Knowing how to make a flax egg is a crucial part of vegan baking.
When I figured out that you could use one of these babies to replace a regular (chicken) egg in vegan baking, well…to say I was excited would be a massive understatement.
And YES, they work like a freaking charm I tell ya!
Of course you can’t go whipping them up like egg whites or anything – for that you can use aquafaba – check out our recipe for vegan meringue.
They do very well to replace chicken eggs in baking though.
So when you want to make a cake or pancakes or muffins or biscuits, the humble flax egg is your firm friend.
And oh – how easy!
Check out the ‘how to’ pictures below plus an awesome ‘how to’ video.
And what’s also awesome?
Flax seeds are good for you!
Omega 3’s yay!
So not only are you getting a very handy little baking friend here, you’re also adding some solid healthy goodness to your baked goods! 🙂
Ideal in cakes, pancakes, crepes, muffins and more!
A few notes about flax eggs
A flax egg will usually only replace 1 chicken egg in a recipe. If a recipe has something like 4 chicken eggs in it, then you generally won’t be able to use 4 flax eggs to replace them. The reason being eggs firm up when baked, flax eggs are more watery and won’t act like an egg in that way.
So if you are trying to replace more than 1 egg in a recipe, you would likely use a flax egg to replace one of the eggs and then make other adaptations to the recipe to account for that.
In that way it’s better for you to look for an alternative recipe to veganize that only uses 1 egg rather than trying to veganize the 4 egg recipe.
I have used up to 2 flax eggs in a recipe (see our vegan carrot cake) but usually if you are veganizing a non-vegan recipe you will need to be careful with using more than 1 flax egg to replace chicken eggs in a recipe.
You must use ground flaxseed meal. Flaxseed flour is a different thing. I have tried using flaxseed flour to make a flax egg and it’s not the same. It can work in a pinch but generally it turns out quite lumpy and it’s really just not the same.
If you can’t get ground flaxseed meal in your country but you can get regular whole flaxseeds, then you can make your own ground flaxseed meal by placing the whole flax seeds into the blender and pulse blending until you have ground flaxseed meal.
You don’t want to overblend and turn it into flour. It should look like what you see on the tablespoon in the picture above.
Flax Egg
- Prep Time: 3 mins
- Total Time: 3 mins
- Yield: 1
Description
The step by step guide to how to make a flax egg. Can replace a regular egg in vegan baking for cakes, pancakes, muffins and more!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal
- 3 Tbsp Hot Water
Instructions
- Add the tablespoon of ground flaxseed to a bowl.
- Add 3 tablespoons of hot water from the kettle (just boiled).
- Allow to sit for a minute or two – using hot water makes the thickening process much faster, and it usually gets to the right (gloopy/gelatinous) consistency in only about one minute.
- Use it in place of an egg in recipes, it’s not an exact science, but usually 1 for 1, so 1 flax egg replaces 1 chicken egg in a recipe.
- Of course – it won’t work for things like vegan meringues! You definitely can’t whip it (for that you need aquafaba!)
- However, in cakes and quick breads and pancakes and biscuits, it works perfectly!
- Category: How To
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 flax egg
- Calories: 37
- Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Fiber: 1.9g
- Protein: 1.3g
Keywords: flax egg, how to make a flax egg
I’ve been using this recipe for years and always mean to review it but forget!
Anyway, it’s been such a godsend for me. It’s allowed me to adapt loads and loads of my pre-vegan favourites so easily.
Most importantly, my grandmother used to cook what she called ‘fruity buns’ – they were a staple during my childhood and she passed the recipe to me when I was old enough to bake them myself. I made them for her funeral in 2015, and for my wedding later that year. I became vegan at the start of 2017 and despaired at the idea of never having them again (they contain egg but are otherwise vegan). I’ve been using this flax egg recipe to replicate them ever since I found it, and they’re magnificent. Thank you SO SO MUCH for bringing one of my favourite recipes back to me. I am really grateful.
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So happy to hear that Sam! Thanks for the wonderful review!
Hi dear, thank you for such nice recipes. About the flax, I just wanted you to know that I make vegan cake using whole wheat rice flour and is a great “STICKER” for the dough.
Kind regards
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Hi! Do I need to reduce my overall wet ingredients to compensate for the flax eggs? Thanks!
It depends on the recipe, but likely yes.
Hi, if i dont have flaxseed meal, is that ok to change it to egg replacer? and how much do I need for 2flax eggs in egg replacer?
1 flax egg replaces 1 regular egg. So if you want to replace 2 flax eggs then use as much egg replacer as you’d use to replace 2 regular eggs.
I’m a beginner in the vegan recipes’ world. Recently I read about flax egg in one of them. I had never heard it before. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with the flax egg. I think it’s very interesting and absolutely ingenious when you want to make cakes. I can’t wait to taste it in my homemade desserts, I’m excited about that. My only doubt is whether it will change flavor or consistency due to it being waterier.
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This does work. I use it to dip floured eggplant in before panko bread crumb coating eggplant fries. You do have to let it rest 15-20 minutes for it to get real sticky. I actually like vegan battered eggplant fries, opposed to the egg batter.
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Thank you for putting your efforts into spreading information so we can be a happy vegan. Do you feel animals regard you differently than meat eaters ?
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You’re welcome Rebecca! I’m not sure if they do, but maybe we regard them differently. 🙂
Hi
I usually make muffin type cakes for my husband, they take 3 eggs. Can I just use 1 flax egg?
Trying to convert him
Thanks 🙂
It really depends on the recipe, it might need other changes, and it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. You could try it with 3 flax eggs and just see how it turns out, if it’s too wet then you’ll know to reduce it. It might take a bit of experimenting with your favorite recipes that use a few eggs to figure out how to adapt them properly.
perfect consistency! I used it to make french toast
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I’m very happy to have found Dorys comment ! I’ve missed French toast and I didn’t realize flax egg could be used for that too. Thank you 🙏
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Hi there. To make this flax-egg can I use Ground Flaxseeds? Or does it have to be Flaxseed Meal? Thank you for your response.
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Hi Sissy, I think they are the same thing. When it’s ground very finely into a flour then I find it gets clumpy and I don’t like it as much when making a flax egg but it still works!
Hi question:
What if I want to double a recipe that has 2 flax eggs in it. Can I still use 4 flax eggs? Because you write that it wouldn’t work the same but if I double everything in the recipe will it still work?
Hi Iris, if the recipe calls for flax eggs then you can usually double the amount of flax eggs if you’re doubling the recipe, that should be NO problem. I was referring to when you’re veganizing a recipe that uses chicken eggs. If it is already veganized and is using flax eggs, then doubling it should be no problem at all.
But what about the seeds ? You have to put them in the cake as well? Thanks
Hi Sivy, not sure I understand the question. The flax seeds are first ground up, so they are not whole seeds anymore, then they are soaked with hot water to make a flax egg and then the whole thing goes into the batter for whatever baked good you are preparing.
Hi there,
Thank you for this recipe. It is going to be an immense help. I was just wondering, if the cake requires let’s say 4 eggs, can I use 4 flax eggs? Will it give a different taste to the cake? Thanks
Hi Ruby, generally it’s best when you’re switching out 1:1, it gets more complicated to veganize a recipe that has 4 eggs, as you can’t just replace it with 4 flax eggs because they react differently when baked. If you replaced 4 eggs with 4 flax eggs it is likely that your recipe wouldn’t work out. It is usually better to look for a recipe with less eggs, I wouldn’t personally use more than 2 flax eggs maximum in a recipe and that is also when other tweaks have been made.
Haven’t tried it yet but just wanted to tell you that your page looks amazing very informative and helping me on my vegan journey
I’ve been reading flax eggs everywhere in vegan recipes, now I know what it actually is ???
That’s fantastic Marwa, I’m so glad I could help! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It looks delicious 🙂 How long does the flax egg need to sit for or is it ready as soon as you stir the flax seed and hot water?
Up to a minute. But it can sit longer, so usually it works to just mix it and then get on with a few other things and then come back to it and it’s nice and gloopy.
I’m going to try your flax egg, thanks for the tip. Have you tried marshmallow root for a similar purpose? It has a very neutral flavor.
Cool! I have not tried marshmallow root, sounds interesting! 🙂
This is awesome! Thanks!
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awesome
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Hey Alison. Are there any replacements to flax or chia seeds by any chance? My local supermarket didnt have any 🙁 amazing recipe btw
Hi Hareesh, not that I know of. It depends on what you are wanting to use it for, if it’s as an egg replacement then there are other things you can try (like applesauce), it depends on the recipe.
Hi. So do I remove the flax seed and just use the gloopy or do I use all of it as my egg? Thank you.
You use all of it. Just pour it all right in. 🙂
can this be made up in advance in larger quantities and stored and still retain its binding properties? 🙂 Cheers. 🙂
Hey Joe! If stored in the fridge it will definitely retain its binding properties. It actually becomes even more gloopy and binding. I haven’t tried to store them for any length of time personally but I believe that they can usually last up to 2 weeks in the fridge if you make up a batch.