Announcing Egg Replacement Event – Flax Seed Meal

Do you know that flax is grown both for its seeds and for fiber? Yes, don’t be surprised. Various parts of this versatile plant are used to make fiber, dye, paper, medicines and soap. The next 30 days we are going to try recipes which use these flaxseeds as egg substitutes. Flax seeds come in 2 basic varieties, brown and yellow/golden and both these types are the most concentrated source of essential omega-3 fatty acids, so it should be a part of our diet even if it is not used as an egg substitute. I top it on both cold and hot cereals, smoothies, milkshakes and salads.
For each egg to be replaced, blend in a blender/food processor 1 tablespoon flax seed with 3 tablespoons water until the mixture is thick and creamy. Update: I have a book “Sinfully Vegan” by Lois Dieterly, she has mentioned the ratio as 1 teaspoon of flax seed powder and 1/4 cup of water for every egg to be replaced. I did try her Vegan Brownies with that ratio and it came out very good. “The Joy of Vegan Baking” suggests to whisk 1 tablespoon flax seed powder and 3 tablespoons water.
Check out the recipes using flax seed meal as egg substitute from here.
When can this be used as an egg substitute? Flax seed has a nutty flavor and so it works in baked goods that are grainier and nuttier, such as waffles, pancakes, bran muffins, breads and oatmeal cookies. (Source: The Joy of Vegan Cooking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)
Other interesting facts about flax seed (from Bob’s Red Mill pack):
1. Just 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal delivers 4 grams of fiber, as much fiber as 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal! Studies prove that when this is added to the diet, harmful LDL cholesterol drops,
while good HDL cholesterol stays put.
2. Flax seed contains high levels of lignans, a natural antioxidant, which can maintain breast and colon health by binding circulating estrogens that might promote unchecked cell growth. To get the
lignans that are in just 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal, you’d need to eat about 30 cups of fresh broccoli.
3. Flax seed is a mega-source for the plant version of omega-3 called Alpha-Linolenic Acid. The oil in flaxseed is about 50% ALA. One serving (which is 2 tablespoons) contains 2400 milligrams of omega-3.
Isn’t the above information enough to start including flax seed meal in our diet regularly?
Now for the rules of the event:
2. Post the recipe in your blog, with a picture and link back to this post. Also feel free to share your experiences and tips while using the substitute regardless of the outcome. This would provide the much needed insight about that particular egg substitute.
3. Since the idea behind the event is to help those who are searching for tried and tested eggless baking recipes, you can also send me the recipes which you have posted earlier in your blog using flaxseed meal as an egg substitute. Reposting is not necessary. That being said, I would really appreciate if you could try new recipes too and post it, because eggless recipes are never enough.
4. Also multiple entries are welcome more than ever for this event.
5. Email me your name, blog URL, name of the recipe, recipe URL, photo in 150wx120h size to ere(at)egglesscooking.com with Flax Seed Meal as the subject.
6. Non bloggers are also welcome to send your recipes, tips and picture of your creation and I will include it in the round up.
7. Last date to send your entries is the 14th of Nov 2008 and the round up will be posted after the 15th.
I will do the round-up for the Egg Replacement Event – Silken Tofu shortly.
Stay Tuned!
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.













November 3rd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
[...] egg can be replaced with two egg whites or a quarter cup of egg substitute. Flaxseed is also a good replacement for eggs; each egg that you want to replace only requires 1 tablespoon [...]
October 24th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Hi, Madhuram!
I haven’t tried this yet because I have all ready ground flax seed meal that I would like to use instead of flax seed.
How much water would I want to add for the replacement of one egg?
Pam, there are a couple of measurements being followed by different people. But I have so far tried only 1 teaspoon of flax seed powder blended thoroughly with 1/4 cup water and it works fine.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Nope didn’t work. I premixed & pureed 1 tb powdered flax with 3 tb of water. The muffins I made were just glug inside – not even remotely cooked.
Fiona, try using 1 teaspoon flax seed powder and 1/4 cup water. It works well. I have tried it in a couple of recipes.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
So I’ve tried to use flaxseed as an egg substitute but it hasn’t worked. Could it be that I have to mix it with water *before* adding to the other ingredients? I sort of just throw everything into a bowl and mix it up all at once. would appreciate the help
Jane
Yes Jane, the flax seed powder and water should be blended well (it will be gooey) before adding it to the other ingredients.
July 28th, 2009 at 10:00 am
[...] my entry for Egg Replacement Event – Flax Seed Meal, hosted by me. Share and [...]
April 30th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I saw a video on baking bread on youtube, and the person said sometrhing about using oatmeal as a substitute for eggs. how would you do that?
April 17th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
[...] Note: I used only 3T agave for the first batch because I am very sugar sensitive and they were delicious, but testers liked the sweeter version with 1/3c. agave. Also, for those of you who are allergic to eggs or watching cholesterol I used 1t flax + 1/4c water in a blender as a substitue for half the eggs in the 2nd batch and they were delicious! Next time I will try it with no eggs and let you know how it goes! For more info on eggless cooking: go to this great eggless cooking tips website. [...]
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:43 am
I read the other day on a parenting site that one shouldn’t eat more then 2 tbs flax seeds per day, because it turns into a poisoning hydrogen cyanide …or whatever it was called.
I’ll check it out. Moreover we use only a teaspoon of flax seed powder for each egg, so a maximum of 2 or 3 teaspoons on the whole and each serving of a cookie or bread will have only a very small quantity of flax seed.