Aquafaba recipes and ideas for easy and delicious vegan desserts

What is aquafaba? How to make it, how to use it and why is it so popular? We have selected some really easy and delicious aquafaba recipes and will tell you all that you need to know for this interesting product.

So, what is aquafaba? This is the name of the liquid that remains after cooking any legumes – beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils. The broth is turbid and slightly viscous. The name of this “broth” comes from the Latin words aqua (water) and faba (beans). The liquid from canned peas or beans is also aquafaba. This is a relatively young product and became popular only a few years ago. In December 2014, French musician Joël Roessel shared his experiments with canned liquids in the blog Révolution végétale. Searching of an alternative to eggs, he discovered the amazing properties of legume broth. After publishing a number of recipes with the “vegetable foam”, the product quickly became widely popular for the ability to functionally imitate chicken egg protein.

What are the advantages of aquafaba? On the first place it is a cheap product. You can make it by yourself or use the liquid from canned legumes which is usually discarded. In addition, this product does not change the taste of the finished product which means that it can be used in a huge variety of recipes. Further to that, the liquid from cooked legumes does not need stabilizers and is easily whipped to stiff peaks. This means that absolutely any recipe which includes eggs can be easily transformed into a vegan dish.

How to make Aquafaba at home and how to store it?

The easiest way to get aquafaba is to drain a jar or a can with beans. The best one is the one from chickpeas as it has no smell or taste whatsoever. However, when you buy canned chickpea or beans, it is important to carefully read the labels. Make sure you choose jars or canned beans that contain only peas (beans), water and salt, otherwise the water may not be whipped or spoil the taste of your dessert.

Of course, you can cook dried chickpeas and then use the cooking water. How to do it? Soak the chickpeas overnight (3 cups water for 1 cup of chickpea), then drain and pour the chickpeas into fresh water so that the liquid slightly covers it. Boil covered on low heat for about 1.5 – 2 hours until cooked. Drain the water, filter it and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

What legumes are suitable for cooking aquafaba? Chickpeas, beans and green peas are suitable for cooking aquafaba at home. The most useful of all is chickpea. Many people ask what aquafaba tastes like? As we mentioned, it does not have a pronounced taste or smell. An exception is the water from green peas. It is more suitable for making mayonnaise than for desserts.

How to store aquafaba? The liquid can be stored in a refrigerator for up to one week. If you do not plan to use it in the near future, pour into a convenient container or a tight package and freeze it. It does not lose its properties when stored in a freezer. Thaw at room temperature before use, but if you want to whip it, the best result is when it is cold.

Aquafaba recipes – how to use the liquid properly?

Aquafaba can be used both hot and cold. For some recipes, for example, pancakes, aquafaba is used in its original form, for others it is necessary to beat it into foam. When you want to use it as a substitute ingredient for eggs, you need to know the proportion. 30 ml of aquafaba replace1 egg, 2 tablespoons replace one egg white and 1 tablespoon replaces an egg yolk.

It is important to note that you if you want to whip aquafaba into a foam, you need to do that at high speed in a clean, dry container. To prevent its subsequent dropping, you need to add sugar, sugar syrup or lemon juice while whisking.

In what recipes can you use aquafaba? The answer is easy – you can use it for sweet and savory recipes and there is not a limit to creativity and fantasy. Meringue, marshmallows, macaroons, Pavlova cake, vegan whipped cream, vegan ice cream, mayonnaise, fudge, brownie, crepes, pancakes, waffles, breads, etc. – in all of these you can replace eggs, respectively egg whites, with aquafaba.

Aquafaba recipes – Easy Vegan Mayonnaise Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon (15ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons (10ml) Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons (45ml) liquid from 1 can of chickpeas

1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine lemon juice, mustard and chickpea liquid in a tall container. Season with salt and pepper and mix briefly.

Add the olive oil in a thin stream until the mixture has the desired consistency or is completely smooth.

Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Optionally, you can add different flavors to your mayonnaise – smoked, paprika, garlic, lime, etc.

 

Aquafaba recipes – Quick and Easy Vegan Aioli

Ingredients:

3 tbsp aquafaba

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard

1/2 tsp Salt

1 cup (236 ml) vegetable oil

1 tsp Lemon Juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine aquafaba, vinegar, mustard and salt to a bowl and mix briefly with an immersion blender.

With the blender running slowly drizzle in the oil until your mayonnaise is thick.

When all the oil is combined and you have a homogenous emulsion, add in the lemon juice and garlic and mix thoroughly.

Taste, and season with salt and black pepper.

 

Aquafaba recipes – Crepes  with pomegranate

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup almond milk, at room temperature

1 cup sparkling water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Mix to combine. Add in the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Allow the mixture to rest for 10-20 minutes.

Heat a non-stick frying pan to medium heat.

Pour in a ladle of batter and move the pan quickly to spread it evenly on the bottom.

Cook the pancake for about 45 seconds. Flip and cook for another 45 seconds.

Repeat with the remaining batter.

 

Fluffy Aquafaba Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups oat flour

2 cups almond milk

2 ripe bananas

6 tbsp water

3 tbsp ground flax (or chia seeds)

2/3 cup aquafaba

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Puree banana with water and then add in flax.

Combine the oat flour and milk in a large mixing bowl.

Add vinegar to aquafaba and whisk in stand mixer on high for about 5-7 minutes until peaks form.

Add the banana and flax mixture to the flour and milk mixture and carefully fold in the aquafaba.

Heat a non-stick skillet pan to medium temperature.

Pour a ladle and cook the pancakes for 2 minutes, flip and cook until golden.

Serve topped with your favorite toppings.

 

Vegan Waffles with Aquafaba

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup dairy-free milk

½ cup aquafaba

¼ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to mix the ingredients.

Combine the wet ingredients – milk, aquafaba, oil, and vanilla in a small bowl and mix well.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk gently until the batter is smooth.

Let the batter rest for 20 minutes.

 Heat the waffle iron.

Add the necessary amount of batter to the hot iron and cook until desired doneness.

Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruits or your favorite topppings.

 

Whole Grain Aquafaba Cinnamon Waffles

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup buckwheat flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup mashed bananas

¾ cup plant milk, room temperature

¼ cup coconut oil, liquid

3 tablespoons aquafaba

½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

Whisk together all dry ingredients.

Mix together the mashed banana, milk, coconut oil, aquafaba and vanilla.

Gently fold wet ingredients into dry mixture until combined.

Grease a waffle iron and cook as per manufacturer’s directions.

Serve immediately.

 

Aquafaba Meringue Cookies

Ingredients:

125 ml. aquafaba

200 grams white sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp corn starch

1 tsp high quality vanilla extract

Instructions:

Pour aquafaba into mixing bowl and beat at high speed until you can see fine stripes in the liquid.

Begin adding sugar gradually and continue beating for about 10 minutes.

When your meringue is stable, add the lemon, corn starch, and vanilla extract.

Continue to beat for another 1-2 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 70-80 degrees C (160-170F).

Transfer the meringue in a piping bag with round or jagged nozzle and pipe the mixture onto baking sheet.

Bake for 2.5-3 hours, until the meringue cookies are completely done.

Remove from oven, let cool at room temperature and store in sealed container.

Optionally, you can spoon the meringue in large circles and bake to use for Pavlova cake.

 

Gluten free Aquafaba Chocolate mousse

Ingredients:

1 cup of chickpeas can liquid

1 cup (120g) roughly chopped dark chocolate

2 tbsp maple syrup (agave syrup)

Instructions:

Melt the chocolate in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water.

Add the maple syrup.

Stir and set aside until the chocolate cools down.

Whisk the chickpeas liquid with an electric whisk until the mixture is stable and wouldn’t fall if you flip the bowl.

Gently fold in the chocolate with a spatula.

Pour the chocolate mousse into bowls and place in the fridge for at least one hour.

 

Aquafaba Brownies recipe

Ingredients:

180ml (¾ cup) coconut oil

185g dark chocolate, cut into small pieces

125ml (½ cup) aquafaba

150g (¾ cup) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g (1 ¼) cups cake flour

4 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted

½ tsp baking soda

125ml (½ cup) walnuts (pecan nuts), chopped, optional

Icing sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 150°C (300F).

Spray a rectangular cake pan with cooking spray.

Combine the coconut oil and chocolate in a bowl and melt in microwave on medium for 1 minute. Set aside until cool.

Beat the aquafaba and sugar on high speed until the mixture is thick.

Fold in the vanilla essence and the cooled chocolate mixture.

Sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.

Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and gently fold until combined.

Pour into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the brownies cool in the pan.

Slice in squares and serve.

 

Aquafaba and Coffee Vegan Ice Cream

Ingredients:

3 cups full fat coconut milk

¼ cup aquafaba

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup coconut sugar

¼ cup instant coffee granules

¼ – ½ tsp sea salt

Directions:

Place coconut milk cans in the fridge overnight.

In a large bowl, whisk aquafaba until fluffy and soft peaks appear.

Combine the coconut milk, vanilla extract, coconut sugar, and instant coffee to a large bowl.

Gently fold in the aquafaba mixture until combined.

Add the mixture to ice cream maker and mix for about 15-25 minutes.

Transfer the ice cream into a container, cover and freeze until completely frozen.

Serve garnished with coconut sugar and instant coffee.