Aquafaba is a unique bonus ingredient that not too many people know about. I call it a bonus ingredient because it is something that most people discard like the heel from a head of celery or the skin of a cooking onion (both of which I keep and freeze and use in making soup stock). Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas, or beans or peas. It is used as an egg substitute, and can be added to baking; for example: made into meringues. Aquafaba can be whipped exactly like egg whites and can be used to make products where a meringue is called for such as amaretti cookies or lemon meringue pie. In this post, I will teach you How to Make Aquafaba Meringues.
Aquafaba meringues plated
People react in disbelief when I explain to them the meringues are made from a liquid from a can of chickpeas. After a taste test, they admit that they are really good and they cannot tell the difference between the aquafaba and an egg white meringue.
I always try to build my recipe/product repertoire for dietary restrictions, and aquafaba has been on my ‘to try list’ as an egg-free option. I found the aquafaba meringues somewhat more tender but as indicated, there is little difference in taste from meringues made from egg whites.
Aquafaba Meringues
YIELD: 45 – 1/2 inch meringues
CHEF TALK:
This Aquafaba meringue recipe takes only minutes to make and yields 45 dainty cookies. Decorate as you wish with a few colourful sprinkles or drizzle with chocolate and surprise someone today. Here are a few points to keep in mind:
- Every 540 ml can of chickpeas yields 3/4 (180 ml) cup of aquafaba liquid, which is enough for two batches of aquafaba meringues (store the remaining liquid in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze it). Make sure you look for unsalted canned chickpeas.
- You will see many aquafaba recipes that reduce the liquid. In this recipe, I have not done so and had an excellent result.
- You will note that berry sugar is listed in the ingredients. Berry sugar is a much finer granulated sugar and is often used for meringues or when sweetening berries because it dissolves easier than granulated sugar. You can make your own berry sugar by pulsing regular granulated sugar in the food processor. If you do not have berry sugar, substitute regular granulated sugar.
INGREDIENTS:
- 90 ml aquafaba liquid (6 tablespoons), room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup berry sugar or granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract, optional
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 210°F/100°C. In a clean mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, pour the aquafaba liquid into the bowl and add the cream of tartar and pinch of salt. Beat at medium speed for about one minute or until the aquafaba is light and bubbly.
- Gradually start adding the sugar by pouring slowly into the mixing bowl while the beater is still whisking the mixture.
- Once all of the sugar has been added, turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the meringue holds stiff peaks. It will become glossy and thick.
- Add the vanilla extract, if using, and whisk to incorporate.
- Using a spatula, scoop the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (my tip is #829) or your favourite piping tip.
CHEF TIP: If you do not have a piping bag, you can use a large zipper plastic bag. Cut one corner at the bottom of the bag and fit the piping tip into the hole. Scoop the meringue into the bag, close the zipper and then start piping. - Line a baking pan with parchment paper. CHEF TIP: Place a small amount of meringue under the corner of each edge of parchment paper so that it adheres to the baking sheet and does not shift while you pipe the meringues.
- To make meringue rosettes: Pipe the meringues by starting at one point and making a tight rotation in a continuous circle. I promise you, this gets easier with practice. To make meringue kisses: Pipe the meringues by starting at one point, applying pressure to the piping bag and pulling upwards while releasing pressure on the piping bag to create the kiss.
- Pipe the meringues with a small space in between (they will not spread in the oven). You should be able to get all 45 meringues on one baking sheet. Use two baking sheets, if necessary. Have fun with it.
- Bake the meringues for approximately 2 hours. Turn off the oven, but do not take the meringues out of the oven. Leave them in the oven for another hour to dry out further. They are ready when they can be lifted off of the parchment paper easily. If they stick to the paper, they need more time. I often leave meringues in the oven to dry overnight.
- Store the meringues in a covered container at room temperature. If desired, melt a little dark chocolate and dip the bottoms of the meringues in chocolate to decorate.
Here is your visual step-by-step How to Make Aquafaba Meringues:
Ingredients for Aquafaba Meringues include aquafaba liquid and berry sugar
Aquafaba Meringue is whipped to stiff peaks
A handsfree way to fill a piping bag is to set it into a container as shown
Aquafaba Meringue is ready in piping bag
Place a tiny dot of meringue underneath the parchment paper on each corner to prevent the paper from shifting while you pipe
Aquafaba Meringue Rosettes
Aquafaba Meringue Kisses
Aquafaba meringue rosettes drying in the oven
Aquafaba meringues decorated and plated
How to Make Aquafaba Meringues
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 45 mini meringues
Aquafaba is a unique bonus ingredient that not too many people know about. I call it a bonus ingredient because it is something that most people discard like the heel from a head of celery or the skin of a cooking onion (both of which I keep and freeze and use in making soup stock). Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas, or beans or peas. It is used as an egg substitute, and can be added to baking; for example: made into meringues. Aquafaba can be whipped exactly like egg whites and can be used to make products where a meringue is called for such as amaretti cookies or lemon meringue pie.
Ingredients
- 90 ml aquafaba liquid (6 tablespoons), room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup berry sugar or granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 210°F/100°C. In a clean mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, pour the aquafaba liquid into the bowl and add the cream of tartar and pinch of salt. Beat at medium speed for about one minute or until the aquafaba is light and bubbly.
- Gradually start adding the sugar by pouring slowly into the mixing bowl while the beater is still whisking the mixture.
- Once all of the sugar has been added, turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the meringue holds stiff peaks. It will become glossy and thick.
- Add the vanilla extract, if using, and whisk to incorporate.
- Using a spatula, scoop the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (my tip is #829) or your favourite piping tip.CHEF TIP: If you do not have a piping bag, you can use a large zipper plastic bag. Cut one corner at the bottom of the bag and fit the piping tip into the hole. Scoop the meringue into the bag, close the zipper and then start piping.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper. CHEF TIP: Place a small amount of meringue under the corner of each edge of parchment paper so that it adheres to the baking sheet and does not shift while you pipe the meringues.
- To make meringue rosettes: Pipe the meringues by starting at one point and making a tight rotation in a continuous circle. I promise you, this gets easier with practice. To make meringue kisses: Pipe the meringues by starting at one point, applying pressure to the piping bag and pulling upwards while releasing pressure on the piping bag to create the kiss.
- Pipe the meringues with a small space in between (they will not spread in the oven). You should be able to get all 45 meringues on one baking sheet. Use two baking sheets, if necessary. Have fun with it.
- Bake the meringues for approximately 2 hours. Turn off the oven, but do not take the meringues out of the oven. Leave them in the oven for another hour to dry out further. They are ready when they can be lifted off of the parchment paper easily. If they stick to the paper, they need more time. I often leave meringues in the oven to dry overnight.
- Store the meringues in a covered container at room temperature. If desired, melt a little dark chocolate and dip the bottoms of the meringues in chocolate to decorate.
Notes
For further details, including step-by-step photographs, please refer to my original post: https://urbnspice.com/my-recipes/how-to-make-aquafaba-meringues/
Did you Make my Recipe?
Tag me @urbnspice on Instagram and hashtag #urbnspice
Courses Dessert
You Might Also Enjoy:
Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:
- Meringues
- Oven Temperature Accuracy
- Vanilla Extract
_________
SOURCES:
All about Aquafaba
Tips and Tricks – Aquafaba
How to Make Macarons using Aquafaba
If you try this recipe for Aquafaba Meringues, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.
You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!
Denise Paré-Watson
The Urbnspice Chef
Follow me on Social Media
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
I was waiting for this recipe since we use a lot of canned chickpeas and I always discard the liquid! Next time I know what I’ll do with it, beautiful dainty meringues! I agree with you and I always use berry sugar when making regular meringues, it is indeed finer than granulated sugar. Thanks so much for the recipe!
You are so welcome, Nicoletta! I am excited to hear about your aquafaba adventures. The link at the bottom under Sources will also give you more ideas on how to use aquafaba. I will try the macarons, next – the diva of all pastries! 🙂 It is especially useful as an egg substitute for those who cannot tolerate or are allergic to eggs. It is a rock star ingredient, to be sure (and it freezes well, too). Thanks, as always, for your kind comments. 🙂
I particularly LOVE when I learn something new and something I could have never even thought was possible!!! OMG! Thanks
I love learning something new, too and this technique was so much fun to do, too, Karen 🙂 And to think that most people discard this unique bonus ingredient. I hope you give it a try and have fun with it too.
I’ve always found aquafaba so intriguing, but haven’t yet tried to make anything with it. These meringues look like perfection, and next time I’ll be saving the chickpea liquid. Thanks for the inspiration, Denise.
Thank you so much for your comments. I think you will have fun with this recipe, Colleen. I certainly did. It was on my to-try list for quite some time as well and since I have had quite a bit of aquafaba left over from the Crispy Roasted Chick Peas, it made perfect sense to experiment. I am so glad that I did. Let me know if you give it a try.
I didn’t even know this was a thing Denise! I love that I can open your page a learn something completely new!
I have to admit that I took a second look to check if whipping the liquid from a can of chickpeas wasn’t an April Fools joke, but it really is a thing, Riz. It is so interesting to do! For clients of mine who have never been able to have a meringue made from eggs, this is a wonderful option for them and fun for me 🙂 Thanks so much for your comments – I am thrilled to hear from you.
These meringues look absolutely amazing!!! I am definitely planning to add them to my Christmas cookie platter… won’t that be a conversation starter:) Fantastic post Denise. Thanks for sharing ♥♥♥
Thank you so much for your kind comments, Maria! The meringues are so much fun to make and yes, a definite conversation starter, especially if you make hummus for the appetizer and the meringues for dessert 🙂
Denise, I have read so much about this, so I welcome your recipe – though it’s hard to believe there’s that much liquid in one can! Will do this in the next while and let you know how it goes. Can’t wait! Diane @kitchenblissca / FBC
Thank you, Diane, for your comments 🙂 I tried several brands of chick peas, and all of the brands that I tried yielded approximately 3/4 cup of liquid (180 ml) – you only need 90 ml to make a batch of meringues. Many recipes call for reducing the liquid. I found that I did not need to do this. When I tried this recipe for the first time, 90 ml of aquafaba made 45 meringues and they were super white in colour and glossy just like egg-white meringues. I cannot wait to hear about your adventures with aquafaba – please come back and let me know all about it. Cheers from Denise @urbnspice /FBC
I’ve heard a lot about aquafaba, but haven’t tried doing anything with it yet. It’s pretty neat that it can be subbed in straight for eggs. These meringues look delicious!
Thank you, Natalie 🙂 Yes, aquafaba is a very interesting ingredient. Let me know how it goes if you try it. Denise @urbnspice /FBC
Aquafaba is definitely a bonus ingredient!! I often wonder about how dishes get created and vegan cooking is some of the most inventive out there. Who was the first one to take this usually discarded water and whip it? Who would have had the idea to bake it like a meringue?
I first had an aquafaba meringue at a vegan bake sale my daughter organized and I was blown away by the creativity. I’m going to pin this recipe along with my other vegan recipes and save it to make some Christmas baking for my daughter.
And I can only hope that one day I achieve your piping skills!
It is an intriguing ingredient, isn’t it? I am so glad that you have tried an aquafaba meringue. I have had some give people give me a ‘pickle face’ when I told them what it was until they tried it. Have fun with it – it is great that you are thinking of including it in your Christmas baking for your daughter. Thanks so much for your comments, Bernice.
I’ve always been interested in using aquafaba, and this seems like the perfect recipe for a first try!
Thanks, Nicole! Aquafaba seems to be getting more and more recognition. I think you will enjoy trying it in this recipe. I am looking forward to hearing all about it. Please tag me if you do 🙂 @urbnspice