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Vegan Hard Boiled Eggs – Basic Recipe
Here’s how to make perfect vegan hard boiled eggs with a wonderful firm white body and perfect eggy yolk. Ideal for a variety of dishes.
These hard-boiled “eggs” are a 100% vegan alternative that will give your dishes both the traditional taste of boiled eggs as well as the appearance. All while remaining completely cruelty-free.
It really is as magic as it sounds.
I love to experiment and after many, many attempts I am extremely happy with this recipe.
Some time ago I organized a survey where I asked vegans what non vegan food they missed most and hard-boiled eggs placed themselves in a nice second place among my Italian followers (after the cold cuts and followed by the tuna!).
While the Anglo-Saxons voted first place for scotch eggs (click here for recipe), which – guess what – have hard boiled eggs as their main element!!
It may be that by now it is really easy to find plant alternatives of all kinds, I remember that this request surprised me a lot, so I decided to get to work immediately and bought my (now so much) beloved silicone mold of half eggs.
Now to be completely honest, the path to get to this result was long and the attempts have been various, with many of them being total flops.
The yolk part was the easiest, since I had half of the job ready after developing the recipe for a perfect fatty vegan egg yolk, which is also the main ingredient of my vegan carbonara!
It has the perfect eggy taste and the perfect oily fatty texture of a runny yolk.
The egg whites were the hardest part. They required many attempts, wasted resources and waste of energy over a course of many weeks. In the end I opted for a recipe with very few but irreplaceable ingredients.
This was the best compromise to get the best and most consistent result.
Eggs are one of the great culinary ingredients, their versatility and sheer scope for possibilities are endless. This means that creating a whole egg that can be presented, used and tasted the same was a real challenge but one I am happy to have undertaken because the result I am sure will leave you fully satisfied.
The only thing I ask is for you to support my blog on social media with likes and comments, and don’t forget to leave me the feedback of the recipes you try.
That’s all!
It really helps with getting the plant based message out there and the more option we can show people the better.
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Let’s go now to see what are the key ingredients to make these vegan hard-boiled eggs!
What we need to make vegan hard-boiled eggs
To recreate this vegan version of hard-boiled eggs we will need two parts.
These are to replicate the main components of the traditional egg: the yolk and the egg white.
For the yolk you just need to get some potato flakes (those for instant purée – 100% dehydrated potatoes) and reproduce to the letter the recipe of my vegan yolk.
As for white, we will need:
– Silken Tofu. This is the basic ingredient of vegan egg whites. As mentioned it CANNOT be replaced. I’ve tried traditional tofu and it stays grainy, I’ve tried a number of plant-based drinks and it gets spongy. Silken tofu already has a very similar texture and consistency to what you would find in an egg white when it is boiled. You can find this ingredient quiet easily now in many supermarkets, even in Italy where it used to be very hard to find.
– Carrageenan. Yes, this wonderful thickener which is based on red algae isagain a non-replaceable ingredient. I have already tried with agar agar & co, and they simply do not thicken properly. To add to that if used in preparations such as scotch eggs and Pasqualina cake, the whites fall apart during cooking. So avoid waste, I have already wasted for you!
Before you ask me the answer is no, carageenan has not been certified as harmful or carcinogenic. For recipes that require a few grams from time to time, it is completely safe. If you want to learn more, you can read this article and this one.
– Black Salt / Kala Namak. The third and last main and irreplaceable ingredient is Kala Namak Salt. Now this really is a magic ingredient and magic is not too strong a word for it and you will understand when you smell it. It is a salt with a sulphurous flavor and fragrance, which is reminiscent of that of eggs. Just imagine the smell of an egg mayonnaise sandwich… that is what this smells like, but beyond that it isn’t just the fragrance but he taste. This is eggs.
It too is now widely available world wide, both online and in some specialized stores. Without it, the egg whites they will be completely tasteless. Plus it’s another key ingredient for yolk, so I highly recommend buying a jar.
It will definitely not go to waste as you will often make at least the yolk component for other recipes once you have tasted how similar it is. It is uncanny.
How to Make Vegan Boiled Eggs
To prepare these vegetable hard-boiled eggs, all we have to do is follow some very easy steps.
STEP 1 – BLEND
Let’s start with the preparation of the egg whites.
We add our 3 irreplaceable ingredients to a blender, and blend at maximum power for about a minute. Depending on the blender used, it may be necessary to clean the inside of the blender with a spatula a couple of times during the process. This will ensure a smooth blend by preventing some stubborn bits of tofu sticking to the sides.
STEP 2 – HEATING
We transfer the silken tofu mixture to a pan.
In the meantime, let’s make sure you have our silicone mould placed on a flat baking sheet handy, so you can handle and transport it more easily.
Having the mould ready is essential because once the mixture is ready we will have to work quickly, as it will tend to thicken almost immediately.
It’s time to place the pan on the stove and start heating the mixture that will form our egg whites.
On medium heat, make sure to stir the mix constantly, which at this point will be reminiscent to that if the consistency of a thick and foamy cream.
The intent is to heat it to about 90 ° C, the heat necessary for the thickening properties of carrageenan to be activated.
STEP 3 – TRANSFER TO THE MOULDS
As soon as the mix begins to form the first bubbles, you will notice that it will tend to thicken almost instantly.
This is the time when you need to transfer it as quickly as possible into the silicone moulds.
Fill the cavities generously and, again with a spatula, remove the excess from each cavity while trying to press the mixture as much as possible to prevent air bubbles from forming.
Let it cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then you can transfer everything to the refrigerator.
STEP 4 – THE YOLK
While we leave the egg whites to cool and thicken completely, we can focus on the preparation of the yolk sauce.
To do this, just follow this recipe – https://avegtastefromatoz.com/vegan-eggs-and-soldiers/. You can opt to make the amount as listed and use the leftovers to season pasta or just as a sauce to dip some beautifully toasted buttered bread or simply halve or quarter the amount.
For this recipe we will need about 2-3 tablespoons of egg yolk.
We in a small bowl add the yolk with the dehydrated potato flakes.
Let it cool and voilà, our vegan hard-boiled yolk is ready to use.
STEP 5 – ASSEMBLY
As soon as the egg whites are firm we go and take them out of the silicone moulds.
With a sharp knife, remove any excess until the two halves match perfectly to a perfect egg shape. Listen to me! Don’t throw away the scraps, but use them in rice salads or sandwiches. They are very good!
Now, using a small scoop such as those for ice cream or for shaping fruit, remove a half sphere from the base of each egg half, right where the yolk would be. We have already used exactly this technique in the recipe for these stuffed potato eggs.
Fill with the yolk mixture, and that’s it: our vegan hard-boiled eggs are ready to be used in our favourite recipes or enjoyed as they are.
Vegan Hard Boiled Eggs Recipe
Ingredients:
…for the egg white…
600 g Silken Tofu Boxes (2 boxes)
14 g Kappa Carrageenan
1 tsp Kala Namak
…for the yolk…
1/4 Vegan Egg Yolk Recipe
2 tbsp Potato Flakes
Method:
1. Add the 3 ingredients for the egg white to a blender, and blend at maximum power for about a minute. Depending on the blender used, it may be necessary to clean the inside of the blender with a spatula a couple of times during the process.
2. Place silicone mould(s) on a flat baking tray, ready to be easily moved.
3. Transfer the silken tofu mixture to a pan and start heating on medium-low, stirring constantly until it reaches the temperature of around 90°C (195°F), that means just before it starts to boil (it’s not essential checking it with a thermometer). As soon as the mix begins to form the first bubbles, you will notice that it will tend to thicken almost instantly.
4. It is the time to transfer the mixture as quickly as possible into the silicone moulds. Fill the cavities generously and, again with a spatula, remove the excess from each cavity while trying to press the mixture as much as possible to prevent air bubbles from forming.
5. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then you can transfer everything to the refrigerator.
6. Meanwhile prepare the egg yolk sauce according to this recipe.
7. Stir into the sauce the dehydrated potato flakes, and let this mixture cool down too.
8. Once the egg whites are firm enough, remove them out of the silicone moulds.
9. With a sharp knife, remove any excess until the two halves match perfectly to a perfect egg shape (use the off cuts for sandwiches or salads).
10. Now, using a watermelon baller, remove a half sphere from the base of each egg half, right where the yolk would be.
11. Fill the hole with the yolk mixture, and there you have your vegan hard-boiled eggs ready to be enjoyed or featured in our favourite recipes.
8 comments
Will xanthan gum work? Thanks for perfecting a vegan hard-boiled egg!
Unfortunately with xantan they will stay mushy and not firm up properly.
I have made vegan hard boiled eggs previously, but with a agar-agar instead of carrageenan. I used them inside a traditional pie of my country (kind of a Shepherd’s pie) and they tended to melt inside. Do you think this recipe will work? I have never used kappa carrageenan before, so I’m curious.
Thank you for the recipe btw! It looks amazing
Hi Fran! I actually used it for torta pasqualina (an Italian spinach and ricotta stuffed pie) and they do not melt! You can check out the result yourself here: https://avegtastefromatoz.com/vegan-torta-pasqualina/
Enjoy!
That pasqualina looks amazing! Thank you very much for your reply, I’ll be trying soon
Uh, almost forgot that I have also published the recipe for scotch eggs made with the same vegan hard boiled eggs: https://avegtastefromatoz.com/the-best-vegan-scotch-eggs/
I was absolutely amazed! It felt like I am a mad scientist 🤪😂 Didn’t manage from the first time to create a perfect shape of egg whites, but in the end was absolutely happy with the result! They look amazing and taste amazing!
Thank you for the recipe 🙏
Hi Lessie, I’m so thrilled you have tried and enjoyed this recipe!! Thanks so much for the feedback 🙂