Subs for Vegs: Egg replacements

This month I decided to provide some helpful tools for Vegan cooking. Being a Vegan, or cooking Vegan food, can be difficult when you don’t know how to replace eggs and dairies in everyday dishes. For me, dairies were always easier to replace than eggs because of the texture, baking properties and the ability to bind and bread ingredients the eggs have.

Here is a list of egg replacements for baking or cooking:

1 EGG REPLACEMENTS		HOW TO…
Silken Tofu	¼ cup of Silken Tofu	Process in a blender until completely smooth and creamy, leaving no grains or chunks.
Applesauce	1/3 cup of applesauce OR ¼ cup of applesauce + 1 tsp. baking powder.
Soy yogurt	¼ cup of Soy yogurt	Beat well before adding to mix.
Flaxseed	1 tbsp. of ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp. of water	Mix ground flaxseed with water and allow it to rest till it becomes gelatinous, then use.If you only have the whole flaxseed, grind it in a coffee grinder.
Banana	½ pureed or mashed banana	Just mash it smooth.
Fruits	3 tbsp. of pureed fruits	Puree blue berries, peach, pineapples, strawberries, etc. To avoid product being dense add an extra ½ tsp. of baking powder.
Pumpkin	1/3 cup of cooked pumpkin or squash OR ¼ cup of canned pumpkin	Cook and mash pumpkin.
Prunes	¼ of a cup of pureed prunes	Just puree prunes with water. (1 cup of pitted prunes + 6 tbsp. of water)
Potatoes, sweet potatoes.	¼ cup of mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes.	Cook and mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes.
Canola, sunflower or coconut oil	¼ cup of vegetable oil
Kosher Gelatin	1 tbsp. of vegan or Kosher gelatin + 3 tbsp. of lukewarm water  Brands: Lieber®unflavored gel, Carmel® unsweetened gel, KoJel® unflavored gel, and Hain® Superfruits.	Add this mixture to the dough.
Agar Agar	1 tbsp. Agar powder or flakes + 1 tbsp. of water.	Dissolve Agar Agar with water. Whip, chill and whip again.
Vinegar + Baking powder	1 tbsp. of white vinegar + 1 tbsp. of water + 1 tbsp. of baking powder.  Use this mixture only for cakes that require more than one egg	Mix vinegar and water then add baking power. When dissolved add to mixture.
Potato starch	2 heaped tbsp. of potato starch
Arrowroot powder	2 heaped tbsp. arrowroot powder
Cornstarch	1 heaped tbsp. of cornstarch + 2 tbsp. of water
Soy flour	1 heaped tbsp. of soy flour + 1 tbsp. of water
Soda pop	12 oz. of any soda pop (one regular can) Use to substitute 3 eggs
Homemade Mixture 1	2 tbsp. of flour + ½ tsp. oil + ½ tsp. of baking powder + 2 tbsp. of any liquid (almond milk, soy milk, coconut cream, soy liquid yogurt).	Beat together until smooth.
Homemade Mixture 2	2 tbsp. of water + 1 tbsp. of oil + 2 tsp. of baking powder.	Beat together until smooth.
Mayonnaise*	Nasoya® Nayonase Vegan spread, Earth Balance® Mindful Mayo, Follow Your Heart® Vegenaise.
Some brands in stores…	Bob’s Red Mill® All Natural Egg Replacement	1 egg = 1 tbsp. of Bob’s Red Mill® Egg Replacement and 3 tbsp. of water.
	Ener-G-Egg Replacer® (is Gluten Free!)	1 egg or egg white = 1 ½ tsp. dry Egg Replacer + 2 tbsp. water1 egg yolk = 1 ½ tsp. dry Egg Replacer plus 1 tbsp. water

*All the commercial brands listed are suggestions of the best “considered” options of Vegan products available. Most products are Organic, have No-trans Fats, are GMO free, MSG free and some are Gluten free. It is still recommended to consume moderate amounts of processed foods. Most can be found at Publix and Target, some even at Wal-Mart.

SUBSTITUTIONS ACCORDING TO EGG PROPERTIES OR SPECIFIC DISHES

Egg Whites replacement

• Agar Agar
• Gelatin
• Commercial egg replacer

Bread

• Tofu
• Ground flaxseed
• Soy yogurt

Brownies

• Applesauce
• Mashed Banana
• Ground flaxseed
• Soy yogurt
• Tofu
• Commercial egg replacer

Sweet breads, cupcakes

• Pureed fruits
• Applesauce
• Mashed Banana
• Mashed Pumpkin
• Ground flaxseed
• Soy yogurt
• Arrowroot powder
• Tofu
• Potato starch

Cakes

• Pureed fruits
• Applesauce
• Mashed Banana
• Ground flaxseed
• Soy yogurt
• Arrowroot powder
• Potato starch
• Vegetable oil
• Soy flour
• Gelatin
• Vinegar and baking powder
• Soda pop

Muffins

• Applesauce
• Mashed Banana
• Mashed Pumpkin
• Ground flaxseed
• Soy yogurt
• Vegetable oil
• Soy flour

Cookies

• Vegetable oil
• Soy flour
• Cornstarch
• Commercial egg replacer

Pancakes

• Mashed Bananas
• Flax seeds
• Soy flour

Chocolate pies, quiches, pudding

• Tofu
• Cornstarch

As a binder and coating (savory dishes)

• 2-3 tbsp. of tomato paste, potato starch, arrowroot powder, whole-wheat flour, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, instant potato flakes.
• ¼ cup of pureed tofu + 1 tbsp. of flour.
• Breadcrumbs, cooked oatmeal, cooked rice (burgers, vegetable loaves…)
• For coating: 1 tbsp. of ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp. of water + ½ cup of almond, soy or coconut milk.

Scrambles, salads, sandwiches, omelet

• Tofu (You can add Pink Salt to give it an “eggy” flavor.)
• Commercial Egg replacements will not work.

Hollandaise sauce, Mayonnaise, Custard, Quiches (Vegetable-based emulsifiers and thickeners)

• Xanthan gum
• Guar gum
• Tofu

Remember to choose the right option depending on the purpose of the egg in the recipe. Is it for coating? Use ground flaxseed! Is it to make bread? Use tofu! Is it to make muffins? Use mashed pumpkin or banana! Trust me, you can do it! It is a matter of trying and seeing what option works better for the dish you want to make.

Do you like sweets? Try this next recipe, you will love it!