Vegan Meringues

This is not an April Fool’s joke. Vegan meringues are totally real. And also totally delicious. 

I’ve been making meringues a bunch recently because I’ve been missing my best friend Sarah and the rest of my London crew (hey girls!). Meringues remind me of Sarah because once at her place Ryan and I gorged ourselves on meringues made by her mother. You might remember Mrs. P from when I made her goose fat roasted potatoes. She’s a great cook! So a few weeks ago I emailed her for the recipe and have been making meringues ever since.

I had 100% intended to post the original egg-white using recipe from Sarah’s mom. I really did, I promise! But, the first time I over did it and they came out too dry. The second time they came out lovely, but I wanted to use a piping bag so they’d look prettier. Excuses, excuses, I know. However, earlier this week I bought a piping bag and tips and was all ready to go with making normal meringues to share with you.

And then I decided to make chana masala for dinner (which uses chickpeas) and I remembered something told to me by my coworker Ryan, who is vegan. He said chickpea juice can be used as an egg white substitute. I’m a curious cook so I thought, why not try it? And besides, I like baking largely so I can share what I make and I like that this recipe would be inclusive of all my colleagues’ dietary needs. Long story short, I reserved the liquid as I prepared my dinner.

Friends, this chickpea juice blew my mind. Also, so I can stop saying “chickpea juice,” I’ll tell you that those in the know call the liquid from a bean can “aquafaba.” And for real everybody, aquafaba is amazing. Look at the photo above! It whips up into glossy, white peaks just like egg whites! It really blew my mind. And when I dipped my finger in the bowl for a taste test, it tasted just the same.

I don’t entirely know how it works, besides that science and nature are awesome. If you want more specific information, food scientist Harold McGee posits that the combination of proteins, carbohydrates and saponins in aquafaba does something similar to egg whites. Basically, that combination allows for the liquid to thicken, stabilize, and hold that foam structure.

I will say, that these vegan meringues don’t hold their shape quite as well as traditional meringues. I felt they lost a little of their height and are overall a little flatter than what you’d get with egg whites. When they first went in the meringues were cute little swirls, but as they baked took on more of a Hershey kiss shape. I also found they browned a teensy bit more in the oven than regular meringues. Still, those are the smallest little differences.

The flavor and texture though was just the same. They were dry and crispy with just a hint of chewiness in the middle. I made small two-bite sized meringues and they just melt on your tongue. They are super sweet. I’ve heard from America’s Test Kitchen that you can cut the sugar a bit, but still get the same lift by adding in some corn starch. Haven’t tried it myself though, so feel free to risk it if you like. Overall though, these are lovely and decadent – and made with something I’d usually pour down the sink. I was totally blown away by this recipe, and I think you will be too. It’s easy, delicious, and amazingly egg-free.

Adapted from Slate.com.

Messy level: Practically mess free! And this is from someone who is terrible using a piping bag. All you have to do is mix everything in a stand mixer (or a bowl with a hand mixer), put it in a piping bag, pipe it on a tray, and bake. You don’t even have to use a piping bag you could just spoon artful little dollops. So easy and you need almost no equipment. What could be better?!