Aquafaba Guide: Unlocking The Magic of Chickpea Brine

Aquafaba at a Glance

Aquafaba is the liquid from canned or cooked chickpeas used as a vegan egg replacement. It can be whipped like egg whites or added to baked goods, making it ideal for meringues, mousse, pancakes, and cakes. Aquafaba is commonly used at a ratio of 3 tablespoons per egg.

Aquafaba might sound fancy, but it’s actually one of the easiest vegan kitchen tricks out there. It’s the liquid from a can of chickpeas, and it can do some pretty amazing things. Best of all, it uses something you might normally pour down the drain.

This guide is here to help you feel confident using aquafaba at home. You’ll learn what it is, why it works, and how to use it in everyday recipes. We’ll cover simple tips, common mistakes, and easy swaps so your recipes turn out great.

Any of these vegan chickpea recipes will work well for your leftover beans: vegan tuna salad, chickpea noodle soup, vegan chickpea stew, and Asian chickpea salad. It’s like you get two meals in one—maybe one dinner and one dessert. How amazing is that?

Table of Contents

What is Aquafaba?

If you’re new to aquafaba, welcome to one of the coolest vegan kitchen discoveries around. The word “aquafaba” comes from the latin words aqua (meaning water) and faba (meaning beans). It usually means the starchy liquid from canned or cooked chickpeas, though other bean liquids can work too.

This humble chickpea water can replace eggs in baking and whip into meringues, macarons, marshmallows, and even fluffy whipped cream. It’s now a favorite ingredient for home cooks everywhere, and the best part is that it’s totally free.

Who knew bean liquid could be so magical, especially when so many of us used to pour this garbanzo gold straight down the drain?

How to Make Your Own Aquafaba

If you’re dying to try making your own aquafaba, here’s what to do:

Stove Top Method

Soak 1 cup of dry chickpeas overnight in filtered water.
The next day, drain and rinse the beans thoroughly.
Add beans to a pot and cover with several inches of water.
Bring to a boil on high heat, lower heat, and simmer for 1.5 – 2 hours.
Drain bean water into another pot or large mason jar to cool.
Save the cooked beans to use later.

Pressure Cooker Method

Soak 1 cup of dry chickpeas overnight in filtered water.
The next day, drain and rinse the beans thoroughly.
Place beans into the Instant Pot (or your favorite pressure cooker) and add just enough liquid to cover the beans completely.
Pressure cook on HIGH for 15-18 minutes. The longer you let them cook, the softer they will get.
Quick release and drain off the bean liquid into a large mason jar or other container.
Save the cooked beans to use later.

Keep in mind that homemade aquafaba has the disadvantage of being less concentrated than the type in cans and it may take a much longer time to create ‘peaks’ of any sort.

Best Ways to Use Aquafaba

If you’re wondering how to use aquafaba, let us get you started with some basics—the most common uses. Here are our favorite ways to use this liquid gold:

Egg Replacement – Use 3 tablespoons of liquid per egg in any recipe.
Meringues and Macarons – Yay! These fancy little desserts are accessible to vegans again. Whip your aquafaba into impossibly stiff peaks with a hand mixer or standing mixer and a pinch of cream of tartar. This might take 10 minutes or more, but it’s totally worth it to make delicate vegan macarons and vegan meringues!
Aquafaba Whipped Cream – Light fluffy vegan whipped cream made from chickpea water? Sounds preposterous, but it’s perfection!
Crusty Layer – Brush onto potatoes or the tops of pies before baking for a little added crispiness.
Egg White Substitute – Beaten into semi-stiff peaks (for about 5 minutes), this mixture is wonderful for adding to waffles or other baked items.
Chocolate Mousse – A marvelous mousse can be made with only whipped aquafaba, sugar and dark chocolate. So creamy and thick, you won’t believe your eyes. This recipe from Lazy Cat Kitchen is really dreamy.
Buttercream Frosting – Aquafaba makes a great base for buttercream that forms the most terrific texture. I like this recipe by Geeky Cakes. A bit more involved, but it produces a truly professional frosting.
Vegan Marshmallows or ‘Marshmallow’ Fluff – You can make your own vegetarian marshmallows from scratch using aquafaba!

Who Invented Chickpea Water?

Aquafaba has a pretty fun origin story. It all started with a French food lover named Joël Roessel, who was into molecular gastronomy and began experimenting with chickpea cooking water just for curiosity’s sake. Later, American software engineer Goose Wohlt picked up on Roessel’s work while searching for an egg white swap, realized how well this liquid worked, and even gave it a name using the Latin words for bean (faba) and water (aqua).

On March 6, 2015, he shared a super simple vegan meringue recipe on Facebook using just chickpea brine and sugar, and just like that, aquafaba became a worldwide vegan favorite.

FAQs

Help! Do I buy canned chickpeas with or without salt?

Whichever is easier to find! When you make your own aquafaba from dried beans, you can decide if you want to add salt or leave it out. Otherwise, it’s your call. Both types work, regardless of the salt content.

But, if you’re on a strict low-salt diet, then definitely choose the no salt added version. When used for a baked bread or savory dish, the recipe might benefit from using the salted version of aquafaba. Sweet desserts or lightly flavored foods may be better with no salt added.

Can I use the liquid from white beans instead of chickpeas?

Yes, you can. Although the white beans have a more neutral, agreeable flavor, the liquid is a little bit less effective at making meringues. Just something to keep in mind.

If you’re using the aquafaba as an egg replacer in cookies or breads, it should be fine to use either white beans or chickpeas. But, if you’re worried about the texture of your dessert (such as a mousse or whipped cream), it might be best to use chickpeas instead.

Should you use canned or fresh aquafaba in recipes?

Most people prefer using canned beans for their aquafaba. While you can easily make your own, it seems as though everyone agrees that the resulting liquid doesn’t work quite as well as the commercially canned versions. It’s also much quicker to use canned, so best give this a try first.

Also, if you use canned beans, you will have the aquafaba for recipes and also beans to make roasted chickpeas aka “chickpea croutons”––super crunchy and oh-so-addictive!