How Many Calories Are in Pancakes and Waffles?

First Watch Nutrition Calculator: The Short Answer

The Full Breakdown: What Is in the Multigrain Pancakes?

The full profile of the Multigrain Pancakes (portion) at First Watch: 520 calories, 10g of protein, 53g of carbohydrates, 29g of fat, 2g of fibre, 16g of sugar and 850mg of sodium. Against a 2,000-calorie reference day, that is 26% of the day's calories, 37% of the sodium guideline and 32% of the 50g sugar daily value — which is why the same item can be a light choice in one day and the whole budget in another.

Where those calories sit matters as much as the total. Protein contributes 40 of them, carbohydrate 212 and fat 261 — so the Multigrain Pancakes is a fat-led item, which is why smaller portions of it still satisfy. That split, not the headline number alone, is what decides how long the meal keeps you full.

How Does It Compare With the Rest of the First Watch Menu?

One number means little without the menu around it. The table below lines the Multigrain Pancakes up against the lightest item at First Watch, the highest-protein item, the best protein-per-calorie pick and the heaviest item on the menu.

For context, the First Watch Nutrition Calculator tracks 16 items, and the average one runs about 509 calories. 4 of them come in under 300 calories and 6 under 500, while the heaviest — the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (portion) — reaches 1100. Where a single item sits inside that spread matters more than the item's reputation: menus, not names, decide what a meal costs.

What Pushes the Number Up (and How to Pull It Down)?

At First Watch, the headline item is rarely the whole story: size upgrades, sauces, cheese and the side you add by habit regularly contribute as much as the main itself. The menu's own extremes prove the point — the same kitchen produces the Cold Brew Coffee at 10 calories and the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (portion) at 1100. The gap between a light visit and a heavy one is almost never the restaurant; it is two or three quiet additions.

The reliable defence is to decide the extras on purpose. Keep one rich addition — a sauce, a cheese, a dessert — rather than stacking them, and let high-volume, low-calorie items do the filling: the Avocado Toast leads this menu for fibre at 14g, and fibre is what makes a lighter order still feel like a meal three hours later.

• Lightest item on the menu: Cold Brew Coffee — 10 calories
• Heaviest item on the menu: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (portion) — 1100 calories
• Best protein per calorie: Healthy Turkey Omelette — 7g per 100 calories
• Items under 300 calories here: 4 of 16

What About the Sodium and Sugar?

Calories get the attention, but at First Watch the quieter numbers deserve a look. The saltiest item on the menu, the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (portion), carries 1620mg of sodium — 70% of the full day's 2,300mg guideline in a single item — while the least salty, the Fresh Fruit (side), carries just 5mg. Salt rarely tracks calories: plenty of light-looking orders are sodium-heavy, and plenty of hearty ones are moderate.

Sugar is more concentrated. The Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (portion) holds 53g — more than the American Heart Association's full-day suggested limit for women (25g) and men (36g) — while most savoury items sit in single digits. The practical rule: check the drink and dessert line first, because that is where the sugar in a First Watch order almost always lives.

How Does This Fit the Rest of Your Day?

No First Watch order happens in isolation, so place this one against a reference day of about 2,000 calories, 2,300mg of sodium and a 50g sugar daily value. The average item in the First Watch Nutrition Calculator runs about 509 calories, which means a typical one-item-plus-side order lands near a third of the day's energy before a drink is counted. That is not a problem to solve — it is a budget to be aware of, and the awareness is most of the value: the rest of the day can run lighter precisely because lunch was counted.

The pattern that works for most people is asymmetry. On a day when First Watch is the main event, let the other meals be simple and protein-led, drink water by default, and treat the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (portion) (53g of sugar) as the dessert decision made in advance rather than at the till. On a day when the other meals are the occasion, First Watch can be the light one instead — the Cold Brew Coffee at 10 calories proves the menu supports it. Either way, the plan is made once, calmly, instead of being renegotiated at every meal.

• Menu average: ~509 calories per item across 16 tracked items
• Lightest anchor: Cold Brew Coffee — 10 calories
• Best protein per calorie: Healthy Turkey Omelette — 7g per 100 cal
• Fibre leader: Avocado Toast — 14g, against a 28g daily target
• Salt ceiling to watch: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (portion) — 1620mg in one item

The Bottom Line

The Multigrain Pancakes (portion) at First Watch has 520 calories, with 10g of protein, 29g of fat and 850mg of sodium. If your build differs from the standard one — an extra sauce, a different size, a swapped side — run it through the First Watch Nutrition Calculator before you order: thirty seconds there replaces every guess in this article with your exact total.

People Also Ask