Egg Alternatives

Do you want to stop eating eggs but have no idea how you’re going to bake or bind without them? What about quiches and omelettes? And meringues? Surely they can’t be made without eggs! Prepare to be surprised. There are plenty of egg alternatives. You just need to know what they are and how to use them. And I’ve collected over 115 recipes to show you how much variety you can still have using egg alternatives.

We often eat (and cook) the way we were brought up. Eating eggs in my family was seen as normal. We used them to dip toast soldiers in, we used them to make cakes and biscuits and I even remember drinking them whole with some milk as some kind of ‘health’ drink.

But times change and so do people. We begin to understand where an egg has come from and the process of bringing it to the table and so we educate ourselves, we learn and we find replacements.

Giving up eggs does not mean going without. I still bake cakes and biscuits, I can still bind ingredients together, I can even still make meringues! And you can too. All you need is to know where to look to find alternatives.

If you have a favourite recipe that includes eggs you can replace it with something else. Often one egg in a recipe can be skipped completely, but if you really want or need an alternative here’s a guide to what can replace eggs.

What you’re making will influence the type of replacement you choose – whether that is sweet or savoury, whether you need flavour or just a binder. My top 5 egg replacements are:

1. Apple sauce / Mashed banana
2. Flax egg
3. Chia egg
4. Tofu
5. Aquafaba

I usually like to give you recipes that use whole foods and are mostly healthy. Most of these recipes are, but take note that meringue is not healthy, mainly because of the amount of sugar used. Using aquafaba (or bean water) doesn’t counteract the amount of sugar. I have included a tutorial about aquafaba so if you’ve never heard of it that’s a good place to start.

PETA has a fantastic infographic on their website that covers even more replacers. Click the image below and then you’ll be able to zoom in.

 

 

So, here they are, over 115 recipes that would traditionally use eggs that have been modified with a different ingredient. Some of them may use two of the replacers and don’t fit neatly into the headings.

 

Apple Sauce / Mashed Banana

Generally a quarter cup of apple sauce will replace one egg. You could use ½ a cup to replace 2 eggs, but any more than that and your cake may not turn out.

Peanut Butter Espresso Banana Bread – Strength and Sunshine

Gingerbread Cookies – Sweets and Greens

French Toast – It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken

Braided Holiday Bread – Ceara’s Kitchen

Birthday Cupcakes – VegAnnie

Strawberry Breakfast Muffins – Vegetarian Gastronomy

Gluten Free Vegan Donuts – Sweets and Greens

Chunky Monkey Cookies – Veggies Don’t Bite

Apple Streusel Muffins – Fried Dandelions

Double Chocolate Espresso Almond Cookies – The Vegan 8

Banana Bread – Food Porn, Vegan Style

Sticky Toffee Pudding – Lazy Cat Kitchen

Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes – Peace Meal

Carob Banana Bread – Apollo and Luna

Orange Banana Muffin – Earth Powered Family

Double Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Donuts – Craving Nature

Triple Chocolate Doughnuts – Strength and Sunshine

 

Flax Egg

Flax eggs are made by mixing flax meal with water. It thickens up and create a good binder. Generally 1 tablespoon of flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoons water creates the same binding as one egg. You can also use flax seeds but they need to be ground into a flour first. Where to Buy Flax Seeds

 

Vegan Meatloaf with Thick, Rich Gravy – A Virtual Vegan

Zucchini-Corn Fritters – Vegan Huggs

Cornmeal Crusted Asparagus Tacos – Other Than Salad

Pesto Potato Biscuits – Plant Power Couple

Lentil Mushroom Balls – Tasting Page

Chocolate Chip Cookies – beaming baker

Chocolate Brownies – The Cookie Writer

Sugared Chai Latte Banana Muffins – spabettie

Natural Banana Bread – My Gut Feeling

Chocolate Chip Muffins – Two City Vegans

Carrot Cake – Ceara’s Kitchen

Vegan Brownies – Beaming Baker

Coconut and Lemon Cookies – My Gut Feeling

Vegan Biscotti with Provençal Flavours – Lands & Flavours

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites – Beaming Baker

30 Minute Lemon Cake – Two City Vegans

Pumpkin Muffins – Eat Healthy Eat Happy

Gluten Free Oven Baked Bread – My Gut Feeling

Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes – Tasting Page

Donuts with Bright Beet Frosting – Two City Vegans

Cinnamon Buns with Cranberry Chia Jam – Plant Power Couple

Hazelnut Brownies – Lazy Cat Kitchen

Chai Gingerbread – Wallflower Kitchen

Carrot Cake Muffins – Win Win Food

 

Chia Egg

Chia eggs are similar to flax eggs in that they help bind ingredients. 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with up to 6 tablespoons water works well. The amount of water will depend on how runny you want the mixture to be.  Where to Buy Chia Seeds

 

Gluten free Banana Bread – Eager For Life

Lemon Cardamom Cake Stacks – spabettie

Banana Bread – Ceara’s Kitchen

Banana Choc Chip Muffins – Vegan Huggs

Mexican Chocolate Torte – Fried Dandelions

Skinny Strawberry Muffins – VegAnnie

Chocolate Cannellini Cake – Tin and Thyme

Blueberry Oat Bars – Tasting Page

Blueberry Jam Muffins – Vegan Huggs

Classic Sugar Cookies – Fried Dandelions

Zucchini Fritters – Sweets and Greens

 

Tofu

Tofu is made of soybeans and thee has been a lot of negative publicity around soy products. The Japanese are traditionally a healthy race and traditionally eat a diet high in soy, so I wonder who funded the studies that say soy is detrimental to our health. I always buy organic tofu – either silken or hard. Each would be used for a different purpose. Take your pick of these incredible tofu scrambles:

Tofu Scramble – Tin and Thyme

Tofu Scramble – It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken

Tofu Scramble – Vegetarian Gastronomy

Fajita Tofu Scramble – Fried Dandelions

Tofu Tempeh Scramble with Baked Avocado – VNutrition

Tofu Scramble – Lands & Flavours

Tofu Scramble Masala – Connoisseurus Veg

Mediterranean Tofu Scramble – Elephantastic Vegan

Tofu Scramble Casserole – Veggies Save the Day

Tofu Scramble – Food Porn, Vegan Style

Spicy Tofu Scramble – Lazy Cat Kitchen

Tofu Scramble & Paprika Potatoes – Apollo and Luna

Avocado, Kale and Tofu Scramble – Namely Marly

Doesn’t that omelet look amazing? You wouldn’t believe it’s made without eggs. Here are some other ways to try tofu as an egg alternative.

Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagne – Sweets and Greens

Fluffy Vegan Omelette – Vegan Richa

Omelette Muffin – Green Evi

Lentil Veggie Asparagus Frittata – Vegan Richa

Vegan Quiche – Vegan Heaven

Tofu Katsu with Chilli Sauce – Lazy Cat Kitchen

Spinach and Artichoke Vegan Quiche – VNutrition

Cuban Breakfast – Spabettie

Spinach Artichoke Tofu Quiche – Yup, It’s Vegan

Breakfast Tacos – Thyme & Love

Denver Omelette Quesadilla – Cadry’s Kitchen

Spinach & Mushroom Mini Quiche – Connoisseurus Veg

Breakfast Nests – Cadry’s Kitchen

Breakfast Nachos – Cadry’s Kitchen

Sugar-Free Lemon Curd  – Unconventional Baker

Lemon Pie on a Poppy Seed Crust – Win Win Food

 

Aquafaba

Most people I know haven’t even heard of aquafaba and yet there are thousands of recipes using this magical water. Basically aquafaba is  bean water. So, you know the stuff that you drain away when you open a can of beans? That’s aquafaba. I don’t know how but someone once decided to whip it up, and the rest is history!

It is crazy what people are making out of it. Give it a go, but it’s definitely not an everyday food.

An Aquafaba Tutorial – The Lazy Vegan Baker

Vegan Omelette with Asparagus, Spinach and ‘Cheese’ – A Virtual Vegan

Maple Dinner Rolls – Fried Dandelions

Meringues – The Lazy Vegan Baker

Meringue Mushrooms – Eat Healthy Eat Happy

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – The Lazy Vegan Baker

Perfect Brownies – Fried Dandelions

Peanut Butter Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake – Veggies Don’t Bite

Dreamy Vanilla Vegan Gluten Free Cake – The Vegan 8

Raspberry-Lemon Aquafaba Meringue Mini Pies – Cilantro and Citronella

Peanut Butter Banana Bread – Veggie Inspired Journey

Meringue Nests – Wallflower Kitchen

Vegan Strawberry Mousse Cake – Cilantro and Citronella

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes – Wallflower Kitchen

Pad Thai Broccoli Burgers – Strength and Sunshine

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cup Cakes – Veggie Inspired Journey

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – The Lazy Vegan Baker

Vanilla Bean Cake – Fragrant Vanilla

S’Mores Chip Cookies – Fried Dandelions

Meringue Kisses – Lazy Cat Kitchen

Eggless Royal Icing – Wallflower Kitchen

White Chocolate Mousse – Green Evi

Snickerdoodles – Yup, It’s Vegan

 

Sweet Potato / Pumpkin

Puree some cooked pumpkin or sweet potato and use that as a binder to replace your eggs.

Sweet Potato Blondies – Passionately Keren

Maple Walnut Cake – A Virtual Vegan

Sweet Potato ‘Egg’ Muffins – Athletic Avocado

Pumpkin Muffins – Fried Dandelions

Sweet Potato Muffins – Purple Avocado

Other

Yes, there are still other things you can use as an alternative to eggs. There are packaged ‘egg replacers’ in the supermarket, you could use tempe or even chickpea flour (also known as garbanzo flour or besan flour).

Chickpea Flour Scramble – Vegan Richa

Chocolate Fudge Cake – The Kind Cook

Savoury Egg Mix – Tastespace

Sweet Potato Donuts – Passionately Keren

Vegan Devilled Eggs – Tastespace

French Toast Casserole – Fried Dandelions

Tempe Scramble – Passionately Keren

Savoury ‘Egg’ Muffins – Food Porn, Vegan Style

Vegetable Frittata – Passionately Keren

Deep Fried Ice Cream – The Kind Cook

 

I’d love to know what you use to replace eggs. Is it something different to what I’ve shared here? If you make any of these dishes, share a photo using #eggalternatives or #sweetsandgreens.