Explore Easy Vegan Egg Substitutes
Want to get started with plant-based baking but don’t know where to begin? This guide will give you the 5 easiest vegan egg substitutes to get your cooking started!
A lot of people are intimidated by vegan or plant-based cooking. They may assume that a separate trip to a specialty grocery store is necessary before they even begin. The reality is quite the opposite.
Plant-based cooking can be delicious AND easy. Egg replacement is no exception.
You will not find aquafaba on this list (or anywhere in this blog), as wonderful an egg replacement as it may be, making it is about 10 steps too many to qualify as “easy” in my opinion.
So, whether you are making cookies or dumplings, this post will teach you the basics of egg replacement in all of your plant-based recipes.
1. Vegetable Shortening
1/3 cup shortening = 1 egg
First up, vegetable shortening! Shortening is a great vegan egg substitute for baking items that are meant to be denser, like cookies. It wouldn’t be the best choice of egg replacement for something like cake that is meant to be fluffier.
Make sure to get an un-flavored vegetable shortening like Crisco, as some of the butter flavored ones are not vegan.
Looking for ways to use shortening in recipes? Try my Easy Vegan Pie Crust.
2. Banana
¼ cup banana = 1 egg
Another easy egg replacement is a banana. If you are replacing just one egg, using 1/4 cup mashed banana is great, as it will not change the flavor. If you want the banana to be the star of the show, try my Vegan Banana Pancakes or Banana Bread.
3. Applesauce
1/3 cup applesauce = 1 egg
Next up is applesauce – another amazing vegan egg replacement for baking. It won’t change the flavor of the final product, and it is not too dense that it will take away from the fluffy texture of cakes and breads.
Try out applesauce as a vegan egg substitute in my Blueberry Muffins or Vegan Belgian Waffles.
4. Oil
1/3 cup oil = 1 egg
Oil is another easy vegan egg substitute. Like shortening, using oil to replace an egg is best for denser dough like dumplings. Try it out in my Vegetable Dumpling Soup.
Oil is also a great egg replacement for cookies like my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.
5. Ground Flaxseed
1 tbsp flax + 3 tbsp warm water = 1 egg
Flaxseed is another very straightforward vegan egg substitute. To make a “flax egg” soak 1 Tbsp of ground flaxseed in 3 Tbsp warm water for 5 minutes. Whole flaxseeds will not work. It will become gooey and gel-like. This provides the necessary binding properties for recipes like cookies.
I have found that I can skip the soaking step entirely for certain recipes. Try it out in my Almond Flaxseed Granola and Blueberry Banana Baked Oatmeal without losing any of the binding properties.
I hope this has inspired you to try your hand at plant-based cooking!
If you are looking for more delicious plant-based recipes, try these:
Last Updated on January 12, 2025
I wonder what is the amount of chia seed that I should use to substitute an egg.
It depends on the recipe, but a good rule of thumb is 1 Tbsp chia + 2.5 Tbsp warm water. Set aside for about 5 minutes.