• 33 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

What Do You Eat with Chicken and Waffles

Maple syrup, hot honey and whipped butter, collard greens and grits, or chicken gravy the Pennsylvania Dutch way.

What Do You Eat with Chicken and Waffles

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  1. Maple syrupWarm it and pour it over the waffle, then let it run under the chicken.
  2. Collard greensGive them a bowl of their own so the cooking liquid stays off the waffle.
  3. Cheese gritsSpoon them into a small bowl beside the plate and eat them between bites.
  4. Chicken gravyLadle it over the chicken and the waffle together and leave the syrup out.
  5. Fried eggsLay one on the waffle and break the yolk before you add the chicken.

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All 33 ideas

Syrup, butter and other toppings 10

  • Blackberry syrup Spoon it over one corner of the waffle so the chicken stays crisp.
  • Cane syrup Pour a thin stream over the waffle and leave the bottle on the table.
  • Hot honey Trickle it over the chicken, not the waffle, and pass the jar around.
  • Hot sauce Shake a few drops on the chicken before the syrup goes on.
  • Maple syrup Warm it and pour it over the waffle, then let it run under the chicken.
  • Pepper vinegar Sprinkle it on the chicken or the greens, a little at a time.
  • Powdered sugar Dust the waffle through a small sieve just before the plate goes out.
  • Sorghum syrup Use it where you would use maple, and start with less.
  • Toasted pecans Scatter a handful over the waffle after the syrup, so they keep their crunch.
  • Whipped butter Put a scoop on the hot waffle first so it melts into every square.

From the Pennsylvania Dutch table 7

  • Apple dumplings Serve one in a bowl with cold milk poured around it.
  • Chicken gravy Ladle it over the chicken and the waffle together and leave the syrup out.
  • Funnel cake Tear it into pieces and share one between two.
  • Pepper cabbage Serve a small dish of it as the sharp thing beside the gravy.
  • Pickled red beet eggs Halve them and set two halves at the edge of each plate.
  • Potato filling Bake it in a dish and spoon some next to the waffle to catch the gravy.
  • Shoofly pie Cut small wedges and bring them out with the coffee.

Greens, grits and other sides 5

  • Candied yams A small spoonful is plenty next to a waffle with syrup.
  • Cheese grits Spoon them into a small bowl beside the plate and eat them between bites.
  • Collard greens Give them a bowl of their own so the cooking liquid stays off the waffle.
  • Macaroni and cheese Give it the corner of the plate farthest from the syrup.
  • Smothered cabbage Pile it next to the chicken as the soft, savory side.

Eggs, bacon and fruit for brunch 4

  • Crisp bacon Tuck two strips beside the waffle and drag them through the syrup.
  • Fried eggs Lay one on the waffle and break the yolk before you add the chicken.
  • Orange slices Fan a few on the rim of the plate for something sharp and juicy.
  • Watermelon wedges Chill them well and bring them out with the plates.

Something sweet after 5

  • Butter pecan ice cream Put a scoop on a last quarter of waffle and call it dessert.
  • Caramel cake Cut it small and serve it with something hot to drink.
  • Peaches and cream Slice ripe peaches into small bowls and pour cold cream over them.
  • Red velvet cake One slice with two forks is about right after chicken and waffles.
  • Sweet potato pie Cut thin slices, since the plate before it was a full one.

Drinks 2

  • Strawberry soda Pour it over ice in tall glasses.
  • Sweet iced tea Fill tall glasses with ice and keep the pitcher within reach.

How it works

What do you eat with chicken and waffles? Something sweet on the waffle, something hot on the chicken and one savory side. These 33 ideas cover the toppings, the sides, sweets for after and two cold drinks.

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What to eat with chicken and waffles, by tradition

The dish has two forms. In the soul food version the chicken is fried, and the waffle comes the breakfast way, with butter and syrup. The Pennsylvania Dutch version is a plain waffle topped with pulled, stewed chicken and covered in gravy. By the 1860s the Pennsylvania Dutch commonly ate it on Sundays.

What sides to eat with chicken and waffles

Match the side to what is on the waffle. With syrup, pick something savory: greens, grits or an egg. Under gravy, a sweet and sour dish such as pepper cabbage does that job. One side is enough, since the waffle is the starch.

  • Rest the fried chicken on a rack, not a plate, until the waffles are ready, so the crust stays crisp.
  • Cook the waffles last, and do not stack them: steam softens the ones underneath.

Questions and answers

What do you eat chicken and waffles with besides syrup?

Hot honey or hot sauce on the chicken, and toasted pecans or powdered sugar on the waffle. For no sweetness at all, chicken gravy over both is the Pennsylvania Dutch way.

What vegetable goes with chicken and waffles?

Collard greens, in a bowl of their own, or smothered cabbage for something milder.

What dessert goes with chicken and waffles?

Something cold or fruity after a rich plate: peaches and cream, or a scoop of butter pecan ice cream. On a Pennsylvania Dutch table, shoofly pie, a molasses crumb cake in a pie crust, or an apple dumpling in a bowl with milk.

What do you drink with chicken and waffles?

Without alcohol: sweet iced tea over plenty of ice, or a strawberry soda. Hot coffee suits a morning plate.

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