Meet the Ingredient: Hemp Hearts in the Kitchen, Seven Easy Ways to Use Hulled Hemp Seeds

October 13, 2026

Hulled hemp seeds are dehulled, so there are no shells to crunch through. Nothing needs soaking or cooking, which makes them one of the easiest seeds to keep in the cupboard and use every day. This guide covers what they are, how they behave in the kitchen, and seven ways to use them.

What you are actually eating

A hemp seed is wrapped in a hard hull. Take that off and you are left with the soft, pale green-cream kernel, often called a hemp heart. Studies of the seed put its oil at roughly a quarter to a third of its weight and its protein at 20–25%; with the hull gone, the kernel is richer in both. Per 100g, ours contain 32.44g of protein and 6.0g of fibre. The hull is the seed's main fibre-bearing part, so hulled seeds are smoother and softer, with a fibre figure to match.

Flavour

Soft, mild and slightly sweet, with a nutty finish. They pair well with citrus, apple, avocado and herbs. Because the hull has gone, the kernels are tender and almost creamy rather than crunchy, so they work more like a finely chopped nut than a seed.

Seven ideas

Porridge topper: a tablespoon over a bowl of hot oats, with fruit and a spoonful of nut butter if you like.
Smoothie bowl: blend in a spoonful for body, then sprinkle more on top for texture.
Salad crunch: scatter over leaves, grain salads or tabbouleh. They soak up dressing slightly rather than staying hard.
Pesto: use in place of pine nuts. Blend 50g of seeds with a large bunch of basil, a small clove of garlic, the juice of half a lemon, a pinch of salt and about 60ml of olive oil. Loosen with a splash of water.
Hemp milk: blend 3 tbsp with 250ml of water and strain, if you like, for a quick plant milk. Add a date or a pinch of salt to taste.
Baking: add to muffins, flapjacks and bread for a nutty note. Fold them into the mixture at the end, and sprinkle some over the top for a golden crust.
Hummus topping: a spoonful with olive oil and paprika.

What a sprinkle adds

A 10g sprinkle gives about 58kcal, 4.4g of fat, 3.2g of protein and 0.6g of fibre, worked out from the per-100g figures on the pack. The seeds are energy-dense, so a spoonful is usually plenty. If you like to prepare breakfast ahead, stir a tablespoon into overnight oats with yoghurt and grated apple; the seeds soften overnight and add a mild nuttiness without changing the colour of the bowl.

A simple flapjack

Melt 125g of butter (or a vegan block) with 100g of maple syrup and 75g of soft brown sugar. Stir in 250g of rolled oats and 50g of hemp seeds, press into a lined 20cm tin and bake at 180°C (160°C fan) for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden at the edges. Leave it to cool completely in the tin before cutting, or it will crumble.

A quick lemon and hemp dressing

Blend 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds with the juice of a lemon, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of mustard, a pinch of salt and 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until creamy. It is good over bitter leaves, roasted carrots or a grain salad, and it thickens slightly as it stands.

Cooking with them

Hemp oil is rich in polyunsaturated fats: in one study of hemp varieties, about 55.7% of the fatty acids were linoleic acid and about 17.4% alpha-linolenic acid. Hemp seed oil is prone to oxidation, and a 2024 study showed it deteriorates faster when stored warm and in the light. In the kitchen that points to a few habits. Use hemp seeds as a topping or stir them in at the end, rather than frying them hard. Bake at moderate temperatures. A pan toast of a minute or so, over a low heat, is plenty if you want a deeper flavour.

Where the seeds come from

Ours are organic hemp seeds grown in Europe. Hemp is a spring-sown annual: in one recent field trial of an oil-type variety, the crop was sown between mid-April and mid-May and harvested in August. The hulls are then removed, leaving the kernels.

Storage

Keep the pouch closed in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight and the heat of the hob. Light and warmth speed up the oxidation of hemp oil, so a cupboard is a better home than a sunny windowsill.