Best Egg Substitutes for Brownies – With Photos!
Want to make brownies but out of eggs? No worries! Here are the best egg substitutes for brownies with pictures of how each turns out so you can make brownies you’ll love.
I’ve tried the 6 most common techniques for substituting eggs in brownies and share them all here with photos and taste testing! This way you can see exactly what happens to each brownie with the common swaps.
Plus, my friends and family all tasted each and every one of these brownies and they didn’t hold back when it came time to rank them.
For all the brownies, I used my vegan brownie recipe as the base recipe. That kept things equal in testing. Plus, I know it’s a great recipe that works every time!
Now, no matter if you have run out of eggs, have an egg allergy, or are a vegan, you can have a better understanding of what each egg replacer will do to the brownies so that you can make the perfect batch of delicious brownies.
Best Fudgy Brownies: Flax Seed Egg
Best Cake-like Brownies: Applesauce
Want to do more egg free baking? Make sure you check out my Egg Free Baking Guide!
The Basic Brownie Recipe
For this experiment, I used my eggless brownies recipe. That recipe was originally made with flax seeds, so I knew going into this experiment that the brownies were made for an egg free recipe.
I made half batches of each egg free brownie substitution. The baking process was the same for every test batch to ensure the best results. To begin, I melted chocolate and butter in a pan. Then, I added cocoa powder and the sugar. Next was the egg replacement. Finally, I added the rest of the dry ingredients.
Each batch was baked in a 350F oven, with the rack set to the middle of the oven, in a special individual brownie pan. The brownies were cooked for 21 minutes every time, with a few exceptions as I talk about below.
This way I was controlling as much as I could for the experiment to ensure that the only difference was the egg substitute for the brownies.
What eggs do in baking
Eggs are weird. I’m just going to say it. They do so many things in baking that trying to get one thing to replicate them is almost impossible. So what do they do exactly?
- Eggs make things sticky and help them rise. The protein in eggs, both the egg whites and the egg yolks, act as a sticky binder to help hold the ingredients together. When you expose them to heat, small air bubbles that form while mixing the batter begin to expand and then pop. This acts as a leavening agent to help your baked goods rise. This is why so many gluten free recipes use eggs in place of gluten.
- Eggs help ingredients blend together better. The fat in egg yolks act as an emulsifier, helping the ingredients mix better with the fat acting as the middleman. This helps to get a smooth batter, as well as helps to distribute ingredients evenly.
- Eggs make food taste richer and have more depth of flavor. Eggs have fat in them that help to provide that richness to baked goods and savory dishes.
When looking for an egg replacer, you need to keep all of these in mind.
Flax Seeds / Chia Seeds
Best for chewy brownies.
How to make Flax egg replacement: 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds, mixed with 3 tablespoons of water (very hot or boiling), set aside for 5 minutes to allow it to become gelatinous.
These were a favorite going into this experiment and remained at the top. Flaxseed brownies are thick, chewy, and the most fudge-like out of any of these egg free substitutes.
The batter for flaxseed was the thickest out of all the substitutions tried, but was still very pourable and easy to spread in the pan for baking. The batter did not rise up as high while baking, but that is alright as it produced the best crinkle top out of all the swaps.
Flax eggs are great for replacing eggs in many baked good recipes, and especially brownies, because they contain fat and protein similar to those found in eggs. They also contain fiber, which eggs do not, helping to make them a healthy choice!
Taste wise, this was closest to a brownie with an egg. There was no discernable flavor imparted from the flax seeds. If you can, I recommend this egg replacement the most out of any tried.
Note: Make sure you are using ground flaxseeds and not whole flaxseeds. There is a difference In the final product when you use seeds vs ground seeds.
They also work really well in other recipes like quick breads (like this vegan banana bread) or vegan chocolate chip cookies for the same reasons!
Applesauce
Best for cake-like brownies.
How to make applesauce egg replacement: 4 tablespoons applesauce in the batter to replace the eggs in the recipe.
The brownies made with applesauce were thick, fluffy, and had the texture of somewhere between fudge and cake!
The batter was on the thinner side, however, it still had a good viscosity to it and was easy to work with.
Applesauce is often used to replace vegetable oil in recipes, however, it also contains pectin which helps it to act more like an egg and hold things together. Applesauce brings a ton of moisture to the brownies, making them last the longest out of the brownies I tested.
They had a lovely deep chocolate flavor with a slight extra sweetness thanks to the applesauce. These were the least crumbly brownies after the flaxseed brownies thanks to the pectin in the applesauce that helped hold the dough together.
Applesauce makes for a great substitute for eggs, especially if you prefer a more cake-like brownie. Make sure to use unsweetened applesauce so that you can be sure of the sugar in the batter.
Aquafaba
How to make: Place 8 tablespoons of aquafaba liquid in a small bowl. This is usually the amount found in a can of chickpeas, however, always measure to make sure. Using a whisk or a fork, whip the aquafaba to make it foamy. It should take about one minute to whisk by hand.
Aquafaba has a very similar macronutrient makeup to eggs, making it a go-to for a lot of cooking and baking egg free recipes. It works great as a binder and even can emulsify similar to egg whites.
However, aquafaba is most similar to egg whites and not whole eggs, of which the latter are used in brownies. Aquafaba doesn’t have the fat content of an egg yolk, making the final result often dry and a little flat in terms of flavor.
The batter was very thin compared to the rest on this list. It did dry out the brownies, making them crumble while cutting them. Also, they stuck the most to the brownie pan, despite using cooking spray and parchment paper to bake them.
Flavor wise, a few of us could detect a slight bean flavor.
I would suggest sticking to aquafaba in recipes that only call for egg whites and not for the whole egg. If you want to use aquafaba in your brownie recipe, I suggest adding additional fat via butter, oil, or sour cream to help with the flavor and texture.
Final note, make sure that you choose low sodium or salt free chickpeas to help the flavor and salt content of your brownies.
Banana
How to make: 1 banana, approx 1/2 cup, mashed to replace the eggs in the recipe.
Similar to applesauce, bananas make for a really solid egg replacer in brownies. Bananas are naturally low in fat and protein, so they won’t work quite as well as an egg in binding the brownie batter. Also, as they don’t contain as much moisture or any pectin, like the applesauce does, they final result of brownies will be more crumbly.
The banana brownies puffed up the most in the oven, making it almost like a banana-brownie bread. While cooking in the oven, it needed an additional 3 minutes of baking time, making the final recipe bake for 24 minutes as opposed to 21 minutes for every other brownie.
The texture was soft, moist, cake-like, and delicious.
Important note: Out of all the different egg replacements, this one was the one you could taste the most. It was banana flavored first, then chocolate. If you love bananas and chocolate you will love these brownies.
After chilling, the brownies became more fudgy and less cake-like.
I recommend that you only use ripe bananas for this as a green banana won’t mash as well.
Avocado
How to make: Mash 1 avocado, approx 1/2 cup, for a batch of brownies.
Similar to banana and applesauce, the avocado brownies were a good cross between cake like and fudgy. Thanks to the higher fat content in avocados, the final result of the brownies were richer than the banana or applesauce, giving it a good depth of flavor.
These brownies got great height in the pan, making them the second tallest brownies that were tested, after banana. The avocado seemed to diminish the sugar, making these brownies taste less sweet than the others, even though the same amount of sugar was used in all the test recipes.
After chilling, these brownies did not become fudgier, rather, they became more like a dense cake in consistency.
Thanks to the fat content and moisture content of the avocado, these brownies were delicious.
Sour Cream
How to make: 4 tablespoons of sour cream in the brownie recipe.
Out of all the recipes, the brownie batter with sour cream was the thickest, creamiest, and most luxurious. There were no lumps in the batter and it looked almost like pudding to eat!
After baking, the sour cream brownies were very cake-like. The sour cream produced the best crust on all the brownies, with a good crackle top and thick chewy edges. They did not rise up as well while baking, which is expected as sour cream doesn’t contain any leavening properties.
The brownies were slightly crumbly but after chilling they were not as crumbly.
Similar to eggs, sour cream provides fat and protein, making the brownies rich in flavor. There was no sour cream aftertaste in the brownies after baking, making them the most chocolatey of the brownie testing. No other brownie tasted as rich in chocolate as the sour cream brownies.
If you don’t have sour cream, greek yogurt or plain yogurt are both another great option. Try to use full fat when possible to ensure the best flavor. Yes, you can use a non-dairy version to keep them vegan brownies. I would recommend coconut yogurt for the vegan option.
If you try these out, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. And if you want more delicious, dietary friendly recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
What a great test and so helpful.. thank you!
Thank you! I’m so happy you found this helpful. Happy baking!