Cooking and baking seem impossible without using eggs, right? Well eggs are not also needed to make delicious food. Here are five egg replacements and recipes.
One of the main reasons people do not go vegan is because they can’t consume eggs—even more so than the fact that they can’t consume dairy and meat. Before I went vegan, I thought that cooking and baking without using eggs was near impossible. I was proven wrong.
These four egg replacements actually work, and I have included a few recipes to go along with them.
1. Hot water and oil
This works especially well in baking. All you need is half a cup of hot water and half a cup of oil. I prefer to use vegetable oil because I find that it has the most neutral flavor, but you can use olive or even coconut oil.
This is great for adding moisture to breads, muffins and cakes, such as this incredible pumpking bread that is the best I’ve ever had. This is a vegan recipe for amazing pumpkin bread that uses the hot water and oil method.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- ½ Cup White Sugar
- 1 ts Baking Soda
- 2 ts Baking Powder
- ½ ts Vanilla Extract
- 1½ ts Cinnamon
- ¼ ts Nutmeg
- ½ ts Salt
- 1 can Pumpkin Puree
- ½ Cup Hot Water
- ½ Cup Oil (any)
Combine all of these ingredients and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for an hour. Enjoy!
2. Mashed banana or applesauce
Mashed banana or applesauce also work wonderfully in baked goods, especially those with fruit in them. The banana works very well in muffins or cookies, while applesauce adds moisture and binds baked goods. You do not get any apple flavor whatsoever.
Here is a recipe (adapted from Decadent Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking by Cara Reed) for a coconut chocolate chip cake that uses applesauce as one of the egg replacements.
Ingredients
- 2½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 ts Baking Powder
- 1 ts Baking Soda
- ½ ts Salt
- 1 Cup Coconut (shredded)
- 1 Cup Chocolate Chips (dark)
- 1½ Cups Coconut Milk (canned)
- ¼ Cup Hot Water
- 6 ts Applesauce
- 1 ts Lemon Juice
- ½ ts Vanilla Extract
Combine and bake at 350 degrees F for a half hour. Enjoy!
3. Flax seed egg
Flax seed eggs are great. They can be used in baked goods and cooking to bind ingredients. Flax seeds are also amazing for you. They have virtually no flavor, so they are great to add to dishes without changing the flavor. You will need a bag of ground flax seeds (keep them stored tightly in the freezer!) and water for this.
To make one flax egg, use a tablespoon of ground flax seeds with two tablespoons of water. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until the consistency becomes thick and egg-like. You can then use the flax egg in this sweet potato and chickpea burger.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sweet Potato (skinless and mashed)
- 1 Cup Garbanzo Beans (rinsed/drained and mashed)
- ¼ Cup Corn (Optional)
- ½ Cup Panko Breadcrumbs (Optional)
- 1 Flax Egg
- 1 ts Brown Sugar
- 1 ts Mustard
- 1 ts Salt
- 1 ts Cracked Black Pepper
- 2 ts Flour
Mix together, form into patties and bake at 350 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes on each side. They are great on a bun with some lettuce and avocado or even hummus.
4. Tofu
Tofu is extremely versatile because it takes on the taste of almost anything you use it in. It’s like a sponge that absorbs flavor. I know comparing tofu to a sponge does not make it sound too appetizing, but I promise it is. Many people use tofu to replace scrambled eggs.
Scramble and break apart the firm tofu in a pan much like you would when you scramble eggs. Add anything you would add to scrambled eggs or an omelet. Tofu scrambles are delicious for any meal. Tofu can also be used in desserts.
Many people love chocolate mousse and pudding, which includes eggs and dairy. I have an egg-free recipe that uses tofu instead and will leave you wondering why you ever needed eggs at all! You’ll need a food processor or high speed blender for this.
Ingredients
- 1 Package Silken Tofu (it must be silken!)
- ½ Cup Sugar (or sweetener)
- ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)
- 1/8 Cup Almond Milk
- 1 ts Vanilla Extract
Blend together until smooth, then let it chill for at least 8 hours or overnight for it to firm and get a thicker, mousse consistency. Chill for 1 to 2 hours for more of a pudding-like consistency.
5. Aquafaba
Use the liquid from a can of chickpeas to replace egg whites. It whips up like egg whites and can be used in meringues, pavlovas, and other egg-white-heavy recipes.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of chickpeas (liquid only)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
Instructions:
- Drain the liquid from a can of chickpeas into a mixing bowl.
- Add the cream of tartar (if using) to the liquid.
- Use an electric mixer to beat the aquafaba on high speed until it becomes fluffy and forms stiff peaks. This will take about 5-10 minutes.
- Use the aquafaba as a replacement for egg whites in recipes such as meringues, pavlovas, and macarons.
Note: You can use the chickpeas themselves for another recipe, such as hummus, while using the liquid for the aquafaba. Also, make sure to store any leftover aquafaba in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use it within a few days.
We hope that you will try some of these recipes or use these egg replacements if you are trying to cut out animal products! If you have any other egg replacement ideas or recipes using egg replacements, please comment below!
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