17 Vegan Egg Substitutes for Baking Cakes, Cookies, Pancakes, & More

Have you ever looked at a recipe and wondered whether it was possible to use a vegan egg substitute for the eggs? The good news is that yes, most of the time you can! This is your complete guide to using vegan egg substitutes for baking cakes, cookies, pancakes, brownies and even in savory dishes.

Looking for more baking tips? Check out this article on substituting for xanthan gum, this post on how to measure gluten free flour, this post on popular thickening agents and this one on coconut sugar substitutes.

Jump to:

• Vegan Egg Substitutes: Key Take-Aways
• Why Use Vegan Egg Replacements
• Flax Egg & Chia Egg Substitutes
• Fruit-Based Vegan Egg Replacements
• Non-Dairy/Yogurt Egg Substitutes
• Commercially Available Egg Replacements
• Egg Replacement Powder
• Liquid Egg Substitutes
• How Much Vegan Egg Substitute for Baking
• Best Egg Substitutes in Cakes
• Best Egg Replacements for Cookies
• Easy Egg Substitutes for Pancakes
• Best Vegan Substitutes for Eggs in Brownies
• Top Egg Substitutes in Muffins
• Substituting Eggs in Gluten Free Breads
• Egg Substitutes in Savory Dishes
• Vegan Egg Substitute FAQs
• Recipe

Why Use Vegan Egg Replacements

Eggs play an important role in baking. They are responsible for:

Binding - Eggs hold other ingredients together.

Texture - Eggs prevent baked goods from being crumbly and dry.

Moisture - Eggs are a liquid and as such they add moisture to the batter.

Leavening - As eggs heat and expand upon baking, they add a wonderful list to our baked goods.

When looking to bake without eggs, in most cases, something must act as an egg replacement. There are occasions when you can simply omit the eggs, but it's very few times that you can do this. Most of the time, you need something to offer the same properties as eggs. That's where these vegan egg replacements come in handy.

Most vegan egg substitutes are easy to find too: either online, from a grocery store, or from a health food store. Or you can make your own homemade egg substitute (the recipe is at the bottom of this page).

Flax Egg & Chia Egg Substitutes

1. Flaxseed Egg Substitute

After they have been properly ground in a grinder, a flax seed egg substitute can be used in cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and bread. To make a flax egg, blend 1 Tablespoon ground flax with 3 Tablespoons warm water.

2. Chia Seed Egg Substitute

Chia seeds can be made into a chia seed egg replacement by combining 1 Tablespoon chia seeds with 3 Tablespoons warm water. Let it sit for 5 minutes and use in cakes, cupcakes, brownies and pancakes.

Fruit-Based Vegan Egg Replacements

3. Applesauce

Applesauce is an excellent egg replacer. Use ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce for replacing one egg.

4. Banana

Three Tablespoons of pureed banana is enough to replace one egg in bread, cakes, and brownies.

5. Pureed Fruit

When making cakes and breads, you can always opt to use pureed fruit. This works the same way applesauce and mashed banana work in a recipe. Pureed fruits like dates or avocados work well.

6. Pumpkin

¼ cup of canned pumpkin is equivalent to one egg. It can be used for almost all baked products, due to its ease of use (but is especially good for muffins).

Non-Dairy/Yogurt Egg Substitutes

7. Yogurt

¼ cup of yogurt would be enough to replace one egg when baking muffins, cakes, brownies, and bread.

8. Buttermilk

¼ cup of dairy free buttermilk can replace one egg in bread recipes.

9. Tofu

About ¼ cup is the equivalent of one egg. Process the tofu in a blender, until it becomes completely creamy and smooth. Use this for brownies.

Commercially Available Egg Replacements

10. JUST Egg

This bottled egg substitute is easy and convenient. It seems to do well in cakes, cookies, and these gluten free blondies.

11. Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer

Bob's Red Mill makes a powdered egg replacement that works very well in baking. Just add water to the powder, the amount varies as to how much egg you need.

Egg Replacement Powder

12. Cornstarch

Since it's a thickener (more on that in this article on gluten free thickeners), cornstarch works well as an egg in cookies. Two Tablespoons cornstarch and three Tablespoons cold water mixed together make the equivalent of 1 egg.

13. Agar Agar

Agar agar is the vegan alternative to gelatin and can also function as an egg alternative. It can be very thick so it may not be the best substitute for everything. Find agar agar here. Use 1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon of hot water to replace an egg.

Liquid Egg Substitutes

14. Vinegar-Baking Soda

One Tablespoon of vinegar mixed with one teaspoon of baking soda can replace one egg in recipes.

15. Carbonated Water

You can sometimes opt for carbonated water when baking bread. Use ¼ cup of carbonated water for one egg. Keep in mind, this does not work for every recipe.

16. Vegetable Oil

This can be a good egg replacement in bread. Three Tablespoons of vegetable oil and one Tablespoon of water can replace 1 egg.

17. Homemade Egg Substitute

This homemade egg substitute works really well, especially in this flourless vanilla cake. Recipe for it is at the bottom of the post.

How Much Vegan Egg Substitute for Baking

The amount of vegan egg substitute to use for baking depends on how many eggs you're replacing in the recipe. Typically, one egg measures ¼ cup in volume, so you'll need to replace that amount in your recipe.

Best Egg Substitutes in Cakes

When compared to brownies and cookies, finding a good egg substitute for preparing cakes is quite tricky. This is because they have to rise well. Careful consideration has to be made when you choose an egg substitution. To get the desired result, use one of these:

• Pureed fruit
• Silken tofu
• Yogurt
• Flax eggs
• Chia eggs
• JUST egg
• Vinegar-baking soda
• Homemade egg substitute (recipe below)

Other substitutes can work, but these are recommended for volume and consistency.

Looking for cake recipes? Check out this gluten free birthday cake, this gluten free spice cake and this gluten free strawberry cake.

Best Egg Replacements for Cookies

There are several egg replacements for cookies. They need a moist binder that will incorporate into the dough the same way eggs do. Use one of these in your cookie recipes:

• Flax egg/chia egg
• Applesauce
• Pumpkin
• Cornstarch
• JUST egg

Here are some tempting cookie recipes: gluten free monster cookies, gluten free chocolate chip cookies and almond flour peanut butter cookies.

Easy Egg Substitutes for Pancakes

Pancakes need a binder that will provide moisture and fluffiness. Eggs typically fit the bill for this, but it's always good to have a few substitutes on hand. These options will help you achieve the ideal pancake texture and structure:

• Flax egg/chia egg
• Applesauce
• Banana
• Yogurt
• Homemade egg substitute

Try these pancake recipes next: gluten free blueberry pancakes, teff pancakes, and oat flour pancakes.

Best Vegan Substitutes for Eggs in Brownies

The best brownies are fudgy and perfectly moist. So the right egg substitute should be something that provides moisture to the brownie batter while still giving it a good structure. Choose one of the following when you're fulfilling a brownie craving:

• Silken tofu
• Applesauce
• Yogurt
• Flax seed egg/chia seed egg
• Bananas
• JUST egg
• Homemade egg substitute

These brownie recipes are tasty options to check out: flourless brownies, gluten free peanut butter brownies, and these oat flour brownies.

Top Egg Substitutes in Muffins

Muffins are another kind of baked good that especially need moisture. No one wants a dry, crumbly muffin! So this is where canned pumpkin really shines. It's most often used to replace eggs in muffins since the moisture content and flavor work especially well in these lovely little treats. For the best results, choose one of these options:

• Pureed fruit
• Canned pumpkin
• Yogurt
• Flax/chia egg
• Homemade egg substitute

Love muffin recipes? Check out these gluten free lemon poppy seed muffins, these gluten free banana muffins and these flaxseed muffins.

Substituting Eggs in Gluten Free Breads

Think homemade bread is not possible without eggs? It IS possible and it can be delicious. In fact, we have several gluten free bread recipes without eggs on the website, like this gluten free beer bread and this gluten free vegen bread.

There are several options when you need to replace eggs in a bread recipe. Whichever one you choose, just make sure you check on the amount of water being used in the dough. If you are not careful, it might be too watery.

There are those situations where you need to use more than one egg. If that is the case, using something like JUST egg will work very well or try a combination of vinegar and baking powder. You can sometimes opt for carbonated water to substitute three eggs during baking (although, this doesn't work for every recipe).

• Applesauce
• Bananas
• Yogurt
• Vegetable oil
• Water
• JUST egg / Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer
• Ground flax
• Buttermilk
• Agar agar
• Vinegar-baking soda

These yeast breads are calling your name: gluten free white bread, this gluten free sandwich bread, and these gluten free breadsticks.

Egg Substitutes in Savory Dishes

When eggs are needed to coat or bind breadings or toppings, you have a few options. All of these will produce a similar ‘sticking’ quality, but you may have to experiment with which results in your preferred taste. Try one of these:

• Buttermilk
• Yogurt
• Italian dressing
• Vegan butter (or dairy butter)
• Margarine
• Olive oil

Vegan Egg Substitute FAQs

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Recipe