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If you have to be egg-free, as on an AIP diet (Autoimmune Paleo Protocol), what to use instead of an egg in a baked good can be a little confusing. In this post, I share 14 AIP Egg Substitutes that will help clear up that confusion!
What to Know For These Egg-free Substitutes
Before I share the egg replacements, I do have to make a few caveats:
- These best replace only 1-2 eggs in a recipe. More than that and you risk your recipe caving in, coming out dry, crumbly, way too moist or dense, or just not what you expected.
- You can use a combo of each of these, so a gelatin egg + a mashed banana for example. Some people find this to give a better texture and less flavor from the replacement (unless you want the flavor)
- Some of these are better suited for some recipes than others. For example, the mashed avocado is best in a dense baked good, like a brownie-style good, but not so good in a light and fluffy thing like a waffle.
- You may have to do some experimentation to figure out what works best. Unfortunately, it's not a simple 1:1 replacement for eggs sometimes.
- Some of these can be replaced for others in recipes – for example, I use mashed bananas instead of applesauce if a recipe calls for applesauce and it works just fine.
This also may be helpful – 20 AIP Swaps for Common Ingredients!
14 AIP Egg Substitutes
1.Gelatin Egg – 1 tbsp of gelatin whisked with 3 tbsp of hot water until frothy. This is usually considered to be one of the best AIP egg substitutes
2. Agar Egg – similar to the gelatin egg, this is a Vegan/Vegetarian replacement made from seaweed. It's usually made with less water though, so 1 tbsp of Agar Agar powder and 1 tbsp of water. Tends to be a bit lighter as well so can work well in place of egg whites
3. Mashed Banana – 1/4 cup mashed very ripe banana, which typically is around 1 banana, works well in a lot of baked goods. Note: It can impart a banana flavor.
4. Applesauce – 1/4 cup applesauce for 1 egg. Some people think 1 tbsp of fat added to it helps with the texture, so like 1 tbsp lard, coconut oil, palm shortening, etc
5. Prunes – this was new to me while researching this post, but apparently 1/4 cup pureed prunes can replace an egg
6. Sweet Potato – 1/4 cup sweet potato puree per egg – Steam or roast the sweet potato until soft, then mash it into a puree (This one can be frozen in 1/4 cup servings really easily as well, for easy access when needed)
7. Pumpkin or Butternut Squash – Like the sweet potato puree, 1/4 cup works per egg. You can make your own puree by roasting or steaming a pumpkin or squash or buy cans of pre-pureed. Just make sure the rest of the ingredients are AIP-compliant.
8. Coconut Milk Yogurt – 1/4 cup per egg (make sure no non-compliant ingredients)
9. Coconut Cream – 1/4 cup Coconut cream per egg. This is the solid stuff from the top of a refrigerated can of coconut milk or you can also buy coconut cream cans as well. Just make sure you get guar gum-free if on AIP
10. Plantains – this is a popular AIP egg substitute. 1/4 cup of mashed RIPE plantains (yellowish black to black) or 1/3 cup of green plantains per egg Note: 1 regular sized plantain usually mashes to around 3/4 of a cup
11. Arrowroot or Tapioca Starch – storebought egg replacements tend to be made of arrowroot, tapioca, or potato starches, so you can make your own with 2 tbsp of arrowroot powder or tapioca starch, 2-3 tbsp of water, and a pinch of a leavening agent like baking soda or homemade AIP baking powder (I like this one by Squirrel in the Kitchen)
12. Avocado – This one is best for a dense baked good, like a brownie, but 2 tbs – 1/4 cup mashed avocado can be used per egg. It seems these baked goods tend to cave in more, but are still delicious nonetheless
13. Baking Soda and Vinegar – It can clean your sinks AND make an egg replacement, lol. This helps to make light and airy baked goods, 1 tsp Baking Soda with 1 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar works per egg. I find this best used in things like waffles and pancakes
14. Carbonated Water – I was really skeptical of this one at first, but it really works well in light and airy type baked goods or items like pancakes, crepes, dosas, etc. I use my SodaStream to make bubbly water from some filtered water and just add 1/4 cup of water per egg
What can I use instead of an egg for coating?
All of the above are great for baked goods, waffles, pancakes, crepes, etc, but when it comes to coating a piece of fried chicken you don't really want to go about smearing avocado all over it.
Instead, you can use approx 1/4 cup of dairy-free milk (coconut milk or tigernut milk for AIP), oil like olive oil or avocado oil, or even just plain water.
To make a buttermilk substitute, add 1 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar to the coconut or tigernut milk and let sit for a few minutes
Honestly, half the time you don't even need a sticky substance for coating. It's nice, but you can fry up some chicken without it as well.
What can I use instead of an egg for binding?
Binding, as in trying to bind together a meatloaf or meatball doesn't really require an egg if you aren't using dry breadcrumbs.
Since AIP is a grain-free protocol, you don't really need to worry about this so much.
However, if you are using a dry meat, like ground turkey, or really just want a binding, then 1/4 cup of applesauce or pureed pumpkin/butternut squash work well.
What can I use instead of eggs for breakfast?
There are a lot of different things you can eat instead of eggs for breakfast while on the AIP Diet, like soups, leftovers, breakast hashes, etc.
Check out 10 AIP Breakfast Ideas for more (there's actually 11 in there now)
PDF version of this AIP Egg Substitutions for Baking list
Want a pretty PDF version of this list that you can print out and keep on hand? Grab it, along with a ton of other useful Paleo and AIP resources (like cookbooks, guides, meal plans, etc) in my Paleo and AIP Freebie Library!
