Great Egg Substitute: Flax Seed Meal

I use flax seed meal and water, whisked together, almost exclusively as an egg substitute. It is the ideal substitute in most baked goods. Now these are normal baked goods, such as muffins, cookies, and cakes. No egg substitute will work successfully in dishes that are egg-dependent, such as quiche or meringue.

The process is very simple. For every egg in the original recipe, use 1 tablespoon flax seed meal and 3 tablespoons water. Whisk them together and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. It will get gummy, just like eggs. Then the mixture can be incorporated into the recipe where it calls for egg(s). There are no other adjustments needed in the recipe.

I have noticed that usually, you will not be able to tell any difference in baked goods where flax seed meal has been substituted for the eggs. However, small items like cookies may be more crumbly. I recommend making cookies as bars. Anything that bakes as a bigger solid — such as muffins, quick breads, cakes, or bar cookies — will do just fine.

If you use too much flax seed meal/water mixture (or if you use any flax seed meal/water mixture in pancakes), the risk is that what is baking will remain gummy inside. That is why I don’t use any egg substitute at all for pancakes or pancake-style flatbreads. They just don’t cook inside before getting burned on the outside.

You can grind your own flax seeds in the Vita-Mix dry container (on HIGH), in a heavy-duty blender, or in a coffee grinder. A food processor will not achieve a fine enough grind. Grind the seeds until they’re fine, like a flaky powder. When the meal begins to clump together, that is generally fine enough.

People often tout the benefits of flax seeds because they contain Omega-3, an essential fatty acid that we need and generally don’t consume enough of. However, flax seeds, when baked, lose the Omega-3. They must be raw to get that benefit. Still, as an egg substitute, flax seed meal offers excellent results and you will still get fiber, so all is not lost.

On the other hand, don’t think that sprinkling whole raw seeds on your salad or yogurt will give impart an Omega-3 benefit. In their whole form, the seeds will pass right through your body — you must grind them to get the full benefits.

It is best to grind just the amount of flax seed meal you need, at the time you need it, because exposure to light and oxygen will compromise the nutritional benefits. The next best option is to grind a few days’ worth or a week’s worth of the flax seed meal and store it in the freezer in a dark colored jar, to minimize light exposure.