Flavors Tried: Homestyle Waffles
Price: $4.99 for box of 6 at Whole Foods
Nutrition (for 2 waffles): 220 Calories, 10g Protein, 24g Carbs (3g Fiber, 5g Sugar), 10g Protein
Banza is widely known for its gluten-free chickpea pasta, which is a product I eat often. I’m not gluten-free, but I love the extra protein that Banza is able to pack into their pasta products.
Over the years, Banza has released numerous additional products, and I tend to enjoy them. Most notably, the frozen pizza was a pretty big leap away from pasta, and I thought they nailed it.
As a waffle connoisseur, and as someone who has created his own protein waffle mix, I was beyond excited to see Banza step into the waffle game.
Considering Banza is entirely chickpea-based, I had no idea what to expect from a waffle product, but I had to give it a try.
Nutritionally, Banza’s homestyle protein waffles are not extremely impressive. With 220 calories, you’d hope to see more than 10 grams of protein, especially when you see that the fat content is the same as the protein.
What I find most interesting is that these protein waffles are not vegan.
With chickpeas as the main ingredient, and pea protein used as a protein source, it’s really surprising to see egg whites included. I understand the need for a binder, but with those plant-based ingredients, it seems like an odd choice.
If I were placing a bet, I’d say that Banza will release a vegan version down the line. But as of right now, all of their waffles (homestyle, chocolate chip, and blueberry) contain egg whites.
The Taste Test
The protein waffles toasted up quite well, and they came out of the toaster feeling very similar to Eggo waffles.
You can tell from the photos that they are a little drier than your typical toaster waffle, but you expect that with a high-protein product.
The smell coming out of my kitchen was exactly what you’d hope for from frozen waffles. The sweetness shines through, and there’s a wonderful vanilla scent that leads you to believe these are going to test very similar to Eggo waffles.
When you bite into these waffles, the experience is no different than any other toaster waffle. The exterior is crispy, the interior is soft, and you taste those delicious pockets of maple syrup.
And then… the aftertaste hits.
Man, I was not prepared for this. All of Banza’s other products (pasta, pizza, mac & cheese, and rice) do an incredible job of masking any chickpea flavor. Outside of a slight texture difference, you’d be hard-pressed to taste the difference between Banza pasta and regular pasta.
But that is not the case with these waffles. The earthy chickpea flour flavor shines through in the aftertaste in the absolute worst way.
If you drown your waffles in syrup, you can somewhat mask that flavor, but it still finds its way into your mouth once the waffle is chewed and swallowed. Even worse, it lingers… for a long time.
I tried these waffles about an hour ago, and I find that the flavor is still lingering for me.
If this were a vegan product, I’d be a bit more forgiving of an earthy aftertaste. I’ve come to expect that from many plant-based products, like vegan protein bars. But these Banza protein waffles are not vegan, so there’s no reason they should have such a strong aftertaste.
And to make sure I wasn’t being dramatic, I had my brother try these waffles as well. You don’t know my brother, but he eats vegan and has a very forgiving (and often strange) palette. He agreed that the aftertaste of these waffles was awful.
Banza Protein Waffles: A Missed Opportunity
Banza’s protein waffles have everything going for them: they toast up well, they smell amazing, and they are high(ish) in protein.
But the aftertaste of these waffles ruins the entire experience.
When you drown the waffles in syrup, the flavor improves a little bit, but you shouldn’t have to hide your breakfast under a sea of syrup to make it palatable. That would be like covering your entire burger in a full cup of ketchup and saying it’s a good burger.
I thoroughly enjoy Banza products, but this one is a big miss to me. If it were a vegan product, I’d be willing to give it a little more leeway, but since this isn’t geared towards vegans, I find it to be a miss.
Are there people out there who enjoy these waffles? Absolutely. I know that the options for a gluten-free diet are limited, but there are better options out there for you.
