Bacon Cheddar Waffles and Chicken

Delicious Bacon Cheddar Waffles and Chicken, feature savoury waffles, flavoured with bacon, cheese and cornmeal and topped with baked boneless, breaded chicken strips. Finished with a drizzle of maple syrup, for a delicious brunch or dinner.

A few months ago, I had my first ever “Chicken and Waffles” experience at the Thompson Diner in Toronto. Needless to say, I now deeply regret all the years before that without chicken and waffles in my life :) Yes, it’s a treat and certainly not something that will be in weekly regular rotation here, but gosh … it’s definitely worthy of an occasional indulgence. Life needs chicken and waffles once in a while!

For my version, I skipped the bone-in fried chicken and went for simpler baked, breaded chicken strips. There are some great ones available now, that use all white meat chicken with a simple breading. They bake up lovely and crispy in just about 20 minutes and honestly, I think I prefer that I don’t have to eat around the bones.

While the chicken is baking, the waffles can be easily cooked up. The batter comes together quickly, especially if you happen to have some left-over bacon already around. If not, you can cook up a few slices in just a few minutes. Add in some great aged cheddar and you’re good to go. The batter has some cornmeal in it as well, which adds great flavour and texture.

Cook’s Notes for Bacon Cheddar Waffles and Chicken

Using a really nice Aged Cheddar in these, really helps the cheddar flavour come through, so bust out the good stuff if you can.

I think it goes without saying, but real maple syrup is the best for these. They don’t need a lot. Just a splash to moisten.

You can make these waffles ahead, if you are entertaining and would rather not be making the waffles at the last minute (or if you simply want to serve them all at once). Simply allow to cool completely, the loosely cover and refrigerate. Re-warm/re-crisp on a baking sheet in a 350 F. oven for 5-8 minutes. (Obviously, fresh cooked waffles are best, but just throwing this out there if needed).

No Buttermilk? How To Make a Buttermilk Substitute at Home

Add 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or white vinegar to a one-cup liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to measure 1 cup. Stir, then let stand for 5 minutes. Use in place of buttermilk in any recipe.

No milk? You can combine 3/4 cup yogurt with 1/4 cup water, to create a decent buttermilk substitute. as well.

Print Recipe

Bacon Cheddar Waffles with Chicken

Delicious savoury bacon and cheddar waffles, topped with baked, boneless breaded chicken strips and topped with a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

Waffles:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar packed
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk shaken
• 2 Tbsp butter melted and cooled slightly
• 1 Tbsp bacon fat melted and cooled slightly
• 5 strips bacon cooked and diced
• 1 1/4 cups grated old cheddar packed
• Pure maple syrup for drizzling

Instructions

• In a skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Set aside to cool, reserving 1 Tbsp. of the bacon fat for the waffles. When bacon is cool enough, dice and set aside.
• Preheat oven to the recommended temperature for your chicken strips. Bake chicken as specified.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and bacon fat. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Fold in diced bacon and grated cheddar cheese.
• Cook waffles in waffle iron until golden and crisp. Top with cooked chicken strips and a drizzle of maple syrup.

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Notes

Be sure to read the "Cook's Notes" in the original post, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!

Nutrition

Calories: 589kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 172mg, Sodium: 863mg, Potassium: 502mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 555IU, Calcium: 223mg, Iron: 3.6mg

Nutritional information provided as general guidance only. Accuracy cannot be guaranteed.