Apple Waffle Pops (Vegan Protein Waffles on a Stick)

Apple waffle pops are apple rings on a lolly stick, dipped in vegan protein waffle batter and pressed in a waffle maker until golden. They are the easiest vegan protein waffles I make. One apple and one scoop of protein powder gives you three pops with 28g of protein, ready in about 15 minutes, with a soft baked apple middle and a crisp waffle outside.

This is the recipe that finally justified owning a waffle maker. Make the batter, slice an apple into rounds, push a lolly stick into each one, dip, press. What comes out looks like a waffle on a stick and eats like a baked apple wrapped in one.

The apple is the reason I make these rather than plain protein waffles. It steams inside its batter jacket while the outside crisps in the plates, so you get a soft middle a flat waffle never gives you. And because the apple does the structural work, the batter layer stays thin, which is how you dodge the dense, dry texture high protein waffles are famous for.

• Ready in about 15 minutes, most of that slicing the apple
• 28g of protein and 8.5g of fibre in the batch
• Vegan and dairy free, no eggs and no butter anywhere
• They hold their shape on the stick, so they travel well

What goes into the batter

Vanilla vegan protein powder carries both the 28g and the sweetness, so there is no added sugar in the batter at all. A vanilla whey works if you are not keeping these vegan, though whey browns faster, so check a minute early.

Self-raising flour lets the batter puff into the waffle pockets instead of sitting flat in them. Plain flour with a teaspoon of baking powder does the same job.

Almond milk with half a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar makes a quick vegan buttermilk. Give it five minutes to thicken. People skip this step, and it is the difference between a tender protein waffle and a rubbery one.

Melted coconut oil goes in the batter and on the plates, because protein batter sticks harder than ordinary waffle batter.

A firm green apple, Granny Smith or Braeburn, holds the stick without splitting and keeps its bite through the heat. A soft eating apple collapses into sauce and slides off.

My coaching note

The batter has to be thick. Thick enough that a dipped slice lifts out wearing a proper jacket, with the batter clinging rather than running off. Thin batter pools in the waffle grooves and you end up with an apple slice sitting in a puddle. Add flour a tablespoon at a time until it clings, because loosening a thick batter is easy and rescuing a thin one is not.

Swaps worth knowing

• For apple cinnamon waffles, dust them the second they come off the plates, while they are still steaming
• No lolly sticks? Skip them and you have apple waffles, they just need a fork
• Pour any leftover batter onto the plates for protein powder waffles alongside, so nothing is wasted
• Two tablespoons of applesauce in the batter makes a softer, cakier set of protein waffles, though you lose the apple middle

The batter is the same one I use for my chocolate apple pancakes, and the spiced apple pancakes are the cosier version. There is a rice paper apple danish too, and the rest of my high protein recipes live here.

If you make these, show me on Instagram.

Alex :)