Aquafaba Is The Perfect Egg White Replacement For Vegan Cocktails

Nowadays, there are vegan replacements for absolutely everything — even cocktails. So if you're craving a gin fizz or pisco sour, there's no need to go without. You can have your cocktail and drink it too. You just need a vegan replacement for the egg whites, and our substitute of choice is aquafaba.

If you've never heard of aquafaba, it might sound expensive and hard to find. But to the contrary, it's a simple ingredient that's probably already in your pantry. You just need to crack open a can of beans, and voila — you've got aquafaba! This fancy-sounding food is just bean liquid. As beans soak in water, their nutrients leak into the fluid, creating a viscous liquid similar to egg whites. And although most people associate aquafaba with chickpea water, it can come from any bean.

Are you a vegan mixologist? Well, now, you've got a reason never to toss that leftover liquid from canned beans. Pour it into an airtight container, refrigerate, and save it for your next cocktail party. If you prefer to prep beans from scratch, set aside the remaining liquid. However, the aquafaba from canned beans tends to be thicker and works better as an egg white replacement. Once your aquafaba is ready, it's time to embrace that inner bartender. So, read on to learn how to use this vegan substitute.

So you've saved your aquafaba, and you're craving a cocktail. Now, it's time to get mixing! There are a variety of cocktails you can make with aquafaba — basically, any cocktail made with egg whites can be made with this vegan replacement. Think fizzes, flips, and sours.

Fizz cocktails have an acidic base and incorporate a carbonated beverage (hence the "fizz"). A popular bourbon fizz recipe uses lemon juice, Orangina, and thyme for a flavorful combo. Next up, a flip is a mixture of egg, sugar, and some type of liquor. While these drinks traditionally require the whole egg (like in eggnog), you can replace aquafaba to create a lighter rendition. Make an Irish flip recipe using a vegan cream and aquafaba in place of the dairy and egg. Sours are a common cocktail containing lemon or lime juice for that mouth-puckering sensation to offset the sugar-based ingredient. They can include whiskey, gin, amaretto, or even Aperol; some often include egg whites. If you're looking for a particularly refreshing bevvie, go for Peru's national cocktail, the pisco sour, which uses pisco brandy and has a sweet-tart flavor.

The Bartender Company recommends using a reverse dry shake to make a cocktail using aquafaba. Combine all ingredients (minus the aquafaba) in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain, removing the ice. Add two tablespoons of aquafaba per egg white, shake vigorously, and pour into a serving glass. This method results in a nice, frothy cocktail without being watered down.

If you have aquafaba on hand but don't fancy a cocktail, you're in luck. There are many culinary uses for it. Those who prefer baked goods over beverages can use it in place of eggs. When baking, aquafaba works as a binder and gives those pastries that fluffy texture we love. Like cocktails, you'll need roughly two tablespoons of aquafaba per egg white or three tablespoons per whole egg.

Aquafaba also creates a tasty meringue topping for cakes and pies. When making an aquafaba meringue, use a powered mixer and add cream of tartar to help the sweetened solution fluff even further. This strategy is also utilized for aquafabulous mousse, a decadent vegan chocolate dessert.

If you're a fan of savory foods, aquafaba can be used in vegan butter, cheese, and mayonnaise. It can also thicken soups and stews, much like chicken stock. Bonus: It offers a nutritious vegan replacement that's full of flavor.