4 Top Vegan Egg Substitute Options

Eggs are a pretty versatile ingredient, and it can seem fairly difficult to cut eggs out of your diet.  However, there are lots of great vegan egg substitute options that you can use, especially for baking, which include flaxseed, chia seeds, bananas and tofu. 

1. Flax seed is a pretty common vegan egg substitute, and as well as being really simple to make it adds nutritional value to your foods. To make a ‘flax egg’ you will need 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed and 3 tbsp of water mixed together and left to sit for 5 minutes.  This is a really good option when making whole-grain baked goods and pancakes.  Not only does this work as an egg substitute, but works as a binding agent which is ideal for baking. 

2. Similarly, chia seeds bind together with water to form a great egg substitute. Just mix 1 tbsp of chia seeds with 3 tbsp of water and leave to thicken. Chia seeds are full of omega-3 and fibre, which have great health benefits including lowering the risk of heart disease and arthritis, and fibre keeps your blood sugar levels from rising too fast.  The only thing to be wary of when using chia seeds is that they can change the colour of baked goods because of their dark colour, but this won’t matter too much in recipes like vegan chocolate brownies.

3. Mashed up fruit is a great replacement for eggs, and my favourite option is banana. Not only do they add a lot of moisture, but they add sweetness, meaning that you don’t have to add quite so much sugar to your baking.  You’ll need to use around ¼ cup of banana to replace 1 egg.  Bear in mind that banana will change the flavour of your baking slightly, but is (in my opinion) the best vegan egg substitute for pancakes, especially when paired with vegan chocolate chips. 

4. The last vegan egg substitute is tofu, and the type of tofu you can use depends on what your goal is. When making baked goods, like brownies, breads or cakes, silken tofu is ideal.  ¼ cup of pureed tofu will substitute one egg, and as it is relatively flavourless it won’t affect the flavour of the food.  Not only does it add moisture, but it also adds protein, meaning that your brownies, breads or cakes will have more nutritional value than normal.
   
   On the other hand, tofu is a good breakfast substitute for eggs, as scrambled tofu has a similar texture.  To make this all you have to do is crumble some firm tofu and mix with nutritional yeast (1 tbsp), vegetable broth (1 tbsp), turmeric (1 tsp) and any extra seasoning – I like using garlic powder and chilli flakes.  The turmeric will make the tofu look more like scrambled eggs, and flavouring it with similar things as you would have done eggs (if you’ve ever eaten eggs) is a great way to make the taste more familiar.

As you can see, these 4 vegan egg substitute options are a good basis for baking and breakfast, so you don’t have to break your veganism to enjoy a nice chocolate brownie from time to time.