What’s a chia egg?
If you’re looking to get into vegan baking, you should know what a chia egg is and how to use it!
It’s simple – just 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 2.5 Tbsp water = a chia egg. But then what? So many uses!
You can use a chia egg (or flax egg) as an egg substitute in many dishes, like quick breads, waffles, cookies, and more!
How to Make a Chia Egg
An easy 1-ingredient chia egg! The perfect egg substitute in vegan recipes like pancakes, waffles, quick breads, cakes, and more!
Servings 1 (chia egg)
Instructions
- Add chia seeds to a small dish and top with water. Stir and let rest for 5 minute to thicken. It should be gel-like and thick.
- It’s not an exact 1:1 substitution in every recipe because it doesn’t bind and stiffen during baking quite like an egg does. But, similar to a flax egg, it works well in pancakes, quick breads, muffins, cookies, and many other baked recipes. Chia seeds also make a delicious chia pudding, like this Chocolate Chia Pudding and PB&J Chia Pudding!
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
*This is not my original recipe, but one I discovered on many vegan baking blogs and have since adapted for my own use.
*This is not my original recipe, but one I discovered on many vegan baking blogs and have since adapted for my own use.
Nutrition (1 of 1 servings)
Serving: 1 chia egg Calories: 49 Carbohydrates: 4.2 g Protein: 1.7 g Fat: 3.1 g Saturated Fat: 0.4 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.4 g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 1.6 mg Potassium: 40.7 mg Fiber: 3.4 g Sugar: 0.1 g Vitamin A: 4.4 IU Vitamin C: 0.2 mg Calcium: 63.1 mg Iron: 1.6 mg
Gina Fiedel says
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe! I eat buckwheat cereal, make buckwheat roti and love kasha- buckwheat is friendly for my diet. I usually use cassava flour for all my baking.
I’ve never thought of trying to make bread. Now, I’m looking for something (grain-free, egg-free, nut-free, yeast-free, gluten-free, saIt-free) that I can use for Thanksgiving stuffing (not to go inside a turkey) and I wonder what you think of this bread for that kind of use? Do you think it hold together?
Thanks!
Gina Fiedel
Hi Gina, we’re not certain which recipe you’re referring to! Did you mean to comment on a different recipe?
Hope says
I made a chia seed egg for my oatmeal cookies, how long are the cookies shelf stable?
Thank you for your time
Hi Hope, it will depend on the type of cookies and their moisture content, plus your room temperature and humidity level, but typically ~2-3 days at room temperature.
William says
Can I substitute this for one egg in cinnamon rolls? If not, what would be better?
Hi William, we wouldn’t recommend using a chia egg in cinnamon rolls because it won’t provide the same fluffiness and may create crunchy bites. We have an egg-free/vegan cinnamon roll recipe here!
Stanley G King says
All the great information here talks about baking things like cakes, cookies, and brownies, etc. My question is can you use – substitute chia eggs for the eggs needed in pie recipes such as in a pecan pie recipe? Thank you.
Hi Stanley, chia eggs work well for binding, but not as well in recipes where eggs are adding fluffiness or a custard-like texture. We wouldn’t recommend them for pecan pie. We do have a vegan pecan pie recipe that might help!
mama says
Can you coarse grind the seeds before soaking them in water ?
Hi, yes you can! They will be more absorbent that way.
Tshaye says
Thank you.
Lauren says
Hi! Making egg yolk chocolate chip cookies – wondering if I could use this as an egg yolk replacer and if so, should I halve the recipe for one egg yolk? Thanks!
Hi Lauren, we aren’t positive if this would work 1:1 for an egg yolk, but we think you’re right about trying half the amount. Let us know how it goes!
Lauren says
I replaced 3 egg yolks with 2 chia eggs and it worked really well! I used the replacement in the Violet Bakery egg yolk chocolate chip cookie recipe, and it is now my go-to recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies. I don’t know if it made a difference, but I let the chia seeds sit in the water for a long time (an hour I believe). Thanks for the recipe!
Lovely! Thanks so much for sharing, Lauren!
Sally MacDonald says
Do you use hot or cold water to make the chia egg please?
Cold
Areej Adnan says
I wanted to try making brownies but I’m allergic to egg. Would the chia egg work for brownies? Flax egg is not found easily where I live.
Hi Areej, that should work!
Amanda Gramstad says
I am planning to try making a some snack bites, kind of like Aussie Bites from Costco. Can a chia egg be used in a no bake recipe?
Hi Amanda, we think it might be too liquidy. We haven’t tried Aussie Bites, but based on the ingredients list it looks like it doesn’t have any egg. So we think it might be better to just add the chia seeds without mixing with water. Let us know if you try it!
Amanda Gramstad says
Thank you. Hopefully it will turn out well 😊
Ted says
Hi, I am desperately trying to recreate yorkshire puddings for my daughter who turned vegan during lockdown. Would a chia egg work as a substitute in this sort of recipe?
Many thanks
Hmm, that’s tricky! Chia eggs don’t work as well in recipes that are really egg-heavy. Perhaps aquafaba and/or a product like Just Egg?
Annette says
I want to make a boxed cake, can I use the chia egg recipe?
Hi Annette, it will depend on the ingredients in the mix how it turns out. It’s worth a try!
Screaming Jay says
I used this today in a quick bread recipe. It worked perfectly.
Yay! Thanks for sharing!
Fran says
Will this work in cinnamon rolls?
I don’t think so, but you can try this recipe for our easy vegan cinnamon rolls!
Frances says
Hi! I love your recipes. I noticed many of your baked goods call for flax seed eggs. I have an overabundance of chia seeds & no flax seeds. Can I simply substitute chia seed eggs for flax seed eggs in your recipes? Is one better than the other or are they different in how the baked good turns out? Thanks!
Hi Frances, that will sometimes work. We’d suggest doing a search (“ctrl+f” on a PC or “command+f” on a mac) in the comments on a specific recipe to see what others have tried. Hope that helps!
Georgie says
I made a coffee and walnut cake using Chia as an egg substitute, but I did not want to add too much liquid to the mix so instead of soaking the chia seeds in water I soaked them in double strength espresso! This way I could really boost the coffee flavour without adding too much additional liquid. It came out a bit denser than I expected but this was my first time using Chia so I need to experiment a bit more! The taste was great and enjoyed by the family!
Hi Georgie, we would suggest using aquafaba when trying to achieve a more light and fluffy texture. Here’s our guide to egg substitutes for more info: Guide to Egg Substitutes. Hope that helps!
Róza says
Hi! Many veggie burger recipes include eggs. I’m experienced enough to know it’s there to keep it together when the ingredients (like lentils) would fall out otherwise, so I can’t leave them out. Would chia seeds work with these? Did you (or anyone else here) try it? I haven’t made up the courage to experiment on my own, but this would be a real game changer if they worked!
Hi there, we aren’t sure which of our veggie burger recipes you are referring to, but for any of them, a chia egg would probably work for increasing the binding properties. Hope that helps!
Timothy Dillon says
If one recipe calls for two eggs how how much chai seeds do I need
Hi Timothy, approximately 2 Tbsp chia seeds + 5 Tbsp water. It won’t work with every recipe, but will for some. Hope that helps!
Jade says
Hi, I want to use Chai eggs to substitute egg in a sugar cookie recipe. I wondered how long they will last for? I know simple shortbread with just butter, flour and sugar will last for months – how would adding a Chai egg affect the shelf life? Thank you!
Hi Jade, we wouldn’t think the chia egg would make much difference. Hope that helps!
Trang says
i made vegan biscotti using flax seed powder and i’ve also used chia seed powder as egg replacement and both looked & tasted exactly the same. I put my biscotti in an airtight container on the bench and it’s still good since Christmas to now.
Geri says
Thanks!
Geri says
DO you add the chia egg to the wet ingredients or the dry ingredients?
Thank you!
Wet ingredients
Missy Blakeney Cornett says
Can I substitute chia seeds for egg whites?
Hi Missy, it depends on the recipe, but typically, we wouldn’t expect that to work.
Nicolas says
the liquid in chickpea cans generally works for that!
Louise says
Replacing egg whites: Try aquafava the liquid from canned chickpeas for egg white. It whips up to a foam and you can actually make meringue with it. Hard to tell the difference except for the colour. It’s quite fascinating how it works.
Alice says
Can this method be used as an egg replacement in Christmas cake?
Thanks,
Alice
Hi Alice, we haven’t tried that, but it might work. Let us know if you do some experimenting!
TeganGage says
This worked very well in my muffins. Thanks! Still can’t believe that after two years of being vegan that this is the first time I’ve ever made flax/chia egg.
Thanks for sharing, Tegan!
eric says
Hello,
Is it 1:1 subs and which is healthier a regular egg or chia egg if I want to bake?
Thank you
Chia eggs and regular eggs and flax eggs all behave differently in recipes. It’s not always a 1:1 substitute in things like soufflés, but in baked goods it usually behaves similar.
Roma Divanji says
Hi, can i ground the seeds and then add water so that it mixea well into cake. If so, so i ground 1tbsp chia/flax seeds or use 1tbsp of chia/flax powder?
Hi Roma, that should work! It shouldn’t be too different of an amount, but probably 1 Tbsp ground.
Eomma says
Can you use a chia seed egg for scones? Does it cause it to be crumbly? I’m not vegan but I am vegetarian and always looking for ways to replace eggs.
Hmm, I don’t think that would work well. But if you try it let us know how it goes!
Barbara martin says
Hi. Can I use golden linseeds as egg replacement pleas
Hi Barbara, yes, you can. We would recommend referring to our post on How to Make a Flax Egg.
bri huber says
my product came out extremely gooey. any suggetions on how to correct this?
It should be sort of gooey and resemble the consistency of an egg, Bri!
MaryMargaret says
Hi there, I just put 2 loaves of a quick bread in my oven in which I used chia seeds for the eggs. The mix was so thick it was almost impossible to mix the wet ingredients with the dry. I finally added some apple juice. I hope I didn’t mess it up, but I did not want a brick. Nothing like closing the barn door after the horse is out, but are there other adjustments that should be made when using chia seeds for an egg substitute?
Hi! Bread dough should be pretty thick, but let us know how it turned out!
MaryMargaret says
Good Morning. It actually turned out really great. It was moist and spongy, not really heavy or hard as I had feared. I am glad I added the extra liquid, probably not more than 1/3 I think, just enough to make it easier to stir. It was still really thick; it had to be spooned in and spread, not poured. Thanks for the reinforcement of how it should look. I think my grandson will like it. I’ll find out later this morning.
Thank you for the update, Mary Margaret! Let us know how your grandson enjoys it :)
MaryMargaret says
He loved it. (Shhh – so did I)
Danielle says
I’m not sure what a quick bread is so I don’t know if biscotti counts as one or not. But the recipe I have calls for 3 eggs. Can I triple your recipe and will that work for my almond biscotti’s? Thanks. :)
That should work, Danielle! Let us know if you try it out.
Danielle says
Thank you so much!! I will definitely let you know how it turns out. :)
Lily says
Hi! Is there any benefit to using chia vs flax eggs based on the type of baking? For example, are flax eggs better for cakes, chia for bread, etc? Thanks!
I don’t use chia seed eggs and rely on flax eggs more. And also, aquafaba is sometimes more beneficial depending on the recipe but there are no hard and fast rules! It just requires following recipes and also experimenting!
Phala Kay Bowles says
I notice other recipes for “chia egg” grind the seed. Do you agree ??
I don’t think it’s necessary but you certainly can.
Katie says
I strongly recommend grinding the chia seeds first! They do not dissolve in a typical baked good, so unless you really don’t mind an odd crunch it’s very important to grind.
teresa rodriguez says
If I am wanting to substitute 3 egg whites only, not the entire egg, how much of this mixture would I use?
Hi Teresa! I’m not sure as we haven’t tried doing that ourselves but if you experiment with it, report back!
Dora says
Hi!
Can use it as an egg substitute for making mayonnaise?
I don’t think that would work, but check out our vegan mayo recipe here!
Stephanie says
Can i use as a egg white replacement in blueberry muffins?
Hi Stephanie! This could work in place of egg whites, but a better option might be aquafaba (especially if the egg whites get whipped). Hope this helps!
Dawn says
Is there a difference in measurement if using chia seeds compared to chia powder? Dawn Valentine
Julene says
According to Bob’s Red Mill instructions you can use 1 Tbsp of whole chia seeds, or 2 tsp of ground seeds (plus 3Tbs water for either) to sub for one egg.
Ashton says
Hey! Wondering if there is an adjustment to make for high altitudes? We live in a town that’s 1,120m (just under 3,700 feet) and chia eggs never work for us, even in pancakes. Every time we try they just stick and stay gooey. Any tips?? Thanks for your awesome site and recipes!
Niki says
Does chia egg in pancake cause it not to cook in the middle and stay goey?
Sheila says
Can you use this substitute for cake ?
Hi Sheila! Yes you can!
Mary Neyland says
Can I use a flax egg in black bean vege burgers? Is chia better? Do either work??? I have tried your recipe and still, I can’t get my burgers to hold together without breaking apart. will either of these egg substitutes make a difference? Please, a short answer will suffice
Hi Mary! Either work!
Christina Kruk says
you could try oatmeal or millet flakes with your hamburger. That’s what Ive used for years and it has always worked for me.
Samantha Kaye says
Often when a burger falls apart it’s due to high water content, so try roasting some of the veg or slicing fine and absorbing excess moisture with towels before placing in the burger patty. I personally prefer to bake them on oven paper over frying them which also helps. If you prefer frying be sure not to move the patties other than to turn them. Cook on medium heat. Flax powder also works well to bind burgers, as do mashed chickpeas.
Carol says
How many replacement eggs can be used in a recipe at one time? For example a recipe calling for five or six eggs?
Hi! Depending on the recipe it should work. What are you planning on making?
Suzette says
Do you think this will work well in a pecan pie as the egg replacer?
THANK YOU!
Hi Suzette! That should work!
Rebekah says
Have you ever used this in a casserole-type dish? Or is that what it doesn’t work well for?
Maisie says
Can you use ground chia meal instead of whole chia seeds for a smoother texture?
Hi Maisie! Yes you can!
macca says
it really works well!