Eggs are becoming more and more expensive and sometimes they’re even hard to get! So, are you wondering if you can still make your family’s favourite recipes without including eggs in the ingredient list?
Depending on what you’re making, egg is often used as the glue-like ingredient that binds everything together. Egg also adds protein, so if you’re omitting egg you’ll want to sub in an alternate form of protein such as nut milk or yoghurt.
Ingredients that may work in your recipes as a replacement for eggs:
- Mashed banana (similar consistency)
- Soaked flax seeds
- Soaked tofu
- Apple sauce (apple contains pectin which acts similarly as a binding agent)
- Gelatine
- Soaked tapioca pearls
- Soaked chia seeds
Basic Meatball Recipe
Need a good recipe for meatballs with no egg? In a traditional meatball recipe, egg is the binder that holds everything together. Here, the egg has been replaced with a scoop of sour cream to moisten things up, and gelatine for that glue-like substance that retains the rounded shape of the meatball.
These meatballs will taste great over noodles, smothered in a rich brown gravy.
Ingredients:
Meatballs
450g ground beef or meatloaf mix
½ Cup bread crumbs
¼ Cup sour cream
½ Packet unflavoured gelatine powder
¼ Cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ Cup onion, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp Allspice
Gravy
Pan drippings from the meatballs after cooking
1 Cup broth or water
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
To make the meatballs:
Add all ingredients to a large bowl and use your hands to mix thoroughly. Form palm-sized meatballs and set aside on a plate.
Heat a large skillet to medium-high on the stove top. Add a small amount of oil. Place meatballs into the pan of oil to cook, turning frequently as needed.
When meatballs are ¾ of the way cooked, remove from pan using tongs and place in a Pyrex baking pan. Save the meatball drippings to make a gravy.
Bake the meatballs at 180°C for about ten minutes. As they cook, you can boil a pot of noodles and make a gravy to pour over before serving.
To make the gravy, heat the pan of drippings on medium-high. Add flour, a pat of butter if needed, stir to mix before pouring in the broth or water and soy sauce. Bring to a bubble, stirring constantly, then lower to a simmer and let thicken while continuing to stir.
If the gravy becomes too thick as it cooks, add a little more liquid. If it doesn’t thicken up enough, add another spoon of flour and continue to stir.
When gravy reaches the desired consistency, remove from heat and save to pour over the noodles and meatballs before serving.
Eggless Brownies
Are you someone who makes brownies from a boxed mix? You may have noticed that ‘cakier’ brownies call for 2 eggs, and fudgier brownies call for one egg, according to the package instructions.
You might assume that if you’re replacing the egg entirely in a brownie recipe, these will turn out to be a more fudgy, chewy, and far less cakey brownie. Since most people think of brownies as being more fudgy, this will be a welcome variation on the whole.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ Cup sugar
¼ Cup cocoa powder
½ Cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp canola or sunflower oil
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
To make:
Preheat oven to 180°degrees. Grease and flour a medium sized cake pan.
Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until fully mixed.
Grease a cake pan and shake a spoonful of flour around the pan to coat. Pour brownie batter into the pan and spread evenly to the edges using a cake knife. Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the centre comes out clean.
Eggless Pankcakes
Wondering if it’s possible to make pancakes without eggs in the recipe? Even before eggs were in short supply, vegans found a way to enjoy a pancake breakfast minus eggs in the batter. No matter what your reason for omitting egg, you’ll flip for the flavour of these eggless pancakes.
Ingredients:
1 Cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ Cup apple sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp light cooking oil such as canola
1 Cup milk
To make:
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir together, then add apple sauce, oil and milk. Stir thoroughly to a medium-consistency batter.
Heat a large skillet or griddle and wipe with cooking oil. Heat on medium-high. To test for readiness, spatter a few drops of water on the pan’s surface. If it sizzles, the pan is hot enough to make pancakes.
Use a small ladle or measuring cup to scoop pancake batter into the pan for each pancake. Fit as many pancakes as you can on your cooking surface, leaving a little room in between so you’ll be able to flip them one at a time.
After bubbles form and the edges begin to firm up, use a spatula to gently flip each pancake over to cook on the other side.
Cook for a minute or two, watching carefully and using the spatula to test for ‘doneness’ without burning. Transfer cooked pancakes to a plate and stack with butter between.
Continue to cook and flip pancakes until all batter is used. You can scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to get the last bit of batter out, and make one final, small pancake if possible.
Serve with your favorite toppings, such as maple or fruit syrup, fresh fruit, whipped cream or Nutella. Enjoy!
No-Egg Mayo Recipe
Trying to save money on eggs? Got an egg allergy in the family? Eggless mayo can be made at home using a blender and a few, simple ingredients. NB: acid from the vinegar and lemon cause the oil to emulsify when blended – the recipe won’t work without the acidic component.
1 Cup canola oil
½ Cup milk
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
Pour all ingredients into a blender and process on high until a mayonnaise-like consistency is reached. Store in a jar with lid in the refrigerator for use on sandwiches, in salad dressings and dips.
You’ll also find these Vegan Mint Chocolate Cookies delicious!