Egg substitutes for recipes: which one to use case by case

Allergies and intolerances are unfortunately very common in babies and kids. About 6 million kids have a food allergy. Impressive, I know. Statistically boys have more allergies than girls. Allergies’ symptoms are very similar to cold ones: runny nose, rash, upset stomach, cranky mood. If you think that your little one might have an allergy, talk with your pediatrician to double check the symptoms and find a reason why.

In between the numerous possible food allergies, one of the most frequent I’ve been asking about in my food blog is “egg allergy”. 

Yes, eggs are the second most common allergy in babies and toddlers, being cow’s milk the first one.

Good news: most kids with food allergies will outgrow them with age. Some studies demonstrate that 50% of the kids with egg allergy will outgrow it by the time they are 3 yrs. The percentage grows to 66% by the time they will be 5 yrs.

Still, even if most children will outgrow their egg allergy, some of them will remain allergic for the rest of their lives.

Egg allergy is not easy to deal with as eggs are such a nutritious and popular ingredient in so many baby and kids recipes.

Today I would like to share with you all the possible egg substitutes in recipes so that when you find a recipe that you think your baby/kid might like, you can try it simply substituting the eggs with any of the other foods we are going to talk about.

Why do we use eggs in recipes? Well, eggs..

• are loaded with nutrients. One egg can really represent a full healthy meal for a baby/toddler. That’s why a simply frittata with one egg and some veggies inside is simply a perfect meal for a little one.
• bind the other ingredients together. They are a kind of glue that keeps together the other ingredients so that the final food doesn’t fall apart
• give air and volume (leavening effect). Eggs trap air into foods helping them puffing and rising with a light and airy texture
• keep the final recipe moist. 
• give that awesome golden brown look to baked goods. Eggs brown when exposed to heat.

How can we substitute them? So, the first think to do is think about which role eggs have in the specific recipe. 

If you are looking for MOIST, 1 egg can be replaced with:

1. 1/4 Cup unsweetened applesauce
2. 1/4 Cup vegetable puree (pumpkin, carrot, butternut squash)
3. 1/4 Cup silken Tofu (it’s soy!! can make baked goods dense and heavy)
4. 1/2 Cup unsweetened Coconut yogurt
5. 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 3 Tbsp water  (rich in Omega3, baked goods to become heavy and dense)

If you are looking for BINDING, 1 egg can be replaced with:

1. 1 medium mashed ripe banana (you will taste the banana)
2. 1 medium mashed avocado
3. 3 Tbsp nut butter of your choice (of course, nutty flavor and be careful if there are any nut allergies!)
4. Arrowroot (like cornstarch) + water
5. 3 Tbsp chickpea flour + 3 Tbsp water
6. Agar-Agar. Japanese algae in powder, vegan. 

If you are looking for LEAVENING:

1. 1 Tbsp ground flax+ 3 Tbsp water (rich in Omega3 / nutty flavor/baked goods to become heavy and dense)
2. 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar + 1 tsp baking soda
3. 3 Tbsp acquafaba = liquid left over from cooking beans or legumes. Also the liquid from canned chickpeas or beans.

My personal suggestion: you might need to test few alternatives before finding the right one for each recipe. Also, some recipes simply cannot be made without eggs…I’m taking about frittatas, egg muffins, omelettes…it’s simply too much to substitute 🙁

If you cannot enjoy eggs and you see a new recipe that intrigues you but contains eggs, now you know how to substitute them and still enjoy the recipe 🙂

If you want to know more about egg allergies, check some of the resources I read to prepare this post:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3069662/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12170273/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18073126/

https://www.foodallergy.org

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/egg-substitutes#section14