By Chef Yadira

If you have egg allergy or you maintain a vegetarian/vegan diet, it is still possible to make baked products such as cakes, muffins, biscuits, and pancakes without eggs. Eggs are used to bind or aerate a recipe, so the option you choose will depend on what you are trying to make.

One Egg Can Be Replaced With:

• 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1 tablespoon vinegar; great for quick breads, cakes, and cupcakes
• 2 tablespoons water + 2 teaspoons baking powder + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (with a good shelf life)
• ⅓ cup water + 2 teaspoons gelatin (dissolved in warm water)
• ¼ cup leftover mashed potatoes or 2 tablespoons of instant mashed potatoes, rehydrated. Mashed potatoes are great at adding moisture and an airy texture to breads and rolls
• ¼ cup silken tofu puree, pumpkin puree, or avocado puree
• ¼ cup mashed banana. Bananas are better for baked goods that don’t require much lift or that already contain leavening
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce + ½ teaspoon baking powder. Applesauce does provide lift, so it is great for breads and cakes
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds or chia seeds + 3 tablespoons of water; stirred until fully absorbed and thickened. Flax and chia seeds work best in muffins, waffles, pancakes, cookies, and breads

There are other commercial egg replacer products available such as Orgran No Egg Egg Replacer and Ener-G Egg Replacer. They can be purchased from online allergy stores, health food stores and some supermarkets. When combined with water it can be used in place of egg in cakes, muffins, pancakes, quick breads, cookies, brownies, and yeast breads.