I don’t know about you, but breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I immediately head to the kitchen when I wake up in the morning. A slow, relaxing start, a cup of tea or coffee, and a nice meal is all I need to get me out of a morning funk. Lately I’ve been focusing on more nutritious breakfasts, because I got into a bad habit of grabbing granola bars and running out the door. This month’s Recipe Redux theme ties in perfectly with my new outlook on sunrise- “Rise and Shine with a Savory Breakfast!”

The trend of protein-packed breakfasts is at an all-time high. I’m excited to show you my idea for this post – a spin-off of chicken and waffles – chicken and waffles grilled cheese!

Yes, you heard me. This recipe contains chicken gloriously stuffed between 2 waffles and covered with melted cheese. Sounds like a belt buster, right? Don’t worry, this recipe won’t put on the pounds. Each sandwich is about 400 calories, and packed with about 35 grams of protein. My suggestion would be to eat half of the sandwich at a time, making your breakfast about 200 calories and ~18 grams of protein. The dish is super filling (my husband and I can attest to this feeling). Also, it’s generally not necessary to have that much protein in one sitting.

The history of chicken and waffles might stem from a dish known as chicken fricassee. If you haven’t had chicken fricassee, it’s chicken stewed in sauce. It’s almost sauteed, but slightly thicker. Honestly, though, who wants to eat that for breakfast? Chicken and waffles is much more appealing, if I do say so myself!

This recipe isn’t very hard to make. You need your oven, mixing bowls, a waffle maker, and some utensils. Enjoy your new favorite, protein-packed dinner for breakfast!

Chicken and Waffles Grilled Cheese

• Servings: 12 to 24
• Time: 1hr 30mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

For the chicken:
• 3.5 lbs chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)
• 1.5 cups low-fat milk
• 1 Tbsp hot sauce
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp thyme
• Black pepper to taste
For the waffles:
• Please follow my delicious whole wheat protein waffle recipe! Click here
Cheese:
• 12 part-skim mozzarella string cheeses

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, add the milk, olive oil, and hot sauce.
3. Make the dry rub for the chicken in a separate bowl.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil.
5. Trim the fat off of the chicken. Soak 1 piece of chicken in the liquid mixture, and then rub the piece of chicken with the spices until it’s covered. Lay the chicken on the baking sheet. Repeat this process for all of the chicken.
6. Put the chicken in the oven for 25 minutes.
7. While the chicken is cooking, make the waffles. You will find the directions here.
8. Once the chicken and waffles are cooking, heat a frying pan with olive oil. Pull apart the string cheese, and set it aside. Cut the waffle in half. Place one half in the pan, layer it with cheese, top it with a piece of chicken, layer it with more cheese, and put the final waffle slice on top.
9. Cook the sandwich on both sides, covered, for 3 minutes each, or until the cheese is melted.
10. Cut the sandwich in half, serve, and enjoy your protein-packed breakfast!