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Egg Substitutes

For Baking Recipes That Work Just As Well

Apart from being just a superfood, eggs are highly versatile. They are a key ingredient in baking recipes, such as cakes, pancakes, and many more. This ingredient helps bind mixes together and adds bounce, flavour, and texture to many recipes. However, what if you run out of eggs? In this situation, you don’t need to worry, as there are plenty of replacements readily available in the kitchen pantry that are as good as eggs. 

Fruit purees, such as applesauce and mashed banana, are the most popular substitutes for eggs. Applesauce is a sweet sauce made by cooking apples and is flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg. In an eggless cake recipe, it is generally preferred to use an unsweetened variety of this sauce. However, if incorporating a sweetened variety, you should reduce the overall sugar content. On the other hand, mashed banana is another fruit puree that adds a mild banana flavour to baked goods, making them dense and moist. 

Flaxseeds are highly nutritious, tiny oil-seeds that are rich in fibre and omega-3 fatty acids. To substitute them for eggs in baking recipes, always use ground flaxseeds with water. For example, use 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds combined with 3 tbsp of water to replace one egg in the recipe. These tiny seeds provide the same consistency as regular eggs, adding a nuttier flavour to baked goods. If these seeds are out of stock in your pantry, you can use chia seeds instead. 

Tofu is a soy product made by processing and pressing the soy milk into solid blocks. 

However, not all varieties of tofu are pressed; silken tofu, for example, is unpressed and has a softer consistency due to its high water content. For vegans, it is an excellent substitute for eggs in sweet dishes, such as eggless cheesecake. Although silken tofu is flavourless, it makes your baked goods heavy and dense.

Yoghurt and buttermilk are both useful products in daily life, and they can be best used when you run out of eggs. Using plain yoghurt adds moisture to the bakes and also helps to bind the ingredients together. On the other hand, buttermilk elevates the flavour and texture of eggless pancake and waffle recipes. By using these readily available kitchen ingredients as a substitute for eggs, you give your baking recipe a delicious, rich and moist texture.

Peanut butter is a nut butter you can use as a substitute for eggs in recipes. This paste has a different texture: creamy and chunky. However,  the variety of textures you use depends on the recipe you are making. For example, if you are making an eggless cheesecake recipe, you should use creamy peanut butter. However, if you are making an eggless waffle recipe, then you should incorporate the chunky version to add crunch to your baked good. 

If you are making a recipe that requires eggs to rise, then you can replace them with a mix of baking soda and vinegar. It is best to use it in an eggless cake recipe that requires a fluffy, airy texture. To use it, take a teaspoon of baking soda, add a tablespoon of white vinegar and mix it well. This mixture prevents your cakes from becoming dense, heavy and flat. 

Agar agar is a plant-derived powder obtained from seaweed and algae. This powder works as an excellent binding agent in baking, providing a solid consistency in the finished goods and making it a perfect vegan egg substitute for eggs. Simply take 1 tbsp of agar-agar powder and mix it with 1 tbsp of water to replace a single egg. However, if you are not vegan, then you can also replace it with gelatin, which is an animal-based gelling agent derived from collagen.