If you’re thinking about baking but don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for eggs, you might be surprised to find that there are many egg substitutes out there for you.
If you’re making a sweet dessert, you can easily replace one egg with ¼ cup of applesauce! Who would’ve thought? Applesauce adds moisture and can replace eggs in baking because it acts as a binding agent due to its pectin content.
It gets weirder. Did you know you can also use bananas to replace eggs? Bananas are actually great substitutes for eggs when making pancakes or waffles, as long as you don’t mind their taste.
Vegans and vegetarians are probably used to using this substitute, flaxseeds. By mixing flax seeds and water, you actually get a consistency really close to eggs called flaxseeds meal. Flaxseed meal helps bind your recipe together like an egg would, plus you can’t taste it.
Now, did you know even diet soda can substitute for eggs? Yeah, really! Particularly in cake recipes, diet soda can act as a leavening agent and help the batter rise. Usually ¼ cup of diet soda is the equivalent to one egg, but it depends on the recipe.
Also acting as a leavening agent, yogurt can replace eggs in baked goods that also use baking powder or baking soda to help with binding the recipe.
A quarter cup of mashed avocado is also a great substitute for eggs and oil in baked goods. With its healthy fats and consistency, it can help by adding moisture and also as a binding agent when mashed and used in brownies or other baked goods. The only downside is that you might end up seeing green coloring in your finished product, according to Bonnie Taub-Dix, author of “Read It Before You Eat It: Taking You from Label to Table.”
Hopefully these substitutes will help you save your money and/or help you in your plant based journey. Happy baking!
