Oh boy, allergy elimination diets are a breeze! Said no one ever. It’s been challenging to think of recipes when many of the foods and ingredients I love are also ones I should avoid for a bit before gradually reintroducing. So when I came up with these flatbreads, I was seriously overjoyed! There’s always a silver lining.
It’s hard finding bread-like foods with short ingredient lists at the grocery store, so I took matters into my own hands in the kitchen. It’s been a while since I made a flatbread (way back to my first cookbook). Six trials later, I finally nailed the recipe! (Of course, wouldn’t you know it, I went back to my second trial and only tweaked it slightly.) I tested soaked/sprouted raw quinoa, I tested cooked quinoa, I tested with a blender (and then a food processor), I tested with and without oil. I tested with varying amounts of chia seeds and water. And I ate every batch! Hah. Really these are hard to mess up, but some were definitely better than others. The soaked raw quinoa version was a hot mess and had the consistency of leather. #stillateit
What I love about these flatbreads is that they require just three main ingredients—quinoa, chia seeds, and oil (plus water and salt)—and they freeze wonderfully, so you can tuck some away and then simply pop them in your toaster whenever the craving strikes. I even found that the uncooked dough freezes and thaws beautifully, so that’s another handy option for you to try if you want to store some in the freezer. I’m all about anything to simplify life…especially as the school season approaches!
My favourite part is getting creative with the toppings. There are so many OSG recipes that are great on these flatbreads:
Sweet topping ideas
Maple-Cinnamon Superseed Almond Butter
Luxurious Sunflower Seed Butter
Sliced banana or strawberries
Glowing Strawberry-Mango Guacamole (The Oh She Glows Cookbook, p. 81)
Savory topping ideas
9-Spice Avocado Hummus Toast (Oh She Glows Every Day, p. 39)
DIY Burrito Bowl (the spicy black bean topping would be amazing on these!)
Nutrient-packed Guacamole (The Oh She Glows Recipe App: iOS/Android)
Perfect Roasted Chickpeas (The Oh She Glows Cookbook, p. 220)
I can’t wait to hear what you think!!
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3-Ingredient Chia and Quinoa Flatbread
Yield
9 (5-inch) flatbreads
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Packed with protein, these easy chia and quinoa flatbreads make the perfect healthy base for all your favourite toppings! This is a great basic flatbread that you can jazz up with delicious toppings. These crack a bit when rolled up wrap-style, so I prefer to simply eat them like fun open-faced sandwiches instead. Try serving the flatbread with mashed avocado, chopped tomatoes or salsa, hummus, green onion, roasted veggies, my 10-Spice Mix, flaky sea salt, roasted chickpeas, Hemp Seed Tabbouleh, and more. For a sweet version, top them with nut or seed butter, sliced banana, berries, and chia seed jam. They are also fantastic toasted in the toaster or toaster oven using low heat. The texture is soft and chewy with little pops of quinoa in each bite...yum! This recipe is inspired by the Crunchy Seed & Oat Flatbread from The Oh She Glows Cookbook.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (160 g) uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups (500 mL) plus 3/4 cup (180 mL) water, divided
- 3 tablespoons (30 g) chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) virgin coconut oil or olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
- Rinse and drain the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and transfer to a medium pot. Add 2 cups of water, stir, and bring it to a low boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 13 to 16 minutes until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. After cooking, remove the lid to let the steam escape and remove the pot from the element.
- While the quinoa is cooking, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a very large baking sheet (or 2 medium baking sheets) with parchment paper. If using 2 baking sheets, position 2 oven racks near the centre of the oven.
- Stir the chia seeds, coconut oil (or olive oil, if using), and salt into the cooked quinoa until combined. Now add the remaining 3/4 cup water and stir again. It should look like a “soupy” quinoa mixture. Cool for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Spoon this mixture into a large food processor and process for about 30 seconds (allowing steam to escape) until the quinoa is 50% broken down. There should still be some texture to the dough, and it’ll look like a thick, sticky paste with bits of quinoa throughout.
- Scoop 1/4-cup mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet(s) several inches apart. You should have 9 mounds. Lightly oil your hands (to prevent sticking) and press down on each mound with the palm of your hand until the dough forms a small round shape, approximately 5 inches in diameter and no more than 1/8-inch thick. Shape the edges with your fingers so the circles are even. Grease your hands as needed to prevent sticking.
- Transfer the baking sheet(s) to the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 23 minutes until the edges are lightly firm to the touch. Using a spatula, carefully transfer each to a cooling rack where they’ll firm as they cool. Add your desired toppings (see headnote for ideas) and enjoy!
- Storing: You can refrigerate leftover flatbread in a sealed bag for 3 to 4 days or store in the freezer for up to 1 month. The uncooked dough also freezes and thaws beautifully.
Tip:
The 3-ingredient count does not include water or salt because I'm sneaky like that.
MAKE IT AHEAD: The uncooked dough can be refrigerated in a sealed container for a couple of days (maybe longer?) prior to baking. The chilled dough shapes easily (you won't need to grease your hands), but you may need a couple extra minutes bake time if working with chilled dough.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Such a great discussion on my last post!! I truly appreciate each and every one of you for your support and for sharing your own experiences. <3
Hey, Angela just loved these. Thanks for the recipe, That’s so yummy..!! I cooked it yesterday
Hey Eddie, thank you! I love how versatile the flatbreads are. Enjoy!
Hi I like your flatbread recipe but I don’t have a food processor or blender. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the mixing work?
Hey Shelley, Maybe a hand electric mixer/beater might work?
Angela,
I’ve been following the blog for years and rarely post. I made these flatbreads yesterday and they were such a hit! So simple and yet so amazing. Will definitely be repeating and playing with adding other herbs and spices. I’ve also been dealing with some newish dietary considerations, trying to heal hormonal imbalance. It’s so easy to get bored with pseudograins and these flatbreads are such a fun new option. Thanks!
Aww Jenny, I’m so thrilled to hear this!! It is always so nice to hear when other blog readers use and enjoy a recipe as much as I do. I can relate to your hormone issues too…I’m right there with you trying to get it all figured out. I’d love to hear which spices/seasonings combos you like in these too.
Ok super fun variation on this to share! I made them successfully with millet instead of quinoa and wait for it, I skipped the food processor all together! Cooked 1 c millet with 3 c water and followed everything else exactly. Saves time cleaning and doesn’t compromise the texture at all.
WHOA…game changer! I love millet too. I can’t wait to try this…and it’s so much stickier so I could see why you wouldn’t need to process it at all. Thanks Jenny!
I made these this morning and am so glad I did. They were quick, easy and fit perfectly. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the flatbread!
I made these flatbreads the other day but my quinoa wasn’t warm when I made them so the didn’t hold together as well as I had anticipated after baking. Instead I popped them in my dehydrator at 135 for 8 hours and they turned into fantastic crackers!!! I can’t wait to try these again with just-made, warm quinoa! Thanks so much for this cool recipe, Angela!
Hey Leah, oh that’s such a cool idea to try the flatbreads in a dehydrator! I’m glad you enjoyed them in the end. :) I’d love to hear how it goes if you try baking them too.
Your photos are beautiful – I love the artistry that you deliver in all of your posts. Thank you for always producing such high quality work, whether it be a recipe, photo, or blog post!
(I’ve seriously read every single one of your posts, use your both of your books frequently, and have loved your journey!)
Ali
Hey Ali, thank you so much for your kind words! That truly means the world to me. Thank you for your support!
Brilliant! I am in the throws of allergen elimination and this allows me some freedom! I love how simple this is, and yet super versatile– and a great source of protein! It reminds me a little bit of a recipe I found in The Ultimate Protein Cookbook, have you heard of this one? Melanie Wildman put it together, some great ideas there too! Thank you again! Happy cooking!
Hi Diann, I hope you enjoy the flatbread if you make it! I haven’t heard of that cookbook before, but I’ll have to check it out.
I was trying to halve the recipe but halfway through, I forgot to halve the amount of chia seeds and salt :( (serves me right for not writing the amounts down) once it was blended it did not look right so I tried to salvage it by adding a little bit of plain flour. I know, it defeats the purpose of the bread but I did not have any more quinoa to add. It surprisingly turned out alright ! Thanks for the recipe (even though I butchered it). I’ll try to do it right next time :)
Wow that’s great they still turned out…sounds like a win to me! haha. Can’t wait to hear what you think if you make them again.
I made this for the first time this weekend and OMG, it’s so good and so easy to make!!! I love how few ingredients it has and all good-for-you ingredients too! Very tasty both with a savory topping (e.g. hummus or avocado) and with a sweet one (e.g. jelly, peanut butter, fruit). Also very good by itself (ate 3 in a row!). Thanks for the great recipe!
Hey Ana, thank you so much for the kind words! Aren’t simple recipes sometimes the best? I’m so happy you loved the flatbread…and I love the topping combos you have going on!
You might also look into DNA testing to see if you have any snps that could be a culprit like MTHFR or CBS
Oh yes, I’ve had DNA testing in the past…so fascinating!
I hadn’t tried this with cooked quinoa, but had tried a similar recipe for a pizza crust with soaked (uncooked) quinoa or millet. I like this better than the uncooked quinoa! I did savory toppings first (white bean and artichoke salad), but definitely am going to go for your nut butter and fruit suggestion. I think your recent jackfruit salad recipe would also be great with these.
Thanks for your review Laura! So glad you liked them. I tried these with the soaked + uncooked quinoa and loved these ones so much more! :)
Hello. I love this recipe! I wanted to ask what nutritional software do you use? I’m loading ingredients into my Fitness Pal and the numbers don’t align with yours. Thanks so much! Please keep up this amazing work. I have your mobile app on my iPhone and it is INCREDIBLE. Everyone should definitely get it!
Thank you Ro! I use ESHA Research which is a professional nutritional analysis software.
Angela! I love how creative you are. I made these yesterday and everyone loved it. The recipie is amazing. Can I make it without oil :)
Hey Lorrie, you can swap the oil with water, the flatbreads just won’t be as rich or “buttery” tasting as they would be with the oil. I hope that helps!
Hi Angela,
Sally Fallon of the book “Nourishing Traditions” recommends soaking quinoa for 24 hours before cooking. It neutralizes elements in the quinoa that makes it difficult to digest. This is a tradition among the Peruvians who eat this food as a staple. The book “Nourishing Traditions” is a very interesting read.
Hi Debbie, Thanks for the rec! If soaking the quinoa beforehand, do you know if the quinoa will still cook up as fluffy as unsoaked? Do you know if the water ratio changes when using soaked?
Hi Angela,
This looks simple & yummy, I can’t wait to try it very soon!
Thanks, Lisa
Angela,
I have loved both of your books and use them all the time. I struggle with TONS of allergies and lately have been so uninspired to cook because of my frustration with allergies. I am really glad I decided to check out your site to see what you’ve been making lately because this is just what I needed! I’m very sorry to hear you’ve had your own struggle with food allergies lately but I’m also so grateful for all that you create and share! :) Thank you.
Thank you Maggie! I’m so glad you’re finding inspiration here..and I wish you all the best with your allergies! I know how frustrating it is to go through, especially when you feel like you can’t enjoy the foods you love. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon!
What a great (and quick) alternative to bread! I topped mine with nut butter and strawberries, as in your photo. Delicious! Best of luck on your journey back to health. :)
I’m so happy you loved it Sylvia!
All your recipes look great, but this one also seems pretty simple and versatile. Good to have a nutritious and easy alternative to gluten breads!
I just made this for lunch tomorrow . Super easy to make and I actually had all 3 ingredients!
The chia seeds gave it a little crunch .
Maybe I can soak the chia seeds and then add it to the quinoa
Thank you !
WOW this recipe is so simple, I never expected it to turn out so well. the kids loved it
Hi! Can I use a blender instead of a food processor? Thanks
Hi Michelle, My worry with a blender is that since it’s such a sticky mixture it would be really hard to get out of the blender and might be blended too much, but I’m not sure. Did you try anything yet? :)