How to quickly make the best egg substitute for all your egg-free baking needs. Safer and healthier than commercial egg replacements that contain numerous additives.
Are you looking to get away from aquafaba aka “chickpea water” when it comes to egg substitutes? What actually is the healthiest egg replacement if you have a true egg allergy in your home?
Perhaps you can eat eggs just fine but you’ve simply run out of farmΒ fresh eggs temporarily and don’t want to run to the store and pay insane prices forΒ inferior quality organic eggs.
Some people use a few ounces of applesauce or a mashed up half banana as a substitute for one egg. In my experience, the binding ability of fruit is not very good. It can also unexpectedly change the taste of the recipe which may not be desirable.
Others useΒ goose or duck eggs as they are less allergenic than chicken eggs. Another option is eggs from game birds like quail. However, the availability of these types of eggs is sparse in some areas.
Some may try using bean water of various kinds but be warned. The saponins which cause the egg-like whipping are a risk to gut health. This anti-nutrient plus phytic acid, lectins, etc contribute to a leaky intestinal wall and can even be a miscarriage risk.
Homemade Egg Substitute that WORKS
The safe egg substitute I recommend that works really well is the gel from soaking flax or chia seeds.Β Β If you have any thyroid issues, it is best to use chia seeds as your egg substitute because flax is a slightly goitrogenic food.
Those who live in France should use chia seeds as flax has been banned for human consumption since 1973 and has limited availability in other European countries like Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland. Β To my knowledge, this ban is still in effect at the present time.
Note that a seed-based egg replacement works best for wheat or einkorn based baking recipes. It does work fairly well for gluten free recipes and best with those that only call for 1 egg. If you need more than 1 egg replacement for a recipe using gluten free flour, be sure to use a binder such as xanthan gum or guar gum.
Egg Substitute Recipe
How to quickly make the best egg substitute for all your egg-free baking needs. Safer and healthier than commercial egg replacements that contain numerous additives.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbl chia seeds or 2 tsp ground chia seeds
- 1/4 cup filtered water
Instructions
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Mix the seeds into the water in a small cup. The transformation to chia gel will occur faster if you use boiling water, but this is not necessary.
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Let sit for a few minutes. With boiling water, it takes about 5 minutes.
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Use the resulting gel in your baking recipe as a substitute for 1 egg. No need to try and sieve out the seeds. If you need to substitute 2 or more eggs, simply increase the recipe as needed.
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Whip the chia gel to get an even lighter and fluffier end result!
Recipe Video
More Information
The Tightwad Gazette says one heaping tablespoon of soy flour (or powder) and one tablespoon of water for each egg.
I use Chia because they can’t go bad like Flax. On the package it says a 9 to 1 ratio to make a gel. I have used chia as a binder since farm eggs and I aren’t getting along these days. I know. The GAPs diet.
I also use really ripe bananas sometimes too.
I like the chia seed substitute.
Thank you so much! That is a great tip!
I was just going to say… .flax seed meal π
Thank you! I have been using flax seed as an egg replacer for quite some time as I am allergic to eggs.
What are the nutrients in the chia or flax gel?
Not a whole lot I would expect since the seed itself is not used. It’s just super great binding agent in baked goods.
So you strain out the chia seed? I’ve never done that before & not noticed it making any difference in recipes.
what jumped out at me from this article is that flax is banned from human consumption in europe. why is that?
Not in all of Europe, just France. It is very limited in a few other countries. This is because flax had negative effects on fertility and pregnancy.
So I should avoid using flaxseed egg sub or flaxseed in recipes while pregnant? Oh dear! I didn’t know this π
Canadian flax seed exports have been banned by 28 European countries since 2009 because it is largely a GM crop. The ban, however, was placed on organic flax seed because it has been testing positive for GM contamination due to natural cross-pollination:
Thank you for providing the chia alternative. I am a recently reformed food consumer and food equity and sovereignty activist. I have been finding it difficult to track down non-animal product alternatives in recipes, so I love it when I (finally) come across a gem like this. Thank you so much for posting!
Yes the GM flax problem is a big issue. France banned it in 1973 because of issues surrounding women’t fertility health however.
Good point .. if you choose flax, be SURE it’s organic to avoid GM flax.
I would just like to comment on the ban in France… I am French, and lived in France from 1976 to 2010. Flax is not banned and is actually used in many recipes (bread), but what was banned, due to lobby from other oil producers (like sunflower, I believe) was the oil from flaxseed. The lobbyists pushed so much that It was allowed to produce the oil, but not sell it in France for human consumption — the reason used was that the flaxseed oil reacts very easily with oxygen to become toxic upon consumption. However, it has been possible for a few years now to find (legally now) flaxseed oil in organic and health stores. Before the ban was lifted, we could already get flaxseed oil in Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, and probably other European countries where I have not tried to procure it.
As far as I know, flaxseed oil is very beneficial if you are trying to get pregnant (both for the man and the woman). My husband and I were consuming it in yogurt before and after conception of our baby, and she is a very healthy toddler now.
I misspoke on that but it was close enough and didn’t matter ultimately to the success of the recipe so I left it. I clarified this in the written part of the post. I meant to say 4-6 TBL (or 1/3-1/4 cup water)
Is this amount equal to replacing 1 egg?
sorry, I just reread it and realized it’s in the post π thank you!
Video: The Best Baking Substitute for Eggs β The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/BlXL2jOu