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Aquafaba Meringue
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
Total Time
4 hrs
 
Aquafaba meringue is delightfully crispy and dissolve in your mouth. From my testing, there is little difference between meringues made with egg whites and aquafaba, chickpea water. Like traditional meringue, you can flavor aquafaba meringue with a variety of different tastes. I divided my aquafaba  meringues in half and flavored one half with vanilla and the other half with coffee. 

For the coffee flavor, mix 1/2 tablespoon of dehydrated coffee with about 1-2 teaspoons water, or add brewed coffee to taste. Gently fold in the coffee liquid into the whipped chickpea liquid.  This recipe yields a lot of meringue, enough to make a variety of shapes and presentations. 

Use aquafaba meringue nests to hold fruit and whipped cream or coconut whipped cream. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Servings: 12 meringue nests
Author: Ginger
Ingredients
  • Liquid from a 15 oz can of Chickpeas. There should be about 1/2 cup or more. I used Organic Eden Chickpeas with no salt
  • 1/2 cup Super fine castor Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract or other flavoring
Instructions
Equipment
  1. 2 12" x 16" rimmed baking sheets
  2. 2 pieces of parchment paper to fit baking sheets
  3. Stand mixer with whisk attachment and large bowl
Advanced preparation
  1. If you want to make meringue nests, draw 6 circles on both pieces of parchment paper. A good size is between 3 1/2" to 4" in diameter. I used an 18 oz plastic cup as a guide to draw the circles. Free form nest do not necessarily need a circle template, but piped meringue nests do.
  2. Turn the prepared parchment paper over, so the drawings are on the underside, and place each sheet onto a 12" x 16" baking sheet
  3. Move the oven racks to the top third and bottom third positions in the oven.
  4. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit
Make the Aquafaba meringues
  1. Drain the liquid from a can of chickpeas, or home cooked chickpeas, into a small bowl. You will need at least a 1/2 cup of aquafaba. The amount of aquafaba will depend on your brand of chickpeas, and if you are using aquafaba from home cooked chickpeas. My can of chickpeas produced 2/3 cup of aquafaba and I used all of it. Reserve the chickpeas for another use.
  2. Pour the aquafaba into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or a large mixing bowl for a hand held mixer. (If you are using the aquafaba from home cooked chickpeas make sure the liquid is cooled to room temperature.)
  3. Turn the mixer up to medium high speed, and whip the aquafaba until frothy.
  4. Add the Cream of Tartar to the aquafaba and turn the speed up to high. Whip the aquafaba until the meringue can hold soft peaks .
  5. Add the vanilla or flavor of your choice to the meringue and continue whipping the aquafaba.
  6. While the mixer is on, slowly add the superfine sugar, one tablespoon at a time, mixing between each addition on very high speed. Continue to mix the meringue until stiff peaks are formed and the meringue is very glossy. It took me about 15 minutes with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer to get stiff glossy peaks in my meringue.
  7. To make the individual nests, spoon or pipe the meringue onto your prepared baking sheets. For the free form nests place a large spoonful of meringue to fit in each circle, then use the back of your spoon to hollow out an impression in the center and make a nest shape. To pipe the meringue, fill a pastry bag, fitted with a large star tip, with meringue. Begin in the center of each circle template and pipe the meringue in a circular motion to fill in the base. Then pipe meringue along the rim of your meringue base to create a side, Pipe a second rim layer on top of the first rim to build up the side and create a nest.
  8. Place the meringue filled baking sheets in a pre-heated oven and bake the meringues for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
  9. Half way through the baking time, rotate the baking sheets front to back and switch places so the top sheet is on the bottom rack and visa versa.
  10. Once the meringues are done, turn off the heat and allow the meringues to completely cool in the oven. (This could take several hours).
  11. The meringues will keep for about 3 days, stored in an airtight container in a dry place.
  12. Meringues do not like humidity, so if you live in a humid area, turning your air conditioner on is ideal.
Recipe Notes

I discovered when comparing recipes of aquafaba meringue, that there was a great discrepancy in cooking temperature and cooking time. The temperature varied from 175 degrees Fahrenheit to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooking time was anywhere from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours. It is difficult to tell if meringue is done just by looking at it. You have to go with trust and experience. If you are making individual cookies after an hour and a half of baking you can test (sacrifice) a meringue cookie by taking it out of the oven and letting it cool on the counter for 15 minutes or more. Meringues need to be completely cool to get crisp. Taste the cookie and if the meringue is still chewy it is not done. Continue baking the meringues for another 30 minutes or more. If they are completely crisp, they are done and you can turn off the heat and allow the meringues to cool in the oven. If you are making the aquafaba meringue for a pavlova, the 2 hr cooking time will be needed. Cooling the meringues in the oven is an essential step and if you have time, cool the meringues in the oven over night.