This week I shared a recipe for baked pakoras and used ingredients like gram flour and avocado to bind the mixture together instead of eggs making it vegan friendly! Here are some other foods you can use to substitute eggs in your baking and cooking. Read more for details and quantities.
Purpose of eggs in cooking and baking
Eggs have several purposes in the kitchen and contribute to the structure, color, flavor, and consistency of food in the following ways:
Binding: Eggs combine ingredients, giving the food structure and ensuring it doesn't fall apart.
Leavening: Eggs trap pockets of air in foods causing them to expand during heating, giving foods volume and airy texture.
Flavor and appearance: Eggs help carry the flavor of other ingredients and brown when exposed to heat.
Moisture: The liquid from the egg is absorbed into other ingredients giving the food moisture.
Reasons to replace eggs in your diet
There can be various reasons for replacing eggs in your diet, but the two most common reasons are:
Dietary Preference: e.g. a Vegan diet where animal products are not consumed for personal health, environmental or ethical reasons.
Egg Allergies: Eggs are the most common food allergy in infants and young children
Luckily there are many foods that we can swap out for eggs!
Fruit Purees
Mashed banana is a great replacement for eggs especially in baking as it can add moisture and sweetness. If you don't want the food to have the banana flavor try other fruit purees like pumpkin and avocado as they don't effect the flavor as much. I used avocado to substitute egg in my recipe for baked pakoras this week.
Replacement:
1 egg = 1/4 cup // 65g of puree e.g. 1 medium ripe banana or 1/2 large ripe avocado.
Best used in:
Cakes, pancakes, muffins, brownies and quick breads. Avocados and pumpkin can be used for savory items. If baking, be sure to add more raising agent (e.g. baking powder) when using a fruit puree to avoid dense baked goods.
Ground Flaxseeds or Chia seeds
Flaxseeds and chia seeds are highly nutritious and are high in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and other unique plant compounds. You can grind the seeds yourself or purchase the ground seed.
Replacement:
1 egg = 1 tbsp // 7g ground chia or flaxseeds whisked with 3 tbsp // 45g water until fully absorbed and thickened (around 5 mins).
Best used in:
Binding pancakes, waffles, muffins, bread, cookies, burgers, vegan meatballs. When baking the end product may be heavy and dense and have a nutty flavor.
Firm and Silken Tofu
Tofu is made from the solids of soy milk. The texture of the tofu depends on its water content (I've written about tofu and its varieties previously, do check it out here). Tofu is high in protein making it a great egg replacement.
Replacement:
1 egg = 1/4 cup // 60g pureed, silken tofu
Silken tofu best used in:
Dense baked goods like brownies, cookies, quick breads, cakes, and creamy foods like cheesecakes, ice cream, sour cream or puddings.
Firm tofu best used in:
Eggless quiche, lasagne, vegan egg salad, breakfast scramble.
Aquafaba
Aquafaba is the liquid from cooking beans or legumes. You can get it by using the liquid from canned chickpeas or beans, or made at home by straining the liquid after cooking dried beans.
It has a similar consistency to raw egg whites with structurally similar proteins and starches, making it a great substitution.
Replacement:
1 whole egg = 3 tbsp aquafaba
1 egg white = 2 tbsp aquafaba
1 egg yolk = 1 tbsp aquafaba
Best used in:
Recipes that need egg whites like meringues, marshmallows, macaroons, nougat, ice cream and mayonnaise.
Other Egg Substitutes
Egg substitute powders
There are a variety of egg substitute powders available at grocery stores. They typically comprise of starch or flour and a raising agent. These won't add any unwanted flavor or sweetness.
Best used in cookies, muffins, cakes and as a binding agent in vegan casseroles or vegan meatloaf.
Chickpea flour
This flour is high in protein and works as a binding as raising agent. It has a similar texture and flavor to eggs.
1 egg = 3 tbsp chickpea flour mixed with 3 tbsp water
Best used in scones, cookies, biscotti, omelets and quiches.
Tapioca Starch
Can be used as a binding or thickening agent for sauces, puddings and condiments.
1 egg = 1 tbsp tapioca starch blended with 3 tbsp of water.
Applesauce
This is a fat free way to replace eggs in baked goods.
1 egg = 1/4 cup // 60g unsweetened apple sauce
Best in cookies, cakes, muffins and breads.
Spices for egg flavor and color
Black Salt/Kala Namak
I've written about black salt on this page before, click here to read more. It has a high Sulphur content giving foods an eggy flavor.
Best used to season tofu scramble, vegan egg salads, quiches, frittatas and vegan French toast.
Turmeric
A pinch of this spice can be used to give egg-free dishes a light yellow color.
Do you use any of these or other ingredients to substitute eggs? And what's a food that includes egg that you would 'veganize'? Let me know in the comments!
References
McDonell, Kayla. “13 Effective Substitutes for Eggs.” Healthline, 2 May 2017, www.healthline.com/nutrition/egg-substitutes#TOC_TITLE_HDR_1.
“The 10 best vegan egg alternatives for eggless baking and cooking.” ProVeg UK, 21 Feb 2019, www.proveg.com/uk/plant-based-food-and-lifestyle/vegan-alternatives/egg-alternatives/.