15 Waffle House Menu Items You Should Definitely Avoid!
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An American 24-hour diner, Waffle House boasts 1,900 locations across the U.S. and is the place to get your fix of comfort food favorites such as waffles, hashbrowns, and hearty breakfasts. Waffle House is known for its approachable prices and home-style cooking. They serve over 145 waffles and 341 strips of bacon every minute — something that makes them a breakfast mecca. Its charm aside, the nutritional value of many menu items leaves much to be desired, with plenty of choices boasting too many calories, fat, and sodium.
One Texas Bacon Cheesesteak Melt, for example, delivers more than 1,000 calories — nearly half the daily recommended limit. Equally, the All-Star Special – a customer favorite – can contain well over 1,200 calories when extra toppings and sides are added. Given the growing focus on dietary awareness, it’s absolutely crucial to order smart when choosing a meal from Waffle House. Here are 15 Waffle House menu items that should be avoided because they could compromise your health goals.
Country Ham Dinner
This dinner is high in calories, fat, and sodium, with its large ham portion and side choices of hashbrowns or biscuits. The curing process generally makes country ham high in sodium.
All sides and accompaniments can add to this, often exceeding 2,500–3,000 mg of sodium, depending on what you choose. This is more than the American Heart Association recommends eating daily, so this isn’t a heart-healthy pick.
The All-Star Special
This popular breakfast can include scrambled eggs, a waffle, toast or biscuits, hashbrowns or grits, your choice of breakfast meat, and cheese. A single combination can contain more than 1,150 calories, 550 calories from fat, and 2,040 milligrams of sodium.
The meal contains almost the full daily sodium recommended limit and exceeds the ideal limit of 1,500 milligrams. Trying lighter sides such as sliced tomatoes or grits instead of hash browns will cut back on calories and sodium, but it won’t be particularly healthy.
Sausage Egg and Cheese Hashbrown Bowl
This Waffle House staple contains 920 calories, 60 grams of fat, and 1,620 milligrams of sodium. It has high cholesterol and is full of saturated fat, which makes it less heart-friendly.
It’s particularly concerning because its sodium levels also approach the daily recommendations for sodium.
Cheesesteak Melt Hashbrown Bowl
The meal has 625 calories, 1,290 milligrams of sodium, and 280 calories from fat and includes steak, onions, and melted cheese on top of double hashbrowns.
Even worse, its counterpart, the Chicken Melt Hashbrown Bowl, has 1,920 milligrams of sodium, more than 80 percent of the recommended daily intake.
Classic Waffle with Syrup
Despite their simplicity, a single waffle can have about 400 calories. The number is higher with syrup and butter added to it and without any nutritional value from the dish itself.
It’s better ordered as an occasional treat than on a regular order.
Pecan Waffle
Pecans already add calories to a waffle before adding syrup and butter. Pecans have some healthy fats, but the net nutrition is less than desirable because of the very high sugar and carbohydrate content.
For those times when you crave waffles, go for the plain version or share to reduce your intake.
Patty Melt with Hashbrowns
This classic combination delivers about 900 calories and over 1,600 milligrams of sodium. The patty melts alone provide 680 calories; hash browns, especially the loaded variety, can add even more, propelling the meal to over 1,000 calories.
Whenever you select this, opt for a lighter sandwich, or don’t get sides.
Country Gravy and Biscuits
This dish is quite delicious, but almost an entire day’s worth of saturated fat and sodium are packed into it.
Though comforting, it’s not a heart-friendly option and has no fiber or essential vitamins.
Bert’s Chili, with cheese and crackers
Chili may seem like a hearty and filling dish, and while the Waffle House version would make chili fans happy, it is pretty heavy on sodium (1,200 milligrams) and fat (16 grams per serving).
When added cheese and crackers, it has a high-calorie count and low nutritional value. However, if you love Chili, go for a smaller portion.
Double Cheeseburger
This burger contains more than 1,000 calories with toppings and sides. The saturated fat (23 grams) and sodium (1,500 milligrams) make it not the best choice for those with a heart condition or those watching their weight.
You may want to order a single patty or pass on the cheese and condiments for something lighter.
Cheese Grits
Grits are a Southern staple, but adding cheese almost doubles their calorie count from 90 to almost 200 per serving.
These also pack in saturated fat (10 grams) and sodium, making them a less health-conscious option. For fewer calories, stick to plain grits.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Mayonnaise
Grilled chicken is usually a low-fat option (300 calories), but if you add mayonnaise, you’ll be adding a lot of fat, which will drastically increase the calories to above 400.
A tablespoon of mayonnaise, for example, adds 100 calories and 12.5 grams of fat. This can be made healthier if you choose to stick with mustard or just go without the sauce.
Chocolate Pie
A slice of this dessert contains approximately 400 calories and 25 – 30 grams of sugar. This high amount of sugar offers little nutritional value and can result in energy crashes.
According to the American Heart Association, the recommended daily sugar intake for women is 25g, which this pie already contains. Stick to fresh fruit and avoid this dessert if you aim for a better, healthier meal.
Texas Bacon Cheesesteak Melt
It’s loaded with over 1,000 calories and 50 grams of fat (22 of which are saturated). Nearly 1,800 milligrams of sodium, or almost 75 percent of the daily recommended limit by the American heart Association.
The processed cheese and white bread count for zero fiber and contribute to the unhealthy profile.
Loaded Hashbrown Bowl
This famous bowl can top 1,200 calories and 2,000 milligrams of sodium when loaded with cheese, sausage, and eggs.
High in fat and sodium, it’s a poor choice for those monitoring their heart health. Go for plain hashbrowns and add vegetables for a lighter meal.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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