Eggs…the complete food. The food with a superpower, not only with its dietary excellence, but also as a power packed, multi-tasking ingredient. Eat it in as many ways as you want and cook with it in different ways to get your desired flavours, textures, composition and nutrition. However, there’s an issue with eggs: they’re not vegan! And when you’ve to replace such a crucial pantry element, so replacing it would need some thought.
Now let’s think of some awesome vegan alternatives for egg yolk. If you dig a little deeper into your pantry, you’ll be surprised to find some very everyday ingredients or foods that can be great vegan alternatives for egg yolk. Let’s start:
1. Soy Lecithin
One easy way to replace egg yolk with a vegan alternative is to use soy lecithin. If you’re wondering what this is, it’s a food additive and binding agent that’s primarily made from, you guessed it, soy. Unlike egg yolks, soy lecithin has no odor, so you needn’t worry about it at all. And if you’re wondering where can you get your hands on some lecithin, it’s probably some well-stocked supermarket or just go online!
2. Mashed Bananas
Now who doesn’t have a half a dozen of bananas in their kitchen? Okay, maybe not everybody. But we’re sure that bananas are common and are available in most households. If you’re willing to look over the fact that bananas give a very strong banana-ish flavour to anything that you add it to, they actually lend a great textural factor. Have you ever tried baking muffins with them? We mean, what you’ll get is a slightly dense but moist crumb. Doesn’t it just sound delectable?! You can bake breads, cakes, muffins and brownies. If you wish, you could also substitute bananas with other pureed fruits like avocados and pumpkins. They are a fair alternative to eggs and don’t even alter the taste of the final product. But for now, let us just tell you that bananas sure are one of the most popular replacements for eggs.
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3. Silken Tofu
Of course, we meant tofu and not Shifu. Now don’t chide with us. We’re talking about tofu and as the name suggests, the best kinds, i.e. the silky kinds, the one with higher water content, which is what keeps it soft. One-fourth cup of a measure of silken tofu should be enough to get you your desired eggy effect, but without the yolk! They do fluff up when added in a blender or food processor and can actually be used as the binder while baking. Now, a professional hand at baking will tell you that while tofu is very neutral in taste and fairly flavorless, and you may be very excited to use them in your baking…but resist! Silken tofu can make baked goods quite heavy and dense, so it’s best to use them to bake cookies, quick breads, brownies and cakes.
4. Applesauce
Another fruit that can take over from eggs as an important ingredient in cooking and for vegans is the humble applesauce. Simply put, pureed apples. One-fourth cup of applesauce can easily replace one egg. Puree the apples and preferably keep the sugar or any other sweetening agent out. Add the sweetener or sugar to the recipe than the applesauce, else you may have to play around with the original recipe. You can add some depth of flavour to the applesauce by adding cinnamon or nutmeg, which again are very popular flavour combinations with apples. Apples have a fairly neutral flavour and when added in your cooking, sometimes can actually go unnoticed.
5. Chia Seeds Or Flax seeds
Both these tiny seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids and are high in protein and fiber. While flax seeds have a nuttier, earthier flavor, chia seeds are comparatively milder. When ground up and mixed with water, flax seeds create a consistency much like eggs and are very popular in baked foods as they add body and structure to the recipe. However, they don’t assist in leavening. Chia seeds on the other hand, are a great thickening agent and can be a big help while making jams, waffles, breads etc. However, they’re much like flax seeds, in that they both do not act as leavening agents. To substitute one egg, all you have to do is add one tablespoon of ground flax seeds or chia seeds mixed with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and you’re good to go.
Also Read: 5 Superfoods That Are Really Good For You
6. Aquafaba
It’s as fabulous as it sounds. Wonder what it is? It’s the liquid you get after boiling chickpeas or the water in the chickpea cans. Have you ever tried it? DO try. Especially for making meringues. Adding it to a stand mixer with some added sugar will give you the best version of vegan meringues you can ever think of. It quite literally can be a whole egg substitute. For every one egg, add 3 tablespoons of aquafaba. So the next time you are emptying the can of chickpeas, keep that juice away and feel quietly chuffed with your achievements.
What we’d like to say is this: your choice to go vegan doesn’t mean that you’ve to give up on scrumptious baking awesomeness! While we get that eggs are a primary part of baking, there are still enough vegan alternatives that would work just as well, if not better!
See Also: Vegan Alternatives to Traditional Baking Ingredients| Try These Quick And Easy Vegan Meals| How to Make Vegan Ice Cream – Quick And Easy
