Alternatives to Eggs: The First Step to Better Vegan Cooking

Recently, I had a non-vegan friend (we're working on that) ask me what she could use to replace eggs in a dish. "I'd eat vegan more often," she said, "but I just don't know what else to use to replace the things that I've always used."

Well, that's easy enough. If you need to vegan-ize a recipe, here are the various substitutes. Although this list should cover most of them, there are certainly some (like Ener-g Egg Replacer, which I've never used) that I'll miss. Keep in mind that what you replace an egg with is largely dependent on the function of the egg (in cakes, it's a leavening agent, but in burgers or casseroles, it's a binding agent). The descriptions should give you enough information to know what will work best where.

Agar-agar: This is perhaps the end-all-be-all of binding agents. Agar-agar is used where one needs a gelling agent, so it's found in vegan marshmallows, vegan jellybeans- all kinds of vegan confections, really, where the much more expensive carrageenan (also a seaweed derivative, like agar) isn't used. It's traditionally used to replace gelatin, but savvy cooks can use it to replace eggs. It does a number on the texture of what you're cooking, however, making it (obviously) much more gelatinous. Most people swear that they can't taste agar when it's in things, but I swear that I can, and it's not a taste or smell that I particularly love (this goes back to my time cleaning up a biology lab). However, if one were making something like a vegan egg drop or hot and sour soup, agar would be your best bet to replace the eggs as a thickening agent. When using it, use 1 Tbs of agar and 1 Tbs of water for each egg.

Applesauce: Use 1/4 cup of applesauce in place of each egg. This will affect the density of whatever you're cooking, making it more dense and less springy. While this works wonderfully in things like zucchini bread or apple cake, it can be a problem when you're making things like cookies. Keep in mind that applesauce will also make everything you cook with it taste faintly of apples.

Bananas: Use 1/2 of a banana (your standard Marshall banana, the kind that you find in grocery stores) in place of each egg. Mash the banana and add to whatever you're making. This will also make your food more dense, less springy, and unless you have a lot of other really, really strong flavours involved, your end product will taste like bananas, to the point where chocolate chip cookies become banana and chocolate chip cookies. It's not a horrible thing if you like bananas, but if you're not a fan of them or outright hate them (like me), then you'll not want to use them because you will definitely be able to taste them.

Chickpea flour: Use chickpea flour when replacing eggs in a recipe (one tablespoon flour to two tablespoons of water), and it'll do okay, but where chickpea flour really shines is in making what are traditionally considered "egg dishes," such as omelets, quiche, frittata, and so on. The flavour of the chickpea is unobtrusive, and when mixed with water and then cooked, the flour solidifies. There's plenty of room for other tastes to come through when using this.

Cornstarch: One tablespoon of cornstarch plus two tablespoons of water. I use this all the time for cakes, as the cornstarch works to hold everything together (mix the cornstarch with water and then feel it- it's gooey) without affecting the density. You won't be able to taste it, regardless of what you put it in. This also applies to arrowroot powder, potato starch and tapioca starch, all of which can be used at the same ratio to replace an egg. All the starches work particularly well as a binding agent (in veggie burgers or vegan meatballs or the like), but they don't do much for leavening.

Flaxseed: One tablespoon of ground flaxseed plus two tablespoons of water. Like cornstarch, it's gooey, and so it's perfect for binding things without affecting their taste. I use this for pancakes, waffles, cakes, cookies, breads... you name it. It's my personal favourite thing to use to replace eggs in recipes that aren't cruelty-free because it doesn't compromise anything when it comes to leavening or binding.

Pumpkin: Pumpkin works in much the same way that using applesauce or banana does. Use 1/4 cup of pumpkin for each egg you want to replace. Adding pumpkin does give what you're cooking a vaguely pumpkin-y taste, so it's best in baked goods, although the flavour isn't as strong as that of a banana and is about on par with that of applesauce.

Tofu: Yes, you can use 1/4 cup of blended tofu in a recipe in place of an egg. This works best if you use silken tofu, as it has a creamier consistency to begin with. I have a problem with the popular vegetarian tendency to put soy into absolutely everything, however, and I don't use it. It doesn't do much for the taste of whatever you're making- remember that tofu naturally has very little taste, and it usually absorbs the flavours around it when cooked properly. Adding 1/4 cup of tofu, in my opinion, just kind of lessens the natural flavour of what you're cooking.

Vinegar and baking soda: This familiar combination serves to leaven whatever it's added to. It won't change the flavour, and it's not really very good as a binding agent, but if you need something lighter and fluffier, this is the way to go. I would add it to English muffins or crumpets, but not to muffins or cakes.