The Role Of Eggs In Baking
When baking, eggs dont really provide much in terms of flavor. Instead, recipes for baked goods like cakes and cookies usually call for eggs for 3 reasons:
Unfortunately, there is not one single vegan egg substitute that can do everything that an egg does in baking. After all, eggs are incredibly complex structures! If you try to veganize an existing recipe by using an egg alternative instead of the egg, the recipe might not come out so well. This is why I prefer to use vegan baking recipes instead of trying to veganize existing recipes. However, if you do wish to veganize a recipe, here are some substitutes you can use.
Chia Seeds As An Egg Substitute
Chia seeds work in the exact same way as flax seeds do to replace eggs in vegan baking. Just mix 1-2 Tbsp of chia seeds with hot water and let it sit a bit before mixing it in with the rest of the ingredients. Chia seeds are also great vegan sources of Omega 3.
See how chia seeds turn into a gel when you add water!
The Science Behind Egg Substitutes
- Binding A lot of the time, eggs are in a recipe to serve as the binding agent. They help keep everything else from separating! The magic lies in the egg yolk, which can bind liquids and fats.
- Leavening This is pretty much a fancy word for foam. Think meringue!
- Moisture Eggs keep your baked goods from drying out and help to extend their life.
- Flavor In dishes like casseroles and quiches, the eggs are there for taste.
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The Best Egg Substitutes For Brownies And Bars
Because of the thick, fudgy and generally dense consistency of brownies and other kinds of bars, silken tofu will be the best egg substitute for baking here. Unlike firm or extra firm tofu, silken tofu will blend in seamlessly to your baked goods. Add 1/4 cup of pureed silken tofu per egg to bakes like double chocolate brownies, chocolate chip cookie bars and dense breads.
Reasons You May Need An Egg Substitute

- Allergy Egg allergies aren’t all that uncommon, so if you’re cooking for a crowd, it might be safest to skip them! Luckily, thanks to these egg substitute options, you can still enjoy your favorite dishes.
- Dietary Preferences Watching your cholesterol? Using an egg substitute can be a big help! Eggs are high in saturated fat, but many of the replacements are not.
- Out of Eggs Enough said! If your house is anything like ours, you probably feel like you’re always buying eggs.
Pro Tip:You can freeze liquid eggs for up to a year! Snag some when they’re on sale and have them on hand for egg muffin cups, French toast sticks, and all those other yummy make-ahead breakfasts. Check out our running list of all the things you can freeze.
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Best Egg Substitutes For Cakes
Eggs act as a leavening agent in cakes, so you need an egg substitute thatll help your cake rise. Here are some options to consider:
Vinegar and Baking Soda
Measure all the ingredients for your cake into a mixing bowl. Then, add one Tablespoon of vinegar and one teaspoon of baking soda per egg. Stir, until a batter forms. Then, get your cake in the oven quickly. The leavening power of vinegar and baking soda is short lived.
Yogurt or Sour Cream
Add 1/4 cup of yogurt or sour cream per egg. This will leaven the cake, while contributing some moisture to the finished product. Plain or vanilla yogurt can be used in this substitute. If you only have Greek yogurt on hand, thin it to the consistency of regular yogurt by using three Tablespoons yogurt and one Tablespoon milk or water per egg.
Baking Powder, Oil and Water
Mix together two teaspoons baking powder, one Tablespoon oil and two Tablespoons of water per egg. Add this mixture, after all other ingredients have been added to the cake.
Carbonated Water
Own a Soda Stream, or have a bottle of club soda in the fridge? Use 1/4 cup carbonated water as a replacement for one egg. For the best results, add the water after everything else has been added. Then, get your cake in the oven quickly.
Best Egg Substitutes For Meatloaf Burgers And Fried Chicken
Making meatloaf, burgers or another savory dish that uses egg to bind the ingredients together? Use bread crumbs or oatmeal instead. Two to three Tablespoons per egg should be sufficient. Three tablespoons of aquafaba per egg will also work.
Making fried chicken? Use milk or aquafaba in place of the egg, when dredging your chicken. Just dip the chicken into your egg substitute. Then, dip it into your breading mixture. Easy!
Tip: Whisk aquafaba, until its foamy. Itll work much better as a binder, if you do.
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Simple Egg Substitutes You Can Use In Cake Mixes
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Boxed cake mixes are so incredibly convenient. They are quick to put together, fast to bake and give you a fresh, delicious cake that would make anyones mouth water. And with a few minor tweaks, you can make them truly unique and delicious!
However, most cake mixes require the addition of eggs in order to make the batter. But what if you do not have eggs on hand? Or perhaps you are following a vegan diet and would like to avoid eggs. Or, maybe youre just looking for healthy ingredient substitutes.
Dont worry! You can still make amazing cakes using a box mix even without the eggs. Here are a few perfect ways to replace eggs in a cake mix.
Empanada Dough : From Scratch To Store
Which substitute for empanada dough? Empanadas can be made in a hurry with store-bought pie dough. If you roll the dough slightly thinner, it will produce a better result than traditional empanada dough and will be easier to bake than fried. What is empanada wrapper made out of? It can be used to make a variety of fillings, including savory and sweet. Its not necessary to fear making empanada dough from scratch. Simply combine flour, salt, egg, cold water, and butter, and youll have a delicious empanada in less than ten minutes. What kind of dough is used for empanadas? An empanada is a type of turnover in which you bake or fry pastry dough and fill it with whatever meat or other filling you desire. They can be sweet or savory, and they can be topped with cheese, ham, or spinach.
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How Can I Tell If I Am Allergic To Eggs
Your health care provider will review your symptoms and either refer you to an allergy specialist called an allergist or do a test to see what you might be allergic to. There are a few different tests that can determine if a person has an allergy to eggs. Symptoms of food allergies can be mild to severe.
A skin prick test is done by pricking the skin and exposing small amounts of egg protein. If someone has an allergy to the protein a small bump/hive will appear at the test site. A blood test can also be done to check for egg allergies. Blood and skin tests are often done along with a food challenge. A food challenge involves adding small amounts of egg into your diet to see if you have a reaction. If nothing happens, more egg will be given as signs of food allergy are monitored. Only do a food challenge if told to do so by a medical professional.
The Purpose Of Eggs In Baking
Eggs are one of the most popular ingredients in baking for several reasons. These include:
- Binding Eggs aid in holding baked goods together, which is necessary to avoid crumbly sweets.
- Leavening In many recipes, ideal volume and texture is gained from eggs.
- Moisture Egg whites are high in water content, and provide much needed moisture to some goods.
- Emulsify The fat found in egg yolks allow ingredients to mix that usually would not .
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What Can I Substitute For Eggs That I Already Have In The Pantry
Maybe you don’t have chickpea brine at the ready, but we bet you have these ingredients!
- Vegetable Oil The oil mimics a leavening agent, which is perfect for baking. For each egg, mix one and one-half tablespoons of oil with an equal amount of water and one tablespoon of baking soda.
- Banana Here’s a great way to sneak some fruit into your recipes! For every egg, mash up one half of a banana. That’s it! It’s another kitchen hack perfect for baked goods.
- Apple Sauce This is another great way to cut down on the fat and add a dose of fruit. We suggest using unsweetened, so you don’t alter the flavor! Just use one-fourth of a cup in place of one egg.
- Peanut Butter We can’t get over how cool this swap is! You can trade one egg for three tablespoons of creamy peanut butter. This works well for baked goods.
Pro Tip: It’s always good to keep your pantry stocked with essentials to make recipe substitutes a breeze. Here’s our extensive list of pantry staples! Bookmark it, print it, and use it for your next grocery haul.
Choosing The Right Substitution

As you may have noticed from this extensive list, there are plenty of options for egg substitutes! The most important thing to consider when choosing the right alternative is why you need an alternative in the first place.
Whether it be an allergy, a specific diet, or youve simply run out of eggs, there is an option to suit any particular need.
Cooking Substitutes |
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Ground Flax Seed Or Chia Seed
Works for: Baked goods like muffins, quick breads, waffles and cookies. Don’t add it to recipes where lightness and fluffiness is important because flax and chia seeds make for slightly denser results than baked goods made with eggs. They also contribute a slight nutty flavor.
How to use it in place of eggs: Measure 1 tablespoon flax or chia meal in a cup and add 3 tablespoons of water. Wait 5 minutes before adding it to the remaining ingredients.
What we love about French toast: the fluffy, custardy center and contrasting crisp, golden edges. This vegan recipe leans on flaxseed meal as an egg replacement and replicates those heavenly qualities.
How Much Egg Substitute Do I Need To Replace An Egg
The number of substitutes to replace an egg will always vary based on the food type you want to prepare. However, for basic egg replacement in baking, you can substitute the following for one large egg:
Applesauce: ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
Banana: ½ cup mashed banana
Ground Flax or chia seeds: 1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoon water
Yogurt: 4 tablespoons yogurt
Tofu: 1/4 cup silken tofu
Egg replacement: This depends on the egg replacer you opt to use
Buttermilk: 1/4 cup buttermilk
Aquafaba: 3 tablespoons of aquafaba
Condensed milk: 4 tablespoons of condensed milk or coconut condensed milk
Agar-agar: 1 tablespoon agar-agar + 1 tablespoon water
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A Guide To Buying And Using Egg Substitute
Lucy Lambriex / Getty Images
For people who are looking to reduce their cholesterol and fat intake, swapping out eggs for an egg substitute may seem like a good solutionegg substitute is listed in many low-fat or low-cholesterol recipes as an alternative to whole eggs. If you are going vegan, or have an egg allergy, perhaps you are considering using an egg substitutebut do you know what it is made of?
Egg substitute is sold in cartons in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, and the liquid inside looks a lot like beaten eggs. With the word “substitute” in its name, you might expect there not to be any trace of eggs in the product. However, you would be wrong.
Can I Make Dairy
My condensed milk recipe contains milk, however, if you are dairy-free and/or like vegan baking I also have the exact same recipe but using coconut milk rather than dairy milk. It is just as easy to make and it tastes great too. Find my Dairy Free Condensed Milk recipe. You can also use Nut Milks and other sugars such as Agave, Honey, maple syrup, see the notes section in the recipe for more details.
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What Is Condensed Milk
Condensed milk is traditionally cows milk that has much of the water content boiled away and then sugar added. I use Sweetened Condensed Milk a lot in my baking. If you cannot find it in your country you can easily make it yourself at home. It is one of the main ingredients in my 2 ingredient No Machine Ice Cream. If you like your frozen desserts a little lighter and fruitier then try my Homemade Sorbet in 5 minutes
Unsweetened Applesauce Or Mashed Banana
Works for: Baked goods like waffles, quick breads and muffins recipes where youll be using the substitute as a source of moisture.
Applesauce is a good choice when you dont want a strong flavor. If youre using mashed banana, youll get a similar result with a more noticeable flavor.
How to use it in place of eggs: For each egg you want to substitute use 1/4 cup of applesauce or banana.
Flax seeds and chia seeds in bowls, top view.
Nataliia Sirobaba/Getty Images
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Vegan Egg Substitutes For Baking
If you want to replace eggs in a dish like a quiche or an omelet, it is actually quite easy. You can just substitute in tofu in most cases. Add some turmeric and the tofu will even get a yellowish egg-like color. Chickpea flour also works great, especially for omelets and eggless scrambles. When it comes to vegan baking though, replacing eggs can be a bit trickier. Baking is like science, which means theres a specific replacement for each bake. In this guide, you can see which egg replacement suits your needs!
The Best Egg Substitutes For Muffins

Easy bakes like muffins call for simple egg substitutes. We like mashed bananas or applesauce, though keep in mind that some banana flavor might shine throughwhich is fine for some recipes, like coffee cake muffins, but you probably dont want to taste banana in your sweet corn muffins!
To use this egg substitute, mash one ripe banana or measure 1/4 cup of applesauce to replace each egg. If you dont have either, you can try 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin per egg instead. Youll only want to replace up to two eggs total, or the muffins might not turn out as intended.
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The Best Vegan Egg Substitutes
While there are several vegan egg substitutes, it’s important to note that not all of them are equal swaps for eggs in every recipe. Before you choose an alternative, be sure to determine the egg’s purpose in the original recipe. In addition to acting as a binder , eggs can work as a leavener and provide structure to your baked goods.
Applesauce Or Mashed Banana
Just like with silken tofu, you can use applesauce or banana in recipes where there is already a leavening agent since the eggs are just there for moisture. Unlike silken tofu, which is flavorless, these fruit-based egg alternatives add a great flavor to your food. Think banana-walnut pancakes or apple-cinnamon spice cake. Because of this, make sure youre using it in a recipe that you dont mind changing the flavor of. Use ¼ cup applesauce or mashed banana for 1 egg. If you are feeling experimental, you can try substituting other types of pureed fruit too. I once even tried vegan cupcakes made with beet puree! This foolproof vegan pancake recipe uses bananas instead of eggs.
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Bonus: Egg Wash Substitutes
Vegan substitutes for egg washes are one of the trickier things to get right. Usually, egg wash provides 3 things: stickiness , sheen and a golden-brown hue. There are a few different types of vegan egg washes that I like to use depending on the situation & what I have to hand.
- 1 tbspmaple syrup + 1 tbsp soy milk
- This egg wash does provide a slight sheen & darkening but not super effectively