By alittleinsanity 43 Comments
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Makingsubstitutions for Eggs is one of the hardest challenges a bakerwillface when converting afavorite recipe to be Vegan orEgg Free. So, when new ideas for ‘Egg Free’ recipes pop-up every now and then, I’m VERY skeptical. So, you can imagine my skepticism when it was recently suggested that I tryusing Chickpea Brine (aka Aquafaba or Garbanzo / Bean Liquid) to make Vegan Meringue – something this Italian girl really misses!
So I googled ‘Vegan Meringue using Chickpea Brine‘ (now known as Aquafaba) and came up with this French site& their Facebook Group – Apparently these chefs have been experimenting with this concept for a few months and the results are fascinating! Curiosity got the best of me and I went straight to thestandardMeringue Cookie Recipe I’ve used in the past, and simply substituted the 3 Egg Whites for the Chickpea Brine & prayed for good results… and then Ikind of freaked out because it worked AMAZING!!! And the taste was great!
Since theVegan Meringue Cookies came out perfect (recipe below), I’m now working on perfecting a Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe that I’ll share with you soon! I also have a new that uses it too!!! I can’t wait to see what other applications this will have – like Vegan Macarons, Vegan Mousse& More!
Apparently it isn’t just Chickpea Brine that works, but also the brine from White/Navy Beans (aka Cannellini Beans) too!
As an added bonus, we make Hummus & OvenRoasted Chickpeas almost every weekend, so now I have a use for all that Brine! Who knew Garbanzo Bean Juice could turn into an egg substitute?! =)You can be sure I will update you if I learn more or better ways about using Chickpeas & Bean Brine / Aquafaba!
The special tools & ingredients used in this recipe are:
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Vegan Meringue Recipe – Aquafaba (chickpea brine)
- Author: A Little Insanity - Erika
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 Dozen Cookies or 1 Pie Top 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Meringue Recipe is perfect for Pie Toppings or Cookies! Tastes amazing, but WITHOUT Eggs or Soy! The secret ingredient (Aquafaba or Chickpea Brine) will surprise you!
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 Tablespoons Aquafaba – Liquid Brine Drained from Can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) Reserve the rest for a future or double batch. Liquid should be at room temp.
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar (for stability)
- 3/4 Cups of Superfine Sugar (You can make this from regular Sugar or Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals in your Vitamix, Blender or Coffee Grinder if you have one!)
- Pinch of Salt
- 1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees (Fahrenheit)
- Line a Cookie Sheet with a Silpat Liner or Parchment Paper
- In bowl of Stand Mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add your Chickpea Brine (Aquafaba) with the Cream of Tartar.
- Whisk on Medium-High speed until it begins to foam (approx 1-2 min).
- While whisking on Medium-High Speed, add in your sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time until dissolved.
- Add in the pinch of Salt.
- As the mixture becomes thicker, drizzle in your Vanilla or other flavoring.
- Continue mixing until glossy, stiff peaks form. This can take anywhere from 7-12 minutes depending on your mixer.
- Prepare a Pastry Bag with a #32 Star Tip – or just snip the end off a plastic bag.
- Fill Pastry Bag with Meringue & Pipe cookies onto lined cookie sheet. I just swirl them around in a 1 1/2″ tall circle and end in a peak.
- Bake 40-45 minutes at 250 degrees, then shut off oven – But, DO NOT open the oven door! Leave cookies in oven for 1 hour to continue drying! Then, remove them from oven and let cool before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
FOR PIE TOPPING:
From what I’ve tested, you can pipe the Meringue onto your pie and follow the pie recipe directions for baking. But, I’ll be experimenting with this more in the future and will post more specific directions or modifications as I fine tune the recipe.
FLAVOR OPTIONS:
Feel free to experiment with different flavors, but be aware that they may change the structural integrity of the Meringue. Additives Like Vanilla, Unsweetened Cocoa, Lemon, Mint should work well. Natural food coloring would be fun too!
SUBSTITUTIONS:
Ironically, you can substitute the Chickpea Liquid for 3 Egg Whites – But then again, that wouldn’t make any sense if your allergic to Eggs or a Vegan! LOL! =)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 10
Blend Ingredients in Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment
This is Soft Peaks… Keep Mixing!
Stiff peaks keep their shape.
Pipe Meringue onto Lined Cookie Sheet – I love my silicone baking mats!
Related
Previous Post: « Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread Recipe!
Next Post: Gluten Free Pizza Crust Recipe – Vegan! »
Reader Interactions
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Comments
LisaDoes it have to solely come from canned chickpeas or navy beans? Just wondering about if dried beans are used, would the water used to rehydrate them work in the same way, or would you have to add things to it such as salt?
Hi Lisa!
Great question! I don’t think the water from soaking beans or chickpeas will work, since canned goods are generally pressure cooked right in their cans at packaging and the brine is quite thick. But, I’m still experimenting with a bunch of ideas, so I’ll let you know if I come up with any work arounds to the canned liquid. =)
God Bless!
~Erika- alloyjane
Hi! I made a batch of garbanzo beans today and initially tried using the foamy scum from cooking (I cook them in the soak water) and that attempt just barely made it to the soft peak stage. I didn’t have any cream of tartar and thought tapioca flour world work as a stabilizer/thickener, but it didn’t. Then I read up on how this method actually works, and since bean water is starch and protein like an egg white, I decided to try again using just the soak water and apple cider vinegar, since the cooked beans have been sitting in that water all day. Well. It foamed up IMMEDIATELY and I had stiff peaks in about five minutes. Yay!
Hi @alloyjane! Thank you so much for sharing your experiments with the garbanzo bean soak water!! I love making as much from scratch, so I’m going to try your suggestions – Thank you & God Bless! ~Erika
- Michele
AlloyJane, are you able to provide the measurements that you used? Thanks! PS, Erika,, your recipes are really helping my transition to gluten free. Thank you for posting them.
- Ruby
I just tried this recipe. My meringue completely deflated after baking. It’s crispy on the outside and dry/crystalzed inside. What have I done wrong?
Reply
Hi Ruby! I’m not sure exactly what happened to your meringue, but just like conventional meringue there are several reasons why it could deflate after baking… Here are some suggestions: Be sure to add cream of tartar for stability; start adding the sugar only after soft peaks form; achieve a full stiff peak before baking; avoid making the meringues too big or tall; bake until completely done and dry in hot oven while cooling. Hope that helps! =) God Bless! ~Erika
- Katie
Hi Erika,
I’m guessing the temperature for the oven is 250 Fahrenheit, not Celsius? Hehe, I just put it on 250 Celsius and burnt those babies. Epic fail. Will try again though :-) xxReply
Oh my gosh Katie! So bummed they burned but I love your attitude! =) Adding the Fahrenheit to the instructions right now! Hugs!! ~Erika
- Stevie
Omg I burnt mine too, I put my oven up to 250 decrees cencius!!
- Matthew
Can you use xylitol instead of sugar or coconut palm sugar if I blend it so that its really fine?
Reply
Hi Matthew! I honestly cannot say how those substitutes would work – although I’m more inclined to say the Coconut Palm Sugar won’t work considering how different it is to real crystalized sugar. But I’d love to hear what results you got if you tried! =) God Bless! ~Erika
- Mary
Hi Erika, I am wondering if I could use chickpea brine in cakes instead of the egg replacer. I like to make a sponge cake with fruit topping. I misarys it because my husband is allergic to egg white protein. Thank you again M
Reply
Hi Mary! Good question… I’m not sure if you plan on whipping the brine to stiff peaks first, but if so, I think it may work. I’ve been experimenting with it on all kinds of recipes and have been excited at how many recipes react well to the substitution. If you need another cake recipe that’s egg free, I have a GF Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe over here. Let me know if you try the sponge cake – I’d love to know how it turns out! =) God Bless! ~Erika
- Tasha
This looks amazing!! Chickpea brine….who knew!! Do the meringues have any beany flavor at all? Thanks!
Reply
Hi Tasha! I know… crazy right?! Apparently it’s becoming quite the game changer in the Vegan world of baking – they’re calling it ‘Aquafaba’. I haven’t had any overpowering bean taste in my meringue, but you can use White/Navy Bean brine for an even milder flavor if you want. Have fun with it! =) God Bless! ~Erika
- Aliyanna
I made macaroons with mine! Good but added a bit much on the coconut side. I also buzzed up half coconut sugar and half white sugar and it worked out fine. Added cinnamon and had a hard time keeping the kids outta the oven til they were done!!! Hahahahahaha
Reply
Hi Aliyanna! That sounds delish… Great to know you had success with the Coconut Sugar! God Bless! ~Erika
- Graham
Hi Erika, my 13 year old daughter (who has an egg allergy) and I have just made our first batch of egg free meringues. Her first ever taste of a meringue and she is in heaven! We used cannellini beans (because she can’t tolerate chick pea) but otherwise followed your recipe, with great success. Thank you so much for this very easy to follow recipe – we are both pretty proud of ourselves with this one!
Reply
Hi Graham! Yay, I’m so glad the recipe was a success! I also like using cannellini / white bean brine for delicate recipes like this… it has a much lighter flavor to it. Enjoy & God Bless! ~Erika
- Jane
In response to alloyjane…did you use the cooked chickpea water or the uncooked chickpea water?
- Rebecca August
Hi, Erika! Great post! It’s funny that you never stumbled on our original Facebook group – Vegan Meringue- Hits and Misses! Or are you a member by now? https://www.facebook.com/groups/VeganMeringue/members/
Reply
Hi Rebecca! I had no idea about the facebook group until another reader shared it with me… I didn’t join because not all of my recipe are Vegan (although most are adaptable) and I didn’t want to offend anyone. But, the more I use Aquafaba, the more I’m in love with the results I’m getting – it’s an incredible egg replacer!! =) Thanks & God Bless! ~Erika
- Rebecca August
You don’t have to be vegan to join the group, as long as all the recipes you post are vegan. Come join! The more the merrier! :-)
Reply
- Bailey
Hi Erika! I’m SO stoked to try this out, I recently went vegan & have been experimenting with alternatives.. this looks incredible! :) I am just wondering if you have an update on using this meringue for pie topping? Thanks!
Reply
- Joni
Those turned out great! I was just reading comments and if you don’t use the canned chickpea liquid then one has to cook down the bean liquid from cooking soaked beans until it is viscous.
Also, if the mixture doesn’t get put into the oven quickly they fall. I got distracted by my kids once and my second batch of meringues all fell despite the first tray being perfect. If you have to wait, I would rewhip!
I love your blog- such a great one :)Reply
- sed
What you call “brine” isn’t brine.
Brine is highly salted water.
“Cooking liquid” is more appropriate.Reply
- Laurie Hale
This will sound weird. I found out about your method for the chickpea brine and posted it on facebook. I friend of mine posted that she had a friend who works in a bean canning facility and was warned specifically not to use the brine in the cans, but no reason was given. At least, she would not say why. Have you heard anything about this? Thank you.
Reply
- Candice Ware
I use dried beans in my home can I use that water for this or does it have to be from a can?
Reply
- brenda-scerri
Hi just wondering, can you let them air dry or do you have to cook them?
Thanks !Reply
- Candice Ware
You have to bake them. As far as I know when I have made them you can’t just air dry them.
- jcward
Sed is right, the liquid in the can is not brine–it is the cooking water. The proper name is “aquafaba”.
Reply
- Adam
Either way everyone can assume what was meant in the recipe
- Allison
Ok, I made this, got beautiful, fluffy peaks, but they totally flattened in the oven. Like paper thin flat. What did I do wrong? Followed the recipe exactly!
Reply
- Lakshmi
Allison did you figure out what went wrongng with the meringues
- Megs
Sed and Jcward I agree not brine but I think everyone knows what Erika was referring to with calling it chickpea brine. No need for such political correctness!
Reply
This recipe sounds revolutionary. I am a professional baker who only makes all things meringue so I cannot wait to try this. I have clients who cannot serve my confections to some of their friends and family who don’t eat eggs due to allergies or religious beliefs. Thank you for posting and blowing my mind!. Any need for xantham gum (as Ive read in other recipes?)
Reply
- Ellen
Can these be made ahead of time and frozen?
Reply
- Fatema
I made this it tasted funny, I think because there is way too much cream of tartar. I’ve made aquafaba before and it tasted like marshmallow, the ratio was a 15oz. can to 1/8th teaspoon of cream of tartar, this amount is too overpowering for me.
Reply
- joanne
Ive made these today and they are like clouds of loveliness…however within 10 minutes of being out of the oven and filled with cream they became very very soft and lost their crispiness…any ideas as to why??
Reply
