I recently got to know the nutritious value of flax seeds.
What characteristics of these seeds should I know about and how can I incorporate them into my cooking?

  • Hi codaddict, welcome to Seasoned Advice! I believe that flax seeds are probably an unusual enough ingredient to fit the culinary uses guidelines, however, please keep in mind that questions on this site should relate to cooking or preparing food and not consuming it. I've edited the question accordingly and hope that the edited question still retains the spirit of what you're asking about. – Aaronut Nov 14 '10 at 15:17

The tricky thing with flax seeds is to grind them fine enough. I've found that my coffee grinder, for example, won't do the job because the seeds have a very hard coat. You can buy vacuum packed pre-ground meal and that may be a good option.

Once you have ground flax seeds, they can be added in small amounts to baked goods very easily. Adding say 1/4 to 1/2 cup to a muffin, quickbread, or yeast bread will work nicely and add a nutty flavor.

They can also be sprinkled on salads or grain dishes. You could add a little sea salt and use them somewhat like gomashio.


You can soak them in water overnight and incorporate them into bread, allowing for the added water, of course.


I add two tablespoons of ground flax seeds to my morning yoghurt. Be sure to mix well!

  • Hi @no'am - could you provide some actual uses for ground flax seeds rather than just a recipe? – mfg Feb 12 '13 at 16:44
  • I think in this case the recipe was the use... – SAJ14SAJ Feb 12 '13 at 18:10

Flax has various culinary uses:

  1. as a substitute for fats in recipes
  2. as a stand alone beverage; soaked in liquid overnight
  3. as a 'digestive'; again soak seeds overnight in liquid
  4. as a substitute for any other seed in recipes


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