Homemade aquafaba – vegan egg replacer

Homemade aquafaba – vegan egg replacer

vegan-meringue-kisses-top-down

If you’ve visited my blog a few times, the chances are that you’ve heard of aquafaba – a miraculous plant-based egg replacer – as I’m in love with its amazing properties and use it often. If this is the first time you hear about it, here goes: aquafaba is a legume cooking liquid that has been discovered to emulate egg whites.

If you would like to read up more about this discovery and the science behind it, check out this informative website set up by the people who discovered that what we all used to chuck down the drain is, in fact, an invaluable cooking ingredient.

People report success with many varieties of legumes (cannellini, black beans and lima beans to name just a few), but I myself love chickpeas and so chickpea aquafaba is the only type I’ve ever used. Below is full explanation on how to get this magic liquid out of dry chickpeas.

You can also use the brine from a tin of chickpeas, but there are a few problems with that. Firstly, most tins contain harmful BPA, which has been linked to many serious illnesses, so many people try to avoid it. Secondly, ideally you do not want any salt in your aquafaba and all tinned chickpea brands I am aware of add sodium. Thirdly, using tinned aquafaba is more expensive than making your own. Finally, people have reported issues with consistency with some brands – some brands work, some don’t. For all these reasons, I prefer to prepare aquafaba from scratch.

What can I use it for? I hear you ask. Pretty much anything you would use an egg white for…Here is a round-up of SOME of the foods aquafaba has helped me make or to make better. If you love experimenting in the kitchen, I recommended joining a group called Vegan Meringue – Hits and Misses on Facebook, where you’ll find plenty of encouragement, great tips and knowledge from a bunch of amazing vegan cooks.

things to make with aquafaba

1. fudgy brownies
2. creamy strawberry cheesecake
3. airy chocolate mousse
4. vegan meringues
5. moist orange semolina cakes
6. vegan lemon meringue pies
7. Sriracha vegan mayo
8. Greek zucchini fritters
9. Mediterranean meatballs
10. crispy veggie tempura
11. smooth, oil-free hummus
12. crispy low-fat granola

whipping-aquafaba

serves
1 cup
PREP
0 min
COOKING
120 min
serves
1 cup
PREPARATION
0 min
COOKING
120 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 2 cups of dry chickpeas
  • 8 cups of water
METHOD
  1. Soak dry chickpeas in plenty of water (chickpeas should be well covered) for about 8 hours. I tend to leave them to soak overnight.
  2. Discard soaking water and rinse the chickpeas. Place them into a pot, which you have a lid for and cover with 8 cups of water. Do not add any salt or baking soda.
  3. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to the boil. Be careful as chickpeas like to boil over if the heat is too high so keep an eye on them until they come to boil. Skim the foam that has come to the top and discard.
  4. After the chickpeas come to boil, decrease the heat to low-medium and simmer the chickpeas (with a lid on) until tender. It takes about 60-75 minutes.
  5. Once the chickpeas are ready, turn the heat off and leave the chickpeas to cool down in its cooking water (this infuses the cooking water with more protein, which gives aquafaba its miraculous properties of an egg white).
  6. Remove chickpeas from the cooking water with a slotted spoon. Make sure the spoon is clean and has no grease residue on it as even trace amounts of grease inhibit aquafaba’s foaming properties – this is especially important if you intend to whip your aquafaba into a meringue.
  7. Depending on the intended application of your aquafaba, you may want to reduce the liquid a little to make it more potent. I find that this is especially necessary for when you intent to use it as a binder, in vegan meatballs for example. Please remember also that the more reduced the liquid the more intense chickpea flavour will be so when you intent to use it for desserts, like meringues or chocolate mousse, you do not need to reduce as much or at all. To reduce aquafaba, return the remaining cooking water to the stove. Set the heat to low-medium and reduce aquafaba (without a lid) for about 30-45 minutes until some of the water evaporates and you are left with thick yellow liquid.
  8. Let the reduced liquid come to room temperature and then transfer to a clean container and store in the fridge – once chilled aquafaba will turn gelatinous and resemble an egg white. If you are not in a rush to use your aquafaba, pop cooked chickpeas back into the container with aquafaba and store them together overnight – this will make aquafaba even more gelatinous. Store in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.
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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
15
1%
sugars
0 g
0%
fats
0 g
0%
saturates
0 g
0%
proteins
1 g
2%
carbs
3 g
1%
*per cup
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5.0
24 reviews, 140 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Do you simmer with the lid completely closed (step 4) and long does it take the chickpeas to cool down (step 5)? Thanks!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yes, lid on and heat really low - if they are boiling over lower the heat, if boiling over persists you could open the lid just a tiny bit. Cooling down depends on the ambient temperature, it's hard to say as I never measured but about 2-3 hours in winter. If you want to speed it up, place the entire pot (or just the aquafaba in a jar or pot) in a larger pot of cold water - change that water as soon as it becomes warm. Hope this helps! Ania
Rinky:
Thank you so much for the recipe! It worked perfectly for me and the royal icing I made using the aquafaba came out really good!
    Ania
    Ania:
    I'm delighted to hear that Rinky, thanks for letting me know. x Ania
Mirth M.:
You made my day! It's time to begin the endless rounds of holiday baking, and so many young folks are vegan! Last year, I watched eyes light up when they saw dessert, only to dim after asking if I used eggs. Your responses to the questions posted were very helpful. This year, I have my almond milk, flax eggs, applesauce, and aquafaba "ice cubes" ready. This grandma thanks you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Mirth, I am really happy to hear that! And what a cool grandma you are - I am sure your open-mindedness and kindness will be really appreciated! Just in case you are not aware, vegan egg replacement do not always work as a 1:1 swap in non vegan recipes so you are best off to start off with a recipe that is already vegan. Being vegan does not mean deprivation though, this vegan tart always goes down well with both vegans and non vegans in my family, for example. Hope this helps! x Ania
Rita:
Hi there thanks so much for sharing! Can I use this for cookies?
    Ania
    Ania:
    You are welcome. Yes, it works well but the amount and method used depends on the recipe. It won't always work as a 1:1 replacement in all contexts/recipes. Hope this helps! x Ania
Lisa:
Can aquafaba be made using an InstantPot?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yes, I don't see why not. Ania
Margaret:
Hello! I made my first aquafaba meringues today. They're still in the oven as we speak, looking pretty good though and the uncooked mixture was delicious ;)
I used the cooking water that the chickpeas had been sitting in in the fridge for a few days.
My question is: is there an easy way to separate the thickened aquafaba from the chickpeas? It took me quite a while to get the 6 tbsp that I needed, just by taking out each spoonful of chickpeas and taking the jelly off them individually! There must be an easier way?
Would it work in future to cook the chick peas and drain most of them out of the cooking liquor, leaving only a few to exude protein?
Any thoughts much appreciated xx
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Margaret,
    I am so happy to hear that you are discovering the wonders of aquafaba. I use a slotted spoon to separate them, you could also leave them in a colander with a bowl underneath catching aquafaba. And yes, you can only leave a few chickpea in and then lift them out of the liquid with a fork/slotted spoon. Hope this helps! Ania
Naty:
Hello, Thanks for sharing this recipe. I was wondering if aquafaba can be stored in the freezer and if so how to freeze it and for how long. Thanks!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Naty,
    Yes, you can absolutely freeze it (I like to use ice-cube trays for that) and it will keep frozen for ages but I would say use up within 2 months to be on the safe side. Hope this helps! Ania
Michele Hangee-Bauer:
Do you have instructions for cooking the chickpeas in a pressure cooker?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Michele,
    I don't own one unfortunately so I don't but I would simply follow your machine's instructions for cooking beans/legumes except for adding salt. There is nothing special about the way these are cooked - you simply want soak the beans overnight first and then use enough water to make sure that once the chickpeas are tender there is some liquid left in the pot. Hope this helps! Ania
iona:
Thanks for publishing! My recipe calls for 150g aquafaba. will this make enough?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yes! x Ania
Pauline:
Very interesting recipe and I'm going to try it for Christmas. Just one query, can it be frozen after reduction and for how long?
Once thawed will it need further reduction?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Pauline,
    You can safely freeze it (ice cube containers are great for that) for as long as you need but I would not reduce until you know what you are planning to use it for. There is no need to reduce it for most things, like chocolate mousse, meringues, biscuits, brownies. Hope this helps! Ania
    Pauline:
    Many thanks for your reply. I'm using it for blinis, meringues and hummus. I'm hoping I can freeze the blinis too.
      Ania
      Ania:
      None of these really need reducing - should be fine to use as is. When you finish cooking your chickpeas leave them to cool down completely in the pot before separating aquafaba - it makes aquafaba stronger without any effort. Good luck! Ania
jess:
Thank you for the recipe, this may seem like a silly question but i was wondering if the chickpeas can then be used in dishes (eg hummus or curries) or if they shoukd be discarded? If so can they be used the same as canned chickpeas or is there any additional prep needed to use them? Thank you :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Jess,
    Yes, absolutely, they can be used in the same way as you would use canned chickpeas - no need to do anything else. Hope this helps! x Ania
Pai:
My chickpeas are now boiling when I found out your recipe. Sadly, I added baking soda when I boiled it. Will I still Elbe able to make aquafaba with that water? Thank you very much in advanced!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Pai,
    No, unfortunately not! It needs to be without baking soda. Hope this helps! Ania
Saranya:
Thanks for the recipe. I tried to make myself. Just a small doubt. Can I pressure cook the chickpeas with the same quantity of water you have mentioned??? I pressure cooked the chickpeas and drained the water. I also whipped it. Everything comes perfect except the baked macroonsare sour.
Please help me on the taste.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Saranya,
    I'll be honest I don't own a pressure cooker so I don't know how much water is needed. As for the sour taste of your macroons, I really don't know. Aquafaba should not taste sour at all. Sorry I don't really have any ideas. Ania
Gloris:
My aquafaba turned out very dark. I do not think it effected the taste but if I decided to make meringue kisses, I'd like them to be very white. What can I do to get it lighter?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Gloris,
    The only way to make it lighter is to reduce it less. You don't need it that reduced for meringue. I've made meringue with aquafaba straight from a can before. Hope this helps! Ania
Tenz:
Hi..
Can I use this aquafaba in baking cakes?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Tenz,
    Yes, but not in a way you would expect. You won't get good results by replacing, for example, 3 eggs with 3/4 cup of aquafaba as aquafaba have some of the properties of eggs but not all. You are best off following a recipe that already uses aquafaba or if you are converting a recipe yourself, use a mixture of aquafaba and other egg replacers (fruit / veg puree, flax egg, banana, tofu) to achieve the desired result. Ania
Michelle:
Thank you so much for this recipe! Almost everywhere on the web recommends to just buy canned chickpeas for the water, but I always make my own beans in the Instapot. I made my garbanzos last night in the Instapot late, so I just let it sit overnight to cool. This morning much of the water was gelatinous and stuck to the peas at the bottom of the pot. I think (?) I had no choice but to rinse them just a bit to separate the pecs from the water. I will probably end up having to boil down the water as you suggested, is there another way I could’ve approached this? I won’t be using the water right away but I do plan on using the beans today.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Michelle,
    I am glad you found this post useful. If that happens, all you need to do is add a small amount of water to rinse that aquafaba off and catch that rinsing water of course, which sounds like what you did! You don't necessarily need to reduce it afterwards - it depends on the application and how much water you've used to rinse. In the future, I would perhaps test with adding more water to the instapot for chickpeas to cook in. Hope this helps! Ania
Ivy Nunes:
Thanks a lot Ania for your clear cut instructions to make aquafaba.
I just came across aquafaba in a meringue recipe n was wondering what it is. Hoping to try making it soon.
    Ania
    Ania:
    My pleasure, Ivy! I'm glad I could help and hope you'll enjoy experimenting with this amazing ingredient. Ania
Sarah:
In your photo, the meringues look pretty bright. Were those made with aquafaba?
I never get white meringues no matter which recipe or temperature variation I try.
Is there a tip to getting them to look so bright?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yes, of course! the colour of the meringues depends on the sugar you use (I use caster sugar) and oven temperature (if it's too high they can get browned a little). Hope this helps! Ania
Long:
Great recipe, thanks! 1st time making this and it was enjoyed by my family and friends. Thank you.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you although I am guessing you were meant to leave this lovely comment under a different recipe?
Dustin:
This looks so good. I should try it.Thank yor for sharing this unique recipe!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks and my pleasure. Ania
Eszter:
Hi!
Thank you so much for the idea!
Please forgive my silly question:
I was wondering.., if the liquid is yellow.. how It will be white at the end?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Eszter,
    Yes, it's yellowish and it stays yellowish, not sure why you are expecting it to turn white? Unless you mean me saying it will end up like egg whites? I meant consistency, not colour. Hope this helps! Ania
Salehah:
Hi Ania,
I am so excited to try this. I wonder can we make Aquafaba with soya beans?
They seem so similar?
Thankyou.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Salehah,
    I am not sure, it might though. Ania
Sharon:
Finding this super frustrating. Followed the instructions to the letter, including reducing. I’ve been left with yellow water. Certainly nothing like the consistency’s the aquafaba from tinned chickpeas. It’s been left in the fridge for two days, with the peas in too. :(
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Sharon,
    I'm sorry to hear that you are not getting the results you were expecting. From what you describe it sounds like your aquafaba was really thin to begin with and it needed reducing even more, perhaps. Or maybe the chickpeas weren't the freshest (they sit around for a long time before being sold in shops so it is possible to get a dodgy batch even if you've just bought them). I'm sorry, I don't know what else to advise. I have never had any trouble with any of my aquafaba. I simply cook the beans, let them cool in the aquafaba and separate the two at the end. I tend to eat the beans and either use aquafaba straight away or freeze it for later. Ania
    Sally:
    The aquafaba thickens into a gel when refrigerated with the chickpeas in the liquid. This actually makes the best aquafaba. Even though the thick gel is yellow, itwill turn white when whipped. And it works fine mixed with ground Flax without whipping as a binder for quick breads or muffins or pancakes.
      Ania
      Ania:
      Thanks Sally!
Hari Kanta:
Any tips for making this using a slow cooker? Usually we cook dry beans on low overnight.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Hari,
    Unfortunately, I do not own one myself so I'm unable to help you. Ania
Anette:
thank you for sharing! i want to ask. do we have to peel the chickpea's skin off ? is it necessary ?
    Ania
    Ania:
    My pleasure :) No, there is no need to peel them at all. Ania
Caro:
Hi! Thank you for sharing all your tips!
I have a question regarding to reducing the aquafaba as you say it’s better not to do it if you’re are using it for meringues. I’m planning to try this recipe to make macarons and I wanted to know if you recommend me to reduce it a little bit or not.
I’ve tried making meringues plenty of times with homemade aquafaba but succeeded only the first time haha :( so I hope that following this tips I’ll be able to make it right!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Caro,
    I think that reduced (more strength) aquafaba is better in terms of efficacy but the trade off is that it will have a stronger taste, which you obviously do not want in meringues. Having said that I never reduce mine (I tend to leave chickpeas in my aquafaba until it's cold and store them together to give it more protein) and I never have any issues with whipping it into a stiff foam. I would say don't reduce unless your aquafaba is really thin and watery. Ania
Carrie:
Thanks for this info, Ania! Have you tried making aquafaba with an Instantpot? I can make chickpeas in about an hour from dry in an Instantpot, now I'm curious about the water. I'll try saving it next time, I'd love to make some mayo. Thanks for this inspiration!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Carrie,
    I assume so but I don't have an Instantpot myself so I cannot be sure, sorry. Ania
Sarah:
I’m planning to freeze some small batches of this. Any tricks to freezing and thawing I should know about? This is my first time making my own aquafaba. Also, another question.... when making things with aquafaba, for example mayo, should it be used within the 3-4 day threshold?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Sarah,
    No, there aren't any special tricks really, but it's a good idea to freeze small amounts in an ice-cube tray or a similar container. Yes, it is likely to go off after 3-4 days in the fridge so best to use it fairly soon after making/thawing. Hope this helps! Ania
Gram:
How much would an individual use in proportion of 1 egg?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Gram,
    Traditional wisdom says that it's about 3 tbsp per egg, but unfortunately, it is not that simple - if you were to replace 4 eggs in a cake with 12 tbsp of aquafaba, it would be a mess. It's best to use recipes that already use aquafaba already as the recipe developer has gone through a lot of trial and error before they arrived at the final result. Hope this helps! Ania
Lori:
Hi Ania, thanks so much for this recipe! I followed the instructions exactly, including reducing the cooking liquid for about an hour. I was concerned with how thin the liquid seemed when it put it in the refrigerator with some of the cooked chickpeas. When I pulled it out of the refrigerator in the morning, my aquafaba was perfectly gelatinous and my vegan mayo had a much better texture than when I used the liquid from canned chickpeas! I ended up with about 3 1/2 cups of aquafaba, so I had plenty to freeze for future use.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Great to hear, Lori! Yes, it does seem to gather strength when stored overnight especially when there is a few stranded chickpeas present. Ania
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