Definitely not the prettiest dish of the bunch, but I just had to post this one. For me, while looks are quite important most of the time, taste reigns supreme at the end of the day. This dish hits the nail on the head when it comes to taste. Time to get our cheese on…waffle style!
The distinct flavor of cauliflower is knocked down into a subtle flavor you can easily handle with the crisp, almost burnt cheese on the outside and the rich, creamy flavors on the inside. The thyme, garlic, and onion come together to form an absolutely delicious combination that runs through each and every bite you take out of this glorious food.
It did take a little while for me to cook in my waffle iron, but I was also cooking the entire batch at once. I’ve done this on a regular sized, round waffle iron and it takes about 1/4 the time for a waffle to properly cook through. One of the more important things here to do is to make sure you get the excess moisture out of the cauliflower. You can wring it out in cheese cloth, press it with paper towels, whatever you need to do – do it! It’ll be worth it in the end.
I served this with some cream cheese and sriracha which, for me, was all that was needed. A nice hint of spice and a delicious overflow of extra creaminess to up the fats and add to the composition of the dish. Better yet, you can pretty much sub out whatever ingredients you want and replace them with others for a delicious twist of your own. Keep the cauliflower and cheese and choose the spices to make it your own. I always love hearing your twists, so let me know what you come up with in the kitchen in the comments below!
Yields 4 total waffles
The Preparation
- ½ large head cauliflower, riced
- 1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup packed collard greens
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 stalks green onion
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
The Execution
1. Prep your cauliflower, spring onion, and thyme by cutting the cauliflower into florets, slicing the spring onion into small slices, and ripping the thyme off of the stems.
2. In a food processor, rice the cauliflower by pulsing it until a crumbly texture is formed.
3. Add the spring onion, thyme, and collard greens to the mixture and continue pulsing until everything is well combined.
4. Scoop the mixture out into a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the 1 Cup Mozzerella Cheese, 1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese, 2 Large Eggs, 1 Tbsp. Sesame Seed, 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil, 1 tsp. Garlic Powder, 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper, and 1/2 tsp. Salt.
6. Mix everything together well until a loose batter is formed.
7. Heat your waffle iron until it’s ready to go, then spoon mixture onto waffle iron evenly.
8. Let the waffle cook as per manufacturers instructions.
9. Remove from waffle iron and serve hot!
This makes 4 total serving, each serving coming out to 203.25 Calories, 15.38g Fats, 5.86g Net Carbs, and 14.99g Protein.
| Cheesy Thyme Waffles | Calories | Fats(g) | Carbs(g) | Fiber(g) | Net Carbs(g) | Protein(g) |
| ½ large head cauliflower, riced | 105 | 1.18 | 20.87 | 8.4 | 12.47 | 8.06 |
| 1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese | 336 | 25.03 | 2.45 | 0 | 2.45 | 24.83 |
| 1 cup packed (30 g) collard greens | 12 | 0.22 | 1.95 | 1.4 | 0.55 | 1.09 |
| 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese | 111 | 7.29 | 0.91 | 0 | 0.91 | 10.1 |
| 2 large eggs | 143 | 9.51 | 0.72 | 0 | 0.72 | 12.56 |
| 2 stalks green onion | 16 | 0.1 | 3.67 | 1.3 | 2.37 | 0.92 |
| 1 tablespoon sesame seed | 52 | 4.47 | 2.11 | 1.1 | 1.01 | 1.6 |
| 1 tablespoon olive oil | 19 | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme | 6 | 0.15 | 1.28 | 0.7 | 0.58 | 0.18 |
| 1 teaspoon garlic powder | 10 | 0.02 | 2.25 | 0.3 | 1.95 | 0.51 |
| ½ teaspoon ground black pepper | 3 | 0.04 | 0.74 | 0.3 | 0.44 | 0.12 |
| Totals | 813 | 61.51 | 36.95 | 13.5 | 23.45 | 59.97 |
| Per Serving(/4) | 203.25 | 15.38 | 9.24 | 3.38 | 5.86 | 14.99 |
Cheesy Thyme Waffles
Ingredients
- ½ large head cauliflower riced
- 1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup packed collard greens
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 stalks green onion
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rice the cauliflower by pulsing the florets in a food processor until a crumbly texture is achieved.
- Add collard greens, spring onion, and thyme and continue pulsing a few more times until everything is well combined.
- Scoop the mixture out into a mixing bowl, add the rest of the ingredients, and mix together well.
- Spoon mixture evenly over the griddle of a waffle iron once it's hot.
- Cook mixture until waffle is formed (as per manufacturers instructions) then remove.
