Vegan Egg Substitutes: Best Replacements for Each Purpose

Being vegan and nurturing a plant-based lifestyle has become much easier than it was in the past.

We have a wide variety of plant milk choices that taste the same (or even better) as regular dairy milk.

Nutritional yeast, tofu, and cashew spread all make a healthy and delicious alternative to cheese.

And then there are seitan, tofu, tempeh, and so much more plant-based meat substitutes when we feel nostalgic for burgers, sausages, and similar food traditionally made from animal products.

But an adequate substitute for eggs has always been a bit of a mystery. You might think this is the case since there is no alternative to eggs. But the good news is that there are a lot of them.

We will discuss some of them, and then, depending on what you are cooking, you can choose the egg substitute that best fits your cooking situation.

When a recipe involves a lot of eggs, making substitutes for all of them might be difficult, and your vegan version of the original recipe may fail.

In that case, it is best to find a vegan recipe that requires no eggs for the dish you want to make.

But if you want to make a recipe that would be plant-based if it didn’t contain one or two eggs, read along to find out how to substitute them easily.

Egg Replacements for Vegans

1. Flax Egg and Chia Egg (Flaxseed/Chia Seed + Water)

These two are very similar and very successful when it comes to imitating the texture, as well as the function, of regular eggs.

Both are made the same way: to replace 1 egg use 1 tablespoon of flaxseed/chia seed (it is crucial to use ground flaxseed for flax egg) and 3 tablespoons of water. Mix it and let it sit for about five to ten minutes so it thickens well.

It is useful for binding the rest of your ingredients, just like eggs do, and both chia and flaxseed are extremely healthy and high in antioxidants.

The only difference between these two is that the chia egg has a bit of a gel texture (that’s why it’s a good option for chia pudding).

2. Aquafaba (Chickpeas Water/Chickpea Brine)

Aquafaba is the water in which the chickpeas (or other legumes) were cooked. In Latin, it means bean water. You can use the liquid from a can, or the one in which you cooked your chickpeas.

It can be used as a substitute for all parts of an egg but is the best alternative to egg whites. For 1 egg white use 2 tablespoons of aquafaba. Whisk it until you get a resembling texture.

It can be frozen so you can always have it at hand when you feel like making vegan macarons, for example.

3. Fruit or Vegetable Puree

Use 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce to replace 1 egg. Apples contain a substance called pectin which has a binding effect and is used as a thickener.

The same goes for a lot of other fruit and veggie mashes. 1/4 cup puree replaces a large egg.

Make the most of pumpkin season and use its puree as an egg substitute. Sweet potato also works.

Mashed avocado has a neutral taste and can also be used successfully.

It is a great choice if you don’t mind the added banana flavor. It is best used for sweet baked goods.

4. Silken Tofu

Tofu is an excellent plant-based replacement for cheese and meat, but also for eggs. Although, in this case, silken tofu is a much better choice than firm tofu due to its texture.

It is not only a complete protein with an anti-inflammatory effect, but silken tofu also provides moisture to your vegan dessert recipes and makes them creamy and delicious.

Just like the fruit/vegetable mashes, 1/4 cup of this egg substitute replaces 1 large egg.

5. Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar

The egg alternatives listed above will not only carry out the main function of eggs, which is binding (holding all the ingredients together and not letting them fall apart) but also add a special final touch or health benefit to your dish.

For example, bananas and other vegetable and fruit mashes will add an extra flavor, and tofu will make your version of the recipe higher in protein than it would be with regular eggs.

But there is a slight catch. Apart from binding, another advantage of eggs is their leavening ability. It raises the dough and batters and makes your dish better.

Don’t worry, baking soda is here to resolve the problem. 1 teaspoon of it mixed with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar replaces one egg.

The acidic nature of vinegar is a good combination to maximize this vegan leaven.

Once mixed, they will produce some bubbles which will help make your dish fluffy. And there’s also a nice touch of apple flavor to make it more delicious.

Baking soda is, as well as baking powder, a raising agent. You don’t have to use it exclusively with apple cider vinegar.

You can combine both baking soda and powder with some of the egg substitutes discussed in this article.

For example, use mashed banana instead of an egg to achieve the binding effect, and then add some baking soda/powder to the mix to leaven it.

6. JUST Egg

JUST Egg is a healthy and sustainable store-bought alternative to regular eggs. It looks the same, tastes the same, and does not include animal suffering and environmental decay.

JUST Egg is completely cholesterol-free. This plant-based vegan egg substitute is loaded with healthy, sustainable protein. A protein-rich type of legume called Mung bean is the main component of this product.

It also has 67 percent less saturated fat than a regular egg, so it is a better option for our health, our planet, and the animals.

7. Other

There’s more, and we will write the amount that replaces 1 egg in the parenthesis (please note that the last two items are not classic egg replacements, but more a culinary hack to add the missing aroma and color to your eggless dish):

• Plant-based yogurt (¼ cup)
• Chickpea flour (1 tablespoon of chickpea flour mixed with 3 tablespoons of water)
• Oats (2 tablespoons of oats mixed with 3 tablespoons of boiling water)
• Cornstarch (1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons of water)
• Tapioca starch (1 tablespoon of tapioca starch blended with 3 teaspoons of water)
• Peanut butter (3 tablespoons)
• Agar-agar (a tablespoon of agar-agar combined with a tablespoon of cold water)
• Psyllium husk (1 teaspoon of whole psyllium husks or 1/2 teaspoon of ground psyllium husk mixed with 3 tablespoons of water)
• Turmeric (a pinch of this healthy Indian spice to add the missing yellow color to your egg-free dish)
• Kala Namak (also called Black Salt, is a spice that will provide your meal with the flavor of eggs since both black salt and eggs contain high amounts of sulfur which gives them the same taste. Just like turmeric, a pinch of it is probably enough, but you can experiment and see how much suits you)

Vegan Egg Substitutes by Purpose

Baking

Flax and chia egg, fruit/vegetable purees, aquafaba, silken tofu, peanut butter, baking soda mixed with vinegar…

Remember, eggs provide our baked goods with moisture and softness, but their two crucial functions are binding and leavening.

Most of the replacements in the sections above have an adequate binding effect, and baking soda and baking powder have a leavening effect, so mixing the two can provide us with the best egg substitute.

Breakfast

Scrambled tofu and scrambled chickpeas are hands down the best breakfast option.

Mash the raw tofu with a fork (or crumble it into small pieces by hand), add it to an oiled pan (or check our guide to cooking without oil if you prefer), and fry for a couple of minutes (add turmeric for the color, Kala Namak for the taste, and if you want some vegetables to make it colorful and tasty).

The same goes for chickpeas, mash them, add some spices, maybe a dash of tahini, and fry them.

Binding

Purees, aquafaba, flax and chia egg, silken tofu, yogurt, tapioca starch, agar-agar.

Most of the food items we listed in the article have a binding effect if their texture is resembling the one of an egg.

Cookies

Aquafaba, peanut butter, flax and chia egg, mashed banana or apple, oats, psyllium husk.

All of these bind the other ingredients that you use in a recipe and keep them from falling apart.

Pancakes

Mashed banana, apple, and pumpkin puree, flax and chia egg, yogurt, oats, and baking soda mixed with vinegar.

They are all binding agents and have no specific taste or have flavors that would be a good addition to pancakes.

Frying

Thanks to its texture, tofu is best used for frying, but you can also try chickpea flour. Aquafaba is also suitable for deep frying.

Conclusion

There are many ways to replace eggs and make the recipe vegan-friendly.

For specific recipes, some substitutes are more adequate than others, but the good news is that there is no shortage of egg alternatives.

Thanks to those that have a binding function, such as fruit and vegetable purees, aquafaba, flax and chia egg, silken tofu, and yogurt, and those with a leavening effect like baking powder and soda, we can choose a perfect replacement to use in our recipes.

Combine it with turmeric to add the ‘egg yellow’ shade to your vegan dish, and some Kala Namak to make it taste the same, and you will never again have the desire to eat eggs.