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!
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 cookies (like these vegan gingerbread cookies), the humble flax egg is your firm friend.
And oh – how easy!
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 for use in this easy vegan chocolate cake, the best vegan pancakes, vegan crepes and more.
Check out the ‘how to’ pictures below plus our ‘how to’ video.
What Goes Into A Flax Egg:
Ingredient Notes
- Ground flaxseeds – also known as flaxseed meal. As you can see above, it’s coarsely ground flaxseeds. You can also make it up yourself from whole flaxseeds (more on that below).
- Hot water – using hot water (straight from the kettle) speeds up the whole process so that the flax egg reaches the ‘gloopy’ stage really quickly (within a minute usually). You can use cold water, but in that case you need to let the flax egg sit for 10 minutes or more before it gets gloopy.
How To Make It
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add ground flaxseeds to a bowl.
- Add hot water.
- Stir it together.
- Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- And your flax egg is ready to use!
A Few Notes About Flax Eggs
Flax eggs will usually only replace 1 to 2 chicken eggs in a recipe. If a non-vegan recipe has something like 4 chicken eggs in it, then you might not 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 your end result may lack structure and may also be too wet.
So if you are trying to replace more than 2 eggs from a non-vegan recipe, you would likely use flax eggs to replace two of the eggs and then make other adaptations to the recipe to account for that.
In that way it may be better for you to look for an alternative recipe to veganize that only uses 1 to 2 eggs rather than trying to veganize a 4 egg recipe. Or just find a vegan recipe to follow instead!
Sometimes eggs don’t need to be replaced. We have plenty of recipes where we just don’t use any egg replacements at all.
You must use ground flaxseed or 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.
Make Your Own Ground Flaxseed
If you can’t get ground flaxseed or 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 them until you have ground flaxseed meal.
You don’t want to over-blend and turn it into flour. It should look like what you see in the ingredients photo above.
Storing Tips
It’s so quick to make up a flax egg that it’s best to make them up as you need them. However, you can also store a flax egg covered in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Vegan Recipes That Use Flax Eggs
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- The Most Amazing Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Vegan Bran Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Flax Egg
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed also known as 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.
Video
Notes
- This recipe won’t work for things like vegan meringues! You definitely can’t whip it.
- However, in cakes and quick breads and pancakes and muffins, it works perfectly!
- It’s best to make one up fresh each time you need it. However, you can store it covered in the fridge for 1-2 days if needed.
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.
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.
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 ?
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
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 ????
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.
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!
awesome
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.