A growing number of individuals are going egg-free today. Whether it’s because of going vegan and ethical reasons, for digestive issues, or because of an egg allergy, there is a variety of foods and products that can be used in baking as vegan egg substitutes.
They certainly are quite a staple in many people’s diet, and therefore in many baking recipes, and substituting for them in recipes for those avoiding eggs can sometimes seem tricky.
Eggs can perform a different function depending on what you’re baking, and so not every egg substitute is right for each recipe. So how do you know which will work best? Here’s a quick list of substitutes you can use for various baked products:
Quick Reference Vegan Egg Substitutes Guide — 1 Egg equals to:
- ¼ cup soft silken tofu (strained)
- ¼ cup vegetable puree (sweet potato, mashed potato)
- ½ an ripe avocado, mashed
- ¼ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ a banana (mashed)
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp hot water (let sit for a few minutes to thicken)
- 1 tbsp ground chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp hot water (let sit for a few minutes to thicken)
- ¼ cup nut or seed butter
- ¼ cup no-dairy yogurt, vegan cream cheese, vegan sour cream, or vegan mayonnaise
How to Choose and Use the Right Egg Substitute for a Recipe:
Vegan Egg Substitutes for Desserts and Sweet Baked Products
All of the egg substitutes outlined in the list above are excellent for most recipes. Some things to be aware of when you are choosing which substitute to use are flavors and colors, so choose a substitute that will complement your final product. I’ll explain more on this below.
My favorite egg substitutes for desserts and sweet baked goods as well as yeast-free quickbreads are: banana, applesauce, flax eggs and chia eggs (see notes below), and soft silken tofu. These foods have the perfect amount of thick moisture that eggs would otherwise add to these recipes.
Note that flax and chia eggs can add tiny visible dotted specs to your recipe (from the ground up seeds), so if you’re looking to avoid that visually (like if you’re making a light colored dessert that you want to look uniform, such as a butter cookie, etc.) chose a different egg substitute. Best to use chia and flax eggs in muffins, breads, darker hued cakes, and textured cookie recipes (such as oatmeal raisin cookies, etc.).
Fruit (or vegetable) purees you use can influence the flavor of your product. Banana can add a very pronounced banana taste, so use in products where this flavor will complement the flavors in the recipe. Applesauce is usually pretty neutral in flavor, so it’s best used for recipes where you don’t want to taste it much.
Ripe avocado is another great egg substitute, but note that due to its green color you may only want to use it in recipes where you can get away with it. For instance, many chocolate baked goods pair really well with avocado as the color and taste are masked by the chocolate hue and flavor. But obviously if you’re making a yellow cake or a strawberry cake, the green avocado hue can look off… Similarly, pumpkin and sweet potato purees work really well, but they do add an orange tinge to baked goods, so be mindful of how that will affect your final product too.
Nut or seed butters work wonderfully well as egg substitutes, but due to their stronger flavor use these only if the flavors work with your recipe. Peanut butter has a very pronounced flavor, so use in peanut butter flavored desserts. Almond butter or cashew butter typically has a less strong flavor and can even be used in breads without affecting the flavor much. Other nut butters will carry the flavor of the nut they’re made of… So you get the idea: use complimentary flavors. Note: pumpkin seed butter will color things green (similar to avocado and pumpkin & sweet potato purees; see notes above).
Soft silken tofu has a very close resemblance to an egg in texture, and is a wonderful substitute for eggs. Just be sure to strain it first to avoid adding unnecessary water to a recipe, and then blend it into a smooth mixture prior to adding to a recipe to avoid clumps.
Non-dairy yogurt can be a great substitute for eggs in a recipe as well, typically the thicker the yogurt the better. Similar commercial vegan products, like vegan cream cheese, vegan sour cream, or vegan mayonnaise can work well as well. All of these products will definitely add a “dairy” flavor to a recipe, so use only if this works with the product you have in mind. Of course go for unsweetened or unflavored dairy-free products, or adjust the other flavors in the recipe accordingly (i.e. use less sweetener or vanilla if your yogurt is sweetened or is vanilla flavored, etc.). Note: you want to go with thicker dairy-free products here too (some yogurt brands are very runny, whereas others are a bit more solid and would work better as a vegan egg replacer).
Sometimes a combination of products can work really well too, so feel free to experiment.
Egg Substitute For “Eggy” Goods
Love quiche? How about a frittata? Or maybe an egg salad sandwich is something you’ve dreamed of enjoying again. Fortunately, tofu is a great substitute in these products as the texture is incredibly close to that of a hard boiled egg. Add in a bit of turmeric, mustard, or even nutritional yeast and the tofu will not only look a lot like egg, but it’ll taste a lot like real eggs too.
TIP: Whenever using tofu as an egg substitute in most recipes, make sure that it is plain tofu that has been pureed prior to use to avoid any tofu chunks in your final baked product. Soft silken tofu is usually a great product to go with.
Tofu works really well in pancakes or vegan brownies as well.
Many people also add a pinch of black salt (kala namak) which has a pungent sulphury smell and flavor to add more “egginess” to a mock egg savory dish (like a tofu based omelette, etc.). Similarly I find that adding a pinch of nutritional yeast can add a little bit of a subtle egg-like flavor as well.
Last but not least, it is possible to make vegan quiches and frittatas by using chickpea flour. If you search online, there are many deliciously creative vegan recipes out there.
Other Thickeners and Binders as Egg Substitutes
Quickbreads, cornbreads, and vegan burgers are examples of when you may want to use an egg substitute that has a bit more “binding power” than others. In these situations, you can try adding a few tablespoons of arrowroot powder, potato starch, or tapioca starch into your baking mix. Adding a bit of cooking oil can help here as well.
How to make Flax Egg and Chia Egg Substitutes
Flax eggs and chia eggs are one of my favorite egg substitutes. For many baked goods, a flax egg substitute or a chia one can work really well for adding in binding power and some moisture to a recipe. To make a flax “egg” mix 1 tbsp ground flax seeds with 3 tbsp very hot water and allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes to gel up a bit. A chia egg works the same way – mix 1 tbsp ground chia seeds with 3 tbsp hot water and allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes to gel up. Then add these to your baked goods recipe in place of an egg. Chia and flax seeds naturally become gelatinous when they absorb water, and can be a wonderful plant based egg substitute for many recipes.
Commercial Vegan Egg Substitutes
Finally, there are some commercial egg replacement products you can buy. Some popular ones are Ener-G Egg Replacer, Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, etc. Boxed egg replacers work really well in some cases, but fall flat in others. They are typically made from a mix of baking soda, baking powder, and some starches, etc. I’ve used some of these before, but I’m personally much more of a fan of one of the DIY egg replacers I mentioned above.
If you wanted to make a homemade version of these types of replacers, here’s a DIY version I make whenever I’m making these gluten-free vegan eclairs:
Egg Replacer:
- 3 tbsp water (warm or room temp)
- 1½ tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp guar gum
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
> > Place all egg replacer ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whip with a mixer until frothy and thick. Then use within your recipe.
Other Alternartives:
There are plenty of other egg substitutes out there as well, so this guide is by no means exhaustive or definitive. I just thought I’d put together my list of favorite egg substitutes and how to best use them in case it’s useful for anyone. If I happened to miss your favorite egg replacement go-to, do share it in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
Audrey
P.S. For other recipe tips for gluten-free and/or vegan baking, check out this article on 5 Surefire Ways to Destroy Your Gluten-Free Vegan Cake or head on over to the Recipe Tips section.
In your chia seed substitution, it doesn’t say how many tablespoons of water. Can you please update/let me know.
Thanks!
Hi Sheryl, sorry that was a typo — all fixed. It’s 3 tbsp water to 1 tbsp ground chia seeds.
P.S. if you look further down the article I give more detailed instructions of how and when to use a chia egg substitute which might be helpful.
I have a daughter with an egg allergy and I’ve found that my favorite substitute is vegan mayonnaise (Hellman’s). It works perfectly in cakes and adds a richness to the flavor. Still trying to find a good substitute for brownies.
Hi Lindsay, thanks very much for sharing and for reminding me of vegan mayo. I thought I had it down under the yogurt, sour cream, etc. option but apparently I totally skipped it. I just edited the article to add that option in. Thank you for highlighting it!
Hi! I was making keto vegan cake for my birthday but was unsure of which substitute to use in this recipe: https://www.sweetashoney.co/keto-vanilla-cake-diabetic-birthday-cake/
Do you have any recommendations? Thanks!
Hi Rosali. That recipe is on my blogging pal Carine’s website, and she’s a great one for having all kinds of alternative diet recipes. Since it’s her cake, I bet she’d have a much better recommendation for what kind of substitute to go with here for an egg-free version, so I’d ask her on her own website (at the link you gave), instead of me making guesses here :)
We have tried using chia as egg replacer and have not had success. We used it last night for a carrot cake. It called for 4 eggs. We ground up chia seeds as you have described and used it for the eggs. We baked it at 300 for 1 hour then let it sit in the oven overnight. It is gummy and not baked through. It also rose then fell (typical for what happens also with chia). We have always had these problems and don’t know what to do to get the chia to work. Flax seed hasn’t been any better. We are at sea level essentially, so elevation is not an issue. Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Ana, maybe it’s just too many eggs to replace out with just the chia / flax egg. I suppose since it hasn’t worked out with just those, my next move would be to do a combination. For example do 1 chia / flax egg, and the rest substitute with silken tofu or vegan yogurt, sour cream, etc. and see if that works better.
Hi what would you suggest as a substitute for this recipe?
https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/mini-strawberry-cheesecakes/
So far I am using vegan cream cheese and Greek almond yogurt to replace regular cream cheese and sour cream for the dairy portions
Hi Rachel, my best guess would be to use more vegan cream cheese and maybe a bit of dry egg replacer (like Ener-G Egg replacer, or see my recipe further down the page for a DIY version of something like that) to add a bit of thickness to the cake. Another thing you can try is adding a bit of psyllium husk powder — it’s a great binder and can replace a bit of the role the egg would play in a recipe like this.
These are just a hypothetical suggestions of course, since I’ve not tried this recipe out myself, but worth playing around with if you don’t mind being experimental (always worthwhile in my books!) — if you give it a go, I’d like to hear how it turned out for you :)
By the way, I also have tons of vegan cheesecake recipes on the blog. Some raw / no-bake, some baked, you might like to check out in case it’s easier than converting a recipe that isn’t from scratch :)
You can find them all here: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/all-recipes/ (select the “cake” tab at the top + any other tabs you’re interested in).
Here’s a recipe to get you started: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/recipes/classic-baked-cheesecake-recipe-dairy-free-soy-free/
Hi Audrey! Great info on egg substitutes! I want to make a cheesecake. Should I use silken tofu or applesauce to replace the eggs? Thank you! AnneMarie
Hi AnneMarie. It really depends on the kind of cheesecake you make. Are you working from an existing recipe that you’re trying to make eggless? If so, it would be helpful to see the link to the recipe or just the ingredients list so I can better figure out what might work from there.
This might be a weird question, but I’m trying to think of what I could use in a flourless cake-type situation in lieu of folding whipped egg whites into the batter.
I’m sure any egg substitute I use will still give the result a denser texture, but I’m wondering if you’ve tried anything like this before. I’m feeling like the tofu might be the best bet? And then just whip it a lot? Or maybe a combination of vegan whipped topping and a flax egg or two?
Hi Erin,
Have you heard of aquafaba? It’s chickpea water and basically depending on the recipe you’re working with it could be the perfect whipped egg-white substitute. It’s a fairly recent thing people are using — I’m currently testing it out in different recipes myself so haven’t updated the guide above yet with that info. There are some good examples of how to use it in recipes here, if you’re interested. Good luck!