The perfect egg replacement-with a table for printing

Chicken eggs are used in cooking and baking for binding, loosening, and thickening, among other things. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives for those who prefer to avoid eggs. It's now incredibly easy to veganize recipes and continue enjoying old favorites. But what is the perfect ratio of each alternative? Which egg substitute should I use for which dish? Our guide will tell you.

What alternatives are there? An overview

In addition to the “natural” alternatives to chicken eggs, which we will come to shortly, there are also processed egg substitutesThese are usually powder mixtures consisting of locust bean gum, lupin flour, cornstarch, sunflower protein, or similar ingredients. The powder is whipped with a little water and can then be used instead of eggs in various recipes. These products can be found in more and more grocery stores.

If you want to replace a chicken egg, you don't have to go to the supermarket. Eggs can also be replaced with a variety of foods from your pantry or refrigerator.

It is important to think about it beforehand, which function What role should the egg play in a particular recipe? Is it used to loosen, bind, or thicken the dough? Or is it more about the egg flavor or to achieve a yellow color? Some alternatives are more suitable for these different functions than others. However, there is usually more than one way to achieve the desired result. So you should simply experiment and find what you like best.

To name the alternatives we'll be talking about today, here's a short list (starting with the foods you most likely already have at home):

Bananas, Flour, mineral water, turmeric, Baking soda and vinegar/lemon juice, Herbal Milk, applesauce, Aquafaba (chickpea water), linseed, Chia seeds, Silken tofu, Corn starch, locust bean gum, Soy flour, Chickpea flour, Kala Namak.

I find it most useful to group the egg alternatives by their function. Therefore, the function forms the first column of the table. The required food item is then listed along with its mixing ratio or quantity. This is followed by notes on preparation, dishes for which the egg substitute is suitable, and other comments. You can scroll from left to right in the table below (to see all columns) or view it as a PDF.

Here you can find the table as a PDF for printing.

The perfect egg substitute…

function	Groceries	1 egg =	preparation	particularly suitable for	note
for binding	Flaxseed (ground)	1 tbsp flaxseed + 3 tbsp water	Mix and let it swell for about 10 minutes	dark pastries, brownies, cakes,	regional alternative to chia seeds
	Chia seeds	1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water	Mix and let it swell for about 5 minutes	Bread dough, cookies, savory pastries	not so suitable for cake batter
	Soy flour	1 tbsp soy flour + 2 tbsp water	touch	Sweets including cakes, waffles, cookies, brownies, pasta dough	available in many supermarkets and organic markets, very light taste
	Chickpea flour	1 tbsp chickpea flour + 2 tbsp water	touch	savory dishes such as quiches or casseroles, vegan omelette	-
to loosen during baking	Baking soda + vinegar/lemon juice	2 tbsp baking soda + 1 tbsp vinegar/citric acid for 500g flour	mix	Cakes, cake bases, bread	-
	Mineral water (carbonated)	according to recipe (see note)	add	particularly light doughs, z.B.sponge cake	Information on a 1:1 mixing ratio depends on the recipe
	Flour + Baking Powder + Oil + Water	2 tbsp flour + 2 tbsp baking powder + 2 tbsp oil + 2 tbsp water	mix	Muffins, pancakes, cakes	suitable for pastries where 1 egg is to be replaced
for moist cakes and pastries	banana	½ ripe banana/60g	mash with a fork	Cakes, pancakes, waffles, cookies	The riper the banana, the better (but also the more flavor and sweetness)
	applesauce	3 tbsp/60-70 g applesauce	to add it as it is	Sweets, cakes, pastries, brownies	fairly neutral taste
	Plant drink	3-4 tbsp plant drink	simply add	Cookies, shortcrust pastry	particularly suitable for pastries where only 1 egg is to be replaced (compensates for lack of moisture)
for thickening	cornstarch	2 tbsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp water	touch	Puddings, sauces, pastries	-
	Locust bean gum	1 tsp locust bean gum + 40 ml water	When preparing pastries: add locust bean gum to the dry ingredients, add the water to the liquid ingredients	Pastries, cakes, sweet and savory sauces	binds without boiling, no taste of its own
for scrambled eggs or quiches	Silken tofu	50-60 g silken tofu	puree	Scrambled eggs, quiches, cheesecakes, frittata	Provides moisture and softness; available in health food stores
for egg whites	Aquafaba (chickpea water)	25-30 ml aquafaba ≙ 1 egg white	Drain the chickpeas and collect the water; For cookies etc. add directly, for the meringue effect add approx.Beat for 3-6 minutes with a hand mixer or food processor	Chocolate mousse, macaroons, meringues, cookies	The “giggling snow” cannot be whipped for too long – it becomes stiffer the longer it is whipped
for the yellow color	turmeric	desired quantity (see note)	stir in or marinate	savory dishes such as scrambled tofu, quiches, spaetzle	very small amounts you can taste little
for egg flavor	Kala Namak Salt		Replace part of the “normal” salt in the recipe with Kala Namak	Scrambled tofu, quiches	available in organic stores