Did you know you can create picture-perfect vegan macarons using aquafaba (the liquid drained from a can of chickpeas) instead of egg whites?
Take a look at my How To Make Perfect Macarons and Chocolate Macarons posts for more macaron tips and troubleshooting.
Post may contain affiliate links. For more information, check my disclosure
In collaboration with Thermapen
Vegan Macarons
I first came across vegan macarons on Pinterest (where else?) and I was instantly intrigued. I mean egg whites and meringue are a pretty fundamental ingredient in macarons, so how on earth could they be vegan? This is where a magical ingredient called aquafaba comes in!
If you have never heard of it – I sure as hell had not – aquafaba is the cooking liquid of beans and other legumes like chickpeas. That’s right, these macarons contain chickpea water… but don’t let that put you off. (Put the chickpeas to great use in my fabulously healthy Vegan Chickpea Salad!).
After I read a little more about aquafaba, I discovered it had entire websites, Facebook groups and forums devoted to it.
I simply HAD to try it, not least because I was so curious as to whether it would work. After all, macarons can be fiddly little beasts without the added dimension of using an unknown ingredient.
My neighbour’s son (the eternally adorable Aiden) is allergic to eggs so she had already tried to bake with aquafaba – with less than successful results.
But that just made me more determined to try making these macarons. A recipe and science experiment all in one – who could resist the challenge?
I did my research and the suggestion was that you could either use the liquid drained from cans of chickpeas or make it yourself.
Take a look at Lazy Cat Kitchen‘s very informative blogpost that’s well worth reading – not to mention the entire blog is simply gorgeous.
I decided to take the lazy route – after all I wasn’t convinced this would work. So I drained the liquid from two cans of organic chickpeas and then reduced it on the stove to just less than half its original volume.
You need 150ml (5fl oz) of aquafaba (or egg whites) in my recipe and two 400g (14oz) cans will provide you with just the right amount after the reduction.
I won’t lie to you – aquafaba doesn’t look, or smell particularly pleasant. My doubts started to take root – I was more than a little worried about wasting expensive ingredients.
Aquafaba is best chilled overnight in the fridge where it takes a similar viscosity to that of egg whites. And it works in exactly the same way as they do – this is actually pretty much the same method as making traditional macarons. The only difference is now I finally have a new ally in the kitchen – my new Thermapen!
I guess that by sharing all these photos I have probably taken all the suspense out of ‘did it work?’… but I was still amazed and incredibly impressed by just how well it worked.
Not only were the macarons picture-perfect, they tasted exactly the same as regular macarons. The shells were a touch drier, perhaps, than traditional macarons, but once they were filled the shells soften and you get the same taste and mouthfeel.
But there are some differences to the method – mostly involving cooking time and oven temperature. The oven temperature has to be lower than traditional macarons – about 120C (250F) as opposed to 150C (300F).
Too hot and the macarons will easily burn, too low and they will be cooked on the outside but completely uncooked in the middle.
Vegan Macarons Tips and Troubleshooting
The macaron shells have need to dry out for at least an hour or longer and they have to cook for longer, between 20-30 minutes.
Do not bake more than one tray at a time – you will end up with unevenly baked macarons if you do – as I learned the hard way.
Vegan Macarons Fillings
I filled mine with avocado chocolate mousse (or ‘ganache’ in this case I guess) and they tasted amazing. Don’t be too heavy-handed with the coconut oil, it may cause it to deep into the shells.
An easier filling would be to make vegan ganache using dairy free dark chocolate chips and coconut cream or soy cream (try Alrpo Soy Single Cream Alternative).
You could use any fillings you like – and flavour the macarons any way you like. Vegan buttercream is another option – take a look at this vegan chocolate cake for the recipe.
Macarons storing tips
- It would be best to store the macarons shells in an airtight container, separated by grease proof paper.
- Once the macarons are filled they will start to soften – this is fine if you eat them within a day or so but would not advise it for much longer.
- Macarons can also be frozen but I haven’t tried this myself since they usually disappear pretty quickly!
USEFUL TOOLS FOR MACARONS PERFECTION
- Digital scales – for best results it is important to weigh the ingredients
- Fine sieve
- Silicone spatula
- Piping bags
- Plain round piping tip (Wilton 1A)
- Silpat Silicon Macaron Mats or similar
- Cookie sheets (without rims)
MORE AQUAFABA RECIPES TO TRY!
- Vegan heart-shaped churros
- Five ingredient chocolate peanut butter mousse
- Vegan Chocolate and Coconut Mousse
Vegan Aquafaba Macarons
Ingredients
- 200 g / 7oz icing powdered sugar
- 200 g / 7oz ground almonds
- 150 g / 5 oz aquafaba see method divided into 2 x 75 g / 2½ oz quantities
- 200 g / 7oz caster sugar
- 50 ml / 1/5 cup water
- 1/8 tsp blue colouring paste or colouring of your choice
Avocado chocolate ‘ganache’
- 2 medium ripe avocados
- 4-5 tbsp agave nectar more if needed
- 1 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract or paste
- 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Drain the liquid from two 400g (14oz) cans of chickpeas into a saucepan. Weigh the pot and make a note of the weight. Simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is reduced by about half – since you need 150ml (5fl oz) for the recipe it is best to reduce the liquid to just over that. It took about 10-15 minutes for the liquid to reduce, but best check it on a scale periodically as you don’t want to end up with too little! Cool completely, transfer to a jar and chill in the fridge overnight or use immediately.
- Sift the ground almonds and icing sugar into a large bowl. Pour half the aquafaba into the bowl and mix together vigorously until the mixture forms a paste.
- Put the caster sugar and water in a saucepan. Put the rest of the aquafaba in the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Bring the sugar to the boil and have your Thermapen handy. When the sugar temperature reaches 110C / 230F start whisking the aquafaba on high speed. Keep checking the sugar with the Thermapen – once it reaches 117 C /242F pour it carefully down the side of your mixing bowl while still whisking on medium speed.
- Increase the speed to highest setting and continue whisking for 8-10 minutes till the mixing bowl is cool. You will have a very glossy ‘meringue’ (unlike egg whites my aquafaba meringue never formed firm peaks both times I made this recipe – this didn’t seem to have any adverse effects on the macarons however). Add the colouring paste and mix it in until you have the right colour – best start with a tiny amount and increase if needed.
- Add the almond paste to the meringue bowl and mix it together until it’s well combined. Don’t be afraid to be quite forceful when mixing it and make sure you scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. The consistency of the batter is very important – it needs to flow smoothly and when dropped back into the bowl it should spread slowly.
- Line 4 heavy trays with baking parchment – secure the paper by dotting a bit of macaron batter on each of the tray corners.
- Put the batter into a piping bag with a 1 cm / ½-inch plain round nozzle. Pipe small rounds of batter onto the baking parchment, spaced slightly apart as the macarons will spread when cooking. Use a template if you want absolute uniformity or draw circles using a cookie cutter.
- Carefully but forcefully knock the trays against your worktop to release any air bubbles. I found the vegan macarons actually were more uniform and had fewer imperfections than the regular kind.
- Leave them to dry out for an hour or longer until the tops are touch dry. Humidity and temperature can wreak havoc with this drying time so test them after 30 minutes just to be sure.
- Preheat the oven to 120C / 250F. Once the shells are touch dry, bake the trays one at a time for 25-30 minutes, checking them after 20. If your oven tends to have hot spots, rotate the tray halfway through the baking time.
- The macarons are ready when they have a smooth, dry top and are firm to the touch. Leave them to cool down completely before carefully lifting off the baking paper.
- At this point you can transfer them to a cooling rack and leave them overnight, covered with a clean tea towel. Or store them in the fridge.
- Place all the ingredients for the filling in a blender or food processor and blitz until completely smooth. Test for sweetness, transfer to a pipping bag filled with a small round tip and chill until needed.
- Pair the macaron shells by size. Carefully pipe the filling around the edge of the shells and then fill the inside. Sandwich together and either serve immediately, or chill in the fridge overnight. This will make the shells softer and give the macarons the right mouthfeel.
Notes
- You need to reduce and chill the aquafaba before using. Start this recipe a day in advance so it has a chance to cool and thicken.
- For best results process the ground almonds and icing sugar together in a food processor and then sift into a bowl. Discard anything that doesn’t pass through the sieve and make sure you weigh the ingredients after you sift them.
Pamela Worlton says
Do you use low sodium canned chickpeas? I would think that the amount of salt in the liquid would make a difference.
My daughter is vegan and I would like to surprise her with these.
Lucy Parissi says
Yes and if you can find. There’s also brands of aquafaba in the uk although I haven’t tested them
Maria says
I’ve done this and I love the taste although I’m struggling in getting them out of the parchement paper as they break easily and I didnt manage to get the appearance you have on yours. I have followed your recipe very carefully. Any advice please?
Thank you
Lucy Parissi says
Have they cooled down? Sometimes a mist of water on the (hot) baking sheet under the parchment helps them to release
Ashlyn says
Can you please specify that you use 2 different bowls? Like after sifting the ground almonds and icing sugar in a large bowl, then say in another bowl … instead of standing mixer at the end? I just tried these and the instructions were so unclear I added them all together before whisking. I just spent 2 hours (having to ground the almonds then sift them by hand) only to through away the expensive ingredients. I made this recipe about a month ago and I have no idea how they turned out next to perfect, they were amazing when they worked, but please specify that you used 2 bowls and not just a large bowl and standing mixer (I got super confused because I don’t have a stand mixer, only large mixing bowls and a hand mixer)
Lucy Parissi says
Thanks for your feedback Ashlyn, I will make a note in the recipe
Alice says
Your recipes are really delicious and healthy. I try to make it for my family in the every weekend and they love to eat so much. Thank you so much for your creative sharing.
Lachlan Savage says
Hey Lucy, I was wondering if there was something you could use instead of almonds? This is just in case someone at my event has an allergy to nuts
Lucy Parissi says
I have made macarons using rolled oats ground to a powder as a replacement for ground almonds. This works surprisingly well but the taste is obviously slightly different to that of almond macarons. Let me know if you try it!
Riya says
Hello, I did try making with oats and aquafaba, using a recipe available on YouTube however it was with egg.
It didn’t came well rather my batter started to form lot of bibles and spread horizontally in the baking tray. I don’t really know was it the temperature that went wrong.
Lucy Parissi says
Hi – I haven’t tried to make this recipe with oats so I am not 100% sure what went wrong. However if it spread too much on the tray it sounds like the macaron batter was too thin (was mixed too much and was too runny).
Georgie says
I will have to practice these! I didn’t have enough trays for this enormous batch so it took me hours. Mine were a little hollow, but salvageable. I used both baking paper and silicon and had better luck with silicon. I have had the same issue (and worse) with egg macarons so assume it’s something I’m doing. The recipe is fantastic, it makes sense and is easy to follow. They taste great! The aquafaba was weird but I liked it – I would prefer using it to eggs in future as it’s less gross and also less wasteful as I always end up chucking the yolks. Thanks heaps! 🙂
Lucy Parissi says
The are tricky things macarons! But I think practice does make perfect. Thanks for your comment!
Karen says
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! We’re gifting home made macarons as part of our wedding bonbonniere and wanted to include our vegan and egg-allergy friends too. Looking forward to trying them!
Lucy Parissi says
That sounds amazing Karen! I advice practicing before the big day (congratulations btw) as they can be tricky little things!
Myles says
Sorry to report that mine were hollow as well.
Lucy Parissi says
Sorry to hear Myles. I am planning to do a video for this recipe and hopefully get to address some of the issues x
Rachael says
Hi, I’ve made this recipe 3 times now and everything time they’re hollow inside! They rise and have feet and look great but I can’t use them and it’s so disappointing!
Please can you make a video Lucy?
And how do you mix the paste with the meringue? Is it with a spatula?
Thank you
Lucy Parissi says
Awww Rachel! Please don’t beat yourself up macarons are so tricky sometimes! Even experienced bakers can get them right 90 times and wrong 10. I am planning on making a video so thanks for the kick up the backside. You do mix with a spatula I like using a fairly firm silicone spatula. Promised the video is coming soon xxx
Sabrina Muci says
When I picked out this recipe I was excited because I wanted something quick, but as I continued to read the instructions, I noticed that there was parts in the recipe where things had to cool overnight. I wasn’t angry about the recipe I was more annoyed that It showed that the total time would be 40 minutes, when actually it was going to take multiple days. This website was very misleading, maybe you could change 40 minutes to the actually time it’s going to take.
Lucy Parissi says
You are right I have added a note to that effect.
Alyssa says
Lucy, , this looks really good! I think I need to make these for myself and the kids. Love this idea!
Heidi Pollack says
Hi Lucy! I found this macaroni recipe a while back and just got around to making it. It’s my third attempt at macarons and I haven’t fully succeeded, but I feel close with your recipe! I was thrilled when they formed feet…. but they were just air inside. Can you tell me why my macarons were hollow inside? I feel it has something to do with incorporating the paste… you said to mix somewhat forcefully – but length of time was unknown… I mixed it by hand and it incorporated quite quickly and spread nicely. But I know with other recipes, using a silicone spatula and folding the batter a special way is recommended (but those recipes aren’t using a paste). Any thoughts?
Lucy Parissi says
Hi Heidi – I recently remade the macarons myself and plan to do a post about tips and troubleshooting plus a video. The short answer is there’s so many variables that its almost impossible to pin point exactly what the issue is. I would GUESS it has something to do with the moisture in the batter. When you sandwiched them with filling they should have softened and tasted good?
I will test them again and try to update the recipe with more information. Thanks for the comment!
Bella Green says
I made these but they took 5 hours to dry..baked ok but feet a bit uneven…guess that is my oven. So they were thin, bit crispy and tasted good. My problem us STORAGE…I filled them with the chocolate ganache and out then in an airtight tin.and put them in cold..cold as a fridge…pantry. Sadly, when I opened the tin two days later the were all soggy and a crumbling mess.
Please tell me what I did wrong? Is it because they were thin…or stored too cold..or what? Any suggestions vert gratefully received. Thank you.
Lucy Parissi says
Hi – they shouldn’t take that long to dry so either the macaronage (batter) was very wet or the conditions were unusual! I am guessing the filling may have seeped into the shells to create the deterioration. I haven’t experienced that myself EVER so I am not 100% sure what happened. Maybe store the shells unfilled next time (they can also be frozen though I never did that myself)
Robert Derby says
Look! Amazing and I want to try it right now.