in

Flax Crackers with Vegan Parmesan and Italian Herbs

As I’ve talked about recently, I love flax. It has a million health benefits, from Omega-3’s to antioxidants, fiber, blood sugar regulation, and so much more. Even Gandhi said that “wherever flaxseeds become a regular food item among the people, there will be better health.” One of my favorite ways to eat flax (outside of my thumbprint cookies, of course) is in crackers. The flavor combo in this recipe is awesome. The cheesy vegan “parmesan” comes from ground cashews + nutritional yeast, and is combined with Italian spices and garlic. Despite the simple ingredient list, they’re so delicious and super easy to make.

In other news, One Ingredient Chef was nominated for a VegNews bloggy award!!! If you’re into that kind of thing and you want to vote for me, it only takes a second and I would be thrilled to have your support: Vote Here »

FlaxCrackers

Makes: a bunch of crackers

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1/3 cup ground (blended) cashews
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon Italian spice blend
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2+ teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup water

preheat the oven to 325º F

Step One

First, blend a handful or two of cashews (raw, preferably) until pulverized into a powder. Combine this in a large bowl with all the dry ingredients: ground flax, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, and Italian spices (I used a blend of rosemary, thyme, oregano). Toss with a fork to combine.

Step Two

Next, pour in 1/2 cup of fresh water and stir until fully mixed – don’t be afraid to over-mix here, there’s no gluten! When the mixture is consistent, set aside for 3-5 minutes so that the batter will thicken as the flax absorbs the water.

Step Three

Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet covered with a layer of parchment or a Silpat, and grab some plastic wrap if you have it on hand. Spread the batter onto the parchment with your hands, then cover with the plastic wrap, and use a rolling pin or something similar to flatten out the batter very thin (less than 1/8 inch). Remove and discard the plastic wrap.

Next, you have two options. I left the batter as one whole sheet and baked as-is, breaking apart into crackers after it cooked. This works great, but the edges with be brittle and the center pieces will also be crunchy, but they will have just a little more chew as well. I liked that contrast, but if you prefer a more consistent texture, feel free to cut out the batter with cookie cutters and separate (you may need a second baking sheet).

Step Four

Either way, bake at 325º until the edges are very firm, but before they start to turn dark and burn, which will be about 40-50 minutes (slightly less if you cut into shapes first). Then, turn off the oven and leave the crackers inside, allowing them to further dehydrate over the next 15-20 minutes. Finally, remove from the oven and allow to finish cooling before breaking your giant-sized cracker into smaller pieces and serving with hummus, guacamole, or your favorite dip.

FlaxCrackerWhole

FlaxCrackersBroken

FlaxCrackerClose

13 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. I have all the ingredients, so I’m going to make a batch tomorrow. I’m having to find low glycemic foods now and this looks like a good fit. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Love these so much!
    Easy cracker shape tip: I used a pizza cutter to cut into square consistent crackers after half the oven time.
    Another time, I also tried them dehydrated at my lowest oven setting, with terrific (very similar) results.

    • Awesome! I like the pizza cutter idea, and I’m glad to hear they work well dehydrated (I though of trying that too). Thanks for the suggestions!

  3. Hi Andrew, I don’t have cashews on hand, so was wondering whether this would also work with ground walnuts?
    Loving your recipes by the way! I have my eldest (11) involved in picking recipes from your site for dinner, and he often ends up preparing them all by himself. What seems very straightforward to an adult who enjoys cooking, can seem like a big challenge to a young person, and he is leanring so many invaluable skills along the way. He often mentions you at dinner time, and that the recipe was, once again, from your site 🙂 Thank you so much for providing simple, easy-to-follow, and, most importantly, healthy meals that our vegetarian family of 8 can enjoy!

    • Hi Annelies! I think walnuts might work, but I haven’t tried it.

      Wow, this was the nicest comment ever, thank you so much for sharing that story with me – it totally just made my day 🙂 Tell your son hi from me. It’s incredible that he’s learning to cook from a young age.

    • Hmm, you could potentially use other nuts, like almonds or macadamias, I’m guessing, but I haven’t tested it myself.

Leave a Reply to Barbara Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Southwestern Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Baked Cauliflower Bites with Spicy Pesto