alternatives Archives

Few foods are quite as loaded with cultural significance as the humble egg. Whether we’re talking about philosophy (did the chicken or the egg come first?) or superstition (get a double yolk and get ready to have twins), the unfertilized chicken ovum is as meaningful as any random object can be. They take on a different sort of implication for vegans, of course, skewing largely negative.

Are Vegan Eggs Possible?

Plant-based eggs have evolved alongside the massive wave of alternatives to conventional animal products. For decades, creative bakers have sought substitutes using just about anything you could pull out of the pantry, such as:

Ground flaxseeds or chia seeds
Mashed bananas
Applesauce
Blended tofu
Aquafaba

While that works for muffins and cakes, you’d never mistake these mixtures for eggs on the breakfast table. For that, we turn to:

Tofu scrambles and frittatas
Chickpea scrambles and quiches
Lentil liquid eggs
Deviled potatoes and tomatoes

Vegan Egg Brands Are Keeping Pace

With increased demand comes more ready-made solutions that become even better with every fresh formulation.

JUST Egg has held the lion’s share of the market with their pioneering liquid egg, followed by folded patties, and sous vide egg bites.

Competition is finally growing with Simply Eggless‘ liquid scramble made from lupin protein.
Spero Foods plant-based pepita eggs add diversity to the category.

Still, a large swath of egg-based foods remained untouched… Until now.

Vegan Hard Boiled Eggs Are Here

A new era of plant-based eggs has dawned. Sorry to bury the lede on this stunning breakthrough in food technology, but it’s impossible to emphasize just how far we’ve come to reach this point without a bit of history. WunderEggs, sold exclusively in Whole Foods Markets, right alongside cartons of conventional, free range, and organic chicken eggs offer a truly better alternative.

What Are WunderEggs Made of?

Almonds, cashews, and coconuts sound like a dubious combination on paper. Somehow, once sprinkled with the sachet of sulfurous black salt included in each package, this unlikely trio is transformed into the eggiest experience you can get outside of a hatchery. Rich, creamy yolks add decadence to smooth, bouncy whites, working together and separately to play a pitch-perfect role in the act.

What’s The Best Way To Serve Plant-Based Hard Boiled Eggs?

Given their current scarcity and expense, WunderEggs are a bit too precious to sacrifice for a mundane egg salad sandwich. Hopefully those factors will improve with increased production and distribution, but to maximize your investment, they’re best featured as toppers for:

Salads (especially a Cobb or Niçoise salad)
Avocado toast
Savory oats
Congee
Breakfast pizza

There’s Always Deviled Eggs

Conserve your supply using this simple shortcut for making a single serving of vegan deviled eggs, or scale up to throw a lavish Easter brunch that will impress all your friends and family. We’ve arrived at the final frontier of eggless alternatives, and it’s a truly delicious place to be.

Continue reading “Joining The Plant-Based Egg Hunt” →

Butter, eggs, and milk, essential staples of traditional desserts, no longer need apply when it comes to baking up the best treats. Vegan alternatives have come a long way in recent years, making it effortless to create sweet delights that are not only as good as the traditional recipes, but often even better. The results may seem magical, but there are no tricky secrets to unveil here! A few simple swaps will reveal just how easy to is to bake completely plant-based delicacies.

When it comes to converting classic recipes, there are no hard and fast rules, but guidelines to help steer you in the right direction. It may take a bit of fine-tuning to get just the right combination, so don’t get frustrated if it’s not perfect on the first try. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

To replace butter, the options available on the mainstream market have never been more abundant or more delicious. Some name brands contain whey or other milk-derivatives, while others conceal the elusive, animal-derived Vitamin D3, so be alert when scanning ingredient labels. For ease, I prefer to use it in stick format, such as Earth Balance Buttery Sticks or Miyoko’s Creamery European Style Cultured Vegan Butter. Never try to substitute spreadable butter from a tub! These varieties have much more water to allow them to spread while cold, and will thus bake and cook differently.

Alternatively, if the recipe calls for melted butter, you can often substitute melted coconut oil at a 1:1 ratio. Just be careful to select refined coconut oil, as virgin coconut oil will impart a distinctive tropical taste.

To replace milk, an unlimited range of perfect replacements beckon from the dairy aisle! Once limited to sour, beany soy, you can now choose from milks made of hemp seeds, oats, almonds, cashews, flaxseed, and more. They’re all mostly interchangeable when it comes to baking applications, as long as you opt for a variety that is unflavored and unsweetened. Rice milk is the only sort that doesn’t make the cut for me, personally, as it tends to be watery, and in the worst cases, gritty.

To recreate buttermilk, simply place 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar in a 1 cup measuring scoop before filling the rest of the way with your non-dairy milk of choice. Stir gently to combine and let “curdle” for a few minutes before proceeding.
To replace cream or heavy cream, pure, full-fat coconut milk is the answer. Shake well and use it straight for ice cream, but if you want to make a light whipped topping, let the can chill in your fridge overnight. Scoop out the thick white cream on top and place it in the bowl of your stand mixer, leaving the clear water at the bottom. The water can’t be whipped, but don’t discard it; It’s fantastic in smoothies, curries, and many other recipes! Beat the cream on high speed for about 5 – 8 minutes until fluffy. Sprinkle in a touch of sugar, if desired.

To replace eggs, the possibilities are vast. Bear in mind that the greater number of eggs you try to remove, the more difficult it will be to achieve consistent results. I would feel comfortable replacing up to three eggs in most recipes before needing to do more invasive structural rewiring for the rest of the formula. Bear in mind that the average medium egg is about 3 tablespoons in volume, whereas a large is closer to 4 tablespoons, so adjust accordingly.

My favorite eggless binder is aquafaba, the not-so-secret ingredient taking the world by storm, dubbed a “miracle” by some and a food science breakthrough by others. Believe it or not, it’s simply the excess liquid found in any ordinary can of chickpeas. Any bean can produce aquafaba, but the unique ratio of protein and starch found in garbanzo beans has been found to best mimic the unique binding and whipping properties previously only seen in egg whites. For more delicate applications like meringues or marshmallow fluff, you can always concentrate your aquafaba to create a stronger foam matrix by cooking it gently over the stove and reducing some of the water.
Otherwise, flaxseed or chia seed gel performs beautifully in most applications, particularly savory baked goods and breads. It takes a ratio of 3:1, water to ground seeds, mixed up and let sit for a few minutes to thicken. Make sure the seeds are ground very finely for the gel to be most effective, and least noticeable in the final texture.
Old-school alternatives include mashed banana, applesauce, and pumpkin puree, which work fine in heartier muffins and cakes, but inevitably contribute a denser texture and influence the overall flavor.