Eggs are the main ingredients of many savoury and sweet dishes. Eggs are versatile and have properties that are needed in baking and cooking. They help to bind components, work as a thickener, help the cakes to rise and give them a spongy texture. They help achieve the creaminess of many desserts and sauces.
Actually, so many sweet and savoury recipes feature eggs that it gets complicated when you want to follow a plant-based diet or suffer from allergies and simply cannot eat them.
Is it possible to replace eggs?
You can prepare a vegan replacer at home. This way, you will still be able to enjoy traditional recipes without eggs. There are many ways to do it; you just need to have a few specific ingredients in your kitchen pantry.
Egg Replacer Recipes
Chickpea Water or Aquafaba egg replacer
Aquafaba is the brine, which is usually drained away from a can of chickpeas, and can be used as an egg white substitute. You can use it straight from the can. It is high in protein, so you can whip it just like egg whites, but be aware that you will need sugar to stabilise it. It will make a beautiful and fluffy foam. It will be a great egg replacer for mousses, creamy desserts, cakes, pancakes and meringue.
Method: To make 1 egg replacer, you will need 60 ml of aquafaba. Just mix it into your dough or batter or whip it using a mixer.
Baking soda & vinegar egg replacer
This mixture can replace eggs in specific cake recipes, especially chocolate cakes, chocolate muffins, loaves and cupcakes. It will help the dough to rise and work as a browning agent.
Recipe: To make 1 egg substitute, mix 1 tsp baking soda with 1 tbsp vinegar.
Ground Flaxseed (Linseed) egg replacer
Ground flaxseed is one of the most popular egg replacers in many vegan recipes. It works well as a binder in both savoury and sweet baked recipes, cakes, cookies, muffins, pancakes and in batters. It is also very healthy - packed with fibre and omega-3 fatty acids.
Recipe: to make 1 egg substitute, mix 1 tbsp of flaxseed powder with 3 tbsp of water in a small bowl. Warm water would work best (not boiling!) Set aside for a few minutes. The flax egg mixture will become thick.
Chia seeds egg replacer
For egg replacer, white chia seeds would be best (they are less visible than the black ones). You mix whole chia seeds with water, and they become a kind of slimy mixture that will work as a binder for cakes, muffins, and cookies. Chia seeds are a great source of fibre, protein, and unsaturated fats. Please note when chia seeds are used whole, there will be some crunchiness to your baked goods.
Recipe: To make 1 egg equivalent, mix 1 tbsp chia seeds with 3 tbsp water in a small bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes, so the mixture thickens. The chia seeds will be a gelatine consistency.
Fruit puree or marmalade as an egg replacer
These ingredients will work to make a denser texture. Please note, they can change the flavour and colour of your baked goods. They will work best for pancakes, muffins and some dense cakes like brownies.
Method: To replace 1 egg, add approximately 60ml of fruit puree (banana, pumpkin etc.) or applesauce to your dough.
Chickpea Flour egg replacer
Chickpea flour Gram flour is a yellow flour used in many Indian recipes. It will work well as an egg replacer for cakes, muffins, deep-fried dishes, pancakes, quiches and tarts.
Chickpea flour is rich in protein and fibre. Thanks to its yellowish colour and consistency, it can even be used to make vegan scrambled eggs or omelettes. You just mix it with water, some black salt and spices and fry it with some oil in a frying pan just like you do with the eggs.
Recipe: the equivalent of 1 egg will be 1 tbsp chickpea flour + 3 tbsp water. Mix the flour with water until smooth.
