Egg-Free Baking

One thing I’ve learned during the coronavirus is that you never know what is going to be hard to get at the moment. Is it toilet paper? Flour? Hand sanitizer? Many places are devoid of eggs at the moment…and it’s particularly rough when we are all home and baking more than usual.

I have a wonderful solution for you! Two ingredients I’ve had no trouble getting during the pandemic are flaxseeds and chia seeds. Both make amazing vegan egg substitutes, and make a recipe not only egg-less, but even tastier than it might be otherwise.

The technique for using each seed is very easy. The basic ratio to substitute for 1 egg is:
1 Tbsp. ground chia or flaxseeds to 3 Tbsp. hot water.

I use a coffee bean grinder to grind my seeds (easy clean-up…but you can also use a cuisinart), while I bring water almost to a boil. Combine ground seeds and hot water in a small bowl and refrigerate until gelatinous (takes between 5-15 minutes…chia seeds are a bit faster.)

Two of my favorite vegan (and gluten-free!) baked muffins are below. I’ve also included a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that uses a banana-coconut milk combo as an egg substitute by @earthyandy. The double chocolate muffins are one of our favorite recipes of all time–they use “chia eggs” and make the muffin way gooier and more delish than it would be with chicken eggs. The chocolate chip banana bread muffins are so tasty, too, and adapt better to “flaxseed eggs.” You can even try out cakes that use only oil, almond milk and lemon, and these pancakes. And in many cases you can just substitute eggs in a recipe for the chia or flaxseed eggs above! Have fun experimenting!