You might need a meringue powder substitute if you’re baking or decorating some cookies and have run out. Luckily, there are some great alternatives to choose from.
What Is Meringue Powder?
Meringue powder is dried egg whites that have been ground into a fine powder. Often, cornstarch is added to improve the consistency and texture when rehydrated and used in baking applications. The meringue powder takes the place of liquid egg whites in many recipes.
What Does Meringue Powder Taste Like?
Depending on the brand, sugar might be added to the dry meringue powder. Therefore, it might taste sweet and have a faint vanilla scent. When dehydrated and used in icing, meringue powder will be sweet with no egg taste at all.
Common Uses for Meringue Powder
- Royal icing – royal icing is made with egg whites, but many bakers prefer meringue powder for convenience and shelf stability.
- Donut glaze – similar to the use of meringue powder in royal icing, it is also used to make a high gloss donut glaze that holds its form better than just powdered sugar and water.
- Meringue toppings or cookies – some cakes or cookies use beaten egg whites which are baked as a light and sweet topping.
- Pavlova – pavlova is a highly technical baked meringue that requires egg whites without any yolk contaminating the mixture – meringue powder guarantees a perfect meringue and in turn, pavlova.
- Stabilizing whipped cream – a small pinch of meringue powder will stabilize your whipped cream.
- Marshmallows – you can replace liquid egg whites in marshmallows with meringue powder.
- Thickening soups or sauces – due to the cornstarch in some meringue powders, you can thicken sauces and soups with meringue powder.
How to Choose a Substitute for Meringue Powder
- Stabilizing – if you need to stabilize whipped cream, mousse, or other desserts, it is best to use plain egg white powder as a substitute to achieve the same fluffy results.
- Binding – gelatin for xanthan gum is best used if you need to use meringue powder to bind ingredients in a recipe. But beware – it is heavier than meringue powder, which might result in a denser outcome for your recipe.
- Vegan alternatives – agar powder or aquafaba is the best substitute for meringue powder that doesn’t contain any animal products like gelatin or egg whites.
10 Best Meringue Powder Substitute Options
1. Egg Whites
You can replace two tablespoons of meringue powder in your recipe with one egg white. So, if you are making a hard meringue, add a little bit of cream of tartar to balance out the egg whites. These chai spice meringue cookies use cream of tartar to stabilize the meringues and are the perfect mix of sweet and spicy.
2. Egg White Powder
Egg white powder is the main ingredient in meringue powder. You might need to add some stabilizer and sugar to achieve the same sweetness in your recipe. But it is easily found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. Chica and Jo use a little bit of egg white powder in their Italian macaron recipe as the key to success.
3. Gelatin
According to the whipped cream recipe from Live Well Bake Often, gelatin is a great ingredient to add to whipped cream to balance out the mixture. However, you can’t just add gelatin powder to your whipped cream. You will have to dissolve it first, so follow their instructions closely.
4. Agar Powder
If you need a vegetarian whipped cream that has been stabilized, you won’t be able to use gelatin. Fortunately, agar powder is vegan, which means it checks the vegetarian box too. Goodie Godmother has an easy-to-follow recipe for stabilizing whipped cream using agar powder.
5. Aquafaba
Aquafaba is the liquid that chickpeas produce in a can or when you soak the dried chickpeas for a few hours. You can use the liquid from a can, or you can find aquafaba powder in some grocery stores. Not only is aquafaba vegan, but it also has no distinct taste, making it perfect for adding to souffles or as a topping to pies. Minimalist Baker has a quick recipe to follow on how to whip aquafaba.
6. Chia Seeds
Chia seeds gel up when left to soak in water for a few minutes. For best results and no gritty seeds, grind the seeds first before soaking, and then whip the gel. Laura Live Well uses chia seeds in an easy, dairy-free, and vegan chocolate mousse.
7. Flax Seeds
Flax seeds are often used in vegan recipes as a replacement for eggs because they have great binding qualities. However, they do have a nutty flavor, which might not work in sweeter recipes. Roar Food has an overview of how to use flax seeds in a similar way as you would use egg whites or meringue powder.
8. Xanthan Gum
Xanthan gum is made from corn and is vegan-friendly. It works well in small amounts and is often used as a binding agent. In addition, xantham gum also works well when used as a leavening agent in high-fat recipes like this ice cream recipe from King Arthur Baking.
9. Vegan Meringue Powder
Vegan meringue powder might be tricky to get a hold of. But it makes for a great alternative to meringue powder. To use it effectively in a recipe, vegan meringue powder can be used to replace meringue powder in a 1:1 ratio. In fact, Sweet Ambs Cookies uses vegan meringue powder to make meringue cookies.
10. DIY Meringue Powder
If you don’t want to use any alternatives that use different ingredients than meringue powder, try making your own using the same ingredients the manufacturers do. 17 Recipes shows you how to make your own meringue powder safely without food safety issues.
Tips for Meringue Powder Substitution
- Application – consider the application of meringue powder before you select an alternative. Some meringue powder substitutes are better at stabilizing your recipe than others.
- Flavor – alternatives such as chia, aquafaba, and flax seeds have slight to intense flavors, which might not fit your recipes’ flavor profiles.
- Texture – meringue powder usually results in a smooth and airy end result, whereas something like agar powder and gelatin would lack the airiness that meringue powder has.
Leave a Reply