Light, airy and perfect vegan meringue cookies. Cute and fun and made with chickpea aquafaba resulting in totally perfect meringue!
I was daunted by the idea of vegan meringue for a long time and now I don’t know why.
Honestly, making these was incredibly easy!
If you are new to the idea of aquafaba, let me tell you about it. A few years back some geniuses discovered that the water (brine) from a can of chickpeas acted pretty much exactly like egg whites when whipped.
Basically the proteins from the beans leaches out into the water and makes that water very similar to egg whites in how it behaves. So you can use that water for all sorts of egg-like things!
I have actually used aquafaba before, very successfully, when I made my vegan mousse.
So goodness knows why I was daunted by the idea of vegan meringue, but somehow I just was.
But these came out so beautifully. So now you know I am definitely thinking about some vegan lemon meringue and vegan pavlova.
I researched a lot of recipes and methods, and tried a few different things and this recipe is exactly what worked best for me.
I also found some good troubleshooting tips for making vegan meringue that were very helpful from the Lazy Vegan Baker.
How To Make Vegan Meringue
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
To make these you just take some of the water from a can of chickpeas, and place it in your electric mixer with some cream of tartar.
You start off slow to get it nice and foamy.
Then you speed it up and as you can see things start to get very creamy and glossy!
You add your sugar and vanilla slowly as it whips and let it go until you have nice and glossy stiff peaks.
Pipe it out onto a parchment lined tray, as you can see I had a bit of trouble with my uniformity, some are quite a bit bigger than others!
Then you bake at 250°F (121°C) for 45 minutes and then you switch OFF the oven BUT don’t open it for another hour. This is really crucial. You leave the oven closed for an hour after it finishes baking, without opening it!
Ingredient Notes
Aquafaba (chickpea water) – this recipe uses 6 tablespoons of aquafaba, the liquid left behind from a can of chickpeas. This is roughly half of what you would get from one 15-ounce (425g) can of chickpeas. You can throw the rest out or use it in other recipes requiring aquafaba.
Cream of tartar – this really works for stabilization and it’s exactly like you would use if you were whipping egg whites.
Granulated sugar – works best for this as it provides the structure for the meringues.
Does It Taste Like Proper Meringue?
The end result of this recipe is the most perfect meringues ever. Absolutely perfect! Really, the perfect texture and perfect taste.
Now this is the curious part – if you taste the meringue mix before it goes into the oven, you can taste the chickpea water, the chickpea flavor is there.
So you might be sceptical at this stage, but have faith because once baked, all traces of chickpea flavor vanishes.
All that you are left with is perfect sweet airy light crispy meringue.
How To Store Your Meringues
Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days. If it’s even vaguely hot or humid where you are, put them in the fridge pronto.
We are currently having high humidity and within a very short time (like 15 minutes) these were starting to get sticky and wanting to collapse.
We put them in the fridge and they went back to perfect in seconds. So just beware of that. Hot and humid weather leads to sticky meringue collapse. So airtight container in the fridge and they will stay perfect for snacks for around 5 days.
More Gorgeous Vegan Desserts
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Vegan White Chocolate
- Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
- Cashew Ice Cream
- Vegan Coconut Cookies
- Vegan Energy Balls
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Meringue
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons Aquafaba liquid from a can of chickpeas*
- ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Place the chickpea liquid (aquafaba) and cream of tartar into the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Start at slow speed and whip until foamy.
- Then gradually increase speed until white and glossy and stiff peaks start to form.
- Add the sugar in slowly while whipping at fast speed.
- Add in the vanilla.
- Keep whipping until glossy stiff peaks form.
- Preheat your oven to 250°F (121°C).
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Pipe the meringue mix into cookie shapes onto the parchment lined tray. Alternatively you can spoon it out, but I found piping to be much easier.
- Place into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, switch off the oven but DON’T OPEN IT (excuse the caps, but this part is very important). Leave the oven off, but don’t open it for one hour. Time it.
- After the meringues have baked for 45 minutes and then sat in the oven for a further 60 minutes without opening the oven, remove them from the oven.
- They should be airy crispy perfection! If the weather is at all hot or humid, put them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for the most long lasting results.
Video
Notes
- This amount of chickpea liquid is roughly half of what you’ll get from one 15 ounce (425g) can of chickpeas when drained. You can throw out the rest or use it for other egg replacement purposes or for another batch of vegan meringue.
- Keep the meringues stored in a covered container in the fridge for 5 days.
- Recipe adapted from A Little Insanity.
Nick says
Hello,
I tried this seemed to be good but found they stick to the parchment and the top bit comes away leaving a (nice) but gooey inside
I’m using granulated sugar. Am I missing a step, not beating long enough. They looked firm and glossy.
Followed the not opening oven door stuff too
And left them in there the extra hour.
I do wonder if my oven runs a bit cool(?). Any thoughts?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Nick, that does sound like maybe not cooked enough, I highly recommend an oven thermometer especially if you suspect your oven may run a bit cool. We use our oven thermometer all the time and it’s hugely helpful.
Magda says
Perfection! First time I make meringues that are perfect. I didn’t have cream of tartar so used same quantity of white vinegar and it worked! Thanks for the recipe
Morgane says
My mixture came to perfect peaks, was white and glossy however about 10 minutes into baking some of the meringues started to run I to each other while others sorted of bubbled then collapsed. They have now all collapsed. Not sure where I went wrong but will try again next time I have some aquababa.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Morgane! Did you make any subs for the sugar? The sugar is really needed for the structure of the meringues as well.
Robert Spencer says
Hi Alison
will it work with coconut mixed through
Robert
Alison Andrews says
Hi Robert, honestly I’m not sure! It depends on whether they get too weighed down.
Katy says
I am so pleasantly surprised by the results. Super simple and very well-written recipe. Thank you, Alison! They came out perfectly! I used a little less sugar than called for as I used super fine sugar and added it very slowly. The end product can go peak to peak with my conventional meringues. Bravo!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Katy! So happy to hear that!
Rose says
I’ve been wanting to try Aquafaba for ages and finally had an excuse! It is amazing how well it whips up. However, the meringues taste like pure sugar and some weird lemon-y aftertaste. I added more vanilla and some almond extract to my second batch, but that weird taste is still there. They are definitely crispy but I think they are too crispy. I wouldn’t mind having a tiny bit or chewiness. As a sugar addict, I can’t believe I’m saying this – but they are just too sweet. May try with less sugar or super fine sugar next time.
Jeremy says
Hey, I’m having humidity here, and my meringues aren’t getting to stiff peaks at all, especially when I add the sugar.
Graeme Robinson says
Hi I love this idea but so far it hasn’t worked. What am I doing wrong? The meringues look ok but they are completely hollow in the centre. Secondly I can never get them off the paper. I use the full amount of liquid from the can. Could this be the issue? Thanks in advance.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Graeme, I definitely recommend you measure the chickpea water and don’t estimate. Otherwise though I’m not sure what might be going wrong. Are you making any substitutions?
A.J. Lowik says
Hi Alison – I had the same problem as Graeme, despite having followed your recipe exactly. Hollow cookies that ended up crisp on top, but like gooey marshmallows on the underside, and also completely stuck to the tray. Any suggestions? Perhaps the mixture wasn’t mixed for long enough?
Alison Andrews says
Hi A.J. If they’re like gooey marshmallows on the bottom then that sounds like they didn’t bake properly. Have you got an oven thermometer? They are really affordable and handy little things to make sure your oven is baking at the correct temp.
BJ LeGrand says
Have not made yet. Think I can use Swerve to replace sugar?
Alison Andrews says
The sugar creates the structure for these meringues which is more important than ever here since the aquafaba is not as sturdy as egg whites would be. I don’t know how swerve differs from sugar, so I can’t really comment on it, but my guess is that it wouldn’t work, or wouldn’t work as well. If you do try it let us know how it goes.
Laura says
Made double quantity of the recipe using 1 can of chickpeas worth of aquafaba. Turned out amazing! Don’t think you’d know the difference between egg meringues. Would suggest leaving them in the oven for as long as you can after turning it off to stop them cracking, but 1 hour is just about long enough
Dorris says
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe for my vegan family members! I love to make angel food cakes and soufflés with eggs, but need some vegan alternatives. Do you think this chickpea meringue would hold up to having dry ingredients folded in and being baked in a bundt pan?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Doris, yes I do. I think it can hold up pretty well in baked goods! 🙂
Sash says
Love this recipe! Worked out amazing. I was thinking about using brown sugar instead next time. Do you think that would work?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sash, I’m really not sure! I think it would work! There would be a change in color of course, but I haven’t tested it so I can’t say for sure.
Ulysse says
My meringues turn liquid and I can’t figure out why 🙁 10min in and they’re little puddles. Any tip?
Alison Andrews says
I’m not sure what could have gone wrong without knowing more, but we have a lot of troubleshooting tips in the post!
Megan Lemmons says
Thank you for this recipe! Plan on making these this weekend. Do you think the shape would hold up if i tried to pipe them with a decorative tip?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Megan, I’m not sure how well they will hold a shape if it’s more intricate, but let us know how it goes if you try it! 🙂
Cathy Moran says
Is the oven temperature stated for a fan assisted oven?
Alison Andrews says
No, it’s for a conventional oven.