A friend shared an article that I stumbled across in my facebook news feed the other day about aquafaba – the fancy name for the liquid leftover from chickpeas (or sometimes also used to refer to the liquid from all beans in general). Apparently, the structural properties of aquafaba make it a great egg substitute in certain vegan dishes, including things like meringues and dressings.
Now, I’m not vegan – but because I can’t eat eggs right now while breastfeeding because of my son’s food intolerences, I thought it’d be fun to play around with aquafaba a bit and see what I could do. {Side note – I can.not.wait for a big plate of scrambled eggs when these restrictions are done!}
I decided to try making a modified mayo, since that is one thing that I haven’t been able to find a dairy/soy/egg free version. I mean, let’s be real – mayo essentially is eggs and oil, along with a few other ingredients. So when I made some chicken sandwiches on homemade buns the other night, it seemed like a perfect time to give the aquafaba mayo a try.
The result? It was awesome!
The “mayo” wasn’t as thick as a traditional mayo but still had that rich taste and creaminess that made a nice topping for my sandwich. It was kind of like a mix between a light ranch dressing and mayo, if that makes sense. {And yes, I know avocado also adds a creaminess and is much healthier – I recommend it to people all the time! – but I’ve eaten soooo many avocados with chicken the last few weeks on this limited diet that I wanted some variety!}
Here’s the recipe – give it a try and let me know how you like it!
Aquafaba Mayo Recipe
Ingredients:
1/4 to 1/3 cup reduced aquafaba (basically, I poured what was left from a container of chickpeas into a small pot, reduced it by half, and used what was left which came to about 1/3 cup)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 to 1 cup of canola oil or other oil of choice
Directions:
Reduce aquafaba over the stove by half – let cool. Add aquafaba, vinegar, mustard, and salt to a large cup (my immersion blender comes with one) or a bowl. Mix with the immersion blender. Slowly drizzle in oil while continuing to blend until it reaches your desired consistency (note that it will likely be slightly thinner than regular mayo).
Voila – now you’ve got a vegan mayo! It’s great for those with allergies, diet restrictions, or anyone who wants to have some fun experimenting with something new!
*Quick note – I’ve found if you pop this in the fridge for a bit before using, it sets a little thicker if that’s important to you.
Aquafaba Southwestern Dressing:
Use the same recipe above, but add in some cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder to make a “southwestern” dressing. If you need to thin it out a bit, add a little lime juice. This is something that you don’t need to worry about precise measurements because you’re just doctoring up the original product, so go by taste – add some spices and give it a bite, and see if you need to adjust proportions!
We made this dressing with the leftover aquafaba mayo the next night, and poured it over salads that I made with leafy greens, beans, tomatoes, avocado, and a little bacon. Delicious!
Share with me: Have you used aquafaba before? What types of things have you made with it?
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Amanda
Looks like such a great substitute!
Chrissy Carroll
It is pretty neat, I’m having a lot of fun experimenting with it.
D bbie
I saw that same article. I am vegan and I’m not a baker, but I’m going to try baking some aquafaba cookies this weekend.
Chrissy Carroll
I can’t wait to hear how they came out!
Ariana
I had no idea you could actually do things with that liquid!! Lol. It always kind of grosses me out so I’ve just tossed it. I can’t make any promises, but MAYBE one day I will try this 😉
Chrissy Carroll
Haha i promise, it’s not gross. It’s pretty cool all the things you can do with it!