Egg Substitute Converter

Common egg substitutes for baking, per 1 large egg:

Plant-based (all vegan):

• Flax egg: 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water (let sit 5 min)
• Chia egg: 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water (let sit 5 min)
• Aquafaba: 3 tbsp of the liquid from a can of chickpeas
• Applesauce: 1/4 cup (60 g) unsweetened applesauce
• Mashed banana: 1/4 cup (60 g) mashed ripe banana
• Silken tofu: 1/4 cup (60 g) blended silken tofu
• Baking soda and vinegar: 1 tsp baking soda + 1 tbsp vinegar
• Commercial replacer: follow the box, usually about 1.5 tsp powder + 3 tbsp water

Dairy-based (vegetarian, not vegan):

• Yogurt: 1/4 cup (60 g) plain yogurt
• Buttermilk: 1/4 cup (60 ml) buttermilk

Silken tofu belongs in the first group. It is pressed soy milk, so it is entirely plant-based; only the yogurt and the buttermilk carry dairy.

The reason there’s no single egg substitute is that eggs do three different jobs in baking at once: they bind ingredients together, they help things rise, and they add richness and moisture. A swap that nails one job often misses another. Match the substitute to what the egg was actually doing in the recipe, which is what the “What is the egg doing?” selector above is for.

Aquafaba is the odd one and the most interesting. It is the drained liquid from a can of chickpeas, which whips into a stable foam that behaves remarkably like egg white, meringue included. Three tablespoons stands in for a whole egg, two for a white. Nobody in baking took it seriously until about 2015, and it is now the only kitchen swap that does the job egg whites do.

In a dense, moist bake like brownies or banana bread, applesauce or mashed banana works well, because binding and moisture matter more than lift there. In something that needs to rise, like a cake, the baking-soda-and-vinegar trick does more good than a flax egg, which is a binder and adds no lift at all. Recipes with several eggs are the hardest to convert, since the eggs are carrying a lot of structure; past two or three, a purpose-built commercial replacer usually beats kitchen swaps. Expect to experiment, because the best substitute depends on the recipe, not just the egg count.