Food Review - Kellogg's Eggo Protein

📝 Cheat Sheet

Kellogg’s, a massive consumer package good company that is known for some of the most popular cereal brands like Special K, Corn Flakes and Fruit Loops, isn’t known for making the highest quality protein-focused food, so I was admittedly skeptical going into this.

But when I saw these on sales at my local grocery store for $5.49 a box (down from $6.99), I decided to give these a go.

You know, in the name of science 😉.

🧪 Nutrition & Ingredients

Strawberry Blast has 20 more calories, 1g more fat and 2g more carbs than Chocolate Chip Brownie. Negligible differences IMO.

Their main protein sources are soy protein isolate and whey protein concentrate, both are complete protein sources. Whole egg is on the list here, but it’s so far down the ingredients list, its contribution to the 10g protein per serving is likely minimal.

What’s more interesting is when you compare the Eggo Protein panel vs. that of the Eggo Chocolatey Chip, their original chocolate waffle.

If your goal is to get more protein in your day, then Eggo Protein wins on macros.

It has 10g protein per serving, for only 160 calories. In comparison, the meager 3g protein in Egg Chocolatey Chip is more incidental than intentional. The 14g carb difference, almost a full slice of bread’s worth, is a result of more sugar types (molasses, dextrose and sugar), which makes the original taste sweeter. More on the taste later.

The tradeoff for the superior macros is a longer ingredient list.

Adding protein sources like soy protein isolate and whey protein concentrate can make baked goods dry. To fix this, manufacturers add more emulsifiers, flavour enhancers, stabilizers and leavening agents to keep the texture right.

Secondly, the chocolate treatment here is different. In Eggo Protein, they added “semi-sweet chocolate confectionary” which has added shellac, carnauba wax and beeswax. This is to keep the chocolate from ruining the protein texture. In Eggo Chocolatey Chip, “unsweetened chocolate” is used, which is the more traditional approach.

Now the big question is - do the superior macros translate to superior taste?

🧇 Looks & Appeal

Out of the box frozen, Strawberry Blast looks the best IMO. It somehow already looks a little bit toasted, which adds to the appeal.

I don’t love how Eggo Protein Chocolate Chip Brownie looks. Too dark, doesn’t have the colour contrast Strawberry Blast or Eggo Chocolatey Chip has. The chocolate chips also look flaky and crumbly, which isn’t appealing.

After ~3 minutes in the toaster, Strawberry Blast starts to lose the structure integrity a bit. You can see from the photo (top left) that the top surface is crumbling. Eggo Protein Chocolate Chip Brownie looks too dark, and the chocolate chips look burnt.

Both Originals look good to me.

Cross-section wise, they look similar. Although if I had to nit-pick, the Eggo Protein Chocolate Chip Brownie looks flatter and more “packed in”.

😋 Taste, Texture & Flavour

Both Eggo Protein varieties are disappointing, especially compared to the original waffles.

Chocolate Chip Brownie’s chocolate flavour is ok, albeit a bit subtle. I don’t get the “brownie” flavour from it, more just generic cocoa taste. Compared to the Eggo Original Chocolatey Chip, it tastes less sweet, which mutes the chocolate flavour profile.

It is also more grainy, which is to be expected from a “protein infused” product. Compared to the Original, it’s less chewy, less doughy, and just doesn’t have the same bite to it. Again, to be expected from less carbs overall.

My last complaint here is just not enough “chocolate chips” (or whatever they are using to pass as chocolate chips). Most likely for cost reasons.

Strawberry Blast’s strawberry flavour is faint. It’s not as grainy as the chocolate one, and it tastes more “eggy” somehow, which gives it a better overall mouthfeel. Again, due to less carbs, it’s just less chewy compared to the Originals.

One note here: I had these waffles straight from the toaster, without syrup or other condiments. So it is possible the addition of fruits, butter or syrup would improve the overall experience.

Then again, that’s true for most foods 🤷.

📦️ One Interesting Packaging Detail

There’s layout and visual consistency for each line-up on the front of package: for the protein varieties, there’s the big “10g high protein” callout, colour matching the flavour, etc.

But on the side panel, where you are supposed to open the box (the flap and the insert slot), Eggo Original Chocolatey Chip is the only one featuring a colour that matches its flavour.

👎️ Final Verdict

If you are struggling to hit your daily protein targets, Eggo Protein Waffles are for you. This is a convenient, macro-friendly, high-protein food for what it is. Instead of making protein waffles yourself, which isn’t that hard to do, you can pop these into the toaster and be on your way in minutes.

That’s who they are going after with Eggo Protein.

But for everyone else, I’d save the money.

The taste, texture and flavour tradeoffs aren’t worth it. The incremental protein you get per serving vs. the Originals is trivial IMO, as you can easily close that gap with just a 1/3 of a scoop of most protein powder brands, an egg, or a few more grams of chicken, steak or most fish.

Not to mention the price: $6.99 for a box of frozen waffles is hard to swallow (pun intended).

P.S. - To my surprise, my girls preferred the protein varieties to the originals. Their favourite was Strawberry Blast. So I guess if you have young children, this could be a hit?

Catch y’all in the next one! ✌️ 
Dave Chen
(aka your Jacked Nerd guide)