As we delve from cinnamon-infused autumn recipes to gingerbread and chocolate mint creations for the holidays, I was inspired by The Vegetarian Flavor Bible, to share ideas how to use blackstrap molasses. I have talked about blackstrap molasses before. With its inherent bitterness, it is also a sweetener packed with calcium, iron and potassium. You cannot substitute it directly for typical molasses unless it is used in small amounts or you offset its bitterness with other sweeteners. Here are some suggestions:
1. Baked Beans
I have two recipes for baked beans which include blackstrap molasses. One is a stovetop version that includes apple to sweeten the sauce and the other is a slow-cooked Nova Scotian style baked beans. Angela has also shared maple baked lentils with blackstrap molasses as well as a Pumpkin Maple Baked Bean Cornbread Casserole. Tara created these beautiful Slow-Cooked Cider Beans.
2. Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Skip the beans and just make your own barbecue sauce. This is a South Carolina-style barbecue sauce with a mustard/vinegar tang with a touch of blackstrap molasses reminiscent of barbecue. This is also a fabulous Smoky Apple Bourbon Barbecue Sauce. See also Gena’s Tempeh Kebabs with Homemade Barbecue Sauce and Bianca’s Memphis-Style Barbecue Sauce. Gena also uses a simple barbecue marinade for her raw barbecue zucchini chips.
3. Salad Dressing
Turn your sauce into a dressing. This Blackstrap Molasses and Balsamic Dressing sounds interesting.
4. Gingerbread cookies
This photo is of my Brown Sugar Cardamom Snickerdoodles and doesn’t use blackstrap molasses, so I urge you to check out gingerbread cookies that use blackstrap molasses: Sarah B’s Healthy Holiday Gingerbread Cookies, Kathy’s Ginger Snappy Crinkle Cookies, Angela’s Chewy Molasses Spelt Cookies, Dreena’s Gingery Cookies and Claryn’s Vegan Molasses Cookies. Other cookies to try include Claryn’s Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies, Dreena’s Raisinet Cookies and Leanne’s Gingerbread Quinoa Breakfast Cookies.
5. No-Bake Snacks/Cookies
Instead of turning on your oven, try a quick-and-easy no-bake snack. Try Gena’s Raisin Almond Balls, Davida’s Raw Gingerbread Cookies and Angela’s Pumpkin and Gingerbread Snack Bars.
6. Pumpkin Pie
Gena’s pie is more photogenic than mine but her recipe uses blackstrap molasses.
7. Muffins/Cakes/Loaves
For those that prefer muffins, Emma shared these Double Ginger Chocolate Chunk Muffins and these Full Meal Muffins are filled with fruits and vegetables. Dreena also has a Chocolate Gem Gingerbread Loaf, Joy shared a Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bundt Cake with a Pumpkin Filling and Elsa’s Spiced Applesauce Cake with a Buttercream Frosting.
8. Smoothies
Infuse a gingerbread flavour into your next smoothie. See Angela’s Iron Woman Gingerbread Smoothie or Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, McKel’s Gingerbread Molasses Smoothie and Brittany’s Pumpkin Gingerbread Smoothie.
9. Dessert Puddings
A bit of a thicker smoothie, here is a Pumpkin Gingerbread Pudding.
10. Breakfast Oats
Feel free to add blackstrap molasses to your morning oats. Here I added it along with pumpkin for a Pumpkin Gingerbread Overnight Oats breakfast. You could also consider adding it to your bittersweet granola or your next batch of gingerbread almond butter.
11. Accent to savoury meals
Dreena really loves to add blackstrap molasses to her dishes. Here she used it in her No-Fu Love Loaf and Walnut Pecan Balls. JL also added it to her Cinnamon-Ginger Seitan.
The Vegetarian Flavor Bible does not list blackstrap molasses separately but includes suggestions such as molasses + garlic + ginger + orange; molasses + chili pepper flakes + ginger; and molasses + ginger + lemon.
What did I forget? How do you like to use blackstrap molasses? Bonus points if you have ever finished a bottle. 😉
PS. Do not forget to leave a message for your chance to win one of three copies of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible.
PPS. I am sharing this with Healthy Vegan Fridays.
the taste space 
So, although it’s not startling news to anyone, in addition to many of the suggestions above, blackstrap is our very favorite sweet topping for biscuits. I remember a jar of it always on our breakfast table, going back to my childhood. I’m sure I’m very deserving of the extra points for finishing a jar, since I couldn’t even begin to estimate how many we’ve gone through over the decades. My dad is 94 now, but still loves his sorghum and his blackstrap molasses. In fact, a jar of each is going into his Christmas box. I order them from the nice folks at Muddy Pond:
http://muddypondsorghum.com
ooh! i need to get into using blackstrap molasses more in savory things. i’ve gone through several bottles of the stuff, too. the iron woman gingerbread smoothie is in my regular breakfast rotation, so that’s where my bottles of molasses see the most action. i’ve also done gingerbread pancakes with blackstrap molasses and made pancake/cakey-muffin syrups and glazes with it. i love the idea of cutting the sweetness with lots of garlic and spice and playing up the bitter bite, too.
You are too awesome. I think I still have the same bottle from many moons ago. 🙂
There is always plenty of molasses at our house, and the darker, the better! I use mine in ginger or molasses cookies, over a bowl of oatmeal (just ordinary boiled rolled oats), or occasionally melted into a mug of hot water for a quick drink. So good!
I had molasses once, I tried it in a few desserts and remember thinking how magical it made baked beans taste. I haven’t had any in awhile and keep meaning to pick up. I love all of your creative suggestions – I never would have got past dessert & baked beans.
ps. this awesome sauce recipe is going to be featured this week at Healthy Vegan Fridays
Thanks Kimmy! 🙂
I get so confused about the difference between blackstrap molasses (which I think is the one I usually use and is quite dark) and regular molasses. I have been told by some that regular is more like what we call golden syrup which is of course a golden colour and has none of the bitterness. I love it for gingerbread mostly but also have used it in choc chip cookies, tomato tofu sauce and baked beans. So I finish bottles quite a bit (and sometimes use it interchangably with treacle). Love seeing your ideas – I am quite tempted by a gingerbread smoothie.
I wish I could enter for the book competition 😦 This post is interesting and guess what I found a jar of blackstrap molasses right at the back of my kitchen cupboard at the w/e, so will give one of these recipes a go, question is which one, they all look so good.
Years ago I bought a bottle of blackstrap molasses, but ended up throwing it out. I had no idea how to use it – I just new that it was fully of beneficial nutrients. I’d love to know how to use it.
I went through a phase of enjoying blackstrap molasses off the spoon! I’m not so into that now but I do still love to use it in baking. I want to try that pumpkin gingerbread pudding too.
P.S. Thanks for including my muffins!
Great post! So many wonderful ideas- I’m especially interested in trying it out in a smoothie. Thanks for connecting with me!
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I am another who has used up multiple bottles of blackstrap molasses. I buy it in 24 ounce bottles so I don’t run out too quickly, and just drizzled some on my cornbread for breakfast today. I mostly use it for molasses cookies and baked beans, but I’m intrigued by several of the main dishes here and am definitely going to try to maple baked lentils and no fu love loaf. Thanks for the great ideas.
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