The 15 Best Egg Substitutes for Baking

If you’re running low on eggs, try one of these 15 egg substitutes and save a trip to the store. Read on for the list, including plenty of vegan egg substitutes, plus recipe recommendations and tips to help you decide which egg substitute is best for your particular baked good.

One of the key points I teach in Grocery Budget Bootcamp for saving money on groceries is to use the food you already have. Any time you make your meal plan or pick out a new recipe, shop your pantry first to see what food you can use up. This includes any food substitutions! Then you don’t spend more money on food AND you use up the food you already bought before it goes bad. Win-Win!

That mindset is why I shared these 15 Vanilla Extract Substitutes. It’s also why I shared these Easy Baking Hacks, which help you make substitutions in a pinch for a variety of pantry staples.

And it’s why I’m sharing with you today the 15 Best Egg Substitutes for Baking.

EGG REPLACEMENT IN BAKING

Why do we even need an egg replacement in baking?

• Have you ever started a recipe that calls for THREE eggs and found you only had two? (I blame that bottomless pit of a teenager who made Scrambled Eggs for breakfast.)
• Or maybe you want to lighten up a recipe and use something else instead of eggs…
• Maybe you’re on an egg-free diet right now or have an egg allergy and you don’t want to miss out on all the goodness going on around you (also known as Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins and Triple Fudgy Paleo Brownies). I don’t blame you. (And I don’t want to pay for expensive commercial egg replacer.)
• Or maybe it’s the end of the month and you still have a few days before the grocery budget resets and you’re trying to stretch what you have left.

In any of these cases – and so many more – it helps to know what you can use as a substitute for eggs in different types of recipes, so you can still put food on the table without going broke.

THE 15 BEST EGG SUBSTITUTES IN CAKE AND BAKING

So, what can be an egg substitute? Luckily, we have plenty of options to choose from!

APPLESAUCE

Use ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce to replace one egg. Works best in cakes, muffins, and fruity desserts. If your applesauce is sweetened, you may want to reduce the sugar in your recipe as well.

Follow this tutorial to make your own applesauce from fresh apples.

APRICOT PUREE

Use ¼ cup apricot puree to replace one egg. Works best in dense, fudgy chocolate desserts.

ARROWROOT POWDER

Use 2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder + 3 tablespoons of water to replace one egg. Works best in cookies, many types of quick bread, and richly flavored baked goods.

AQUAFABA

The liquid from a can of chickpeas is called aquafaba. Use 3 tablespoons of that liquid, whisked until frothy, to replace one egg. Best for light, fluffy baked goods. Aquafaba is also the best egg substitute in baking recipes that use only egg whites.

Use those chickpeas in 5-minute Chocolate Hummus, Cookie Dough Hummus, or Snickerdoodle Hummus!

BANANA

Use ¼ cup mashed banana to replace one egg. Works best in cakes, muffins, and fruity desserts.

A quarter cup of banana is about half of a small banana. Use that extra half in a smoothie, on top of your favorite oatmeal, in a parfait, or freeze it for later.

BUTTERMILK

Use ¼ cup buttermilk to replace one egg. Works best in muffins, cakes, and cupcakes.

Here are 10 ways to make your own buttermilk.

CHIA SEEDS

Use 1 tablespoon of whole or ground chia seeds + 3 tablespoons of water to replace one egg. Making a chia substitute for eggs is the same process as making a flax egg. Works best in cookies, quick breads, and richly flavored baked goods.

Use extra chia seeds in smoothies! My eBook High Protein, No Powder is FULL of practical information on how and why to make your own real-food protein smoothies and bars.

EGG REPLACER

Egg replacers are generally a mixture of different starches (for binding) and leavening agents (for fluffy texture). Use 1 tablespoon of powdered vegan egg replacer + 3 tablespoons of water to replace one egg. Works best in muffins, pancakes, cupcakes, and layer cakes.

FLAXSEED

Use 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons of water to replace one egg. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial for how to make a flax egg. Works best in cookies, quick breads, and richly flavored baked goods.

Here are 18+ ideas on how to use flaxseed!

PUMPKIN

Use ¼ cup homemade or canned pumpkin puree to replace one egg. Works best in muffins, scones, and spiced bread.

Here’s how to make Homemade Pumpkin Puree for all your pumpkin needs.

More pumpkin recipes for your extra puree:

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili // Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer // Pumpkin Swirl Black Bean Brownies

PRUNE PUREE

Use ¼ cup prune puree to replace one egg. Works best for dense, fudgy chocolate desserts.

TOFU

Use ¼ cup silken tofu, whisked until smooth, to replace one egg. Works best in scrambles, custards, and light-colored cakes.

VINEGAR + BAKING SODA

Use 1 teaspoon baking soda + 1 tablespoon vinegar (white or apple cider vinegar) to replace the egg. Works best in cakes, cupcakes, and quick breads.

WINTER SQUASH

Use ¼ cup pureed butternut squash, acorn squash, or other winter squash to replace one egg. Works best in muffins, scones, and spiced bread.

YOGURT

Use ¼ cup plain, unflavored yogurt to replace one egg. Works best in muffins, cakes, and cupcakes.

Make your own Plain Yogurt and Greek Yogurt! Have extra yogurt? You can freeze it! Here’s the tutorial.

HOW TO CHOOSE AN EGG SUBSTITUTE FOR BAKING

Obviously, not every egg substitute for baking will work for every scenario. Knowing what you are baking is vital to helping you select which egg substitute will work best for your situation.

Here are a few examples:

1 – You’re making my famous Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins. Or my Banana Bread Muffins.

I recommend ground flax seed in both of these. The banana muffins already have bananas, and both recipes are on the dense side. Adding a puree like applesauce or squash will only make them denser.

2 – You’re making a Chocolate Leftover Oatmeal Cake.

Any of the neutral-flavored egg substitutes will work, like applesauce, banana, flaxseed, chia seed, or tofu. You could also replace eggs with apricot puree or prune puree, which both work well with chocolate baked goods, but I wouldn’t replace more than one egg with these, because it would take away from the fluffy texture you want in a cake.

3 – You’re making Sheet Pan Pancakes (or The Very Best Protein Pancakes or Strawberry Pancakes).

Any of the neutral-flavored egg substitutes will work…applesauce, banana, flaxseed, chia seed, or tofu.

4 – You’re making Strawberry Lemonade Donuts or Easy Pumpkin Donuts.

I recommend flaxseed or aquafaba for these since you want donuts to be light and fluffy.

5 – You’re making Vanishing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Molasses Breakfast Cookies, or Pumpkin Cookies with Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting.

Any of the neutral-flavored egg substitutes will work…applesauce, banana, flaxseed, chia seed, or tofu.

GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING AN EGG REPLACEMENT IN BAKING:

Eggs have a few different functions in baked goods.

• Binding. Eggs help the baked goods hold together and act as a thickener.
• Leavening. Eggs, along with other lifting agents like baking powder or baking soda, give a lift to your baked goods, making them light and fluffy.
• Moisture. Eggs are part of the “wet” ingredients and help give the batter the proper consistency.
• Flavor/Richness. Eggs contain fat, which adds flavor and richness to make your baked goods taste good.

With those egg functions in mind, let me give you a few general guidelines you should take into consideration before you start picking which egg substitute works best for what you’re making.

• Substituting for all the eggs in a recipe can lead to a very different result. Take for example chocolate cake. In this case, the egg acts as a binder AND as a lifting agent. If you swap both eggs for ½ cup of applesauce, your cake won’t rise.
• It’s best to mix and match your egg substitutes if you need to substitute for more than one egg. For example, still talking about egg substitutes in cake, you could substitute one egg for ¼ cup applesauce and replace the second egg with 3 tablespoons aquafaba. The applesauce will help with the binding and moisture, while the aquafaba will help keep the texture light.
• It might be necessary to add an additional lifting agent, like baking soda or baking powder, when you use an egg substitute for baking. You need ¼ teaspoon of baking soda for every 1 cup of acidic baking ingredients (honey, chocolate, buttermilk, yogurt, vinegar, etc.). You can also use baking powder if your recipe doesn’t contain enough acidic ingredients – add 1 teaspoon of baking powder for every ¼ teaspoon of baking soda.

Do you need more saving tips? We talk about this in-depth in my course Grocery Budget Bootcamp (enrollment is currently closed, but you can join my FREE 5-day Crush Inflation Challenge and start saving money on groceries tomorrow!)

EGG SUBSTITUTE FAQS

MORE CREATIVE KITCHEN HACKS

• Vanilla Extract Substitutes
• Easy Baking Hacks for the Home Baker
• Homemade Buttermilk (Plus Buttermilk Substitutions)
• 8 Ways to Save on Cheese
• 12 Simple Ways to Avoid Food Waste
• Food Substitutions That Will Save You Money