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Animal-derived eggs have never been easier to replace. With countless shop-bought options and several homemade alternatives, you can now make all your favorite dishes egg-free. Here are eight different vegan egg recipes to take your cooking to the next level.
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Common vegan egg substitutes
A growing number of people are avoiding eggs on ethical concerns (even free-range eggs cause cruelty), but there are thankfully many different vegan egg substitutes to choose from. Some are better for baking, while others are ideal for omelets or quiches.
Popular shop-bought brands include Free and Easy, Orgran, Crackd, Supergood!, Follow Your Heart, and in the US, Just Egg. Each comes with its instructions and uses.
If you prefer creating yours at home rather than purchasing them ready-made, the following ingredients make ideal vegan egg replacers in baking: mashed bananas; aquafaba, or chickpea water; ground flax seeds; pumpkin or apple puree; dairy-free yogurt; a chia “egg,” made by soaking the seeds in water; vegetable fat from either a liquid oil like sunflower or solid like coconut; nut butter; gram flour; apple cider vinegar; and silken tofu.
Each requires a slightly different method and is best suited for particular recipes and styles of baking, but all are useful, tasty, and arguably healthier alternatives to the real thing. Some, such as gram flour and silken tofu, are used in the eight easy vegan egg recipes listed below.
Read the complete Plant Based News guide here for more information on egg replacers.
Read more: 5 Nutritious Vegan Meal Prep Recipes
Nine easy vegan egg recipes
When replacing any food with another, it’s good to be aware of the nutritional content of each. Because vegan cooking replaces traditional eggs with lots of different ingredients, nutrients may vary from recipe to recipe.
Some key ones to look out for are protein, choline, and iron, along with B12 and other B vitamins, all of which are simple to eat or supplement on a plant-based diet. Furthermore, many of the vegan recipes below are naturally high in these and other essential nutrients.
Easy vegan fried eggs
This recipe from Viva!’s Vegan Recipe Club details exactly how to make both the whites and the yolks for an authentic and delicious vegan fried egg. And most of the core ingredients are wholesome vegetables like carrots, nooch, and unsweetened plant milk.
Find the recipe here.
Vegan egg sandwich
Created by Molly Patrick from Clean Food Dirty Girl, this vegan egg mayo is super high in protein due to its extra firm tofu base, but even the mayonnaise incorporates nutritious ingredients like cashews, tahini, nooch, and apple cider vinegar.
Black salt, or kala namak, gives this recipe its distinctively eggy flavor, while the inclusion of turmeric gives the tofu an appetizing golden-yellow color. (Turmeric has its own long list of health benefits, not to mention an earthy, mustard-like flavor.)
Find the recipe here.
Vegan eggs Benedict casserole
Richa Hingle of Vegan Richa created this vegan eggs benedict casserole recipe using tofu. You can use either soft or firm tofu, and while the former may result in a softer texture that is closer to that of traditional eggs, the latter will contain more protein and calcium. Like many vegan egg recipes, it is also seasoned with black salt and colored with turmeric.
Find the recipe here.
Vegan cheese and mushroom omelet
The folks at BOSH! combine tofu with your shop-bought dairy-free cheese of choice for this comforting, nutritious, and delicious omelet. Combining eggs and dairy in a heated pan was created separately by several different cultures, including in Ancient Iran (known historically as Persia), Ancient Japan, and the Romans.
Find the recipe here.
Ten-minute scrambled tofu
Another one from Viva!’s Vegan Recipe Club, this super quick tofu scramble gets its distinctive umami flavor from a combination of nooch and soy sauce. It’s simple and nutritious, and you can probably make it using just the ingredients in your cupboards right now. Try it with anything from a full cooked breakfast to a burrito.
Find the recipe here.
Vegan pate with a plant-based egg
Traditionally, pâté and egg would make for a meal rich in animal-derived ingredients. But this recipe from Ticho’s Table combines a walnut and black bean-based vegan pâté and a chickpea-based vegan egg for a nutritious and savory veganized version.
Find the recipe here.
Vegan eggnog
Carleigh Bodrug (the chef behind Plantyou) created this vegan eggnog recipe using a super simple blend of coconut and oat milk, flavored with traditional spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Classic eggnog also features a shot of bourbon, rum, or brandy, and can be served hot or cold. (This recipe calls for the coconut milk to be chilled beforehand.)
Find the recipe here.
Cheese and tomato quiche
This recipe from Viva! – which is available in the cookbook Everyone Can Cook Vegan – takes an hour to make and can serve up to six people. It makes for a classic-style quiche but incorporates vegan staples like plant milk, tofu, and vegan butter in place of animal foods.
“This quiche has been worked on and added to over the years, through the determined efforts of the Vegan Recipe Club team, and has turned into an absolute crowd-pleasing, mouth-watering success – please enjoy it as much as we do,” says Viva!
Find the recipe here.
Read more: Company Unveils ‘Revolutionary’ Machine That Makes Vegan Egg Yolks
