One of my friends recently had a baby, and when I brought her dinner last week, I thought it would be fun to make her some lactation brownies for dessert! Lactation brownies are mostly normal brownies with a few ingredients that are thought to increase milk supply for some women.
The idea is to maximize the ingredients that boost milk supply while still making brownies that taste delicious.
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This recipe is based off of one Sarah Biggins wrote as part of a cookbook named More Milk Please. The website that she sold the e-cookbook from is no longer active, so I can’t link to it, unfortunately. But I had made her version of the brownies four years ago, when I was breastfeeding baby #2, and they were freaking delicious, so I was excited to try them again.
How do these brownies increase milk supply?
These brownies have three ingredients that may increase milk supply – oats, flax seed, and brewer’s yeast.
I made the brewer’s yeast optional because it’s not super easy to find in a grocery store, and lots of people are looking for lactation recipes without brewer’s yeast.
(However, if you do want to include it, your best bet is to get it from Amazon, but that requires more organization and planning ahead than I have in me some days.)
Can you substitute rolled oats, old fashioned oats, or steel cut oats?
Rolled oats, old fashioned oats, and quick cooking oats will work fine.
Steel cut oats have a different texture and nutritional profile. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Do lactation brownies really work?
Everyone is different, but my experience has been that I would get a small boost from them, similar to what you might get from drinking Mother’s Milk Tea or eating oatmeal for breakfast.
It’s not an earth-shattering change, but it’s a nice boost, and eating lactation brownies is way more fun that drinking tea or eating oatmeal!
These were really good – my son loved them, so much so that I worried he might start lactating. Enjoy!
Double Chocolate Lactation Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter melted
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed soaked in 1/4 cup water for 10 minutes
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tbsp brewer's yeast optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flax seed until combined.
- Stir in flour, cocoa powder, salt, and brewer's yeast (if using).
- Fold in chocolate chips and oatmeal.
- Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes.
Good base recipe, though I made a few changes to the – coconut sugar instead of regular, used ‘flax eggs’ in place of eggs and upped the Brewers yeast to 1/4 cup to increase galactogogues. And I baked them as cookies instead since people seemed to have trouble baking them all the way through. Super tasty!
I used a glass pan 3 times now and they turned out GREAT!!!! The key is to bake for 40 minutes instead of 20 but with the extra time they were still fudgy and delicious!!! Even my husband and son like them!
I just made these and they turned out pretty good. I didn’t use any brewers yeast because I didn’t have any. I also swirled in some peanut butter. I used a glass pan and after 25 minutes they were still not copked through. I did 10 more then 5 more and they wound up overcooked and a little dry. So next time I will just do the additional 10 minutes. Also thinking sbout grinding up the oats a bit. Good taste though. Thank you for the recipe!
is it better to make the dough & freeze it? or bake the brownies first, then freeze them?
I would freeze the dough, then make them!
Can I use self-raising flour for this recipe? And omit the chocolate chips out for chopped almonds?
Thank you for this recipe! I made this for my sister who recently gave birth. There was a boost in her milk flow.
Yay! So glad to hear it! Thank you so much!
Thank you for the recipe. I made these once and they turned out great! Was wondering what I can substitute to make it completely vegan for a friend. Any thoughts?
You could try using vegan butter (earth balance makes great butter) — I’m a dairy free mama and I substitute vegan butter a lot
These brownies are SO good!!! I added brewer’s yeast and shredded coconut to the brownies. Thank you for a great recipe! Hoping to see a boost in my supply soon 🙂
Also, these are fudgy brownies. So, be sure to let the brownies set and chill in the fridge 🙂
Did you change anything when adding those ingredients?
I used a glass pan and these brownies WILL NOT SOLIDIFY!!! They are in the oven for the 4th time . Baked according to recipe, then another 5 minutes, another 10 minutes , and were still raw 1” from the edge. Flavor is great but need to use a smaller pan for sure. Thought I could salvage them by using a spatula and transferring to another pan and it’s a huge mess. Bad thing is I made them for a new Mom and she is expecting them tonight. Plus we are sheltering in place because of Covid-19 and I can’t go buy more ingredients.
Sorry they didn’t work out Lori!
Dairy and chocolate free version. I subbed the butter for coconut oil, the cocopowder for 1 extra cup flour, and instead of chocolate chips I did blue berries and cinnamon. Can’t wait for them to be done baking!
Thanks so much for this Sarah!
This sounds delicious ! Did it work out ok?
What type of pan would you recommend? I used a glass pan, but it seems like it’s taking so much longer to cook the middle all of the way. Thanks in advance!
I used a non stick pan! Thank you for the rating!
What if I can’t find ground flaxseed at my grocery store? Can I grind it myself ??
Yes that will work!
Reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup and added a tablespoon of brewers yeast. Best lactation brownies ever!
So you did 1 and 3/4 cups? Trying to make it with pure cane sugar
Hi, I was wondering if you have ever experimented with using coconut milk to soak the flax in?
I haven’t! But I would love to hear how it works if you try it!
These are so good!!! I added some shredded coconut since I had a bag that I wanted to use up. I made them for my sister too who just had a baby. We told our husbands they would make them lactate since we want to eat them all 😂
HAHAHA! Thank you so much!!!
I am dairy free, so I used vegan buttery sticks (1 cup). I also substituted 1/2 cup stevia for sugar and reduced the cook time to 19 minutes. (Could just be my oven). I’ve made them 3 times now, they turn out great!
So glad you liked them!
How long is this good for befor it starts to go bad? Really excited to try these!!!! Thank you
I hope you like them! My family probably ate out of the pan for at least 3 days? At least that many should be fine!
Hi. Is this recipe rising on its own cos you haven’t used baking powder/soda? Thanks a lot!
Yes! 🙂
Made these for my wife and she and I love them lol her milk supply had lowered but seems like it is getting better. Just one question how many brownies should she eat a day?
Yay! I would do 2-3 a day if you can! 🙂
Can u freeze these?
I would follow these steps!
https://www.chsugar.com/baking-tips-how-tos/how-to-make-perfect-brownies/cutting-and-storing-brownies
Can i use quick cooking oats instead of old fashioned? And will it be the same measurement?
I haven’t tried quick cooking in this recipe but I think it will be fine, and yes, use the same measurement. Let me know how it goes!
How much flaxseed should i put if i would like to add brewer’s yeast?
Hi! The original recipe called for 2 tbsp flax seed and 2 tbsp brewer’s yeast, so I would do that! 🙂
hey amanda,i so love your recipe.i used the quick cooking btw since that’s what i have here 🙂 my partner and kids loves it to. . thank you for sharing this 🤗🤗
Thank you so much Angelee!
Can I use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder?
All purpose or self rising flour?
All purpose! 🙂
Can you use steel cut oats vs old fashioned?
Hi Michelle! I have not tried this. I have both steel cut and old-fashioned oats at home, and I just checked the nutritional info to see how they compare. The steel cut seem to be more dense – 1/4 cup is 150 calories versus 1/2 cup of old fashioned. So I’m guessing the proportions would be wrong – sorry!
Do you strain the flax seed out? Or add the water and flax seed into the mixture. Asking because I’d love to make these 🙂
It absorbs it, so no need to strain! 🙂
I just made some and they’re oh sooo good! Thanks for sharing this recipe. 😍
Yay, thanks!
350 deg celcius?
Fahrenheit! 🙂
I swapped whole wheat flour and used 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 butter and these are the BEST brownies I’ve ever had!! So fudgey and amazing plus give me a milk boost. Score!! I did add the brewers yeast too. I’ve made these 3x already!
Me too I did the same thing you did the brownies are amazing