This Grain Free Flatbread may change your life
I know, that’s sounds like an extreme claim. But if you follow a restricted diet, then you know just how liberating it is to have a never-fail staple recipe in your culinary arsenal. This grain free flatbread, a healthy bread alternative, fits the bill when you crave something–for lack of a better term–bready. Even better, it requires only about 5 minutes of prep!
If you are on a grain free diet, then you know how comforting it is to have something that can be used for sandwiches. That’s one reason why I’m so excited about this recipe! It works for sweet (think jam or honey) or savory (like guacamole and sliced turkey) sandwich fillings.
I’ve been enjoying these for breakfast, with raw honey. I’ve even used these as a bun replacement for hamburgers! Although I haven’t tried it (because I can’t eat tomatoes or cheese) these would work for mini pizza crusts. Bake completely, then top with a thin layer of sauce and cheese and broil until the cheese is melted. It won’t make a crispy crust, but it is a healthy alternative to a wheat crust and an easier option than the labor-intensive zucchini/cauliflower pizza crusts.
Grain Free Flatbread ingredients
Grassfed gelatin – and I recommend this option – may sound like a strange addition to flatbread. You may be familiar with my love of gelatin, as I sing its praises in my popular recipe for Coconut Flour Pancakes… With Gelatin! As with those pancakes, the gelatin is important to the texture here. It provides some pliability and a slightly chewy texture and prevents a crumbly result.
“I don’t have gelatin,” you may be thinking, “can I leave it out?” Yes, I’ve made these without the gelatin. It works in a pinch, but they don’t hold together as well and aren’t as pliable.
Real eggs crucial to the integrity of the texture. I have not tried this with egg substitutes, and my guess is that it will not work without the real egg.
Butternut squash provides the base for this flatbread, as well as a hint of natural sweetness. I highly recommend using squash you have baked until tender and then mashed. Canned butternut squash puree will also work, however. If you don’t have the butternut squash, you could use mashed acorn squash or mashed sweet potato to make this grain free flatbread.
How to get your free coconut flour
Thrive Market is my favorite online health food store, and I’ve taken advantage of the steep discounts and the occasional free products they offer members. This is not a sponsored post, and I would like to pass on one of those freebies to you today: Thrive is offering a FREE 1 lb. bag of organic coconut flour, with orders over $50 here.
Like Costco, Thrive offers wholesale prices to their members, and this gift is available to both new and returning members. Membership starts with a month-long free trial. The membership fee is worth every penny – I saved so much on my first Thrive order that it canceled out the cost of my yearly membership.
Ready to start baking with coconut flour, and 25-50% on healthy living essentials? Click here to get your free coconut flour at Thrive.
- 2 Tbs. coconut flour
- 2½ tsp. grassfed gelatin, available here
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tbs. well cooked and mashed butternut squash or sweet potato
- 2 Tbs. butter, ghee or coconut oil
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ tsp. sea salt (more or less to taste)
- Have all ingredients at room temperature. (If the squash and butter is cold, you can stir them together in a saucepan over low heat to bring them to room temperature.)
- Preheat the oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir together the coconut flour and gelatin.
- Stir together the squash and the butter until smooth. Stir in the coconut flour/gelatin mixture until combined, then stir in the egg and sea salt.
- Spoon into rounds on the baking sheet. You can make these thinner or thicker-- experiment and find what you prefer! I made them about ¼ inch thick for the picture here, but I usually make them a bit thicker.
- Bake for about 12 minutes, then carefully peel them off the parchment paper and flip. Bake for another 5 minutes (or longer), until they are dry to the touch and pliable. (They will take longer to cook if they are thicker and they will cook faster if they are thinner... you know the drill.) Let cool completely, then enjoy within an hour or so of baking for the best texture.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made this for Thanksgiving dinner and my family really liked it. Going to have to explore your site and try more GF & milk-free (butter is okay) recipes.
The recipe says to make and serve within an hour. Any tips for making ahead? Best way to store and reheat?
Are these good to make ahead, keep in the fridge and use for a sandwich?
I made some yesterday and put the extra 2 in a zip lock bag on the counter. I took the 2 that were left to work today and made a sandwich for my dinner and they taste fine and held up just as good as when they were made yesterday. Hope this helps.
I just made these to have on hand for “sandwiches ” and since it’s way past lunch and I was pretty hungry I figured I would test it out. I am very happy with the results. I made a meat and cheese sandwich with mayo and this flat bread held up completely, and worked perfectly in place of bread. I used ghee which isn’t my favorite so the next batch I will use butter. This is definitely a go to recipe. Baking the squash is the the only time consuming part if you can call it that. I scraped out the rest of the squash and put it in the refrigerator and will bring it to room temp to make more Flatbread as needed. Thank you for another amazing recipe.
I cannot eat any bread products due to stomach surgery. Told it can expand in the stomach and cause a bloated feeling and hurt the repair. NISSAN surgery.
Would this be ok to eat?
This recipe looks promising…. if I use canned squash should I make any adjustments….maybe pinch more flour to make up for moisture in canned squash?
I don’t have any grassfed gelatin. Is there anything that can be used as a substitute for this?
I don’t do gelatin as I am Kosher. I also don’t do eggs as I am on a diary free diet. Any suggestions for replacements?
I have a severe rash and I have been told to eliminate wheat, oats dairy, peanuts, & refined sugar. Your flat bread idea with most of these ingredients sounds just right for me. Can you suggest any replacements to the gelatin and eggs?
Thank you for this bright idea!!!
Patci S.