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!
Nicola says
Hi,
I’m desparate to try this recipe but I can’t find a vegan tartar sauce anywhere. Can you please recommend a make/brand that doesn’t contain egg/milk/cream please. Or could you give me a recipe for a tartar sauce that will work just aswell please.
Thank you so much xxx
Aimee says
Hi Nicola, cream or tartar is potassium hydrogen tartrate and is used to stabilize the meringue. You should be able to find the powder in the baking section at your local supermarket. If not, you can leave it out as it’s not strictly essential but does create a better meringue. Let me know how you get on! x
Nicola says
Boy do I feel like an idiot!!! I thought it was Tartar sauce!! I’ve not been vegan that long and I’ve never been much of a cook, I’ve never heard of let alone used cream of tartar. So sorry for my stupidity. I’ve found it now in the cake aisle and can’t wait to try this recipe out. Thank you soooo much xxxx
Aimee says
Haha! Don’t feel like an idiot Nicola, I think we can ALL relate to things like this ;-) Anyway, so glad you managed to get hold of some – let me know how you get on! x
Eileen says
I used granulated sugar and the liqid from chickpeas I cooked myself, nothing else. It took longer to whisk than egg but that may be down to quantity.
Would love to know how much liquid is needed as I don’t use tinned. In the oven they grew bigger then at 55 minutes they started to pop and go flat – they were huge mounds,, apart from one little one which cooked perfectly. I will try this again but I am just guessing the amounts, and I’ll keep them smaller.
My niece has an egg allergy and is delighted I found you. Thank you so much for pisting this.
I am gluten free and found I was using far too many eggs – they are needed in GF baking. I will experiment with this martinis as a way of adding lightness to GF baked foods.
Preet says
Can you use normal chickpea water or does it have to be from the can? My mum always soaks chickpeas over night and I was wondering if that water would have the same effect?
Thanks
R+D says
My girlfriend is allergic to eggs so we gave these a whirl today.
It would be a mistake to say you cant taste the slightly strange flavour of the chickpea water, but it is a mere hint behind the gooey sugar that makes up most of the meringue. If they were in an eton mess or the recommended ice cream you wouldn’t be able to tell at all
The center of our meringues were a little soft still, but they were still lovely, and I expect the softness was caused by a not-quite stiff enough mixture.
Preety mohata says
hey its a gr8 idea, can u tell me what can be used instead of cream of tarter.
Dyaal says
Lemon juice