Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Vegan Egg Substitutes

Vegan baking can be both easy and delicious but when first starting out, knowing how to make recipe adjustments can be a deterrent to new vegan bakers.  Here are a few tips and trips on vegan egg substitutes to help make your vegan baked yummers turn out awesome every time!

Egg Substitute Options
Ener-G Egg Replacer
Flax Seed
   1 egg = 1tbsp ground flax seed whipped with 1/4 cup water
Apple Sauce
   1 egg = 1/4 cup apple sauce
Banana, Pumpkin, Squash, Sweet Potato
   1 egg = 1/4 cup puree
Tofu
   1 egg = 3 tbsp pureed tofu + 2 tbsp cornstarch  or 1/4 cup pureed tofu
Sour Cream
   1 egg = 1/4 cup vegan sour cream + 1/4 tsp baking soda
Soymilk
   1 egg = 1/4 cup soymilk + 1 tbsp lemon
Vinegar
   1 egg = 1/4 cup almond milk + 1 tbsp vinegar

Tips:

- Ener-G Egg Replacer is a fail safe option for baked goods and works very well.  However, if you are looking for a less proceed option then another substitute would be best. Ener-G can be found at most grocery stores and heath food stores and is a great pantry item as it has a great shelf life.

- Flax seed lasts longest when it is stored as a seed and then ground freshly when needed using a coffee grinder.  Keep a jar of ground flax seed in the refrigerator so it is ready to use.  Flax has a strong nutty flavor that is delicious and can enhance breads, cookies, and dishes.  It creates a healthy yet subtle bran-like flavor and goes best in dishes that are earthy such as quinoa cakes, casseroles, in nut breads or cakes using whole wheat.  Great source of fiber, too!


- Apple Sauce is a great option for making cakes with a denser quality such as apple spice cake, coffee cake, or a bundt cake.  The apple flavor is very subtle and comes across as a nice sweetness so this substitute can be used for orange, lemon, strawberry cakes or even for zucchini bread or carrot cake.  This is a wonderful low fat, low calorie option and is a great pantry staple.


- Banana, Pumpkin, Squash, and Sweet Potato puree are the best choice for dense/chewy texture but strongly affect the flavor and color of your baked treat. For a lighter density add 1/2 tsp. baking powder to your puree.


  • Banana puree is a good choice for banana bread but can work well for chocolate brownies since the        chocolate flavor will overpower the banana.  I have also used banana in peanut butter cookies with great  success.
  • Pumpkin and Sweet Potato work extremely well in cinnamon rolls.  Sweet Potato gives the rolls are nice cinnamon color and the flavor pairs extremely well with cinnamon and sugar.  When making anything with a pumpkin theme, pumpkin puree works well.  Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, etc.  
  • Squash such as acorn squash and spaghetti squash will give a subtle "harvest" flavor and this is a wonderful addition to holiday baking.  However, I will most often use them when making savory nut breads such as zucchini or in quiche.  When making a tofu quiche, the tofu will work as a binding agent but squash puree will add to the color and the flavor.  Also works extremely well in casseroles.
- Tofu puree is not my substitute of choice when making sweet treats.  Tofu (with added turmeric for color) works well as a scramble and most people think they are eating eggs when seasoned well with salt and pepper.  Tofu is wonderful in quiche and frittata and custard.  While tofu does not get "fluffy" the way eggs do, it does have an "eggy" texture that is yummy.

- Vinegar eggs work very well without adding weight or flavor.  However, this must be used with a recipe that calls for baking soda in order for the vinegar to work.  If the recipe does not call for baking soda, then add 1 tsp. to your vinegar solution.  This egg substitute works well for light and chewy cookies and works well in cake batter when making sheet cakes or cupcakes.  Won't affect color.  I also use apple cider vinegar for my Creamy Mayo.

- Eggless Egg Salad can be made using chickpeas. Check out my recipe for an easy Eggless Egg Salad.

- Keep in mind that many delicious recipes don't needed to be altered as they don't call for egg.  From pizza crust, to bread, to brownies there are lots of recipes which do not need eggs.