The Best Egg Substitutes in Cooking and Baking

• Chia seeds – 1 Tablespoon + ¼ cup water
• Flax seeds – 1 Tablespoon + ¼ cup water
• Baking powder – 2 teaspoons + 2 Tablespoons water + 1 Tablespoon oil
• Gelatin – 1 Tablespoon + 1/4 cup water

When substituting eggs in muffins, cakes and cupcakes, the name of the game is to keep them as light and fluffy as possible. The role of the egg in these baked goods is to add moisture, rise, texture and keep them light and not too dense. If you are going to use chia seeds, flax seeds or gelatin, these take care of the moisture and texture, but you will also need to add 1 extra teaspoon of baking powder, or ⅓ teaspoon baking soda and 1 tsp vinegar to help keep them light and fluffy. If using gelatin, you will need to bloom this in cold water (as per measurements above) first.

• ⅓ cup mashed banana
• ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
• ⅓ cup apple puree
• ⅓ cup nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter and for nut free tahini can often work as well)

The role of egg in these more densely textured baked goods is to add moisture and texture. The rise isn’t as important. These options do a great job of adding some volume and a dense, fudgy texture. These subs can also be used in muffins and cakes, however you will need to add extra baking soda or baking powder, and they don’t work consistently in all muffin and cake recipes, especially if you are avoiding multiple allergens, particularly gluten.

• ¼ cup yoghurt (dairy free if needed)
• Chia seeds – 1 Tablespoon + ¼ cup water
• Flax seeds – 1 Tablespoon + ¼ cup water
• Baking powder – 2 teaspoons + 2 Tablespoons water + 1 Tablespoon oil
• Aquafaba (chickpea brine) – ¼ cup

The role of eggs in these goods is to add a little rise, some moisture and texture. These substitutes do a great job of this without any eggs needed. Banana can also sometimes work, but it often needs to be in a recipe formulated for banana to be used such as these waffles. You are generally free to replace the egg 1:1 using your desired substitute from the list above.

• Aquafaba (chickpea brine) – ¼ cup
• Tapioca / cornstarch – 2 Tablespoons + 3 Tablespoons water
• Gelatin – 1 Tablespoon + 1/4 cup water

The substitute you choose here will depend on what you are making. Tapioca and corn starch will thicken custard, tart filling and sauces. Make sure you mix it with the water before adding it and add right at the end. It needs heat to activate it to thicken.

Gelatin makes a great replacement to things that set such as tart filling and mousse. Make sure you bloom the gelatin in water first, and then heat to dissolve before adding it to the recipe. My strawberry mousse cake, and mousse tart both use gelatin instead of eggs.

Aquafaba – this works great in mousse – replace egg whites 1:1 – whip it first like you would egg whites, to stiff peaks, and you can replace any yolks in a mousse recipe with tapioca or cornstarch. Then fold the two mixes together to create a light, fluffy egg free mousse. My strawberry mousse cake also has an option to use aquafaba to make it vegan.

• Tapioca / cornstarch – 3 Tablespoons
• Chia seeds – 1 Tablespoon + ¼ cup water

This one is fairly self explanatory. Replace the egg 1:1 in your mince mixture. The purpose of egg is usually binding, and these do a great job of replacing that binding and keeping the patties / meatballs moist.

• Aquafaba (chickpea brine) – ¼ cup

Aquafaba – chickpea brine – the liquid left over from a can of chickpeas! This stuff is like magic. It whips up exactly like egg whites and you can make meringue or pavlova from it, just as you would egg whites. Replace each egg white with 1/4 cup aquafaba. Make sure to use cream of Tatar to help stabilise the mixture and for refined sugar free, you can make powdered coconut sugar, or finely granulated coconut sugar by adding it to a high speed blender and blending until it’s broken down.

• Chickpea Flour – 3 Tablespoons + 3 Tablespoons water