4 Amazing Aquafaba Recipes

You’ve most likely heard about aquafaba as a healthy ingredient that can be used in a wide variety of different recipes. Aquafaba is produced after cooking or soaking legumes in water for a long time. The most common legumes used to make aquafaba are chickpeas. In other words, it’s the liquid you see in a can of chickpeas. Aquafaba is translucent and viscous and, much to the delight of vegans, can be used in place of eggs and egg whites in recipes. The typical formula for converting eggs and egg whites is 3 tablespoons of aquafaba for each whole egg and 2 tablespoons for each egg white. Here are some of the best recipes which use aquafaba.

Aquafaba Preparation

Before getting started on the recipes, you may be interested in how to make some aquafaba for yourself. You can obtain aquafaba in one of two ways. Either you can simply drain the liquid from a can of chickpeas and save it, or you can cook some chickpeas on your own and keep the resulting liquid to use for later. If you’re a beginner, you might want to start with the canned variety first.

Many recipes also call for whipped aquafaba. The best way to produce this ingredient is to whip it with a stand or hand mixer, not simply by hand. Whip the aquafaba for around 3 to 6 minutes until you see semi-firm peaks. Then you should have some whipped aquafaba to use for cooking.

Aquafaba Chocolate Mousse

Are you looking for a fun dessert that is both delicious and healthy? Try this aquafaba chocolate mousse.

Ingredients:

2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp sea salt
6 oz. dark chocolate
1 (15 oz.) can unsalted chickpeas
Cacao nibs, for serving

Instructions:

Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler, making sure to stir occasionally. Remove chocolate from the heat, then transfer it to a large bowl and let it cool slightly. Drain the chickpeas, keeping the aquafaba. You’ll likely get about ¾ cup of it. Place the aquafaba in a mixing bowl, then add salt and cream of tartar. Mix with a stand or hand mixer until soft peaks form. Use a whisk to mix in vanilla extract.

Fold ⅓ of the whipped aquafaba into the chocolate, then fold the remainder in two more portions of equal amount. Divide the mixture into 6 serving glasses or ramekins. Cover them with plastic wrap and set them in the fridge for 2 hours. Sprinkle with cacao nib and enjoy!

Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie

Here’s another tasty dessert you can try from The Pancake Princess.

Ingredients:

For the meringue:
Aquafaba from 15-ounce can of chickpeas
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cream of tartar

For the crust:
1 ½ cups of oat flour
3 tbsp almond milk
2 tbsp sugar
¾ cup almond flour
3 tbsp coconut oil
¼ tsp salt

For the filling:
4 tbsp cornstarch
¾ cup lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
½ cup sugar
14-ounces silken tofu
3 tbsp almond milk
2 tbsp lemon zest (optional)

Instructions:

Make the meringue:
Prepare aquafaba in the same way as described in the Aquafaba Preparation instructions found above. Place aquafaba in fridge.

Make the crust:
For the crust, combine almond meal, salt, sugar, and oat flour in food processor and blend. Pour coconut oil and milk slowly until evenly distributed. Mixture should be crumbly. Press mixture into deep dish pie pan or 10” tart pan. Poke mixture all over with fork, then bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until crust starts to turn golden brown.

Make the filling:
For the filling, put all the filling ingredients in a food processor and blend. Once the crust is done, let it cool until slightly warm. Pour the filling into the crust, then bake it at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, waiting until the filling is set but still wobbly. Cool the pie while you make the meringue. For the meringue, place the aquafaba in a bowl and whip it along with the vanilla extract and cream of tartar until forming some soft peaks. Add in sugar slowly a quarter cup at a time. Continue whipping until stiff peaks are formed. Top the pie with the meringue.

Bake the pie:
Preheat broiler, then broil for 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye on the pie the whole time to avoid burning it.

Vegan Marshmallows

This vegan marshmallow recipe from Plantified uses aquafaba, turning a delectable treat into a healthier choice.

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups caster sugar
½ cup water
80 ml glucose syrup
2 tsp agar powder
1.3 grams carob bean powder (optional)
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp xanthan gum
¾ cup aquafaba
⅓ cup icing sugar
¾ cup corn flour

Instructions:

Prepare whipped aquafaba as described in the Aquafaba Preparation instructions above, only add in xanthan gum when mixing. Add agar powder, carob bean powder, and sugar to saucepan, combining thoroughly. Add glucose syrup and water, whisking the ingredients together over heat, combining thoroughly.
Stir the mixture occasionally, only stopping once it reaches a temperature of 250 degrees, which you can measure with a candy thermometer. Once it’s at the desired temperature, turn off the heat. Add in the sugar syrup to the whipped aquafaba slowly in a light stream while beating with a mixer. Continue mixing to increase the fluffiness of the combination. Add vanilla extract.

Line a tray with parchment paper. Pour marshmallow mixture into the tray, smoothing it out as much as you can. Place tray in fridge to allow mixture to set (about 15 to 20 minutes). Sift icing sugar and corn flour together to make a coating. Take out tray and marshmallow mixture from fridge. Dip a small round cutter into the coating and press out marshmallow rounds. Dip cutter into coating often to keep mixture from sticking.

Once all rounds have been cut out, peel out marshmallows, then place them in coating.Remove marshmallows from bowl, then place them in a fine sieve. Shake out excess coating, then place marshmallows on a drying rack. Leave overnight. Place dried marshmallows in a jar for later use.

Vegan Macarons

Here’s another fun treat using aquafaba, this one coming from Crazy Vegan Kitchen.

Ingredients:

For the macaron shells:
250 g aquafaba
Pinch of salt
150 g ground almonds
⅛ tsp cream of tartar
110 g pure icing sugar
110 g caster sugar
Few drops of organic rose extract
Drop of vegan red food coloring

For the raspberry rose buttercream:
25 raspberries
55 g icing sugar
125 g vegan butter substitute
Few drops vegan red food coloring
Few drops organic rose extract

Instructions:

Prepare aquafaba in the same way described in the Aquafaba Preparation instructions above. Mix icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor, then sieve it into a bowl, getting rid of any lumps. Combine aquafaba, salt, and cream of tartar in a bowl. Mix combination with a stand mixer until foamy, eliminating any remaining liquid. Add in caster sugar slowly while mixer is on. Add rose extract and food coloring, then mix on high for 60 seconds. The result should be a glossy meringue.

Pour half of the icing sugar & almond mix into meringue. Fold batter gently until properly combined. Add the other half of the mix, folding the batter again. Fold until the batter looks and acts like a thick lava. Try to avoid over-mixing or else the batter will get too runny. Fit a piping bag with a round nozzle. Fill the bag with the macaron mixture. Pipe 2-inch rounds onto a tray lined with baking paper. Slam the tray down onto the counter. This gets rid of air bubbles. Allow trays to cool for 2 to 3 hours. You’ll know they’re ready when you can touch the macaron shells without them sticking.

Bake macarons at 250 degrees for 28 to 30 minutes. Be sure not to open the oven door while they’re baking. After 30 minutes, leave macarons in the oven for 15 more minutes, again without opening the oven door. Once that time is up, slightly open the door and leave macarons in the oven for another 15 minutes, this time with the door ajar. Remove macarons from the oven and leave them to cool. Once cooled, peel the shells from the baking paper.

For the filling, mix the icing sugar, vegan butter, food coloring, and rose extract together with a stand mixer until fluffy. Place the filling into a piping bag with a round nozzle. Wash raspberries and place them to the side. Put macarons bottom side up onto the counter. Using a spray bottle, mist the bottoms with water. Leave them alone for 5 minutes. Using the piping bag, form a ring of buttercream around the base, then put a raspberry into the empty circle. Place a second macaron shell over it, forming a type of sandwich. Repeat until all shells have been used. Store macarons in a container, then place container in the fridge for at least a night, preferably two nights. Best served around 10 minutes after removing them from the fridge.