Vegan Baking Substitutes and tips

Essential Vegan Baking substitutes and hacks

I get a ton of questions about Vegan Baking Substitutes so I decided to write a quick blog post on some of the essential vegan baking tips and hacks.
Vegan baking can seem like a daunting task at first. How do you go about recreating your favorite recipes without eggs? Can it even be done?
The answer is usually yes. Most recipes can be made into a vegan version, but it requires a few essential vegan baking substitions.

Vegan Baking Substitutes

Okay, so you’re about to try your hand at cooking your favorite waffles, but you want to make them vegan, meaning no eggs and no butter. Yikes.
The first stumbling block to vegan baking is usually getting your mindset in order. We’re so used to just reaching for the butter and the eggs, that most of us have no clue how to even begin baking without it.
The truth is, vegan baking is just as easy as regular baking. As long as you know how to achieve the same effects.

Here’s my 4 best vegan egg substitutions

Each substitute is the equivalent of 1 egg in a recipe. So if a recipe requires 2 eggs, you just double the egg substitution and you’re good to go.

1 Egg = ½ ripe mashed banana

This substitute works best in pancakes, muffins, bread, cookies and waffles.

Note: the banana has a destinct flavor that always comes through. You can add a little bit of lemon zest or juice to mask the banana flavor a bit.

1 Egg = 1/4 cup applesauce

This substitute works best in cakes, cupcakes, muffins and bread.

Note: this is a great substitute and you can’t really taste the apples. It creates more of the delicious texture that eggs usually help with, but it doesn’t have the same ability to help the cake rise. You can add a tablespoon apple cider vinegar to the recipe along with the baking powder, if you want extra fluffy cakes.

1 Egg = 1 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp cold water

This substitute works best in Granola bars, chocolate recipes, veggie patties, vegan meat loaf, vegan meat balls etc.

Note: Works really well as a binder and will hold everything together as well as eggs usually do. Just mix the ground flax seeds with the cold water and let it sit for a few minutes before using.

1 Egg = 3 tbsp chicpea flour mixed with 3 tbsp cold water

This substitute works best in pancakes, muffins, bread and cookies.

Note: Works really well and is very taste neutral. I especially like to use this substitute in bread. Mix the chickpea flour together with the cold water and let it sit for a few minutes before using.

1 Egg = ½ cup vegan yogurt

This substitute works best in bread and muffins. It helps achieve the same texture and make the crumb more moist.

1 Egg = 1/4 cup silken tofu

This substitute works best in bread, muffins and cake.

Note: adding silken tofu gives a great, slightly fudgy texture to the cakes. I especially like using it as an egg substitute in vegan brownies and chocolate cakes.

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Vegan Dairy Substites

Okay, so substituting dairy in a recipe can seem like it’s a big deal, but it’s actually a lot easier than it appears. Dairy tends to be part of most of our favorite recipes, so finding dairy Vegan Baking Substitutes is an important first step in baking.

We’re lucky to live in a time where there’s a lot of amazing plant based products available.
Here’s my favorite vegan dairy substites.

Yogurt = Coconut yogurt, soy yogurt or your favorite plant yogurt.

Note: switching from dairy yogurt to plant yogurt is so easy. Just switch out with the same amount of plant yogurt and you’re all set.

Butter = Coconut butter, coconut oil, almond butter, tahini, avocado oil, olive oil

Using plant butter or any type of plant based oil is a really easy substitute that works great. My favorite vegan butter stand in is coconut butter or coconut oil. It works equally well in baking as it does when cooking and because of the natural high fat, it has a similar taste and texture effect. Plus, it’s a great source of healthy Omega fatty oils.

Milk = Oat milk, almond milk, rice milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, soy milk, any type of nut milk

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Cheese = Cashew cheese, vegan mozzarella, vegan parmesan, nutritional yeast

Note: There’s so many great vegan cheese options available at the grocery stores. I like to try out different types, but I also like to make my own vegan parmesan cheese. And for delicious cheesy flavors, I always turn to nutritional yeast – 1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast in a dish gives an amazing cheesy taste.

Cream = Coconut cream, soy cream or cashew cream

Note: There are so many ready to use plant cream substitutes at the grocery store that it’s become easy to make vegan whipped cream or get the creamy vegan sauce consistency. You can also make your own vegan cream. My favorite vegan cream recipe is whipping full fat coconut milk (only use the firm part of the coconut milk from the can). It becomes fluffy, creamy and very much like whipped cream. I also prefer using the full-fat coconut milk in vegan stews and sauces to get the right creamy consistency.

Ice Cream = 1 frozen sliced banana blended with berries and cacao.

Note: There’s many delicious vegan types of ice cream, but this is the quickest by far. If you’re looking for the real creamy ice cream consistency, take a look at a few of my vegan ice cream recipes.