No worries if eggs can’t be part of your baking regimen. Instead, here are the best vegan egg substitutes for baking that give you results.
When it comes to baking, you will almost always find eggs as one of the ingredients in the recipe. They act as a building block for your baked goods as well as a leavening agent in rising cakes and cupcakes. Eggs also provide moisture and bind other ingredients together.
For vegans, however, eggs in baking are not an option, so it’s time to look at some alternatives. Finding other vegan alternatives that provide the three functions of binding, moisture, and leavening is not hard and can open plenty of alternative doors for your baking ingredients.
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The thing to keep in mind is that there won’t be a single alternative that sits well in every recipe. The fact that there are several alternatives means it’s a game of mix-and-match to figure out which alternative is best for your recipe.
For instance, cakes require something that focuses more on leavening, while an egg substitute for cookies might require more moisture and binding properties.
Here are some common egg alternatives you can experiment with in your recipes for the best result in baking:
Flaxseed
Using flaxseed combined with water creates an imitative gelatinous mixture that highly resembles egg whites.
This mixture is excellent at becoming a binding component within your recipe, so is useful for cookie and brownie recipes. Heavier recipes that need to stick better such as quick bread, muffins, and dense cakes can also welcome flaxseed into their process.
For best results, you will need to mix flax seeds with some water and baking powder. One tablespoon of flaxseed is enough for every egg you substitute. Just make sure your flaxseed is in powdered form and not whole.
Mix the flaxseed with three tablespoons of water and ¼ tablespoon of baking powder for a gooey solution. Let it sit either in the fridge if you need it cooled or on the counter for 5 minutes to thicken.
Aquafaba
Aquafaba is the liquid that comes from a can of chickpeas. Fortunately, it tastes nothing like chickpeas once you cook it and it replicates the texture and function of eggs beautifully. It’s also not hard at all to come by, especially if you use chickpeas frequently in your meals.
A single can of chickpeas usually has ¾ cups of aquafaba within it and can be refrigerated or frozen until you need to use it.
You can use aquafaba within meringues and cakes with impressive results, though there are some recipes for cookies as well which are experimental with aquafaba. For every egg you replace, you will need three tablespoons of aquafaba.
You can also use an additional leavener, either 1/8th teaspoon cream of tartar or ¼ th teaspoon of baking powder. To create a more viscous mixture, place the aquafaba over a medium-high heat stove until you have half a cup of the liquid left.
Chia seeds
Chia seeds are very similar to flaxseeds, though these thicken more and have a more neutral taste. Once again, you can use the same process to create your egg solution.
One tablespoon of grounded chia seeds works with 3 tablespoons of water and ¼ tablespoon of baking powder for every egg replaced in your recipe.
You can make the healthy chocolate chip cookies recipe, by replacing the eggs with chia seeds. It’s a great way to make these a gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan option.
Chia seeds can be used in recipes like cakes, brownies, muffins, bread, and cookies. It is recommended, however, to limit the use of chia seeds to recipes that only require up to two eggs.
Using large quantities of chia seeds may alter the taste and texture of your baked goods. It is a good binding agent but not too effective for moisture and leavening.
Silken tofu
Silken tofu is your go-to solution when a recipe uses eggs for moisture. However, you don’t want to use the tofu as is. Instead, you want it pureed first.
The key to using tofu successfully is to have a flavor or taste in your recipe that is stronger than the tofu itself. Flavors such as coconut, lemon, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder can easily dominate the taste of tofu.
Being moist in nature, you will have greater success at incorporating silken tofu into custards, mousses, cream pies, pound cakes, and brownies.
For every egg that you need to replace, use ¼ cup of pureed tofu.
Egg replacer
Now that vegan diets are widespread and well-practiced, you can even find store-bought alternatives for eggs.
Eggs replacer provide everything an egg does to the best of their ability. You get the proteins and leavening, the binding and the moisture as well as viscosity which holds the structure of the batter better. They also give off the foam you would expect from egg whites.
All store-bought packages come with their own instructions to follow. They all use different core ingredients such as tapioca flour, potato starch, arrowroot starch, or chickpea flour.
If you want less experimentation and greater consistency in your results, then store-bought egg alternatives may be the solution for you.
Mashed banana
A true and tried egg substitute, many people use mashed banana in their recipes in place of egg. Not only does it replace some of the fat in a recipe but also helps reduce the sugar content given its own sweet taste.
Using mashed banana in recipes also lends it moisture. To replace whole eggs in chewy baked goods like brownies use one ripe mashed banana for every egg the recipe calls for.
The one possible downside to baking with bananas is giving your finished product a mild to strong banana flavor.
If this complements your recipe, then it’s not a problem. But if you don’t want the banana flavor, you can opt for other pureed fruits like avocado and pumpkin that won’t alter the flavor too much.
Any fruit you choose to use can replace one egg by using ¼ cup of puree.
Applesauce
Another favorite egg substitute, applesauce is a convenient option. Most recipes would require around ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of one egg.
This is a good option for recipes looking for moistening properties. The pectin in apples also acts as a binding agent and is a good way to use less sugar in the recipe since apples are naturally sweet.
However, it works best for recipes that use one or two eggs. Anything over that will start to affect the texture, structural integrity, and taste of your baked goods.
Baking soda and vinegar
At a first glance, baking soda and vinegar may seem like a science project, but this due will give you the fluff you need from eggs for more airy cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.
Once you combine the baking soda and vinegar, it will begin to fluff up and increase in volume naturally for more voluminous results.
This replicates one of the purposes of eggs so it can be used in specific eggs, though not all. It is best not to use this combination in recipes that require a dense solution such as brownies or pound cakes.
To replace one egg in a recipe, use one teaspoon of baking soda and one tablespoon of white vinegar. You may want to stick to recipes that only ask for 1-2 eggs as the vinegar taste and smell can become overwhelming if too much is used.
Takeaway
When it comes to egg alternatives in baking, you should be prepared to take a more experimental approach as not alternatives work the same as others. First figure out if binding, moisture, or leavening is the missing ingredient and choose the alternative that matches that requirement best.
If you are looking to learn how to cook and bake healthier meals, with real whole foods, check out the online cooking course from Meghan Telpner, Academy of Culinary Nutrition.
Stay Healthy,
Eva
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References:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/egg-substitutes
https://www.egglesscooking.com/egg-substitutes/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/egg-substitutes#list-of-substitutes