More and more I’ve been experimenting with gluten-free baking, mainly because of my own personal healing journey and also of having the satisfaction of baking something wholesome and good for me. The basic recipe for this Savory Courgette and Buckwheat Cake came from my auntie, who’s always been my inspiration and who I’ve always admired so much.
I’ve changed the recipe to fit gluten and dairy-free diet and have used mix of buckwheat and rolled oats. The recipe uses generous amount of courgette and it’s flavored with garlic, olive oil, oregano and fresh basil. All the flavors blend beautifully in the oven and it’s a lovely fragrant savory cake. Great recipe to try if you are looking for a gluten-free bread alternative. Lovely with thick vegetable soup, salad or just on it’s own. I like a slice still warm from the oven.
Savory Courgette and Buckwheat Cake

Ingredients
- 2 large courgettes
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 200g buckwheat flour (1 1/2 cup)
- 100g oats (1 cup)
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1tsp sea salt
- 1tsp dried oregano
- handful of fresh basil, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 80ml olive oil
- 40g pumpkin seeds (1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)
- Line 9" round cake tin with large piece of baking paper.
- Wash and coarsely grate courgettes, stir in crushed garlic and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk buckwheat flour, oats, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sea salt and oregano.
- Stir in courgettes, garlic and chopped basil.
- In a small bowl whisk eggs with olive oil and mix in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Spoon the mixture into cake tin, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and bake for about 45 min or until a cocktail stick comes out clean.
- Leave to cool down for 5 min before removing from the tin.
- Enjoy!
I can’t wait to try this.
I just have one question. Normally when making a courgette cake or bread, the instructions suggest wringing out the grated courgettes to prevent too much moisture getting into the mixture./
Is that necessary in this case?
Hi Justin, I’ve noticed that in all the recipes too, but I don’t actually do it in mine. I don’t grate the courgette too fine and use it right away. Also buckwheat flour absorbs quite a lot of liquid, so no need to do it in this recipe. I also like to make things easier for myself in the kitchen! Hope you’ll enjoy the recipe:)
Thanks for the prompt response, Hana. Yes, it’s a bit of a nuisance having to do that with the courgettes. You end up with a green-stained tea towel!!
I’ll report back once I’ve tried out this recipe.
Hello, I am keen to try this recipe. I am curious if it would work with different vegetables and as muffins? Thanks :)
Ive no buckwheat flour so using a spelt….its in the oven now fingers crossed…..
Hi Halina, the recipe should work fine with spelt flour too. You might need slightly more in this recipe as buckwheat tends to absorb more liquid. Hope it went well :)
Can baking soda be replaced with additional baking powder?
Hi Priyanka, yes, you can :)
Hi Hana,
Please can you suggest how much of total baking powder should be added if i want to omit baking soda
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder should be suffcient in here.
Hello! Would I be able to use flax egg vs normal egg? And what would happen if I used coconut flour as well? Thank you ????
Hi Geri, I really must re-do this recipe, I’ve noticed lots of people interested in it! Yes, do try 2 flax eggs instead. I don’t think coconut flour is the best in this recipe, but you could add little bit of chickpea flour I suppose.
Hello! Thanks for this recipe. Would it be possible to leave the gluten free oats out?
Thanks! Marcela
Hi Marcela, yes, you can, but add another gluten-free flour into the mix. You could use a mix of buckwheat, brown rice and little tapioca/arrowroot starch.
Hello,
Could you change up the vegetables and make as muffins?
What would the cooking time be if muffins were possible?