Can Hemp Hearts be Used in Baking?

Everyone loves dessert! Trying to create a healthy version of your favorites can be tough. With the health benefits of hemp hearts, you can elevate your favorite baked treats. If you love baked goods it’s no wonder you want to know, can hemp hearts be used in baking?

Hemp hearts can be used for baking bread, cookies, and even muffins. The hemp seed can be cooked in a similar way to nuts, seeds, or tree nuts. Hemp hearts are the shelled version of hemp seeds, raw and ready to eat right out of the bag. Since hemp hearts are raw they can be roasted, toasted, or baked for a flavorful snack or to add flavor to a recipe.

We often show you recipes that contain hemp protein powder and hemp hearts as a finishing touch. While you can use hemp hearts to bake with, hemp protein powder may be a better choice in some cases. 

Learning when and how to bake with hemp products will help you retain all the omega fatty acids, protein, and nutrients that hemp has to offer. Keep reading to find out why and how you can use hemp hearts to bake, and when you should use hemp protein powder instead. 

Can hemp hearts be used in baking?

Hemp hearts can be used in baking. The raw snack can be roasted slowly or toasted with seasoning for taste. Hemp hearts are edible when raw. When you cook hemp hearts into baked goods it adds a wonderfully chewy, nutty taste and texture. 

 

 

You have options for cooking with hemp hearts. One option for cooking hemp hearts is to toast them. The second option is to add them to a baked goods recipe. 

To roast hemp hearts on their own, add different spices and add them to a low heat setting. Cooking them low and slow will add to the flavor without cooking away all the fat. Once your roasted hemp hearts are done, use them as a topping. Sprinkle hemp hearts over plain popcorn to add spice, protein, and a healthier fat than butter. 

Hemp seeds in bread are the most common way to bake them. Try baking hemp hearts in place of other nuts in zucchini bread, banana bread, or pumpkin bread. Hemp seed cookies also make for a nutty bite that goes well in the place of walnuts in oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies. 

But if you are baking why not try making some of your own protein-packed bars. When you bake raw hemp hearts you may not end up with the same fat content you started with, but you’ll still add lots of protein. 

Do hemp hearts lose nutrients when baked?

One thing you should know when you use hemp hearts in baking you can lose nutrients. Hemp hearts can lose some of the omega fatty acids it has inside when baked. 

While hemp hearts lose fat at high temperatures they still retain other nutrition. Even after hemp hearts are baked they are still high in protein and iron. 

So don’t feel bad for using them in your baked goods for taste and texture alone. You should always strive for healthy eating, but you should also have a little fun with your food. 

If you’re concerned about losing nutritional value in your baked goods you can add hemp hearts twice. Put aside some of the hemp hearts you’re baking with to add to the top when you’re done. If you want to add fat specifically you can also use hemp oil as a spread on your finished product. 

How do you bake with hemp hearts?

To bake with hemp hearts add them to baked good recipes as a dry ingredient. The process of baking with hemp hearts is similar to sunflower seeds or other nuts. Replace walnuts or pecans with hemp hearts to make hemp seed cookies, bread, and muffins.

If you’ve ever cooked with other seeds you know that they can sometimes be a substitute for eggs. Flaxseeds with water for example are used in our hemp pumpkin bread recipe to keep it vegan. 

Hemp hearts are shelled hemp seeds, so they aren’t an egg replacer like flaxseed. But shelled raw hemp seeds add richness and flavor to your baked goods. As the omega fatty acids cook out they add moisture and nuttiness to your food. 

 

 

Another way to bake with hemp hearts is to add them to the tops of pastries, cookies, and bread before you place them in the oven. In our pumpkin bread recipe, the hemp hearts are added to the top of the bread along with pepitas to add texture and taste at the end. This gives the hemp hearts a nice roasted flavor, adds more crispiness and nuttiness to the top of your bread. 

Our hemp heart banana bread recipe on the other hand adds hemp hearts right into the mix with the dry ingredients. If you add hemp hearts to your recipe, mix them with the dry ingredients before adding wet ingredients. 

No matter how you bake with hemp hearts, it’s still always a great idea to sprinkle hemp hearts on as a finishing touch.

What can I use instead of hemp hearts? 

Instead of using hemp hearts for baking, try using hemp protein powder. Hemp protein powder is better for baking because it is already in a fine powder. The process of baking the hemp protein will add to your baked goods. With hemp protein powder you will be able to keep the nutritional benefits of the protein and some fiber.

To bake with hemp protein all you need to do is replace part of the flour of your recipe with hemp protein powder. It’s a simple difference that will allow you to retain most of the nutrients of the hemp seed. 

While hemp hearts give you texture and taste, hemp protein powder gives you the nutrition you need to take your baked goods to the next level.

To understand why hemp protein powder is a little better for baking you have to understand the difference between hemp hearts and hemp protein powder. 

Although hemp protein powder is made from raw hemp seeds, the process isn’t as simple as throwing hemp hearts in a blender. For one thing, the entire hemp seed is retained before its ground into a powder. In fact, the cold-pressing process of our hemp protein powder is important because when hemp protein is processed with heat it loses nutrients and digestibility.

During the cold-pressing process, the nutrients from the hemp seed shell and heart are retained. Hemp protein powder has less fat than hemp hearts, but it retains the essential fatty acids and fiber. When you’re done baking, as stated before, you can always add more fat as a finishing touch. 

Summary: Baking with hemp hearts

Baking with hemp hearts is a fun and nutritious way to have dessert. If you want to try hemp hearts in a different way baking is the best way to do it. To bake with hemp hearts you simply need to replace nuts in your baking recipe, then add hemp hearts in with your dry ingredients. 

One thing you should know is when you bake with hemp hearts you can lose some of the fat content stored inside. Don’t worry though, it’s natural for fat to melt away when you cook. 

If you want to retain the omega fatty acids in your dessert make a switch to hemp protein powder instead. During the process of making hemp protein powder, the healthy fat is retained making it easier to heat and enjoy the nutritional benefits. 

So go ahead and bake with your hemp hearts to enjoy the flavor. You can add more nutrition by adding hemp protein to your mix, hemp hearts as a finishing touch, or hemp oil as a spread. 

The fact is you have so many options to include hemp products into your recipes, you can have fun with it. After all, enjoying your food is a big part of a healthy happy lifestyle. 

Be sure to check out some of our hemp hearts recipes and share some with us @humminghemp with the #humminghemp on Instagram. We look forward to seeing what you bake up.