A few years ago, people started using aquafaba – the liquid from a can of chickpeas – as an egg replacer in their recipes, and not only did it work, pretty soon home chefs and food bloggers began doing amazing things with it. We’ve talked about it a little bit before, but we only scratched the surface. Now, we are going to take a deeper look at many of the incredible ways you can use aquafaba. It turns out, the goop you usually pour down the drain can actually be used to make everything from beautiful desserts and baked goods to unbelievable cheeses.
#1. Meringues and Macarons
One of the most incredible things you can do with aquafaba is make perfect vegan meringues and macarons.
The Ultimate Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie
Get the recipe here.
Aquafaba Meringue Cookies with Coconut Sugar
Get the recipe here.
Vegan Aquafaba Macarons
Get the recipe here.
#2. Marshmallows
Vegan marshmallows are rare and expensive. Only a few companies make them, and I’ve only been able to find them online. No worries, though… aquafaba to the rescue! Yes, aquafaba can be used to make homemade vegan marshmallows. To me, this is even more incredible than aquafaba meringue.
Aquafaba Marshmallows / Vegan S’mores
Get the recipe here.
Chocolate and Vanilla TopDeck Vegan Marshmallows
Get the recipe here.
#3. Baked Goods and Other Desserts
You don’t have to master molecular gastronomy to make good use of aquafaba. You can use it as a basic egg replace in all your favorite baked goods. 3 tbsp of aquafaba replaces 1 large egg in most recipes. It’s that simple. You can also use aquafaba to make frostings and mousse.
Fluffy Cocoa Cake with Aquafaba
Get the recipe here.
Soft Vegan Pumpkin Cookies with Aquafaba
Get the recipe here.
Blueberry Cupcakes with Aquafaba Buttercream
Get the recipe here.
Vegan Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Mousse
Get the recipe here.
#4. Breakfast Foods
In addition to baked goods, aquafaba can be used to make all your favorite breakfast foods, including pancakes, waffles, and even french toast.
Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pancakes Made with Aquafaba
Get the recipe here.
Pumpkin Aquafaba Waffles with Cider-Maple Syrup
Get the recipe here.
Aquafaba French Toast
Get the recipe here.
#5. Cheeses
You’ve probably hear of vegan cheeses being made from nuts, potatoes and carrots, etc. by now, but did you know they can be made from aquafaba? I was genuinely surprised when I came across these great looking aquafaba-cheese recipes.
Mozzarella Aquafaba Cheese
Get the recipe here.
Chipotle Firm Vegan Cheese
Get the recipe here.
#6. Mayo
Real mayonnaise is just emulsified egg yolks and oil, so it would stand to reason that a perfect egg replacer should also be capable of turning into mayo. Suffice it to say, aquafaba passes the test with flying colors. Here are two great looking aquafaba-mayo recipes I found.
VEGAN AQUAFABA MAYO (WITH A HAND MIXER!)
Get the recipe here.
AQUAFABA CHIPOTLE MAYO
Get the recipe here.
#7. Cocktails
We’ve been using aquafaba to make vegan cocktails for quite some time. You’d be surprised just how many traditional cocktails call for egg whites. Aquafaba is the best substitute we’ve found for this. It really works splendidly. If you’re someone who enjoys a proper drink from time to time, you’ll definitely want to try this.
Vegan Amaretto Sour
Get the recipe here.
One Last Tip…
Chickpea liquid isn’t the only kind of aquafaba there is. Technically, you can use the liquid from any can of beans. You could use black bean aquafaba, northern bean aquafaba, and so on… Whether or not you you would want to try this in a recipe would depend primarily on the flavor. For example, black bean brownies are a pretty common thing, so maybe black bean aquafaba would compliment them nicely. On the other hand, I’m not sure I’d want to use black bean aquafaba to make a strawberry mousse, but who knows… maybe it would work – probably not.
