffle House also offers an "all-the-way" option for its famous hashbrowns, featuring all the toppings piled on top of fried potatoes. A triple serving with all of the fixings (grilled onion, American cheese, smoked ham, tomatoes, jalapenos, mushrooms, as well as chili and gravy) comes out to 900 calories, 34.5g of fat, 13g of saturated fat, 117g of carbohydrates, 29g of protein, and 3,490mg of sodium.

Toddle House Omelets

Waffle House offers four varieties of Toddle House omelets, including cheese, ham & cheese, fiesta, and cheesesteak, and a build-your-own option. Each omelet includes a side of toast with jelly, as well as a choice of grits, hashbrowns, or tomatoes.

 Cheese Omelet

The cheese omelet is the most healthy Waffle House option in this menu category with 500 calories, 46g of fat, 17g of saturated fat, 3g of carbohydrates, 17g of protein, and 620mg of sodium. These nutritional counts are for the omelet only; any additional sides will add to the overall nutrition of the meal.

To make an even more nutritious omelet, consider building your own with sautéed onions, grilled tomatoes, and grilled mushrooms for 440 calories, 38g of fat, 12g of saturated fat, 10g of carbohydrates, 14g of protein, and 400mg of sodium.

 Cheesesteak Omelet

The cheesesteak omelet is the highest-calorie and fat option on the omelet menu. With American cheese, the omelet has 630 calories, 53g of fat, 20g of saturated fat, 3g of carbohydrates, 33g of protein, and 920mg of sodium.

Waffle House Breakfast Sides

Rather than order a large entrée, you can choose a few Waffle House breakfast sides to make a meal when you're not exceptionally hungry.

Sliced Tomatoes

You can order the sliced tomatoes as a side, and get a strong dose of vitamins A and C. The tomatoes contain 10 calories, 0g of fat, 0g of saturated fat, 2g of carbohydrates, 1g of sugar, 1g of protein, and 0mg of sodium.

Biscuit & Sausage Gravy

The biscuit and sausage gravy side has 470 calories, 30g of fat, 16g of saturated fat, 44g of carbohydrates, 3g of sugar, 6g of protein, and 1,810mg of sodium, making it more like an entree than a side. If you want a side and are craving biscuits and gravy, order a grilled biscuit and a side of sausage.

Waffle House Grilled Biscuits

As one of the most popular items after waffles, grilled biscuits are ordered more often than toast in many Waffle House locations.

Grilled Biscuit

One grilled biscuit contains 380 calories, 25g of fat, 14g of saturated fat, 34g of carbohydrates, 1g of sugar, 5g of protein, and 900mg of sodium. If you must add a condiment to the biscuit, consider skipping the butter and jam and opting for a little honey.

Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit

The sausage, egg, & cheese biscuit has 650 calories, 48g of fat, 22g of saturated fat, 35g of carbohydrates, 2g of sugar, 19g of protein, and 1,470mg of sodium. For meat lovers, ordering the bacon biscuit instead can stave off extra calories and fat.

Waffle House Breakfast Sandwiches

If you want a grab-and-go option at Waffle House, choose the breakfast sandwiches and Texas melts. People with food allergies, however, should skip these sandwiches, as they contain wheat, egg, and soy.

Egg Sandwich

The egg sandwich has 220 calories, 8.5g of fat, 2g of saturated fat, 27g of carbohydrates, 4g of sugar, 10g of protein, and 320mg of sodium. This is also a good vegetarian option for breakfast.

Texas Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Melt

The Texas bacon, egg, & cheese melt contains 730 calories, 51g of fat, 20g of saturated fat, 39g of carbohydrates, 10g of sugar, 26g of protein, and 1,680mg of sodium. If you want meat, switching to grilled ham lessens your intake to 240 calories and only 4g of total fat (just 1g of saturated fat).

Waffle House Kids Meals

Waffle House is kid-friendly, with a breakfast menu for children that includes kid-size bacon and sausage. The restaurant also offers a kid-size cheeseburger and grilled cheese, and both come with a side of hashbrowns instead of the traditional fries.

Kid's 1 Egg Breakfast

The kid's scrambled egg contains only 90 calories, 7g of fat, 2g of saturated fat, 1g of carbohydrates, 1g of sugar, 6g of protein, and 60mg of sodium.

If this isn't enough for your hungry child, this menu item also comes with toast (wheat, white, raisin, Texas, or a grilled biscuit) plus your choice of grits, hashbrowns, or sliced tomatoes, and your choice of kid's-size bacon or sausage. Healthy Waffle House options include wheat toast, sliced tomatoes, and kid's-size bacon, which add another 320 calories, 20g of fat, 7.5g saturated fat, 24g of carbohydrates, 4g of sugar, 14g of protein, and 680mg of sodium.

Kid's Cheeseburger With Hashbrowns

The kid's cheeseburger contains 705 calories, 44g of fat, 17.5g of saturated fat, 59g of carbohydrates, 5g of sugar, 17g of protein, and 1,010mg of sodium. Instead of fries, the meal comes with a side of hashbrowns. The healthy Waffle House option here is the kid's grilled cheese instead with a side of hashbrowns.

Waffle House Classic Dinners

You can find protein-based classic dinners at Waffle House with greens and a carbohydrate side. Dinners include a choice of chicken, country ham, and pork chops.

Chicken Dinner

The chicken dinner contains 565 calories, 21.5g of fat, 7.5g of saturated fat, 56g of carbohydrates, 7g of sugar, 37g of protein, and 1,490mg of sodium. The dinner includes a garden salad, hashbrowns, grilled chicken, and Texas toast. If you skip the toast, you can reduce the carb content. If you want toast, substitute the Texas toast for wheat toast for a more nutritious option.

Meat Lovers Pork Chop Dinner

The meat lovers pork chop dinner has 1,295 calories, 64g of fat, 22g of saturated fat, 55g of carbohydrates, 7g of sugar, 122g of protein, and 2,150mg of sodium. Although this dinner contains a high amount of protein, the calorie and sodium content makes it the least nutritious option.

Waffle House Hamburgers

With its diner-like environment, Waffle House is also a favored joint for late-night hangover eats, such as hamburgers and non-stop cups of coffee and Coca-Cola beverages. All hamburgers contain 100% Angus beef.

"Original" Angus Hamburger

The "Original" Angus hamburger contains 465 calories, 33g of fat, 12.5g of saturated fat, 30g of carbohydrates, 5g of sugar, 11g of protein, and 520mg of sodium. This hamburger competes with other fast-food burgers' nutritional values.

Double "Original" Angus Cheeseburger

The double "Original" Angus cheeseburger contains 625 calories, 46g of fat, 18.5g of saturated fat, 30g of carbohydrates, 5g of sugar, 21g of protein, and 800mg of sodium. If you must have meat but want to reduce calories, stick with the single original and skip the cheese.

Waffle House Sandwiches

The ingredients on several sandwiches include a mix of grilled cheese, chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and/or country ham. Waffle House also offers its own Waffle Sandwich with ham and cheese. Although it's not the most nutritious sandwich option, you will get a filling 26g of protein.

BLT Sandwich

Waffle House's BLT sandwich has 275 calories, 13.5g of fat, 4g of saturated fat, 27g of carbohydrates, 4g of sugar, 12g of protein, and 780mg of sodium. Those following a vegetarian diet should look to the grilled cheese sandwich.

Texas Bacon Lover's BLT Sandwich

The Texas Bacon Lover's BLT Sandwich adds extra bacon to the dish, as the name suggests. This sandwich contains 635 calories, 44g of fat, 16g of saturated fat, 39g of carbohydrates, 5g of sugar, 19g of protein, and 1,470mg of sodium. Stick to the classic BLT if you want to save calories and fat.

Waffle House Texas Melts

The Texas melts on the Waffle House menu are grilled cheese and meat sandwiches served on Texas toast. All options contain meat so there are no vegetarian choices, but you can choose the most nutritious protein depending on flavor and preference.

 Texas Cheesesteak Melt

While the cheesesteak is not the healthiest protein, the Texas cheesesteak melt is the most nutritious option in this category—even better than the Texas grilled chicken melt. The cheesesteak option has 650 calories, 40g of fat, 17g of saturated fat, 42g of carbohydrates, 28g of protein, and 1,400mg of sodium.

The Texas grilled chicken melt may seem like a lean, nutritious option, however, it is filled with sodium. With 660 calories, it also has 2,040mg of sodium.

 Texas Angus Patty Melt

With a quarter-pound Angus beef hamburger, melted cheese, and grilled onions, the Texas Angus patty melt is the highest-calorie and highest-fat melt on the menu. It includes 730 calories, 50g of fat, 21g of saturated fat, 42g of carbohydrates, 26g of protein, and 1,160mg of sodium.

Waffle House Hashbrown Bowls

Waffle House offers only two specialty options in its lunch and dinner hashbrown bowls category. Diners can choose between the cheesesteak melt and chicken melt bowls, or create your own with a variety of toppings.

To better control the contents of your hashbrown bowl, customize using the build-your-own bowl option. Add vegetables including grilled onions, grilled tomatoes, and grilled mushrooms to increase the fiber content of the meal.

 Cheesesteak Melt Hashbrown Bowl

While the chicken option may seem more nutritious, it is in fact higher in calories and sodium than the cheesesteak. The cheesesteak melt hashbrown bowl comes out to 625 calories, 29g of fat, 13g of saturated fat, 63g of carbohydrates, 16g of protein, and 1,290mg of sodium.

 Chicken Melt Hashbrown Bowl

The chicken melt hashbrown bowl delivers 635 calories, 24.5g of fat, 10.5g of saturated fat, 64g of carbohydrates, 39g of protein, and 1,920mg of sodium.

Waffle House Pies

Waffle House offers more than breakfast foods and sandwiches; you can order a classic Southern slice of pie as dessert. Options include the popular pecan pie and triple chocolate pie. The restaurant has two serving sizes: small and regular. You will eat half the calories in the small size.

Southern Pecan Pie 

A small slice of Southern pecan pie contains 260 calories, 13g of fat, 7g of saturated fat, 32g of carbohydrates, 23g of sugar, 2g of protein, and 140mg of sodium. Anyone with food allergens should skip this pie, as it contains soy, wheat, egg, milk, and tree nuts.

Triple Chocolate Pie

If you're craving the chocolate pie, order a small slice. A "regular" slice of triple chocolate pie has 880 calories, 42g of fat, 14g of saturated fat, 120g of carbohydrates, 69g of sugar, 8g of protein, and 660mg of sodium.

Waffle House Salads

The healthiest Waffle House option is the salad. The restaurant only offers two choices: the garden salad and grilled chicken salad. You can ask for the salad dressing on the side and no croutons for a lower fat and carb content.

Garden Salad

The garden salad doesn't contain any of the eight most common allergens, and it only contains 35 calories, 0g of fat, 0g of saturated fat, 7g of carbohydrates, 5g of sugar, 2g of protein, and 20mg of sodium. If a garden salad won't fill you up, ordering a side of sliced tomatoes and a side of sausage can create a heartier meal.

Grilled Chicken Salad

The grilled chicken salad is still a healthy option and even adds extra healthy protein to your meal, although this option comes with a hefty amount of cholesterol and sodium. The salad provides 175 calories, 2.5g of fat, 0.5g of saturated fat, 8g of carbohydrates, 31g of protein, 5g of sugar, and 950mg of sodium.

Waffle House Beverages

Waffle House offers beverages for every meal from milk and coffee for breakfast to soda and iced tea for lunch and dinner. Diners can choose from any number of Coca-Cola sodas, as well as other juices.

Alice's Iced Tea, Unsweet

If you'd like a beverage with a bit of flavor, order Alice's unsweet iced tea. While water will always be the most nutritious and hydrating option, this iced tea delivers 0 calories, 0g of fat, 0g of carbohydrates, 0g of protein, and 0mg of sodium.

 Large Chocolate Milk

While high in healthy proteins, the large chocolate milk is also high in sugar, calories, and sodium. One serving provides 440 calories, 16g of fat, 10g of saturated fat, 58g of carbohydrates, 16g of protein, and 360mg of sodium. Order the regular chocolate milk for a smaller portion, or consider ordering the regular milk instead.

Waffle House Diet-Specific Options

Waffle House offers choices for low-fat, low-carb, and vegetarian diets, but doesn’t have many gluten-free, diabetes-friendly, or low-sodium menu items.

Low-Carb

The majority of the items at Waffle House contain carbs, such as the waffles, hashbrown bowls, and breakfast specials that come with your choice of toast or grilled biscuit. To keep your meal low-carb, the following are compliant with this specific diet:

• 2 egg breakfast with a side of sliced tomatoes, skip the toast
• T-bone & eggs with a side of sliced tomatoes, skip the toast
• Country ham & eggs with a side of sliced tomatoes, skip the toast
• 2 egg fiesta omelet
• Grilled chicken salad
• Garden salad

Low-FODMAP

The low-FODMAP diet removes foods that can trigger certain digestive symptoms. Foods with high FODMAP are avoided, which makes eating out challenging. To stay with low-FODMAP foods, especially for anyone with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you can order the following at the Waffle House:

• Grilled chicken salad
• Garden salad
• Hashbrowns
• Hashbrown bowls

Low-Fat

Although Waffle House entrees come with a number of sides, including toast, grits, and hashbrowns, you can follow a low-fat diet if you order strategically and skip the sides (with the exception of sliced tomatoes). The following items could be suitable for a low-fat diet:

• Grilled chicken salad
• Garden salad
• Sliced tomatoes
• 2 egg breakfast with sliced tomatoes
• Country ham

Low-Sodium

Staying away from salt can feel quite challenging with breakfast, as most items come loaded with it to add flavor to batter and eggs. Keep your sodium intake down by opting for the following Waffle House nutrition:

• Grilled chicken salad
• Garden salad
• 2 eggs scrambled with sliced tomatoes
• Hashbrowns with sautéed onions and grilled tomatoes (regular)

Vegetarian

With the amount of eggs and dairy on the menu, following a vegan diet is almost impossible at Waffle House (except for the two salad options).

You can stick to a vegetarian diet. The egg choices don't have to include meat, and soy is the only allergen in hashbrowns. For vegetarians, Waffle House offers many choices, including:

• Garden salad
• 2 egg breakfast (skip the meat sides)
• Fiesta omelet breakfast
• Hashbrowns (with any non-meat toppings)

Food Allergies and Safety

The Waffle House menu includes common allergens: milk, gluten, tree nuts, soy, egg, and wheat. The waffles, pies, beverages, sandwich melts, and hashbrown bowls could have more than one allergen in an item.

Non-allergen items are protein-based, such as bacon, sausage, and grilled chicken. The best entrée option for anyone with a food allergy is the garden salad, which doesn't include milk products.

Anyone with severe food allergies might want to avoid the Waffle House nutrition option, as the restaurant can't guarantee that its cooking environment is free from any specific allergen. People with strict food allergies should be aware of any cross-contamination.

This is especially true for those with eggs, dairy, and gluten allergies as most popular breakfast foods include these ingredients in some form.

A Word From Verywell

Waffle House is an enjoyable place to eat when craving breakfast foods and a lively environment when dining out with friends and family.

Because Waffle House is named after its most popular food, you will not be surprised that most menu items contain high carbs, calories, and sugar. Anyone watching their carb intake, avoiding gluten, or steering clear of added sugar will struggle to find healthy Waffle House options.

If you have food allergies, read the menu and Waffle House nutrition facts. You can find this information online in Waffle House's full nutrition information. If you have any concerns, stick with ordering a salad or only make a trip to Waffle House on special occasions to get your fill of waffles and maple syrup.