Using egg replacers doesn’t have to be confusing! Learn about the different types of vegan egg substitutes and when and how to use them in this guide.
What binds baked goods together? What keeps cakes light and fluffy? The answer? Eggs.
But what if you can’t eat eggs? Or what if you have just run out of them? What’s the best way to replace them in your recipe?
Fortunately, there are a lot of options for replacing eggs in a recipe. There are several varieties of egg substitutes, but they don’t work the same way in each type of recipe. The kind of baked good that you are making will determine what kind of egg substitute you use.
Vegan egg replacers are any substance that can be used in place of eggs in a recipe. You can buy different types, such as powdered versions made by brands like Ener-G or Bob’s Red Mill.
You can also use various common foods as egg replacers. A good substitute will be able to bind baked goods together, as well as produce light and fluffy cakes and muffins. Don’t despair if you can’t eat eggs- you can still make delicious egg free desserts.
It can be difficult to figure out which egg replacer will work best for your recipe, so let’s take a closer look at each one and learn about their properties!
All of these substitutes do work with both gluten free flours and regular flours.
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Egg Substitutes for Cake
Baking Powder – A large amount of baking powder (about 1 ½ Tablespoons) is a great way to make batter rise. The only time I use this substitute is when I make pancakes or vegan waffles. The sodium bicarbonate and the cream of tartar in the baking powder react when combined with liquid and rise instantly.
It’s pretty neat to watch actually – when you add the milk to the dry ingredients, the pancake batter puffs up right away. This works best with spelt (or regular all-purpose flour), but I have used it with a gluten free flour blend as well. The results are not as dramatic with gluten free flour – it does rise, but not as high.
Baking Soda and Vinegar (or citrus juice) – Another chemical reaction! If you pour baking soda and vinegar (or lemon juice) in a glass, it rises up into a crazy, bubbly mess, right? The same type of reaction occurs when you use this egg replacer in your baking – it rises up and makes cakes, cupcakes, or muffins light and fluffy. I use this combination in place of eggs when I make chocolate cake or vegan cupcakes.
Egg Substitutes for Cookie Baking
Ground Flax Seeds – A flax egg is the “standard” egg replacer that I first learned about when we went egg free. Just combine one tablespoon of ground flax seed plus three tablespoons of water in a small bowl or mug, and after a few minutes the mixture becomes gelatinous, sort of like an egg. Do this for each egg that the recipe requires.
Flax seed eggs work best in denser recipes, like cookies or muffins. Any ground flax seeds will do, but golden ground flax seeds will disappear into the batter, making them undetectable to picky eaters.
Chia Seeds – These work the same way as flax seed eggs. One tablespoon of chia seeds plus three tablespoons of water combine and form a gelatinous substance that is similar to an egg. This is not my favorite recipe for egg substitute because you can see the chia seeds in the finished product unless you use ground white chia seeds.
Other Types of Egg Replacers
Yogurt – Yogurt binds batter together and adds nice moisture to cakes, cupcakes, or muffins. I use non-dairy yogurt (we prefer SO Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt), and you need three tablespoons for each egg in the recipe. I use yogurt in my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.
Applesauce – Applesauce or another pureed fruit (like prunes) are a great replacement for eggs that holds everything together, adds moisture, and is low in fat. I use ⅓ of a cup to replace one egg. I find that applesauce works really well in most recipes – try it in cookies, cake, or vegan applesauce muffins.
Mashed Banana – Mashed banana is great for cookies, cakes, muffins, or any recipe that actually requires a banana flavor. For example, it is really easy to make vegan banana bread without any eggs – the bananas hold the loaf together and keeps it nice and moist.
Aquafaba – The liquid from a can of chickpeas is called aquafaba, and it’s become a popular vegan egg replacement in recent years. It can be used for baking, making mayonnaise, and even for making vegan meringue cookies.
Best Choice for Pancakes
A good amount of baking powder – about 1 ½ Tablespoons is a great egg replacer for making light and fluffy vegan pancakes. You won’t believe how the baking powder allows these pancakes to puff up and stay very fluffy. Make sure you use baking powder, NOT baking soda.
More Guides to Cooking and Baking
betty
I’m making choc. chip cookies . The recipe calls for egg substitute,1/4 cup.It doesn’t say wet or dry. I have dry. What do I do? I’m a first timer.
Kelly Roenicke
That’s a good question! Is the recipe in a cookbook, or on a website? If it’s on a website, try to email the author and ask. I never use egg substitute, so I am not sure.
Bria
Just tried making pancakes with baking soda as an egg replacement but it was awful. Way too salty-They tasted like soft pretzels. Would not recommend.
danleep11
EGG REPLACERS! What a ruse! I have been vegan for nearly 50 years. I started cold turkey changing from omnivorous to fruitarian to vegan vegetarian. Through all this time, I have tried alternatives of many kinds, if not all kinds and have found kind of quickly that eggs are not needed and have never been needed in most recipes…just omit and chances are great that you will never notice any difference to when eggs were used. Now, there are a few recipes that eggs and only eggs are used, but these times are extremely few. The use of animal milk is another great misunderstanding and is mostly never needed…nor any milk substitute, but plant milk can easily be substituted, but water, tea, coffee and other liquids can often be substituted when a liquid is needed. As near as I can figure, the ‘required’ use of these animal products is basically an economic conspiracy of the animal industry, who, of course, will never admit to the truths just elucidated. We are trained to the great lie of the need to use animal products for our existence! I wish you all well but don’t be afraid to try things and think for yourself!
Pamela Page
I’ve used mayo , but what if you want to make muffins and you don’t have eggs, yogurt, applesauce, or mayo, what can you use, I don’t have any seeds either.
Kelly Roenicke
Pumpkin puree, prune puree, squash puree…any of those would work!
Bo
This is a great resource! I can’t wait to try some of the different options!
Bhumika s
Beautifully combined & such an informative article ,
Thankyou so much :)
danleep11
In MY experience of 75 years, and of those 75 years, 45 years vegan, I have learned that in all most all recipes encountered that calls for eggs…just eliminate them…NO or MINIMAL difference…don’t worry about substitues. Wake up everybody…do your own thinking (and trying) on almost all things, food and otherwise! I could get into why the egg, dairy and meat industries all cry for more of this or that, but it is all relative to “money” or the making of such, which in itself is not necessarily bad but not at my or your expense! Wake up world… Once again, I have not tried the infinate number of recipes available, but in my life, a dump truck couldn’t hold all that I have tired.
Singh
Hi Kelly, I am looking to bake the base of a mini tart (tart shell). I would like to achieve a crisp and crumbly texture. Any suggestion on the best egg replacer for this?
Andrea D Wiener
Quick question – do you have a PDF or printable version of this? I would love to have something like this in my recipe binder (I’m egg-free)