How to Substitute Eggs and Binding Agents

2011 October 19
 

How to use egg replacers

So if you are like me and can’t have eggs because of an intolerance or if you are vegan, coming up with binding agents is a bit of a challenge.  Especially if you are baking without the natural stick of gluten in your flour!

You’ll notice that a combination of ‘sticky’ ingredients brings the best result for replacing eggs in your baking.  Check out some of the interesting ideas and tricks you can try-  I’ve also linked relevant recipes on this blog that use the techniques mentioned, along with a few of my favorite GF blogs that also use those techniques to give you some additional ideas.

Hey, if you have any additional tips, please feel free to add to the discussion!  This is just a brief synopsis of the stuff I use but I know there’s way more out there.  You’ll note I don’t use powdered egg replacer in the suggestions below. Why? Because it sucks. Oh. And its not real food. :)

How to use egg replacers

 

NOTE: This is Part 2 of my Substitution Series– Part 1 is Understanding Gluten Free Flours, Part 2 is How to Substitute Eggs, Part 3 is How to Substitute Sugar, Part 4 is  How to Substitute Fats/ Oils, Part 5 is How to Substitute Dairy and Part 6 is Substituting the Top 10 Allergens in Baking.

 

 

 

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18 Responses
  1. June 20, 2012

    Hiya Caitlin! thank you so much- i just wanted to let you know, i have found a blog that you might LOVE to help with yoru binders dilemma- go to realsustenance.com – she uses psyllium husk as her binder, and no banans, or gums, or eggs! Her flours are chestnut and almond for her latest stuff and her recipes are super easy, i just had to share, because i know how hard it is to find those kinds of recipes :) happy baking and be so very well :) alea

  2. Caitlin permalink
    June 19, 2012

    Thanks so much for this post! I’m allergic to dairy, eggs and bananas (most common binders) and am trying a modfiyed candida diet. I’m going to make muffins with gluten free all purpose flour and couldn’t justify spending $14 on an ingredient I may not even end up using (xanthan gum)

    Great website!

  3. March 15, 2012

    Hi there Ashley!

    I think if you cut out the eggs you`re going to change the flavour – you might want to add in something fatty or creamy or zesty (perhaps a bit of dijon mustard?) to make sure your flavours are good. You can try gelatin- maybe 2 tsp or so- don`t heat it, just stir it in and let it dissolve. If you don`t mind the colour and slight nutty flavour you could also use 1-2 tsp of finely ground flax seed perhaps? What are your other ingredients? This might help give me an idea of an alternative binding agent that could work well for you. :)
    alea

  4. Ashley permalink
    March 15, 2012

    Hi! Thanks for your article on binding agents :)
    I have a question. My mom and I are on a “candida diet.” I have a recipe for eggless mayo but i dont have xanthan gum and i dont want to use eggs because mom wants to take it to work and doesnt have refrigeration. she doesnt want to get food poisoning. I found a recipe that had Xanthan Gum in it, but wanted to substitute Gelatin for Xanthan Gum in the Mayo recipe.. How would i do that? Can i even do that?

  5. March 8, 2012

    Hi emily!
    I’ve been batting that idea around myself for a little while… I think if you add 1-2 tbsp of ground flax or ground chia, plus 2-3 tbsp starch will really help- its my goal to figure that one out- i know that a combination of ground flax, potato starch, and almond flour holds meatballs together really well.
    Hope this helps!

  6. Emily permalink
    March 6, 2012

    What would you use as a binder in a fish cake? Awesome tips!

  7. February 15, 2012

    hi there sam! in a potato pancake, you might want to use a tbsp of ground flax or ground chia, plus a packet of unflavoured gelatin… you might also want to consider adding a few spoonfuls of either teff, buckwheat or chickpea flour, and a tbsp of either almond, sunflower or other nut or seed butter. These will work together to hold everything in place :) it depends on what your other ingredients are though- let me know what you’re working with and i can give you some more specific ideas on how to replace the eggs… in the meantime, here’s an example of an eggless pancake recipe i use that has multiple binding agents in it- http://www.myrealfoodlife.com/gluten-free-vegan-fluffy-pancakes-nut-free-sugar-free-xanthan-free-soy-free/ :) alea

  8. Sam permalink
    February 15, 2012

    wow, you sure do a lot of baking :) which of the seemingly hundreds of choices do you suggest for replacing an egg as a binder in a potato pancake recipie?

  9. lili permalink
    November 9, 2011

    Thank you so much for this!!!!

  10. August 6, 2011

    ahh merci bien Emilie!
    J’ai un autre pour ajouter a la liste- du psyllium husk- ajoute le aus ingredients liquides et ca fonctionne comme du flax ou du chia. :)

  11. Emilie Perreault permalink
    August 6, 2011

    Juste pour te dire que je viens consulter super souvent. C’est tellement utile. Merci!

  12. April 21, 2011

    Hiya Metta-
    I wouldn’t suggest replacing agar 1 for 1 with xanthan… it has different properties, and it also depends on what you are making… do you have an example of what you’re trying to make? i can tell you how much to use depending on what you’re making :)

  13. Metta permalink
    April 21, 2011

    Just discovered your website and love it. quick question – to replace xanathan gum in a GF recipe with agar-agar, do you use equal amounts? so if the recipe calls for 1 tsp xanathan, would you replace that with 1 tsp agar?

Trackbacks and Pingbacks

  1. Substituting the Top 10 Allergens in your kitchen | My Real Food Life
  2. Part 5- How to substitute fats and oils | My Real Food Life
  3. Part 4- How to substitute Dairy in baking | My Real Food Life
  4. Part 1- Understanding Gluten Free Flours | My Real Food Life
  5. Part 3- How to substitute sugar | My Real Food Life

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