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!
Sharon @ Bit of the Good Stuff says
Oh wow Aimee, these look absolutely perfect ♥ Your photos and settings are breathtaking too. I hope you're proud with what you've achieved this week. You definitely should be!
Like you, I'm so excited about this chickpea meringue revelation. I'm really glad the FB page was set up. I'm loving all the various creations from around the world and I've learnt so much from the 'hits and misses'. I wonder how many people are sick of chickpeas now lol!
One quick question... is your oven temp for a conventional or fan oven? (mine is a fan) On the FB page it was recommended not to bake them above 100C, but yours have turned out just fine!
Aimee says
Aw, thank you so much, Sharon! I'm definitely one of the people who are getting sick of chickpeas... I have been putting them in currys, risottos, making hummus and I'm wishing you could just get hold of the chickpea water without the chickpeas now! Someone ought to bottle it and sell it...
Anyway, I actually do have a fan oven but for some reason, turning the heat down never works out well for me so I just follow the temperatures for normal ovens (but that's just the way my oven is) Maybe you could try a 90c or 100c temperature and see how that goes? x
Sharon @ Bit of the Good Stuff says
Thanks so much for the tips!
Have you tried roasted chickpeas yet? I can literally eat a whole can in one sitting ;) You can spice them up in all different ways to keep them interesting. I love Dukkah or a mix of maple syrup, olive oil, oregeno and salt. So delicious! If you're sick of the sight of chickpeas at the mo though, I guess you could always freeze them? We should start asking our local falafel joints if we could nab their water... can you imagine the looks we'd get lol!
Aimee says
Haha! Yes but it's not a bad idea, actually. The roasted chickpeas sound great AND you've just reminded me... falafel! I can't believe I never thought of making falafel yet. OK, now I'm looking forward to chickpeas again, thank you :-)
Alexandra says
My mind is blown!!! As an absolute meringue obsessed girl, I cannot wait to make this recipe all the time!!
Aimee says
Still blowing my mind too!
Christine says
What a tasty way to use up the water from a tin of chickpeas. So, chickpea curry with meringue nests coming up for the next dinner party!
Aimee says
Chickpeas all round! I love how you can make both a dinner and dessert out one 50p can of legumes :-)
Emma | Fork & Good says
Omg, all this time I've been chucking the brine down the sink and I can be making PUDDINGS with it?!
Aimee says
I know! I was laughing earlier because I bought a few cans of chickpeas JUST for the chickpea water... Someone should start bottling that stuff $$$
Chrissy says
This is so weird but so cool. Yay science! I eat chickpeas all the time and I can't wait to try this!
Aimee says
Go science! Let me know if and when you try it Chrissy, hope you enjoy!