When I’m home, my mom and I do a lot of baking. We’ll bake cookies, muffins, brownies and family birthday cakes. Because my sister is vegan, we end up veganizing a lot of recipes. We find that you can replace the eggs in most recipes that call for one to two eggs.
This is for recipes where eggs play a structural role (binding the ingredients together or causing the baked good to rise). It’s a different scenario if you want to add an eggy flavour to a dish or make a vegan meringue or soufflé.
The good news is that there are many options for DIY vegan egg substitutes for baking. If you’re in a pinch, there are also commercial powdered egg substitutes available at most grocery stores and health food stores.
Swapping out eggs has benefits both environmentally and ethically, if you think about the way chickens are treated at most farms and the pollution that contaminates local communities. You may also be interested in egg-free baking if you have an egg allergy. Plus, with eggless baking, you don’t need to worry about salmonella from raw eggs (though technically you still shouldn’t eat raw flour).
Vegan egg substitutes for baking
There are lots of options for vegan egg substitutes, from chia seeds to silken tofu. The best substitute will depend on the needs of the recipe.
Chia seeds and flax seeds
Chia seeds and flax seeds are good all-purpose egg replacements for baking. You can use them to replace eggs in cookies, muffins, pancakes, brownies, cakes and more. Find chia and flax seeds at health food stores and some grocery stores.
Chia and flax seeds are basically interchangeable. Particularly for flax seeds, make sure to use the ground version since that’s easier to digest.
To replace one egg, mix one tablespoon of chia seeds or flax seeds with three tablespoons of water. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes until it thickens and turns goopy, then add it to your batter or dough.
Mashed banana
If you don’t mind adding some banana flavour to your baking, mashed banana is another great egg replacer. Banana works best for dense baked goods, such as muffins, pancakes or quick breads like banana bread. It does add some sweetness, so consider reducing the sugar slightly. Using mashed banana in your baking is a great way to use up ripe bananas that are sitting around!
To replace one egg, use half of a mashed ripe banana. One website suggested adding a bit more baking powder (approximately half a teaspoon) to ensure your baked goods rise.
Apple sauce
Another fruit-based egg substitute is apple sauce. The pectin in the apples acts as a binder. Apple sauce may add some apple flavour to your baked goods, but less so than bananas would. Apple sauce is best used as an egg substitute in quick breads, pancakes, muffins or donuts.
To replace one egg, use a quarter cup of apple sauce. If you use sweetened apple sauce, reduce the sugar a bit. The same website suggested adding about a half teaspoon of baking powder to your recipe to make the end result lighter.
Besides apple sauce, you can try using other fruit and vegetable purées, like pumpkin or sweet potato.
Vinegar and baking soda
If you think about the classic high school science experiment of mixing vinegar and baking soda, this egg substitute makes sense. When vinegar and baking soda combine, they create bubbles that make the baked good rise. The end result is a baked good that’s light and fluffy. Vinegar and baking soda is a good option for cakes, cupcakes, quick breads and muffins.
To replace one egg, you would typically use one tablespoon of vinegar and one teaspoon of baking soda. However, don’t mix the vinegar and baking soda together—instead, add the vinegar to your wet ingredients and the baking soda to your dry ingredients. It’s best to follow a recipe for this one! You can use either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Silken tofu
Silken tofu is the creamy, smooth variety of tofu. It adds moisture and protein to baked goods without affecting the flavour. Silken tofu is a good egg substitute for moist dishes like vegan cheesecake, mousse or pudding.
To replace one egg, use a quarter cup of blended or mashed silken tofu. Silken tofu acts as a binder, holding the baked good together. However, you may need to add some extra baking powder or baking soda to ensure that it rises.
Aquafaba
Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas or cooked chickpeas. It’s thick and sticky, but it won’t make your dessert taste like chickpeas! Aquafaba has taken the vegan baking world by storm since it can be used to make vegan versions of foods like meringue and marshmallows. However, it can also be used for traditional baked goods.
Here are the quantities:
- To replace one egg yolk, use one tablespoon of aquafaba
- To replace one egg white, use two tablespoons of aquafaba
- To replace a whole egg, use three tablespoons of aquafaba
To use aquafaba as a binder for baking, whip it for about 45 to 60 seconds until it’s foamy. If you want to make a meringue, you’ll need to whip the liquid for longer (about 10 minutes).
If your aquafaba is very watery, you can simmer it on low to thicken it.
My favourite eggless recipes
Here are some of my favourite recipes that are either naturally egg-free or work well with egg substitutes!
- Chocolate layer cake: This chocolate layer cake from Canadian Living is a fixture in my family for birthday cakes. The recipe uses apple cider vinegar and baking soda to make the batter rise. We don’t normally bother slicing the layers in half. The batter also works well for cupcakes and roll cakes. Get the recipe here.
- Peanut butter (banana) chocolate chip muffins: When I’m home, I eat these muffins in great numbers! To replace the eggs, we normally use chia or flax seeds. We normally also add one or two mashed bananas, which make the muffins moister and help them stick together. To make the muffins vegan, replace the milk and butter with plant-based versions, and make sure the chocolate chips are dairy free. Get the recipe from 365 Great Chocolate Desserts by Natalie Haughton here.
- Gloria’s grandmother’s muffins: My mom had a friend from music camp and university called Gloria, whose grandmother had a recipe for these delicious bran muffins. The muffins are naturally egg-free and use baking soda and sour milk (made with vinegar) to stick together. You can easily swap out the butter and milk for vegan versions. Get the recipe here.
- Chocolate mug cake: When you’re feeling lazy or can’t justify making a whole cake, a mug cake is a great way to do a small baking project and enjoy a homemade treat! As the author of the recipe explains, there are no eggs because you’d normally use one or two eggs for a whole cake, so one egg for just a mug would be a lot. To make the recipe vegan, use a plant-based milk and dairy-free chocolate hazelnut spread or chocolate chips. Get the recipe from Table for Two here.
Egg replacements for baking
Egg substitutes allow you to continue to enjoy delicious baked goods, even if you cannot eat eggs or choose to avoid them. Your attempts at egg-free baking may not always be successful, but with some creativity and experimentation, you will find the egg substitutes that work best for you!
I want to know: Have you tried baking with egg substitutes? Which one is your favourite?
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Way cool about aquafaba and tofu. News to me.
About chia and flax, it is important to use them in ground form. I do not think whole seeds would have any of the binding qualities of eggs. And I have heard that the many nutrients in both are better digested and absorbed when ground. In the case of flax, it basically goes in one end and comes out the other if it is not ground.
Thank you, that’s an important point about using ground flax seeds! For chia seeds, either ground or whole seeds should work as an egg substitute.