Y’know, it’s funny. When people discover I’m vegan, invariably the same questions come up. “Where do you get your protein?” or “don’t you miss bacon?”, or “what about egg and chips?”. Well, I can honestly say I don’t miss any of it, with the occasional exception of eggs! So what is a vegan substitute for eggs? Do the replacers come anywhere near the real thing?
Before I decided to go vegan, scrambled egg on toast was one of my favourites and every now and then I’ll find myself reminiscing of the bad old days when I was consuming dairy like it was going out of fashion! There are plant based alternatives for every food under the sun these days but eggs are a tough one to crack! Let’s look at how you can replace eggs in your plant based diet, from baking the perfect Victoria Sponge to a legendary vegan scrambled eggs on toast!
How Can You Cook a Cake Without Eggs?
A vegan diet means eggs are definitely off the menu. We vegans try to eliminate all animal based products from our life. Eggs definitely fall into this category!
But what if you LOVE cake? … like me! Well, you need to find an alternative to that cholesterol laden eggy delight!
When looking into the weird and wonderful world of egg replacers it pretty much boils down to two things … baking and direct substitution of eggs in various dishes.
I’m not a massive fan of the direct substitution products like VEGG but I can see they have their place. I hear many reports of how people love these products and if it helps more of the world go vegan then I’m all for it.
Talk to any non-vegan baker and they will often insist you can’t bake a cake without eggs. Well, it just shows how wrong one can be! It’s entirely possible to bake a perfect carrot cake or fluffy sponge without going near an egg!
Why Use Eggs in Baking Anyway?
What’s the big deal with eggs and why does every traditional baker swear by them for their baking? Well eggs are a very versatile ingredient due to their two distinctly different constituent parts. The white and the yolk.
Eggs are used in baking for many reasons. Apart from pure aesthetics like colour, many people just like the taste, pure and simple. But eggs also have some other functions.
Binding a cake together is one of the main reasons for their use since they add a particular structure and texture to the end product which is difficult to replicate with alternative egg options. Without getting too scientific, this is due to a chemical reaction between elements in the yolk and egg white causing the proteins in the egg to coalesce and harden when heat is applied.
Not only that, eggs help to make your cakes rise when you whip the whites up. The fat in egg yolks provides that rich flavour we all recognise and are also used to thicken batters and custard, for example.
And the real kicker … egg yolk is an excellent emulsifier, doing a great job of binding all the ingredients together and keeping them bound, avoiding those ‘collapsed cake’ kitchen catastrophes!
This is why bakers love eggs!
For most bakers the thought of not using eggs fills them with pure dread. They cannot entertain the idea! But this is where the human race gets inventive and finds a plant based solution for this eggy problem!
A Vegan Alternative to Eggs? Let’s Break it Down
Eggs from a chicken (or duck!) are a very versatile cooking ingredient and because of this it’s extremely difficult to create vegan egg alternatives which will perform all of the many functions asked of the humble egg.
So the solution is to create various different products which focus on specific areas of egg replacement. We’re going to look at the best vegan egg substitutes for baking and then we’ll investigate how to use tofu as an amazing vegan scrambled egg substitute! Finally we’ll review some popular vegan egg substitute products on the market.
Vegan Egg Substitute Baking
If you’re a keen vegan baker, one of the common questions you’ll hear online is “what is a flax egg?”… it’s a good question. Flaxseed is one of the best vegan baking egg substitutes because of its particular properties when you add water.
Yes, it’s very simple. A flax egg is just ground flaxseed and water, mixed at a ratio of 1:3 or thereabouts. For the equivalent of one regular egg use:
- one tablespoon of flax meal (ground flaxseed)
- three tablespoons of water.
That’s it! Mix the ingredients in a small container and allow to stand for 15 – 30 minutes in the fridge. Ensure you mix the flax egg at least once during the stand time to avoid water sitting on top. You should end up with a gloopy mixture that has a similar constituency to egg white.
Flaxseeds are one of nature’s powerhouses, bursting with nutritious goodness! In fact, you should really try to incorporate flaxseed into your daily diet. You get a double whammy with a flax egg … not only is it an eggcellent (sorry!) baking egg substitute but you also get a good hit of Omega 3, protein and fibre. Win-win! … but I digress.
So how do you use flaxseed in baking?
This vegan egg replacer recipe can be used as a direct substitute for a medium-sized chicken egg in most baking situations. Your mileage may vary when attempting vegan brownies though. Best to find a specific recipe for this … there’s hundreds online!
Vegan Scrambled Egg Substitute Recipe
I’m very lucky to have married an amazing woman who is also one of the best vegan chefs on the planet; in my humble opinion! She has always had an interest in veganism for as long as I can remember and she showed me the light. Her influence made me decide, in an instant, to go vegan – something I shall be eternally grateful to her for!
But before I start welling up let’s get back to the point!
On a Sunday morning she’ll cook up the best vegan scrambled eggs on toast you’ve ever tasted. The family often remark how this dish could be sold all day long at the local vegan cafe for a pretty penny!
Anyway, on with the recipe … you’ll need some tofu first 🙂
Ingredients:
- 400g firm tofu; drained.
- Quarter tsp turmeric.
- 55ml of oat cream.
- 240ml water.
- Half tsp Himalayan black salt.
- Salt/pepper to taste.
- 1 tsp of cooking oil.
Method:
- Bring a pan to a medium high/heat and add the oil.
- Crumble in the tofu and stir gently.
- Add the turmeric, pepper and any extra seasonings you want.
- Mix gently until you have an eggy yellow colour.
- When the tofu is sizzling nicely, add the cream and water.
- Lower the temperature and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Occasionally stir gently for an even cook.
- When you’re happy with the consistency turn off the heat.
- Mix in the black salt.
- Add salt and more pepper to taste.
That’s it! A really simple recipe with a lovely creamy, eggy flavour due to the black salt. Serve up on some home-made wholemeal toast and add any trimmings you like. In the picture above we devoured the scrambled ‘egg’ with a veggie sausage, baked beans and mature vegan cheese with a delicious fresh salad.
Who said vegan food is boring?
Vegan Egg Substitute Products – Weird Science!
I’m dedicating a whole section to the burgeoning market of stand-alone egg replacers. Vegan alternative eggs are a clucking good attempt (sorry again!) at mimicking a real egg. Some people love ‘em, others are not so enthusiastic!
In no particular order …
- The VEGG – Vegan Egg Yolk Very popular in the UK currently, this is a vegan egg yolk mix which, reportedly, will make around 100 egg yolks. With some glowing reviews all over the internet, many people are shocked at how close this product comes to a real egg yolk for taste and constituency. Definitely worth a try!
- OGGS – Aquafaba Egg Replacement Another product with some great feedback at the moment, this is an egg replacer for baking and cooking. Made from aquafaba, which is the liquid left over from cooked chickpeas, you can use this as a vegan cake egg replacement and in doughnuts, cookies, mayonnaise … endless possibilities!
Tip: you can get almost identical results using the water drained from a can of chickpeas but this product is great if you don’t want to be compelled to eat bucket loads of chickpeas! - Orgran No Egg – Baking Egg Substitute A potato starch based option which is gluten free. Of the vegan egg substitute products on the market it seems people have slightly more variable results with this one. Most people love it and there’s a minority who don’t like the taste. Then again, some people really like the taste! Best to give it a whirl and make your own mind up I think.
We Do it For The Chickens!
As I mentioned above, the human race is nothing if not an ingenious and inventive species. When we put our minds to solving a problem the results are often spectacular. We’ve found multiple ways to replace eggs in our diet which seems like a small, insignificant thing. But I tell you what …
It’s not insignificant for the chickens!
Vegans don’t eat eggs because of the systematic cruelty the birds suffer during their tortured lives. Even what is classed as free-range is not cruelty-free. Far from it in fact. Have a look around on the internet and you’ll find plenty of info on how chickens are farmed in our, so-called, civilised society!
So no matter how much you used to like your eggs, your conscience tells you the truth. When you know the reality of the egg industry you’ll put up with vegan baking substitutions even if they’re just not like the real thing.
I hope you found my musings informative and maybe even a little entertaining. I’d truly love to hear what you think and I welcome your comments below. I’ll always do my utmost to respond to you as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading and please share this page with your friends!
Rohan.
