Humpty Dumpty has had a great fall this National Egg Day, because we’re bringing you all the essential information on how to live the eggless way to ensure you won’t miss or accidentally eat eggs ever again. From avoiding them while grocery shopping and eating out (even if they’re being sneaky) to almost a dozen pantry-friendly vegan egg replacements that can help you veganize any recipe, we’ve got all the information you’ll need on a daily basis. And of course, there are plenty of already vegan egg-free recipes to choose from in today’s article! Between all the fluffy baked goods, airy omelets, creamy quiches, luxurious creme brulees, and even some sunny-side-up vegan fried eggs, we bet you’ll find an egg-free recipe to your liking on today’s list!
What you’ll find in this article (click on the title to jump to each section):
- How to avoid eggs while grocery shopping and eating out
- How to replace eggs in vegan cooking
- How to make your own fried, boiled, and scrambled vegan eggs
Where the wild eggs are: know your enemy
Whether you’re a vegan or simply allergic to eggs, you’ve probably already developed a habit of always checking ingredient lists. Unfortunately, eggs (and especially egg whites) are not always easily recognized in food, which might complicate things for those starting out. But don’t fret! All you need is to stay vigilant and informed, and our article is here to help if you don’t know where to start.
- Bakery products might have no eggs in the dough, but they could still be added as a form of egg wash for shine or to help sprinkles, seeds, and such to adhere. You’ll find more on how to make your own egg-free egg wash in the next section of this article.
- In terms of frozen sweet treats, remember that fruit sorbet is usually made without eggs or milk, but sherbet most often contains milk and/or eggs.
- Batter-fried and breaded foods (even if otherwise plant-based, like tempura vegetables) could be made with a diluted egg mixture that helps the breading stick. If you’re making your own batter, a mixture of flour, water, and spices usually does the trick.
- A lot of creamy condiments, sauces, and salad dressings from mayonnaise to horseradish contain egg yolks, so be sure to buy them from a vegan-friendly brand or make your own!
- Pasta and other wheat noodles, surprisingly aren’t always made with just flour, water, and salt. All fresh pastas contain eggs, and they can also be used in some of the dried varieties such as fettuccine, no-boil lasagna strips, and pappardelle, so be sure to check the label before buying a new kind of noodles, or ask your server about it, if eating out.
- On the subject of eating out, be sure to always ask about eggs (as well as other animal products), especially if you’re ordering takeout, or eating in a new place. You won’t believe how many vegan or vegetarian-appearing dishes will have eggs or other non-vegan ingredients in them! Case in point: ubiquitous veggie fried rice, which often contains eggs, or can be cooked in the same wok meat dishes are cooked in.
- This brings us to our next tip: watch out for cross-contamination! Cutting boards, salad bowls, grills, and woks are all common sources of cross-contamination. It can happen in a restaurant as well as in a friend’s kitchen. If you’re allergic, then this could be a life-and-death situation for you, but if you’re vegan it can just be extremely unpleasant (both mentally and physically), so if you have the chance, eat out at vegan places, or inquire whether separate utensils are used to prepare the vegan options.
- Foamy bar drinks (like a gin fizz or a whiskey sour) may contain powdered egg white, so be sure to check what’s in your cocktail before ordering it. Some bars actually use aquafaba instead – cheers to them!
- Speaking of drinks, wine is also sometimes made with eggs. Though there likely will be no trace in the end product, as it’s used in the production process to clarify the liquid, such wine is still not vegan-friendly. If you want to make sure your store-bought drinks are completely animal-free, consult the online vegan booze guide known as Barnivore.
- You’d think egg substitutes would be egg-free and vegan, but apparently, there’s a difference between egg substitutes and egg replacers (more on which in the next section of the article), and the former most often arent egg-free! According to the food bible (aka On Food and Cooking by Harold Mcgee), these substitutes were created by food manufacturers in response to the public desire for cholesterol-free eggs. He goes on to specify that “these products consist of genuine egg whites mixed with an imitation of the yolk, which is usually made from vegetable oil, milk solids, gums that provide a thick consistency, as well as colorings, flavorings, and vitamin and mineral supplements.” Needless to say, we encourage you to make your own plant-based egg replacers from the list below, or go for the certified vegan store-bought brands!
Sneaky egg names
As with many other animal products being sneaked into things that could otherwise be vegan, eggs sometimes hide in the ingredient list under other names. This means you need to avoid products containing any of these ingredients:
- Albumin (an egg-white protein that can be used in a dried form and is water-soluble)
- Apovitellin (contained in egg yolk)
- Globulin
- Lecithin (most of it is derived from soy, but it can come from eggs)
- Livetin (contained in egg yolk)
- Lysozyme (contained in egg white)
- Mélange (a powdered mix of whites and yolks)
- Ovalbumin (contained in egg white)
- Ovoglobulin
- Ovomucin
- Ovomucoid (contained in egg white)
- Ovotransferrin (contained in egg white)
- Ovovitelia (contained in egg yolk)
- Ovovitellin (contained in egg yolk)
- Silici albuminate
- Simplesse (a fat substitute in low-calorie foods)
- Vitellin (contained in egg yolk)
While this list might seem intimidating, it helps to remember that the prefix ovo- or ova-, both derived from the Latin for “egg,” indicates the presence of an egg-based ingredient. You can also take the easy way out and screenshot/copy&paste this list onto your phone, and use it while shopping!
Common egg substitutes: everything they can do, we can do vegan
Now that you have a basic understanding of how to avoid eggs when grocery shopping and going out, you probably have a more pressing question on your hands: how do I cook my favorite dishes without eggs? The best way to go about substituting eggs is to understand their main chemical purpose in a specific dish: is it binding, leavening, thickening, or adding moisture, flavor, and texture?
Ground flax or chia seeds
For binding, you’d often need flax or chia “eggs” that are made by mixing one tablespoon of ground seed with three tablespoons of water and leaving the mixture to thicken for a few minutes in order to produce an equivalent of one egg. This type of replacer works best in pancakes, waffles, muffins, breads, and cookies because it provides these sweet treats with a slightly nutty flavor and dense texture. Case in point: this egg-free recipe for fudgy and crispy vegan chocolate cookies studded with tangy raspberries by Rainbow Nourishments!
Fruit purees
Fruit purees like applesauce or mashed banana work best in muffins, brownies, and snacking cakes because of the moisture they add to the batter. They also often serve a double purpose, helping you create egg-free recipes that are lower on oil as well. If you’re looking to create your own egg-free recipe based on a non-vegan one, whichever fruit you choose to use, go with ¼ cup (about 65 grams) of puree per each egg you’re trying to replace. Our egg-free recipe for tahini loaf cake uses both ripe fruit and ground flax seeds for the best results!
Aquafaba
If you’ve never heard of aquafaba, it’s the miracle liquid from cooked beans or legumes that vegan macaroons, marshmallows, and meringues have to thank for their existence. You can make your own aquafaba or simply use the one that comes with canned chickpeas or beans. It has a very similar consistency to that of raw egg whites, making it a great substitute for many vegan recipes, like these brownies with toasted meringue by The Little Blog of Vegan!
Carbonated water
In certain egg-free recipes, like these vegan crepes by Nora Cooks, sparkling water provides the lightness and airiness you would expect from something made with eggs. It not only adds moisture but is a great leaving agent thanks to the air bubbles trapped within it.
Baking powder / Baking soda + Vinegar / Lemon Juice
Sometimes nothing beats the mix of alkali and acid, aka baking soda/baking powder and vinegar/lemon juice, which will leaven your cake like a charm. When mixed together, they start a chemical reaction producing carbon dioxide and water, making your cake light and airy. This replacer works great in an egg-free recipe such as this vegan lemon raspberry loaf by Tess Begg, who used all four: baking powder, baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar!
Plant-based yogurt, sour cream, and buttermilk
Who doesn’t love a fully risen, fluffy pastry? We have chemistry to thank here once again: it’s the acid combined with baking soda or baking powder that helps the dough rise. While in traditional recipes it comes from buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream, it’s easy to substitute for their dairy-free counterparts that are also acidic and will do just as well in vegan baking. Lisa Kitahara of Okonomi Kitchen used coconut yogurt (with silken tofu as an alternative) for her egg-free recipe for blueberry chocolate chip muffins, and it worked really well with a combination of lemon juice and raising agents.
Make your own buttermilk if the recipe calls for it by adding one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into one cup of non-dairy milk, mixing it well, and letting it sit for five to ten minutes. Easy! This egg-free recipe by Foodie Yuki demonstrates how fluffy vegan buttermilk pancakes can be.
Chickpeas
Chickpeas are all-around stars of egg-free recipes: while the aforementioned aquafaba is the miraculous ingredient in desserts and drinks, chickpea flour is the go-to ingredient for vegan omelets such as this one by Choosing Chia.
But the chickpeas themselves work great in place of hard-boiled eggs in some dishes, such as this egg-free recipe from The Simple Veganista for a mashed “egg” salad sandwich!
Tofu
For baked goods and eggless sauces and dressings, silken tofu (the softest kind of tofu) is best to use. Firmer tofu tends to crumble and will not work. To replace 1 egg, you’ll need ¼ cup (about 60 grams) of puréed, silken tofu. It works really well in traditionally egg-centered dishes like quiches and frittatas, and Masala in my Kitchen’s egg-free recipe is a great example of making the most of silken tofu’s wobbly, custardy texture!
But tofu can also be used as a standalone “egg” dish, such as tofu scramble, which works well both with softer and firmer tofu (depends on what your preference is!). Just don’t forget to add a touch of turmeric for the color, and kala namak, aka black salt, that has that distinct eggy sulfury smell, and you’re good to go! Serve your scramble in a bowl with veggie toppings, on toast, or as a breakfast burrito filling, like our contributor Sarah Kermalli did in her recipe!
Starches
Starches coming from arrowroot, tapioca, corn, and potato work really well in recipes that rely heavily on eggs for their thick, creamy texture, like custards or puddings, or a creme brulee, like the one Gina Fontana shared with us from her latest cookbook, The Beginner’s Guide to Gluten-Free Baking.
If you’re using it as a thickener in sauces, the slurry ratio should be about one tablespoon of cornstarch per three tablespoons of water (make sure it’s not warmer than room temperature, or the starch won’t dissolve properly!), and should be added towards the very end.
Egg wash substitutes
In traditional cooking, egg wash is used to seal edges together, add shine, or enhance the golden color of baked goods. The good news is, you can still achieve that appetizing look with syrups, plant milk, water, oil or vegan butter, or some mixture of the above. In her egg-free recipe for challah, Katharina Arrigoni goes for pure maple syrup before and after baking to achieve that shiny glazed look!
Commercial liquid & powdered egg replacers
Last but not least, there are store-bought egg replacers that have more universal qualities, of course, typically made from potato starch, tapioca starch, and leavening agents. Some of the recent additions to the market are made with legumes such as mung beans and chickpeas, increasing their protein content and making them great for omelets and scrambles. But they’re not always available, so it’s nice to know you have pantry-friendly options that won’t require a separate trip to the store.
Eggless eggs: 3 recipes for culinary enthusiasts
If you find yourself missing eggs in their purest form, shape, and serving size, we encourage you to experiment with one of these three vegan recipes for egg-free eggs:
Vegan Fried Egg by The Foodie Takes Flight
Click here for the full recipe.
Hard-Boiled Eggless Eggs by The Gentle Chef
Click here for the full recipe.
Vegan Scrambled Eggs 3 Ways (Tofu, Chickpea, and Liquid Egg Replacer) by Veggies Don’t Bite
Click here for the full recipe.
In conclusion, it takes a bit more attention and creativity to thrive as a former egg lover / new vegan, but we hope that the tips and egg-free recipes we provided will inspire you!
Article by Anna Kot. Featured image by Jessica Hoffman (Choosing Chia).
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Editor: Anna Kot.
