These savory zucchini waffles are gluten free and low carb. They make a great low carb breakfast or snack and you can even freeze them for later. Only 5 ingredients and 3.1g net carbs per waffle.
More savory low carb waffles to try: pizza waffles and chicken, ham & Swiss waffles.
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It’s all about zucchini in the summertime. It seems to be the easiest thing to grow and the most prolific. However my husband will only eat it fried and my son will only eat it in the form of zucchini bread (and that’s a new development). So I end up eating most of it or trying to sneak it in dishes where they can’t see it (meatloaf for instance).
This summer I’m trying to find more things to do with those big green clubs in hopes my family will jump on board and start to like zucchini too. So I came up with these savory zucchini waffles.
Low Carb Zucchini Waffles Ingredients
I’m big on waffles. I don’t know why but I love them. However I rarely eat sweet waffles and prefer savory ones. If you too like savory waffles, check out my other waffle posts above.
Like those recipes, there are not many ingredients in these zucchini waffles other than zucchini, onion, cheese and eggs. There is no flour so it’s gluten free and only take minutes to make.
savory zucchini waffles recipe
The first step is to grate your zucchini and onion either by hand or in a food processor. I used the food processor with the grating blade in it. Put the grated zucchini and onion in a tea towel or a few paper towels and squeeze as much water out as possible. This is important. Make sure you get out as much water as possible.(See below)
Next you mix in the egg and cheeses and your “batter” should look like this.
Heat up your waffle iron, add a heaping spoonful in the center and cook according to your manufacturer’s instructions. Our old waffle iron needed oiling first but our new one doesn’t so check to see if you need to oil first. They should only take a few minutes to cook and believe me they are delicious!
TIPS FOR MAKING THESE CHEESE WAFFLES
- Make sure you squeeze as much water from the zucchini as you can before making the batter.
- Grease your waffle iron first. I use this waffle iron and it doesn’t need much greasing but yours might. Check the manufacturers instructions to see. I often use coconut oil or butter after each waffle. You may need to grease after each one.
- Only make small waffles. Add the “batter” to the center of the waffle iron and just enough to make a small waffle. Too big and it will be difficult to get out.
- Don’t substitute the mozzarella cheese. The stringy factor in that cheese is what keeps it together well.
- If reheating, only microwave for 30 second intervals until heated through.
This recipe made 4 small waffles so I ate one for lunch and froze the rest and just microwaved one for breakfast everyday. I hope you enjoy this savory zucchini waffle recipe. Especially if you have an abundant zucchini crop like we always do.
How do you use all that zucchini you grow in your garden? Drop me a comment and let me know some of your wonderful ideas!
1 waffle = 131 calories / 8.3g fat / 3.7g carbs / 0.6g fiber / 10.4g protein = 3.1g net carbs
Savory Zucchini Waffles (GF, low carb)
These savory zucchini waffles are gluten free and low carb. They make a great low carb breakfast or snack and you can even freeze them for later. Only 5 ingredients and 3.1g net carbs per waffle.
Ingredients
- 2 cups zucchini grated
- 1/2 cup vidalia onion grated
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
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Grate your zucchini and onion in a food processor fitted with a grating blade. Or grate by hand.
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Take the grated mixture and put in a tea towel or a few layered paper towels and ring out as much water as possible.
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In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with a fork and add cheese and zucchini mixture. Mix well.
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Add a heaping spoonful to your prepared waffle iron and cook according to your manufacturer's instructions. Some waffle irons require you oil them. Ours did not so check to see if you need to do that first so they don't stick.
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Eat immediately or freeze for later. To eat from frozen just microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
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Enjoy!
* The Paleo diet does not include dairy products and I do in many of my recipes. I tend to follow a modified Paleo / Primal /Low Carb diet and use the principles of all three. Dairy is a high protein food group with plenty of nutrition that I feel is valuable in our families’ diet not to mention that it tastes great. Here is an interesting article about full fat dairy products from Mark Sisson who started the whole Primal movement. So if you can not tolerate dairy products or you are a strict Paleo enthusiast, my apologies. Going forward I will be more cautious with how I label my recipes.
Jeremy Schurman
September 28, 2019 at 3:14 pmAbsolutely coated my waffle iron in butter, drained the zucchini of all water, and the waffles stuck. Like really bad. Scrambled eggs any one?
Denise
September 29, 2019 at 11:05 amHi Jeremy,
I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. I have alot of these “cheese” based waffles on my blog and I need to put a tips section for people.
One suggestion is that you only make small waffles. I just put a bit of the “batter” in the center of the waffle iron and make mini waffles. These are much easier to get out.
You buttered your waffle iron so that is good and make sure you do it after every waffle you make.
Lastly make sure you have the mozzarella cheese in there because you need that stringy dense cheese. Hope that helps and I’m sorry you had a bad experience.
Jen
November 20, 2018 at 9:24 pmThis looks great and seems like a great way to use my giant zuchkin. Some weird hybrid that showed up in my garden looking like a round zucchini and then got huuuuge and went bright orange. Before I was keto I made zucchini jam. Grated zucchini grated lemon… lots of ginger and pamonas low sugar pectin. Lemon is pretty high in sugar… but you could try a christmas spice version. I’ve made that with not much lemon. On almond flour English muffins.
Denise
November 21, 2018 at 7:16 amHi Jen, I have never heard of zucchini jam! How cool. I could be wrong here but I think lemon juice that comes in a bottle is much lower in carb than real lemons. I was always surprised that lemon juice has carbs at all. Thanks for commenting!
Bryan
September 15, 2018 at 7:19 pmI’ve seen zucchini used in some wild recipes before but not once have I come across zucchini waffles before. i have to admit it at first it seemed really disgusting to me but looking through the actual recipe has peaked my interest. I’ll give this a try soon! i feel like it a good brunch kind of recipe
Denise
September 16, 2018 at 7:55 amHonestly it’s like a zucchini pancake if you like something like that. You really can’t taste the zucchini. I hope you give it a try and like it!
Marisa Franca
August 2, 2018 at 1:45 pmWhat a great idea!! I wish I had a waffle iron because I would definitely make them. I prefer savory to sweet for breakfast and that way Hubby would like it too. We both love zucchini so it’s not a problem for us to eat that prolific veggie. This is a definite keeper.
Denise
August 3, 2018 at 8:01 amYou can definitely make them as a pancake. One of my readers said she did that and it was great. Good luck!
Veena Azmanov
August 2, 2018 at 4:21 amI love how simple and easy this is to make. We love fresh zucchini and they are in abundance at the moment in our markets. Perfect for a late brunch or dinner in our home. Must try this soon.
Denise
August 2, 2018 at 6:31 amWe really enjoy them and because it only takes a few minutes to make, we eat them often!
Jolina
August 1, 2018 at 9:54 pmWe’re usually sweet waffle people but we’re totally into these zucchini waffles! We’ve been experimenting with more and more savoury waffles lately so this is perfect. Looks delicious!!
Denise
August 2, 2018 at 6:31 amWell I hope you give them a try Jolina!
Michelle
August 1, 2018 at 11:11 amThis is such a perfect use for zucchini when we’re overflowing with it. I’m way too tired of zucchini bread!
Denise
August 2, 2018 at 6:32 amI’ve been meaning to make a zucchini bread!
Gloria
July 31, 2018 at 9:26 amWhat a totally fun way to use up all the fresh zucchini. This recipe is perfect for brunch or dinner. I need to bring out my waffle maker and give these a try. Can’t wait.
Denise
July 31, 2018 at 5:08 pmI hope you like them Gloria!
Kathi
July 3, 2018 at 2:54 pmThis is my 2cd time making the zucchini waffles. I love them and they are the perfect size for my breakfast…freeze well and just heat them up in the microwave…yummm…cant wait to try the pizza waffles 🙂
Denise
July 3, 2018 at 2:59 pmHi Kathi, so glad you like them! I just made my hubby some jalapeno popper ones for his breakfast. I hope you like the pizza ones as well.
Deb
June 23, 2018 at 6:35 pmOMG…i prepared this dish for my family today, and with a few tweaks to the recipe, it was a hit!!!
I added basil, garlic and poblano peppers…eyeballed the amount of eggs and cheese because i was making enough for 10 people.
Topped off the waffles with sauted red peppers/onions and RAO’S Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce…Whew!!!!!!
Denise
June 25, 2018 at 6:38 amHi Deb, that sounds wonderful! I haven’t made these in a while. Waiting for our garden zucchini to come in and then I’ll try your suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your tweaks!
Denise
May 26, 2018 at 5:23 amThese are amazing. Used onion powder instead, as onions can be quite carby. After making four, I sandwiched cheddar cheese between two and returned them to the iron to melt the cheese. Voila, grilled cheese zucchini waffles…the kids went wild over how crunchy they were. Next time I might melt the cheese a little and add to one, topping with another cooked waffle. Either way, crunchy good 😋 and filling!
Denise
May 27, 2018 at 8:08 amHi Denise, so glad you liked them! I’ll have to try the onion powder and grill cheese trick next time. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Carol
May 5, 2018 at 2:34 pmThese are good I cooked them like potato pancakes.
Denise
May 7, 2018 at 8:34 amSo glad you liked them! I’ll have to try that next time. Thanks for stopping by!
Shelie
February 18, 2018 at 12:52 pmI’ve had this recipe for a while and tried it out this morning. Instead of the cheese recommended I used Goat Cheese – it worked just fine. Loved this, it will be in my rotation for sure!
Denise
February 19, 2018 at 7:12 amI would never thought to use goat cheese and I love goat cheese! Thanks for taking the time to comment and I’m so glad you liked it!
Andrea
January 28, 2018 at 7:58 pmI had a lot of difficulty getting the last waffle off the iron. I do think that there was still too much moisture that kept it from really firming up. Despite that, they were great! I had added some pepper and tyme for more seasoning. Will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe.
Denise
January 29, 2018 at 6:19 amYes, sometimes they stick. You really have to get the moisture out of the zucchini but also sometimes the size of the egg can make a difference. Glad you liked them and thanks for your tips!
Bonnie
September 13, 2017 at 3:06 pmThis did not work for me. I had to clean the mess off my waffle iron! I used the results as I don’t waste anything – not pretty- and put a fried egg on top and served with bacon. I added almond flour and coconut flour to make it work better. Still not pretty.
Denise
September 17, 2017 at 8:21 amI’m so sorry you had trouble with these. I’m guess you have to grease your waffle iron first. I do not have to with my waffle iron but my old one I did. If you use some coconut oil or butter, that should help. Also you could also make these into pancakes if you wish. Again I’m sorry this didn’t work for you.
Tina
August 14, 2017 at 3:30 pmI like to use the waffles as the “bread” for sandwiches for my kids’ lunches. Add a little more nutrition to lunch!
Denise
August 14, 2017 at 3:52 pmGreat idea…I’ll have to try that for myself!
Lisa Zini
August 8, 2017 at 8:08 amLOVED the taste! My first two came out picture perfect – gorgeous. The remaining stuck to the waffle iron. I did squeeze out the zucchini, but am wondering if, as the batter sat, a little moisture built up and ruined the remaining waffles? Help! I ended up making the rest in a skillet because I didn’t want to waste their yummy-ness! Thanks Denise! I am going to try spinach waffles and zucchini waffles next. Lis
Denise
August 8, 2017 at 8:47 amHi Lisa,
I’m glad you liked the waffles! I’m trying to think what the problem would be. You could always grease your waffle iron first by brushing some oil or butter on it. Also it could be the eggs that got a bit runny? Try putting the mixture in the refrigerator in between batches. One last suggestion is to make sure you wring out all the water from both the zucchini and the onion. Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have the problem again.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
July 13, 2017 at 1:20 pmMade zucchini fritters last night and thought to myself I bet these could be done in the waffle iron with less oil! Can’t wait to try your recipe!!
Denise
July 14, 2017 at 2:31 pmTis the season for all things zucchini around here. My husband hands me about 3 or 4 a day so I have to find ways of using them.
The fritters sound great! I hope you like the waffles and thanks for stopping by.
Fiona
August 22, 2016 at 9:55 amIt would be very helpful if you added the nutrient breakdown for those counting carbs, calories etc. I am new to Low Carb cooking and I am amazed at some of the recipes I see online that say they are low carb but actually consume more than half my daily carb target. If i don’t know the carb count its too much hassle to figure out before I cook it, usually.
Denise
August 22, 2016 at 11:31 amHi Fiona, the nutritional information for one waffle is 131 calories / 8.3g fat / 3.7g carbs / 0.6g fiber / 10.4g protein = 3.1g net carbs. I’ve add right above the recipe. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Sophia Drenth
August 15, 2016 at 4:10 pmThere’s cheese in them. That’s not paleo at all if you ask me. Drawn to this recipe as a lactose intolerant. Dissapointed. 🙁
Denise
August 16, 2016 at 8:39 amSophia, I’m sorry you are disappointed. I explain my stance on cheese and Paleo at the end of my post but I do see how strict Paleo enthusiasts and those who are lactose intolerant would be disappointed. I made a dairy free zucchini waffle today for you that was quite good. I personally prefer the cheese recipe but my husband gave this a thumbs up and he doesn’t eat zucchini so I think you might like it. I will alter this post with the recipe when I get a chance but in the meantime try this if you are interested:
2 cups zucchini, grated
1/2 vidalia onion, grated
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
Squeeze the excess water out of the grated zucchini and onion. In a large bowl beat your eggs and then add the rest of the ingredients excepted the melted coconut oil. Let the coconut oil cool a little so that it’s still a liquid but not so hot it will cook the eggs when mixing. Add the oil to the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spoon on a preheated waffle iron. Mine does not require greasing ahead of time but if yours does, please do so first. Makes about 8 small waffles.
Anissa
April 2, 2016 at 6:26 pmServed these for dinner tonight. Delicious! Thinking of serving these for a shower brunch with hollandaise sauce or balsamic reduction. Thanks for the great recipe.
Denise
April 3, 2016 at 7:30 amThanks for commenting Anissa! I really liked them and I’m so glad you did too. Good luck with your with your brunch if you do make them and let me know how the sauces work!
Jasmine
August 6, 2015 at 8:45 pmthese look amazing! I’m going to try to replicate these in a George Foreman grill – I never could justify a waffle iron but now I’m seriously considering… These also look like they’ll be ok for Ketogenic requirements if I use a little less onion or sub green onions. Thanks!
wildviolets@comcast.net
August 7, 2015 at 10:55 amI think that will work just fine! Let me know if you do. Thanks for stopping by.
Claire
July 19, 2015 at 12:53 pmThese look too delicious to be good for you, I’m definately going to give them ago and see if my waffle mad kids will try them. Thanks for sharing
wildviolets@comcast.net
July 22, 2015 at 8:24 amI just made them again and froze them. They are good for a quick breakfast on the go. Hope your kids like them!
Sarah
July 17, 2015 at 9:41 pmI had no idea you could make waffles with zucchini! Thanks for linking up to Blogger Brags. I’ve pinned your post to the Blogger Brags Pinterest board.
wildviolets@comcast.net
July 22, 2015 at 8:24 amThank you Sarah!
GiGi Eats
July 14, 2015 at 9:35 amI’d like to order the Zucchini Waffles please!
wildviolets@comcast.net
July 14, 2015 at 10:39 amHaha! Would you like something to drink with that? 😉
Cathy
July 12, 2015 at 10:25 pmThis is amazing! What a yummy recipe! I would love for you to share this at my link party Making Memories Mondays going on now! 🙂
Cathy
wildviolets@comcast.net
July 13, 2015 at 7:40 pmThanks Cathy, I did share a couple.
Natasha in Oz
July 12, 2015 at 5:12 pmThey look so good Denise! Thanks for the brilliant recipe idea. Glad I found it via the Happiness is Homemade Link Party!
Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz
wildviolets@comcast.net
July 12, 2015 at 6:25 pmThanks Natasha!
Diana Rambles
July 5, 2015 at 9:48 pmI’m thinking about making these and topping with pizza sauce and pepperoni for dinner.
wildviolets@comcast.net
July 6, 2015 at 9:42 amThat sounds delicious! Hope you enjoy it!
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom
June 30, 2015 at 3:50 pmTotally making these asap Denise. They look great!
wildviolets@comcast.net
July 2, 2015 at 9:51 amThanks Kristen!