Quick Answer: What Are Egg Substitutes?
Egg substitutes are used to create egg-free baked goods and other recipes that would normally call for eggs. Egg substitutes come in many forms, from powder to liquid to mashed bananas. Some recipes use a mixture of different types of egg substitutes. Egg alternatives when baking brownies include alternative dairy and non-dairy products, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, flour, and other powdered alternatives.
Brownies are, undoubtedly, one of the best desserts. They come in especially handy when you need a quick shot of moist, gooey chocolate.
When choosing some different taste, Egg Alternatives When Baking Brownies is another option to create the same delicious dessert.
Craving some indulgent, chewy brownies have led many people down the rabbit hole that baking can be. In all honesty, we can’t blame you. Brownies are one of life’s true delights.
So what happens when using eggs in your brownie mixture isn’t an option?
Whether it’s because someone eating your brownies has an egg allergy, you can’t eat eggs as a part of your religion or culture, or you’re leading a healthy, or vegan lifestyle, not being able to use eggs can be frustrating.
This is because you miss out on delightful treats, such as brownies.
It actually turns out that there are a huge amount of egg alternatives out there! Some are healthier, some have more flavor and a lot of them are the sort of ingredients you might already have in your pantry or your kitchen.
If you don’t have them to hand, a quick trip to the supermarket is all it takes to start baking the egg-free brownies of your dreams!
A lot of the best alternatives to eggs in baking are pureed fruits. These can be fruits such as banana and berries, but you can even use applesauce, pumpkin… and even sweet potato!
Whether you choose to puree or mash your fruits, you will soon find that they work a charm.
Surprisingly, silken tofu is an amazing replacement for eggs within your brownie recipe! However, if tofu is a bit unfamiliar to you, you can always opt to use peanut butter instead!
How Do I Make Brownies If I Can’t Use Eggs?
Eggs are hugely integral to the way brownies are made using traditional methods. This is because eggs serve multiple uses in baking.
To successfully use an alternative substitute for eggs, it may help to first understand how eggs would normally help to create tasty brownies.
This will also help you to choose the best alternative for your needs, as you will understand how each alternative will contribute to your brownies.
Why Are Eggs Normally Used In Baking?
Eggs are considered an integral part of a huge range of recipes, including cakes and brownies. This is because eggs are actually the ingredient that binds all of the different ingredients in your batter.
Without the egg, the batter wouldn’t combine properly, as the eggs act as glue.
Eggs are also often used in cakes like brownies because of their taste – they can act as the glue, whilst also not negatively affecting the flavor of your brownies in fact, eggs normally improve the flavor of foods like these.
The eggs role as a binding agent means that it will help to make sure the flavors of any additional ingredients are fully incorporated.
Eggs Introduce Some Fat To The Batter
Eggs actually add a little fat to your cake or brownie batter. This is because of the fat inside of the egg yolk.
This isn’t a bad thing, however any fat added to your recipe will improve the taste, as well as help to break up and soften the protein elements in the wheat flour, helping to improve the texture of your final product.
Eggs Prevent Your Baked Food From Drying Out
Eggs help to prevent your cakes from drying out! This is because they aid in retaining the moisture within your food. They do this by combining with the other ingredients in your food.
This is because eggs are full of liquid and protein, so they both add and keep moisture in your batter, meaning that when the batter is cooked in the hot oven, it shouldn’t be extremely dry, and will have hopefully held onto a slight bit of moisture.
Eggs Help Your Baked Food To Rise
As we have previously mentioned, eggs contain protein – this helps them to act as a leavening agent in your baked goods.
Eggs can do this because the protein helps to give the batter a structure, which also allows the batter to rise in the oven without completely falling apart.
The egg helps the batter to rise through the use of steam. Steam is created through the combination of air pockets that have been introduced to the batter (when folding the batter, for example) and the moisture that the egg provides.
When these moist air pockets heat up, they create steam, and as the steam expands, the air pockets get bigger. This is how cakes can obtain that cloud-like, soft texture that most people desire.
Use As An Egg Wash
If you wanted to gain the golden-brown appearance that often accompanies baked foods, you can also use eggs to make an egg wash.
Making egg wash is super easy, you just need to mix an egg with a splash of water or milk and beat them together.
This can then be brushed over pastries like pies, helping them to gain that appetizing golden-brown color.
Now that we’ve talked about a few of the uses for egg in your cake batter, we can discuss the best ways to try to replicate the effect that egg has on the other ingredients in the recipe.
This means that we need to find alternatives that are able to
- Introduce enough protein to the batter
- Introduce enough fat to the batter
- Potentially improve the appearance
- Introduce moisture to the batter
So, we’ve worked out the main reasons eggs are commonly used in most cake recipes. Now, our next job is to list all of the best alternatives! We’ll also talk about how much you need to add when substituting.
We’ll do this by giving you a recommended amount of the substitution to use per egg, so it should be fairly easy to transition from using eggs for your recipe to using the alternatives.
Let’s get into it!
A Quick Guide To The Best Alternatives To Eggs
In case you need to be really fast and you’re already at the store, we decided that it might be convenient for you if we broke down each of the categories for egg substitutes this means it should be easier to find what you’re looking for.
What’s available to you! We’ll get into the fine details later but for now, here are the alternatives, broken down with measurements for you!
Alternative Products Made With Both Dairy And Non-Dairy Milk
- Condensed Milk a quarter cup of condensed milk per egg
- Silken Tofu (mashed or made into a puree) a quarter cup of tofu per egg
- Yogurt a quarter cup of yogurt per egg
- Kefir a quarter cup of kefir per egg
- Dairy Milk a quarter cup of milk per egg
- Buttermilk a quarter cup of buttermilk paper egg
- Coconut Milk a quarter cup of coconut milk per egg
- Soy Milk a quarter cup of milk per egg
Fruit And Vegetable Alternatives
- Avocado (ripe and mashed) a quarter cup of avocado per egg
- Applesauce (without added sweetener or sugar – or adjust the amount of sugar you use in your recipe for sweetened applesauce) a quarter cup of applesauce per egg
- Pumpkin (mashed up or pureed) a quarter cup of pumpkin per egg
- Zucchini (grated) 2 cups of zucchini per egg
- Sweet Potato (peeled, boiled, and mashed) a quarter cup of sweet potato per egg
- Banana (overripe and mashed) a quarter cup of banana per egg
Seeds And Nut Alternatives
- Chia (ground up and soaked in water until thick) one to three tablespoons of thickened chia per egg
- Nut Butter (almond, peanut, and cashew not chunky varieties) three tablespoons
- Flaxseed Meal (soaked in water until thick) one to three tablespoons of thickened flax seed meal
Flour And Other Powdered Alternatives
- Whole Wheat Flour three tablespoons of flour, along with three tablespoons of water per egg
- Baking Powder two tablespoons of baking powder, along with three tablespoons of water and one tablespoon of oil per egg
- Chickpea Flour three tablespoons of chickpea flour along with three tablespoons of water per egg
- Soy Protein Powder one tablespoon of soy powder, along with three tablespoons of water per egg
- Agar-agar Powder one tablespoon of agar-agar along with one tablespoon of water per egg
- Corn Starch two tablespoons of corn starch, along with three tablespoons of water per egg
- Whole Wheat Flour three tablespoons of flour, along with three tablespoons of water per egg
Miscellaneous Egg Alternatives
- Lemon Juice two tablespoons of lemon juice, along with one tablespoon of baking soda
- Vinegar one tablespoon of vinegar, along with one tablespoon of water and one tablespoon of baking soda per egg
- Soda Water (or any carbonated water) one-quarter cup (or half a can) of water per egg
What Alternative To Egg Should I Use For My Brownies?
Clearly, we have a lot of different options for alternatives to eggs in your brownies or cakes.
This is because eggs are mainly used for leaving and binding when baking so any ingredients that are able to replicate these effects will work as a great alternative to eggs within your brownies.
This might mean that you have to combine two ingredients in order to get both the leaving and binding effect – for example, when using powdered ingredients, such as flour, it is important to add an equal amount of water, to make sure that all of your ingredients are properly bound together.
One of the main, most important points to remember when choosing an alternative is to make sure that your alternative is able to provide enough protein that your batter gains a solid structure, without also ruining the flavor of your brownies.
Instead of choosing between taste and texture, we’ve put together a guide to help you to understand which alternatives are the best for you, by explaining what each alternative can provide your brownie batter with!
When reading, make sure to look out for the main factors you look for in a brownie – things like texture, flavor, and whether or not you like the ingredient you are using as an alternative are all important to consider.
RELATED: Vegetable Oil Brownies Substitute | Options To know
Some Of The Best Alternatives To Eggs In Brownies
Here are the best ways we could think of to find a replacement for eggs in your brownies. Some of these alternatives might not already be in your pantry, but hopefully, we’ve provided a range that should suit everyone!
There’s a good chance that you have a lot of these ingredients in your home already though, so don’t worry!
1. Condensed Milk As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
Okay, so if you’ve ever tried any fudge, you’ll understand the potential for condensed milk as an ingredient in brownies. In fact, chocolate ‘fudge’ brownies are a firm favorite!
Condensed milk also acts really well as an alternative to eggs, so it’s a perfect addition to this list! You can use sweetened or regular condensed milk whichever you prefer.
The great thing with condensed milk is that by using it, you can ensure that your brownies have that chewy, fudge-like quality so often sought after by brownie enthusiasts.
Try to make sure that you don’t add too much condensed milk, as your brownies can end up way too sweet. But providing that you err on the side of caution here, you should have amazing results!
How To Substitute
Condensed milk is a substitute for eggs as it gives you a sweet and milky flavor with reduced water content. The syrup texture is perfect to add in desserts or drinks.
2. Peanut Butter As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
When choosing which peanut butter to use as an alternative for eggs in your brownies, you should always try to go for unsweetened peanut butter, as this will help you to keep your recipe as close to the original measurements as possible.
If you do buy sweetened peanut butter, you may find that you need to adjust the amount of sugar that you would have otherwise added to your recipe – this is because the extra sweetness in the peanut butter will also flavor your batter, which might mean that your brownies turn out too sweet.
Add a little less sugar here though, and you should be good.
You should also try to go for peanut butter that is unsalted, as the salt in this will also slightly alter the final flavor of your chocolate brownies.
Lastly, you should try to choose a creamy variety of peanut butter.
This is because chunky varieties will also introduce chunks of peanut to your brownies, which may change the texture and also mean that you need to alter the amount of peanut butter you add to your batter (although small, those little peanut pieces can take up space!).
Don’t worry too much about getting specifically peanut butter. You can use kinds of butter made from other nuts too, such as hazelnuts, cashew nuts, and almonds!
The flavor of whichever nut butter you choose to use for your brownies will also come through in your final product.
You might want to consider this when choosing your nut – however, chocolate is a good combination with all of our suggested nuts, so you should be fine. Just make sure that the butter you choose is one that you like!
How To Substitute
Peanut butter is a substitute for eggs as it helps give you buttery finish and helps affect the finish of brownies. With nutty flavor, it turns out to be thicker and chewier.
3. Zucchini As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
Yes, you can use zucchini as an alternative to eggs if you are baking brownies or a similar type of product.
Not only can zucchini be used as an alternative, but it also allows you to make sure that any fussy eaters are also able to get their vegetables, and therefore, fiber, into their daily diets – through the wonderful power of brownies!
If you’d like to use zucchini as an alternative to eggs, it’s important that you grate your zucchini. Using chopped-up zucchini won’t be any good here!
To make sure that the zucchini is the right consistency so that it works properly, don’t squeeze out any water after grating.
The water will help to replace the moisture that your brownies will miss out on without the egg, so this is important as it helps to bind all of your other ingredients, as well as also helping it to rise slightly in the oven.
How To Substitute
Similar to Bananas, Zucchini is a healthier dessert option that comes without eggs. Giving delicious fudgy taste to brownies, it helps bind the ingredients and can replace eggs.
4. Mayonnaise As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
Mayonnaise might not be the first option to pop into your head as an alternative, but it works!
Whether or not you can use mayonnaise as an alternative really depends on what you needed to use an alternative to eggs for in the first place.
If it’s because the brownies are going to be consumed by someone that can’t eat eggs for any reason, mayonnaise would not be good for use as an alternative because it already contains eggs.
This is why mayonnaise is an alternative – because it’s only a mixture of eggs and oil anyway!
Whether you decide to call mayonnaise an alternative to eggs is up to you, because of the fact that it already contains egg.
Either way, it’s a great ingredient to have, as you can quickly add some to your brownies if you’ve run out of eggs unexpectedly.
It’s important to note that mayonnaise won’t help your brownies to rise as much as eggs normally would.
This is because mayonnaise doesn’t contain as much water as a raw egg might, so if you wanted to help your brownies to rise, you could also add a little bit of baking soda.
How To Substitute
This egg-free, vegan recipe makes an amazing brownie that is sure to please. Mayonnaise is a good substitute as it is an easy way to give the recipe what it calls for a twist.
5. Yogurt As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
Yogurt is actually an amazing alternative to eggs for recipes such as cakes and brownies! This is because yogurt contains an ample amount of both fat and protein to suit the needs of your brownies!
You should try to choose plain yogurt if you want your brownies to taste the best. Flavored yogurt will affect the taste of your brownies (and not necessarily in a good way), so if you can, try to use plain yogurt.
Don’t worry about the fat content of your yogurt, low or full fat will both do well.
How To Substitute
Yogurt is a wonderful ingredient in brownies, where people are allergic to eggs. Yogurt contains a lot of protein, which can be a great substitute for eggs in brownies. You can try using yogurt instead of eggs in the batter. This way, you can still enjoy the best part of brownies with less guilt.
RELATED: 10 Perfect Walnut Brownie Recipes To Try At Meal Time
6. Flax Seed As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
Okay, so this alternative is already extremely popular with both vegan and just generally egg-free bakers.
This is because upon mixing your ground flax seeds with water, it thickens in a way that closely resembles the texture of raw egg – whilst staying a completely vegan alternative!
All you need to do is mix a tablespoon of ground flax seeds with three tablespoons of water. After you’ve left it for a couple of minutes, it will thicken or gel up, and then it’s ready to be used!
How To Substitute
Flax seeds have a strong nutty and earth flavor. It is a great substitute for eggs if the healthy brownie requires to be vegan or gluten free. Complimenting flavors, add the amount as regular eggs use.
7. Silken Tofu As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
Tofu is another ingredient that won’t come as a surprise to any vegan readers, and silken tofu is literally just a creamy version of tofu.
This means that when it was made, the producers chose not to separate and press any of the curds – this is the process used to make regular tofu.
Unlike regular tofu, silken tofu appears to have a texture more similar to custard, which also makes it a brilliant binding ingredient for baked products such as brownies!
Tofu doesn’t have much of a taste, so it shouldn’t affect the flavor of your brownies negatively in any way.
It also contains a large amount of protein, which means that it acts wonderfully to replace eggs in your brownies, as the protein content in tofu can help your brownies to hold a structure.
If you choose to use silken tofu, you should give it a blend in order to make sure that it’s the perfect consistency to incorporate into your brownies batter.
If you do this, you should try to drain it of a little of the water (but not too much), as this will help it to act as a binding agent a bit better.
How To Substitute
Silken tofu is a vegetarian substitute for eggs in baked goods. It is a soft, custard-like, soybean curd that is high in protein and low in fat. In this brownie recipe, the texture of the brownie is enhanced by the tofu, which gives the dessert a soft and moist texture.
8. Apple Sauce As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
You might not have expected it, but applesauce is also a really great alternative to eggs in your brownies!
The great thing about applesauce is that (providing it is unsweetened) it’s healthy and actually gives your brownies an extra dose of fruity goodness!
If you choose to use applesauce, please try to choose a type of applesauce without any extra sweetener, or, failing that, make your own!
This is because using applesauce that is sweetened will cause you to need to adjust the amount of sugar that you are adding to your recipe, as the applesauce might otherwise overpower your brownies with sweetness.
In order to use your applesauce as an alternative to eggs in your batter, you should use ¼ of a cup of (unsweetened) applesauce per egg.
If you want to ensure that your brownies get a good rise when you put them in the oven, maybe also add a pinch of baking soda.
How To Substitute
To add moisture to your brownies, you can add applesauce as a substitute. Applesauce is made from tart apples, then blended with just the right amount of sugar to make it irresistible. With light texture, applesauce can be a substitute for oil, butter or eggs.
9. Soda Water As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
You might not have originally thought it would be a good alternative, but soda water actually works really well as a replacement for eggs when making brownies! One downside is that soda water contains less protein than eggs do.
Luckily, soda water is obviously fizzy, which means that it contains quite a lot of air bubbles!
When you add soda water to your brownie mix, the air bubbles are also added, which is how it helps to improve the texture of your brownies, giving you a cloud like batch of brownies!
You can also use carbonated water for this, as it works exactly the same.
If you choose to use either of these waters, you should aim to use around half a can or ¼ of a cup for every egg that you would have used otherwise.
One really good hack that comes with using soda water is that you can make two-ingredient brownies!
If you purchase a box of instant brownie mix, you just need to combine the two together, put them in your greased tray and stick them in the oven. Voila!
How To Substitute
This is a recipe for a brownie that is egg-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. It also has no refined sugar and is high in fiber. This brownie uses soda water in place of eggs. The brownie is so rich and moist, you may never know you were missing eggs.
10. Banana As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
Banana is a great alternative to eggs for a huge variety of baked goods, including pancakes!
If you’d like to use bananas in your brownies, you should mash them up first, as this will help to give it more of an egg-like texture, ready for mixing with your other ingredients.
If you’d like to use banana as your chosen egg replacement, all you need to do is use ¼ of a cup of bananas for every egg that you would have otherwise added to your brownie batter. Super simple. Just make sure you mash them up first!
How To Substitute
To add moisture, ripe bananas can be used as a substitute for eggs. Adding a flavor, it helps bind ingredients together giving a creamy texture and enriching flavors.
11. Vinegar As An Alternative To Eggs In Brownies
Okay, so this one might seem quite strange as an alternative to eggs at first. But it actually works really well!
Baking is all about chemical reactions and choosing the right ingredients to cause the chemical reactions (and bring the flavors) that you want. This means that vinegar can come in handy with baking!
Egg aids in the creation of brownies through its powers as a leavening agent. If you’ve ever done one of those science experiments in school that involve mixing vinegar and baking soda to cause it to bubble and froth.
You can understand how vinegar and baking soda, combined, can be used to add air to your brownie batter and therefore aid it in rising.
Don’t worry about vinegar changing the taste of your brownies too much – it shouldn’t be noticeable.
If you really want to avoid that taste, however, apple cider vinegar might be an even better option. It’s also healthier, which is an added bonus!
How To Substitute
Apple cider vinegar can be used as an alternative to eggs in brownies, as the brownie batter would need to be thickened before adding the eggs. It would also be necessary to add flour to the batter to thicken it. The batter can also be baked as it is.
RELATED: 15 Delicious Brownie Brittle Recipes
12. Baking Powder
Baking powder is a must-have ingredient in any baker’s kitchen. But, when your diet calls for an egg-free recipe, it can be difficult to find an alternative.
With vegan baking powder, it’s easy to swap out eggs with a plant-based alternative.
Egg alternatives are essential for baking and cooking, but many people choose to avoid eggs due to allergies or personal preference.
This baking powder can be used in place of eggs to provide the same texture and consistency in your recipes.
How To Substitute
The substitute baking powder is made with a mix of vegetable and rice flours and a blend of various spices. This recipe calls for a substitute for eggs called baking powder, which can be found in the baking aisle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Best Egg Substitute?
Egg substitute is a food that can be substituted for eggs in cooking. They are typically made from starch, vegetable gums, modified starches, and protein.
They have similar physical properties to eggs, such as cooking, foaming, and emulsifying.
How Do You Bind Food Without Eggs?
Eggs are a common ingredient in many recipes, but if you want to avoid them, you can still cook delicious meals by using alternatives like flaxseeds, chia seeds, ground psyllium husk, and xanthan gum.
How Do Vegans Bake Without Eggs?
Vegans avoid eating eggs because they are produced by chickens who are often raised in poor conditions. Egg-free baking is done by replacing eggs with other ingredients such as bananas, flaxseeds, or applesauce.
The cake or brownies in this recipe has a rich, moist texture, and the crumb is similar to that of an egg-based brownie.
Hi! My name is Jessica, and I recently decided to set up the site My Baking Heart, as an extension of my love for baking. It is something I have enjoyed since being a young child, when I would bake cookies and cakes with my grandma
Over the years, I have developed my skills and love to try all kinds of baking, from genoise sponges, to peach cobbler, and everything in between. New recipes are so much fun to follow and recreate.
Through this site, I hope to teach others the basics of baking, from how to use certain equipment, to the best types of recipes to follow. My site is a mixture of useful informational content, recipes, and of course, review of the best types of baking equipment.
- 25 Crispy and Healthy Taro Recipes To Boost Your Taste Buds - May 3, 2023
- 25 Best Fancy Desserts Recipes That Will Always Win - May 3, 2023
- 19 Stunning Crawfish Bread Recipes To Try Out Once - May 3, 2023