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These egg-free aquafaba meringues are light and airy and literally melt in your mouth. Easily customize their flavor to suit your personal preferences.
Aquafaba sounds like some mysterious ingredient that’s hard to find.
Fortunately, it’s the complete opposite. It’s readily available and you’ve likely been throwing it away for years without even knowing it.
What is Aquafaba?
This magical ingredient has only been brought to light in the last several years for its ability to perform similarly to egg whites. Are you ready to find out what the heck aquafaba really is?
It’s simply the water in a can of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans). A French man discovered the uses of this liquid and dubbed it aquafaba, which in Latin are the words for water and bean.
Mmm…bean water. It really just makes your mouth water at the thought, doesn’t it?
Ingredients
With just a few simple ingredients, you can enjoy these delicious aquafaba meringues that are so close to the traditional kind, you’ll be shocked that no eggs were used.
- Can of garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas) – important: use a can that has no salt added for the best flavor
- Cream of tartar – acts as a stabilizer and helps form the stiff peaks.
- Freeze-dried fruit – when ground into a powder, this gives it that gorgeous hue and adds flavor naturally (any freeze-dried fruit will work)
- Organic cane sugar – only granulated sweetener works here (avoid using brown sugar or coconut sugar since it will affect the color)
- Vanilla extract (optional) – if you don’t want to add any fruit powder, you can add in some vanilla for a little flavor
How to Make Aquafaba Meringues
Make your fruit powder
Add your freeze-dried fruit of choice to a blender and blend on low until you are left with a powder. Mix 2 tablespoons with the cane sugar and set aside (close to your mixer). Save the extra powder for dusting the meringues.
Making the meringue
1. Add the liquid from a can of chickpeas into the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes until the liquid is frothy.
Alternatively, you can do this with handheld beaters, but it may take longer.
2. With the machine running, add in the cream of tartar and continue mixing until the aquafaba has turned white and is starting to thicken (about 3-5 minutes).
3. Slowly add the freeze-dried fruit/cane sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time (along with the vanilla, if using) to the running machine until you’ve used it all up and stiff peaks have formed.
Piping the meringue
1. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag or a ziplock with the corner snipped. Make 1-inch rounds, just slightly spaced apart. You can also do this with a spoon.
2. Bake at 200˚F for 2 hours. Let cool for a few minutes, carefully use a spatula to help remove your meringues, dust with the extra fruit powder, and serve.
How to Store Aquafaba Meringues
Store the aquafaba meringues in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days. If you live in a humid environment, you may want to store them in the refrigerator since they can deflate and lose their airiness.
You can freeze the meringues for up to a month in a sealed container.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Using a stand mixer will yield the best results. You can totally use handheld mixers, it’ll just likely take longer, so keep that in mind.
- Don’t leave out the cream of tartar. This helps to stabilize the meringue. Without it, you won’t reach the stiff peaks and your meringue will deflate. It’s essential.
- Don’t add the sugar mixture all at once. It’ll deflate your meringue. You must add 1 tablespoon at a time in order for it to hold its form.
- This recipe yields a lot of meringues. Feel free to half the recipe or use the remainder as dairy-free whipped cream. If halving, you’ll only need 6 tablespoons of aquafaba.
- Be patient. Sometimes it takes a little time for the aquafaba to whip up. I used a stand mixer and my whole process from start to finish was 8 minutes, but yours could take 10 minutes or more.
- How to know once the meringues have reached stiff peaks. They’re done when the mixture has thickened, is glossy, and when you detach the whisk with it still upside down, nothing falls off.
- Don’t throw the beans away. Use them to make creamy homemade hummus!
Tools Needed to Make This Recipe
- Piping bag, ziplock bag, OR spoon
- Baking sheets and silicone baking mats or parchment paper
Other Egg-Free Desserts
Berry Aquafaba Meringues
Ingredients
- ¾ cup aquafaba (from 15 oz can)
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- ⅔ cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tbsp freeze dried fruit powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
Make the fruit powder
- Add your freeze-dried fruit of choice to a blender and blend on low until you are left with a powder. Mix 2 tablespoons with the cane sugar and set aside (close to your mixer).
Make the meringue
- Add the aquafaba into the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or with handheld beaters). Beat on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes until the liquid is frothy.
- With the machine running, add in the cream of tartar and continue mixing until the aquafaba has turned white and is starting to thicken (about 3-5 minutes).
- Slowly add the freeze-dried fruit/cane sugar mixture, about 1 tablespoon at a time (along with the vanilla, if using) to the running machine until you've used it all up and stiff peaks have formed.
Pipe the meringue
- Preheat your oven to 200°F. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped. Make 1-inch rounds, just slightly spaced apart. You can also do this with a spoon.
- Bake for 2 hours. Let cool for a few minutes, carefully use a spatula to help remove your meringues, dust with the extra fruit powder, and serve.
Notes
- See the helpful recipe tips section above for having the best success when making aquafaba meringues.
- This recipe makes anywhere from 80 meringue cookies (depending on the size you make them). Great to give away as a gift.
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