I’ll be honest, when I first went vegan, I had no idea how baking could even work without eggs.

To bake without eggs, you have to understand why eggs are being used in the recipe. Baking is a science, so knowing why eggs are used can help us replace them without compromising taste, texture, or quality.

Eggs are often used in baking for three reasons:

1. As a leavening agent, which without getting too scienc-y is a substance that is added to doughs and batters to help them rise in the oven. Leavening agents like eggs, yeast, baking soda, and baking powder are what gives breads and cakes their holes/ airy light texture.

2. To add moisture and fat. Eggs help add richness to baked good.

3. As a binder. Eggs are sometimes used in recipes to hold things together and provide structure. Eggs are especially used as a binder in a lot of gluten-free recipes.

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My first tip, before I really begin, is to search for recipes that don’t call for any eggs in the first place. For example, if you want to replace the eggs in a cake, just search in google “classic vegan cake” and you’ll find tons of basic recipes that don’t use any specific egg replacements, like flax meal.

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That’s what I do most of the time, because figuring out which egg replacer to use can be a hassle, and sometimes you don’t want to possibly ruin what you’re making.

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For example, my chocolate cake recipe is accidentally vegan, it uses oil to make it rich and baking soda and vinegar as a leavening agent (the vinegar flavor bakes out). No eggs, but no one would be able to tell.

Link to the full recipe here: https://wp.me/pasYJu-J

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Now to the main part of this post:

The Egg Replacements:

There are many substitutes that can be used to replace eggs in baking, but which one you want to use can really depend on the recipe.

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For example, in brownies eggs are added for richness and as a binder. They can easily be replaced in most brownie recipes by using three tablespoons of peanut butter per egg being replaced. The fatty peanut butter will add richness & taste great in brownies.

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Ground flax “eggs” have never failed me. It’s always my go-to when I have to replace eggs in a recipe. It works very well as a binder.

To replace one egg I use 1 Tablespoon of ground flax meal and 2 1/2 tablespoons water. You mix the two together and wait about 5-10 minutes for the flax to soak up some of the water and thicken.

It works in universally every recipe and doesn’t add any additional taste either, which is nice.

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In many cakes, pancakes, waffles, cookies etc, 1/4 cup of applesauce works well to replace 1 egg. (Although there are tons of accidentally vegan cakes, pancakes, and waffle recipes online)

Chia seeds work great in pancakes, but I’ll be honest, I haven’t really experimented much with chia seeds as an egg replacer because it adds a texture I don’t care for.

Vegetable oil works great in place of eggs depending on the recipe. In my cake recipe it works wonderfully.

Bananas can be a strange replacement, they add a strong banana taste and lots of moisture to what you’re baking (obviously). Honestly bananas have never worked for me, but it seems to work well for others 🤷🏻‍♀️.

I’ve never tried using protein powder, agar agar, or the oil, water, and baking soda combination. I can’t say how those would turn out.

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Baking is a science, though and sometimes it’s fun just to experiment! Veganism looks different on everyone & you just have to find what works for you.

❤️ Autumn

Follow me on Instagram @autumn.the.vegan