Flax-afaba eggs are an easy and inexpensive egg substitute made with just two ingredients. This is the perfect egg alternative for eggless baking for those who are vegan, have egg allergies or trying to include more plant based options.
After years of experimenting with eggless baking, I’ve discovered the best (imo) egg substitute for baking, specifically cookies. Cookies are my favourite desserts to bake (but donuts are my favourite thing to eat lol), so it’s really important for me to recipe develop cookies that deliver in not just flavour, but texture too.
I’ve tried pretty much every egg substitute across the board: flax eggs, chia eggs, aquafaba, psyllium husk eggs, branded egg replacers, condensed milk, just egg, starches, oils, apple sauce, banana, yogurt, vinegars… but they’ve all required specific recipes and adjustments of other ingredients for them to work.
My go-to egg replacements are typically aquafaba, condensed coconut/oat milk and on occasion, flax eggs. One day, I was testing a recipe with aquafaba vs. flax eggs for a cookie recipe and wondered what would happen if I combined the two because they have different properties which result in different textured when baked.
Um, why didn’t I think of this earlier?? The texture of the cookies came out the best I’ve ever had and confirmed by a few of my fellow taste testers. They were perfectly crispy around the edges while still being moist (not crumbly!!), soft and chewy towards the middle and just stooopid delicious.
I’ve heard time and time again about eggless baking fails, crumbly and dry cookies or cookies that just didn’t deliver. I’ve tested this aquaflax egg with 4 different popular recipes on google (chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookie, crispy chocolate chip cookies, and ginger molasses cookie) replacing eggs for flaxafaba and they came out immaculate and just how the recipes were described.
I haven’t seen flaxafaba be used before, but this concept should not be gate kept, especially if it convinces anyone to swap out eggs for a plant based option 🥹.
So hi, hello. I hope this guide convinces you try this new egg substitute!!
Table of Contents
What is Flax-afaba?
Flaxafaba is a egg substitute that combines both properties of a flax eggs and aquafaba. When mixed together, the flax meal gels up which is great for it’s binding properties. Flax meal tends to absorb moisture, while aquafaba adds moisture, balancing out the potential effect of flaxmeal causing a baked good to get dry. Aquafaba also has some binding properties, but also adds chewy, toothsome texture to baked goods (ie. cookies and brownies). The combination of flaxmeal and aquafaba have similar properties to an egg, where it provides structure, emulsification and moisture.
Why use flaxafaba
- it’s incredibly inexpensive in comparison to one egg
- it uses the leftover juices instead of canned chickpeas (or other beans!), so no waste
- flax seeds are nutritious
- in some cases, baked goods turn out better (cookiessssss)
The role of eggs in baking
Eggs play several roles in baking, such as binding ingredients together, providing structure, adding colour and flavour, adding moisture and creating rise (fluffy). It also depends on how they’re incorporated. When egg whites are whipped, it adds aeration which is makes baked goods light, spongy and fluffy. The yolk contains fat and lecithin, which adds fat and emulsifies ingredients. When replacing eggs, we have to look at the role eggs play in that particular recipe.
Ingredients
This flax-afaba egg substitute requires just two simple ingredients:
- Flax meal: be sure to use fine ground flax meal for best results.
- Aquafaba: canned or homemade aquafaba will work.
How to Make Flaxafaba
First, reduce the aquafaba by 1/3 to 1/2 the amount. Depending on what you’ll be using it for and the texture you want to achieve and the consistency of the aquafaba out of the can, you can skip this part and go straight into step two.
Once you achieve the consistency of aquafaba needed, whisk together 1 tbsp of ground flax with 3 tbsp of aquafaba. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until thickened.
Flax egg comparison of using aquafaba vs. water
Flax-eggs are probably the most common egg substitute used in eggless and vegan baking. After years of baking without eggs and a lot of trial and error, it’s one of my least favourite egg substitutes, because I’ve found my baked foods to come out drier or gummy, which is why most of my recipes call for just aquafaba or other egg substitutes.
Since using flaxafaba, it’s become my go-to egg substitute, especially for cookies, brownies and blondies. The aquafaba significantly thickens up the flax eggs more, adds moisture (where flaxmeal absorbs water moisture) and adds that perfect chewiness.
Aquafaba comes out in different consistencies all the time, depending on the brand or if its homemade. I typically used canned aquafaba, and reduce it by 1/3 – 1/2 depending on the consistency straight out of the can and the recipe. I’ve compared flaxafaba eggs made with water, aquafaba straight out of the can and 1/3 reduced aquafaba, and 1/2 reduced aquafaba. Below is a visual as to how they came out after 10 minutes.
You can see that the flaxmeal gels up much more with the aquafaba than the water. The un-reduced aquafaba is like a slightly thicker (like maple syrup) version of the water based flax egg. The one reduced by 1/3 is thicker (like agave) and the one reduced by 1/2 is very thick (like ketchup). I typically lean towards the one that is straight out of the can or reduced by 1/3.
How to Use Flaxafaba
For every one egg a recipe calls for, replace with one flaxafaba egg (1 tbsp flax meal + 2.5-3 tbsp aquafaba).
Flaxafaba works best in baking recipes that are denser in nature like:
- Cookies. I’ve found flaxafaba to work best in cookies and cookie bars, and have had taste testers say they prefer the cookies made with the flaxafaba egg.
- Brownies. Gives it that toothsome bite without it being unpleasantly gooey.
- Blondies. Similar to cookies and brownies, it gives a moist and chewy texture.
- Pancakes.
- Waffles. Makes them crispy yet still moist on the inside!
You can also use them in other baked goods such as muffins, loaf cakes, quick breads, thicker sheet cakes and some yeasted breads, but you may have to tinker with the other ingredients.
Don’t try them in:
- Recipes that call for more than 2 eggs.
- Meringues (macarons)
- Light and fluffy cakes (where egg whites are whipped)
- Most paleo, flourless and gluten free recipes. Unless using a recipe that was intended to be gluten free and vegan, eggs play a huge role in providing structure for specific dietary recipes.
- Omlettes & scrambled eggs.
Storage
There are two options for storing flaxafaba:
- Store reduced aquafaba in the fridge for up to 5 days and use when ready. Freeze in ice cube trays and then transfer into freezer safe ziplock bags for up to 6 months.
- After making the flaxafaba, keep in fridge for up to 2 days or freeze in ice cube trays and then transfer to a freezer safe bag for up to 4 months.
More eggless baking tips
- If a recipe calls for 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, the yolk is most likely added for more moisture, so replace the yolk with plant based sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt, oil, butter or mayo.
- Depending on what recipe you’re using, use your best judgment as to the consistency of flax egg you want to use to achieve the texture desired (refer to tips above).
- Experiment! The best way to get really good with eggless baking is to experiment. Write notes down as you try different ratios of ingredients in certain recipes. Everyone has different textural and flavour preferences. This is just a guide to help finding what you like.
FAQ
Yes! I’ve used other beans such as kidney beans, butter beans and pinto beans.
Personally, no. Especially if using just one flaxafaba egg, the other ingredients mask the flavour well. However, in some cases the flax meal adds a nice nutty flavour (ie. really light flavoured cookies or quick breads).
Either golden or brown flax seeds will work. I prefer the golden variety for its lightly flavour and look, which blends into baked goods nicely.
I highly suggest using flaxmeal because of its specific properties and milkd flavour, but in a pinch you could use either chia seeds or psyllium husk. Use 1 tbsp of chia seeds or 1 tsp of psyllium husk with 2.5 – 3 tbsp of aquafaba.
Flaxafaba recipes to try
If you’re looking to try new cookie recipes using flaxafaba, here are some of my favourites!
- Buttered Toast Snickerdoodles
- Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Brown Butter Matcha Red Bean Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies (coming soon)
- Zatar Tahini Cookies (with chocolate and halva)(coming soon)
- Miso Caramel Cookies (coming soon)
- Caramelized Kimchi Jam Cookies (coming soon)
- Triple Chocolate Eggplant Muffins
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
If you try this Flaxafaba recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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Flax-afaba (Egg Substitute)
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2–3 flaxafaba eggs 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Flax-afaba eggs are an easy and inexpensive egg substitute made with just two ingredients. This is the perfect egg alternative for eggless baking for those who are vegan, have egg allergies or trying to include more plant based options.
Ingredients
- 1 can of chickpeas or 1 cup aquafaba
- 2 – 3 tbsp flax meal
Instructions
- Place a strainer over a small saucepan and drain the chickpeas. Reserve the chickpeas for another recipe (see blogposts for suggestions).
- Over medium-low heat, simmer the aquafaba until reduced by 1/3 – 1/2.
- Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
- Once cooled, whisk together 1 tbsp of flax meal with 2 1/2 – 3 tbsp of aquafaba.
- Your flaxafaba egg is ready to use!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: how-to
- Method: Stove top
Hi Lisa,
I try to follow a Keto diet so don’t have any use for chickpeas or beans. I don’t know much about aquafaba. Does it only come from soaking beans or would I find it with other products such as champignons, baby corn, green beans, etc?