Aquafaba, the liquid left over from cooking or canning chickpeas, is essentially calorie-free and contains almost no protein, fat, or carbohydrates. A tablespoon has roughly 3 to 5 calories. It’s not a meaningful source of nutrition, but that’s not really the point of it. Aquafaba works as a plant-based substitute for egg whites in recipes like meringues, mousses, and cocktails. The real health question is whether it offers any hidden benefits or poses any risks worth knowing about.
Why It Works Like Egg Whites
During cooking, chickpeas release proteins and carbohydrates into the surrounding water. Those proteins migrate to the surface of air bubbles when you whip the liquid, mimicking what egg white proteins do. But proteins alone don’t explain aquafaba’s surprisingly stable foam. Starch and cellulose from the chickpeas also dissolve into the liquid, and these act as physical stabilizers that sit at the surface of bubbles and prevent them from collapsing. This combination of dissolved proteins and tiny carbohydrate particles is what lets aquafaba hold peaks in a meringue or create a silky foam on a cocktail.
Nutritional Value Is Minimal
If you’re hoping aquafaba adds nutrients to your diet, the numbers are disappointing. Less than 1% of its calories come from protein. It contains virtually no fat and only trace carbohydrates. Vitamins are either absent or present in amounts too small to measure reliably.
There are some minerals, though not in amounts that would matter for most people. Potassium and sodium are the most abundant, but concentrations vary widely depending on the source. Canned chickpea liquid tends to be much higher in sodium (up to 183 mg per liter in some commercial brands) because salt is added during processing. Homemade aquafaba from unsalted chickpeas will have far less sodium and slightly more potassium and magnesium. Still, you’d need to consume large volumes before these minerals added up to a nutritionally relevant amount, and most recipes call for only a few tablespoons.
Bioactive Compounds: Saponins and Polyphenols
Aquafaba does contain some biologically active compounds that plain water wouldn’t have. Chickpea cooking water is a relatively rich source of saponins (8 to 12 mg per milliliter) and phenolic compounds (0.3 to 0.7 mg per milliliter). Saponins are the same compounds that give the liquid its natural foaming ability. In the body, they have mild antioxidant and cholesterol-lowering properties at higher doses, though the small amounts in a typical serving of aquafaba make it hard to claim a real health benefit.
The phenolic compounds also act as antioxidants, neutralizing unstable molecules that can damage cells. Again, the concentrations are modest compared to eating actual chickpeas, vegetables, or fruits. Think of these compounds as a small bonus rather than a reason to drink aquafaba on its own.
Gut Health: Prebiotics and Gas
One of the more interesting findings about aquafaba is its oligosaccharide content. Chickpeas are well known for containing raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose, the sugars responsible for the gassy reputation of beans. These sugars leach into the cooking water, so aquafaba contains them too. Researchers have identified 78 different oligosaccharides in chickpea aquafaba alone, including unique compounds like ciceritol that aren’t found in bean aquafaba.
These oligosaccharides have a prebiotic side. In lab tests, chickpea aquafaba oligosaccharides promoted the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, specifically certain strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. That’s promising for gut health in small doses. The flip side is that these same sugars are FODMAPs, the fermentable carbohydrates that cause bloating, cramping, and gas in people with irritable bowel syndrome or sensitive digestion. If you know you react poorly to beans, aquafaba could trigger the same symptoms even though you’re not eating the beans themselves.
Antinutrient Concerns
Chickpeas contain antinutrients like lectins, phytic acid, and oxalates, compounds that can interfere with mineral absorption or irritate the gut in large amounts. Soaking and cooking dramatically reduce lectin levels in the beans themselves, but some of these compounds dissolve into the cooking water during the process. Soaking alone removes a small percentage of lectins (roughly 0.1% to 5% depending on the pulse), and cooking breaks down most of what remains in the beans.
The practical concern here is low. Aquafaba is used in small quantities, and the cooking process that creates it is the same process that deactivates most lectins. Phytic acid, which can bind to minerals like iron and zinc, does leach into water during soaking and cooking, but again the amounts in a few tablespoons of aquafaba are unlikely to affect your mineral absorption in any meaningful way.
Allergy Risks for Legume-Sensitive People
This is the one area where aquafaba carries a genuine safety concern. Chickpeas are legumes, and legume proteins cross-react with each other at surprisingly high rates. Among people with confirmed peanut allergies, about 47% show sensitization to chickpea proteins. For those with soy allergies, the number is even higher at around 53%. Sensitization doesn’t always mean a full allergic reaction, but it does mean the immune system recognizes chickpea proteins as a potential threat.
Because aquafaba gets its functional properties from dissolved chickpea proteins, it’s not a safe egg substitute for anyone with a known legume allergy unless they’ve been specifically cleared for chickpea. This is especially important in baked goods or desserts where aquafaba might not be obvious as an ingredient. Co-allergies between legumes (meaning a reaction to more than one type) are less common in people whose primary allergy is peanut or soy, around 17% or lower, but the risk is real enough to take seriously.
How Aquafaba Fits Into a Healthy Diet
Aquafaba is best understood as a functional ingredient, not a health food. It adds almost no calories and negligible nutrition to whatever you’re making. Its real value is as a vegan, cholesterol-free replacement for egg whites in recipes where texture matters. A meringue made with aquafaba instead of egg whites will have fewer calories, no cholesterol, and no animal protein. For people avoiding eggs due to allergies, ethical preferences, or dietary restrictions, that’s a meaningful upgrade.
The trace saponins, polyphenols, and prebiotic fibers are a nice footnote but not a reason to seek out aquafaba for health purposes. If you’re already cooking chickpeas at home, using the leftover liquid instead of pouring it down the drain is a zero-waste practice with no downside for most people. Just be mindful of sodium if you’re using the liquid from canned chickpeas, and steer clear entirely if you have a legume allergy.