How do you add flaxseed to baked goods?

Whole flaxseed adds colour and crunch to foods. You can sprinkle flaxseeds on top of home baking or mix them into dough . However, to obtain maximal benefits from flaxseed, you should grind them first because whole seeds will pass through your body undigested.

What is the flax seed muffin study?

Researchers gave a group of women with breast cancer a muffin made with about 2 tablespoons of flaxseed every day for 1 month . They found that women who ate the flaxseed muffins had significantly lower tumor cell growth compared to women who ate a placebo muffin (no flaxseed).

How does flaxseed affect baking?

For most baked products, moderate to high inclusion levels of ground flaxseed allow for the reduction or removal of shortening or other added oils . Shorter mixing times are required for certain products. In bread products, flaxseed addition can increase fermentation and proof times.

Which flaxseed is best for baking?

Flaxseeds can be dark brown or golden and have a distinctive glossy sheen. Both types have a mildly nutty taste, which becomes more pronounced when they are ground into meal. Opt for golden flaxseeds in recipes where color is important; brown flaxseeds will fleck pale batters and dishes with dark bits.

Can you just sprinkle flaxseed on food?

Simply sprinkle ground flaxseeds on any kind of oatmeal or yogurt for a healthy start to your morning . Try a tablespoon of milled flaxseeds on this Apple Yogurt Parfait or in this Peanut Butter Oatmeal recipe. Overnight oats deserve a nutritional boost from flaxseeds, too!

Do you need to soak flax seeds before baking?

For most recipes for baked products, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed for 2 tablespoons of the flour for each cup of flour in the recipe. If you don't have a coffee mill to grind the flax seed, soak the seeds in warm water for about 10 minutes before adding them to your baked products .

Is it OK to bake flax seeds?

Unripe and raw flaxseed can have toxins that may be harmful in high doses. Consider toasting, cooking or baking the flaxseed to destroy those toxins . Flaxseed is available in bulk — whole or ground — at many grocery stores and health food stores.

How much flaxseed should I put in my food?

Once ground, flaxseed should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight, non-transparent container, as they are much more prone to oxidation and spoilage. While there are no specific recommendations for flaxseed intake, 1-2 tablespoons a day is considered a healthy amount.

Grain-Free Apple Flax Muffins Recipes (2024)

Jump to Recipe

Grain-Free Apple Flax Muffins Recipes (1)

We threw my sister-in-law a real curveball, coming to visit during Lent when our entire family was grain-free. I’m pretty sure she had a spectacular menu all planned out when I dropped the email bomb about, “By the way, we gave up grains for Lent, and it’s not just a sacrifice thing, but we have to stick to it to see if anyone actually has a health issue with gluten. Hope you weren’t planning veggie lasagna for a meatless Friday dinner…”

She was, of course. Then she was going to use eggplant in one dish instead of noodles, until I told her nobody around here likes eggplant, either.

The poor girl. I don’t blame her for being frustrated at first, and I felt horribly after speaking to her on the phone.

She never ceases to impress and amaze me, though, so I wasn’t completely surprised (although honored and touched) that she tossed her original plans and rose to the challenge with new recipes the whole weekend.

She learned to read labels, found some fun gluten-free crackers, served an amazing meat- AND grain-free supper on Friday (pasta-less minestrone, salad, and zucchini-based cheesy lasagna), and got creative with quinoa crepes for breakfast. (The only time my husband has ever eaten quinoa and enjoyed it! Woo hoo!) She found a little restaurant in Cincinnati for Saturday’s lunch that serves local, pastured meats and eggs which I raved about on Facebook as soon as I could, and she had bunless and delicious homemade turkey burgers with tons of side dishes for dinner.

I am so truly blessed to have a sister-in-law who cares about us so much. *sniff*

She even knocked out the ever-difficult “snacks” category with these apple flax muffins, a recipe she realized she had bookmarked long ago before she had ever heard of anyone going grain-free.

They were the absolutely perfect to-go treat for the 5K run/walk that we all participated in.

And now, for the recipe. You won’t trick anyone into thinking they’re not health food, but if you like a hearty muffin, you’ll never miss the flour in this recipe. I just love the chunkiness of the nuts and apples, and I remain amazed that flax can take the place of all grains like this.

You can even try swapping the sugar with sorghum syrupor maple syrup for a healthier sweetener.

Ingredients

UnitsScale

1 1/4 c. flax seed meal OR whole flax seeds
2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. sugar or sucanat
4 eggs
1/4 c. melted unrefined coconut oil (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!) (or butter)
1/2 c. applesauce (yogurt works as a substitute)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large apple, chopped
1/2 c. walnuts (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!), chopped

Cook Mode: prevent your screen from turning off while you're making this recipe

Instructions

If using ground flax (meal):
Mix dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and add to dry mixture along with oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add apple and nuts and stir to combine.
If using whole flax seeds; you’ll need a decent blender for this one:
Blend eggs, oil, flax seeds, applesauce and vanilla about a minute, or as long as it takes to grind up the seeds completely. (This just about killed my blender, so I decided “good enough” when my blender just didn’t want to move anymore.) The mixture will get very gummy and thick quite quickly.
Combine dry ingredients separately.
If you have a high-powered blender, add dry ingredients to the mixture in the blender and blend to combine, then stir in apples and walnuts.
If you have a regular blender, pour wet mixture from blender into a bowl, where you can combine with dry ingredients, apples and nuts.
To finish either method:
Allow fully incorporated mixture to stand 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease muffin tins. Spoon into tins (the batter will be very thick) and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (12-14 for mini muffins)

Need a little help getting healthy food on the table every day? Real Plans takes the stress out of meal planning and puts the nourishing food BACK on your table. There’s a plan for every diet type, including GAPS, Paleo, AIP, Whole30, vegetarian and more! You remain totally in control: use your own recipes, accept theirs, and teach the system what your family likes…Check out how powerful it is here!

I recommend storing any baked good made with flax in the refrigerator, unless you’re going to consume them all within 1-2 days. Flax just seems to mold quickly, possibly because of the unstable omega-3s that are so healthy for us to eat. (More on how to store flax seeds and flax oil.)

I also recommend, of course, enlisting the kids to help on this one like the pic below! Yes, kids CAN use sharp knives safely on those apples, measure ingredients carefully and stir a uniform mixture…we teach them how in our online kids cooking class, in fact. 😉

Grain-Free Apple Flax Muffins Recipes (5)

Like I told you last week when I detailed the difficulties of our elimination diet, eating with others is the greatest challenge. I’m so thankful my sister-in-law made it really, really easy on us for an entire Lenten weekend.

If you’re just here for the healthy snacks, you might also enjoy these banana flax muffins (although not grain-free), found in my Healthy Snacks to Go eBook.

GLUTEN-FREE CAN BE CONFUSING BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HARD!

Grain-Free Apple Flax Muffins Recipes (6)

I’m thrilled to share a FREE gluten-free cheat sheet mini eBook to help get you started!This is perfect if you’ve just been told you need a GF diet, if you have a friend or family member eating GF and you’d like to cook for them, or if you’re just curious what it’s all about!

Get The GF Cheat sheet

Grain-Free Apple Flax Muffins Recipes (7)

See my full disclosure statement here.

Unless otherwise credited, photos are owned by the author or used with a license from Canva or Deposit Photos.

Category: Real Food Recipes

Tags: apples, applesauce, breakfast, coconut oil, dairy-free, eggs, flax, gluten free, grain free, grain-free lifestyle, healthy snack ideas, kid-friendly, muffins, Real Food Recipes, snacks, sucanat, vegetarian, walnuts, yogurt

Grain-Free Apple Flax Muffins Recipes (2024)

Ingredients

Instructions

GLUTEN-FREE CAN BE CONFUSING BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HARD!

FAQs

How do you add flaxseed to baked goods? ›