Discover natural plant-based egg alternatives for baking and enhance your recipes with healthy, cruelty-free substitutes without compromising taste or texture.
Many baking recipes use eggs as a binding ingredient. However, just because you’re vegan doesn’t mean you have to miss out on decadent baked goods. Nature offers an array of plant-based egg replacements that are just as effective. Explore some natural plant-based egg replacements for baking and get ready to whip up some vegan-friendly treats.
Ground Flaxseeds
One of the most common egg substitutes in vegan kitchens is flaxseed. When you grind up these seeds and mix them with water, they create a viscous mixture that can be used as a binding agent in baking. On top of providing a strong baking glue, flaxseeds are also highly nutritional. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, making them healthy egg alternatives.
Create a flaxseed “egg” by mixing one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with three tablespoons of water and letting the seeds soak for about five minutes.
Mashed Bananas
Bananas are multifaceted egg alternatives, offering binding qualities, natural sweetness, and a fruity flavor. All you have to do to transform this famous yellow fruit into an “egg” is mash it up. The banana paste will provide the perfect consistency to hold your baking ingredients together. In general, the ratio is one banana for one egg.
Apple Puree
Apple puree or applesauce is an effective, healthy egg substitute in baking, particularly for sweet recipes. The pectin in apples provides a binding property similar to that of eggs, giving baked goods a moist, soft texture. Applesauce imparts a mildly fruity flavor, but it doesn’t overpower the taste of the other ingredients.
Unsweetened applesauce is ideal, as it won’t add unnecessary sugar to your recipes. As an added bonus, apples are rich in dietary fiber and vitamin C, contributing to your overall health. To use applesauce as an egg substitute, replace one egg with a quarter-cup of applesauce in your baking recipes.
Chia Seeds
When you soak chia seeds in water, they form a gelatinous mixture that acts as a great binding agent. This makes them ideal for recipes that require a good binder, including breads, pancakes, and muffins.
Chia seeds are also nutritionally dense, offering omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, protein, and a variety of essential minerals. They add a slight nutty flavor to the dish, but they mostly take on the flavor of the other ingredients in the recipe. To replace one egg, mix one tablespoon of chia seeds with three tablespoons of water and let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes, until it becomes gel-like.
Sea Moss
Sea moss is a powerhouse of nutrients, and it works wonderfully in recipes as a binder. A key indicator of true sea moss over faux is that when soaked, real sea moss will expand and becomes gelatinous—the perfect consistency for a binding ingredient. When soaked and blended, sea moss forms a great thickener gel for all kinds of dishes, from desserts to soups.
Each of these natural plant-based egg replacements for baking offers lots of uses and many health benefits. One of the best parts of being vegan is experimenting in the kitchen, so try out a couple of these plant-based egg substitutes and find out which ones work best in your recipes.
