Aquafaba: An Easy Vegan Egg Replacer (2024)

If anything could threaten an egg’s sense of self-worth, it would be aquafaba. Aquafaba is the name for the liquid obtained from canned or home-cooked beans, typically chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Aquafaba is an incredibly useful ingredient for vegan and plant-based cooking as it can be used to replace eggs and egg whites in many recipes, due to its binding, leavening, emulsifying, and thickening properties

This post is a primer on aquafaba – use the Table of Contents below to jump quickly to answers for common questions. You’ll also see links and images throughout the post for recipes that use aquafaba as an ingredient.

The 3 Ways to Obtain Aquafaba

1: Use the liquid from canned chickpeas

The first and easiest way to get aquafaba is to open a can of store-bought chickpeas. Just strain the chickpeas and the liquid that remains is the aquafaba. Ideally, you should use unsalted chickpeas, especially if you’re using the aquafaba in sweet, rather than savoury dishes.

In theory, any type of legume should work. We have used primarily canned chickpea and black beans aquafaba in our recipe testing. Black bean aquafaba is darker than chickpea aquafaba, so it’s a good egg replacer in recipes for chocolate cake or brownies.

2: Make your own aquafaba

The second way to get aquafaba is to make your own. You do this by cooking cooking legumes (such as chickpeas, white beans, black beans) from dried and saving the cooking water. Once your chickpeas are cooked, remove them from the cooking water and reduce the remaining liquid until it has the consistency of egg white.

What types of beans can I use for aquafaba?

Chickpeas are the typical legume used, but other types should work as well. If you are making your own aquafaba, please read the package label of your legumes, as some types, such as kidney beans, can betoxic if not cooked properly.

Is it better to make your own aquafaba?

3: Buy aquafaba powder

The third way to get aquafaba is to buy it. We’ve bought aquafaba in powdered form and its been reliable and convenient. However the downside is that it’s the most expensive option.

Using aquafaba to replace eggs in baking – replacement guidelines

As a general guideline, you can use aquafaba to replace one or two eggs in recipes for baked goods such ascookies, cakes, andmuffins. Use 3 tablespoons of aquafaba per egg.

If the recipe requires more than 2 eggs, the replacement process might not be so seamless and will depend on the purpose of the egg in the recipe. If you decide to experiment, it’s always a good idea to halve or even quarter the recipe, so as to not waste too many ingredients.

Do I need to whip the aquafaba?

For many recipes, you don’t need to whip the aquafaba first. Only whip it if the recipe calls for it.

Using aquafaba in vegan cheesecakes

Using aquafaba as a binder

For recipes that call for egg or egg white as a binder, such as these Zucchini and Green Pea Fritters, you can typically replace with an equal amount of aquafaba. If the recipe calls for 1 egg, then use 3 tablespoons of aquafaba. If it calls for an egg white, use 1 tablespoon of aquafaba.

Using aquafaba to replace egg whites for desserts like meringues and pavlovas

We have not tried making meringues but many recipe developers have done this successfully and there is an entire Facebook group devoted to it, called Aquafaba (Vegan Meringues – Hits and Misses!). This group is a goldmine of information for all things aquafaba. You will find numerous recipes and an extremely helpful, enthusiastic group of recipe developers.

Storing and freezing aquafaba

Aquafaba will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge in a well-sealed container. You can also freeze aquafaba. If you’re the organized type, you can divvy it up into tablespoon-size units, using ice cube trays or something similar. If you don’t do that, it’s still easy enough to defrost the container, use whatever aquafaba you need and then refreeze the container.

Nutritional value of aquafaba

Aquafaba.com tested the nutritional value of aquafaba and found that it contains about 3-5 calories per tablespoon. Most other nutrients are too low to register on the American FDA food label. Get thefull nutritional information on the Aquafaba.com site.

What can't I make with aquafaba?

You can’t use aquafaba to replace eggs in recipes that are largely eggs – for example scrambled eggs or omelettes cannot be made with aquafaba.

For scrambled eggs, instead replace with tofu, tricked out with nutritional yeast and spices. You can also try recipes with mung beans or commercial products such as JUST Eggs, which is made from mung beans. We haven’t tried it but JUST Egg might work for omelettes as well. You can also make omelettes from chickpea flour.

Just want the eggy flavour?

If you’re looking to infuse some eggy flavour into a recipe, try Kala Namak, a type of salt that has an eggy taste and somewhat sulfurous smell. Also known as Indian Black Salt or Himalayan Black Salt, it’s actually pink. Try it in our Plant-Based Caesar Salad Dressing.

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