Aquafaba meringue nests, perfect for filling with vegan cream and fresh berries. These nests can also be crushed to make Eton Mess!
Many of you will already have heard about this, but for those that haven't... I recently discovered that you can actually make vegan meringue from chickpea brine (the water from a can of chickpeas or other legume) and sugar!!
I know, right??
After hearing about other's experiments with this discovery online, I had to try making one of my favourite desserts ASAP - Meringue nests with strawberries and cream. I am so happy and amazed with the results!
They're crunchy, chewy, sweet and delicious. Just like egg meringues but better for the environment!
Making these meringues are really no different than if you were to use eggs. The process is the same.
Simply whisk the chickpea water, slowly add sugar until it reaches the "stiff peaks" stage, pipe into nests, bake on a low heat for a couple of hours and cool.
You may be wondering... "Doesn't it taste like chickpea water?" and the answer is it just tastes like sugar, in the same way egg meringues just taste like sugar. It's all about the texture.
I can't wait to try making Pavolvas, Eton mess (which is pretty close to what I've made here), angel food cake, macarons and more, now I've discovered this idea.
Never throwing away that canned legume water again...
You could get away with this being an Easter-themed dessert because of the whole nest aspect. But really, it's good any time of year. Any time of day. Every day.
These meringues are:
- Vegan
- Eggless
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free & grain-free
- Soy-free
More Aquafaba recipes
📖 Recipe
Vegan Meringue Nests
Egg-less meringue nests served with strawberries and coconut cream
Ingredients
- 400 g can of chickpeas - just the liquid from the tin, or other canned legume*
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 125 g icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract, (optional)
To serve
- Fresh strawberries
- Chilled full-fat coconut milk
- Maple syrup or agave nectar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 110c / fan 90c / 230f and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Add the water drained from the can of chickpeas into a large bowl and use an electric hand-held or stand mixer to whisk for approximately 5 minutes until it's more than doubled in size, white and foamy.
- Add the cream of tartar and whisk again for another minute. Slowly and gently start adding in the sugar, whisking until the mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. Stir in some vanilla, if using.
- Transfer the meringue mixture into a icing bag with a large star-shaped nozzle and pipe into nests or cup shapes. Alternatively, just use a spoon to create mounds and use the back of the spoon to hollow out the centre.
- Bake for 2 hours. Do NOT open the oven! After 2 hours, turn the oven off and leave them to cool in the oven for at least another hour.
- To serve, add a meringue nest to a bowl and whip some chilled coconut milk with some agave nectar (to taste) to create a thick double cream consistency. Pour onto the meringue nest and serve with chopped strawberries on top. Enjoy!
- These meringues should keep for a couple of weeks in an air-tight container (I will report back if not). They can also be frozen.
Notes
*Make sure it's not the "salted water" variety - otherwise you'll end up with salty meringues!
Amy-Georgie says
THIS IS AMAZING!
this is my favourite pudding ever, but recently my friend has become a vegan....so glad I can still make it for us!
thank you :D
Aimee says
It's one of my favourite desserts too! I usually eat it in the summer time but I couldn't wait until then to try this :-)
Caitlin says
These meringues look great! Will attempt to make them for Easter with my carnivorous relatives. I vote for macarons next! :)
Aimee says
I think macarons too! Let me know how your meringues turn out :-)
Cady says
I am so amazed by this trick and can't wait to try it!
Aimee says
I'm still amazed too! Let me know if you try it :-)
Vicky says
I've yet to try vegan meringues with chickpea water but these look so delicious, next time I open a tin of chickpeas, I'll save the water!
Aimee says
I don't think I could ever throw that water away now! And of course, these are grain-free too... I'm sure you could figure out a way to adjust the sweetener also :-)
June Burns says
Those look terrific! Great use of that chickpea meringue...I'll really have to try it sometime soon, I've heard so many good things about it! :)
Aimee says
It's amazing stuff! I'm trying macarons next... Let me know how you get on with your chickpea meringue experiments :-)
Vivek Shah says
I MADE THIS AND IT WAS AMAZING HOWEVER MY MERINGUES STUCK TO MY PAPER SHOULD I LET THEM COOL OVERNIGHT IN THE OVEN AND COULD I USE THIS TO MAKE A PAVLOVA.
Please reply to me thx
p.s I would love to see a macaroon recipe
Aimee says
Hi Vivek, sure there is no harm in letting them cool for a while. Let me know if they turn out OK! I will work on a macaron recipe soon :D