Aquafaba is the starchy, protein-rich liquid left over from cooking chickpeas or other legumes. It’s the same viscous brine you’d normally drain from a can of chickpeas and pour down the sink. What makes it remarkable is that this humble byproduct behaves almost exactly like egg whites when whipped, making it one of the most useful plant-based egg replacements in cooking and baking.
Why Bean Water Acts Like Egg Whites
The liquid works because of what leaches out of the beans during cooking. On a dry-weight basis, chickpea aquafaba is roughly 76% carbohydrates and 16% protein, along with natural plant compounds called saponins. These saponins are the key ingredient. They’re surface-active molecules, meaning they sit at the boundary between air and water and stabilize bubbles, much like the proteins in egg whites do. The combination of proteins, starches, and saponins together creates a liquid that can trap air, hold its structure, and emulsify fats.
That’s why you can whip aquafaba into stiff peaks, fold it into mousses, or use it to bind ingredients in baked goods. It’s not a perfect chemical twin of egg whites, but functionally it gets surprisingly close.
How It Was Discovered
French chef Joël Roessel first realized that chickpea brine could stand in for egg whites in recipes. The idea gained momentum online, and an American software engineer named Goose Wohlt coined the term “aquafaba” from the Latin words for “water” and “bean.” Wohlt helped popularize the technique through an online community where home cooks experimented with vegan meringues, and the ingredient quickly spread from niche vegan circles into mainstream cooking.
Nutritional Content
Aquafaba is nearly calorie-free. A full can yields about 3/4 cup of liquid containing roughly 32 calories total, which works out to fewer than 5 calories per tablespoon. The concentrations of protein, fat, and other nutrients are so low they don’t even register on a standard U.S. food label. This makes aquafaba useful as a functional ingredient (it does the mechanical work of an egg) rather than a nutritional one. You’re not getting meaningful protein or vitamins from it.
Not Just Chickpeas
Chickpea liquid is the most widely used version, but it’s not the only option. Research comparing the cooking water from black soybeans, yellow soybeans, and small black beans found that all three performed better than chickpea aquafaba for foaming and emulsifying. Black soybean liquid produced the highest foam volume, while small black beans created the most stable foam over time. The likely reason: darker-skinned beans have more water-soluble compounds in their coats, and smaller beans offer more surface area relative to their size, so more of those compounds dissolve into the cooking water.
That said, chickpea aquafaba remains the standard in most recipes because it has the most neutral flavor and the palest color. Soybean and black bean liquids can add noticeable taste and darker tones that don’t work well in meringues or light-colored baked goods.
How to Use It in Recipes
The basic substitution ratio is 3 to 1: three tablespoons of aquafaba replaces one egg white. For a whole egg, some bakers use the same amount, though results vary depending on the recipe. Aquafaba works best in applications where eggs provide structure or lift rather than richness, so meringues, macarons, marshmallows, and fluffy pancakes are all strong candidates. It also works as an emulsifier in mayonnaise and salad dressings.
The simplest source is a can of unsalted chickpeas. Just strain the liquid into a bowl and it’s ready to use. If you prefer low-sodium cooking, look for no-salt-added cans, since regular canned chickpeas can contribute noticeable saltiness.
Making It From Scratch
You can make aquafaba by cooking dried chickpeas, though it takes a bit more attention than opening a can. The key variable is concentration. If you use too much water, the liquid will be thin and won’t whip properly. Experienced cooks recommend using just enough water to cover the beans during cooking, then reducing the liquid on the stove after the chickpeas are done. Simmer it down until roughly half the original volume remains, and the consistency should resemble the slightly syrupy texture of canned chickpea brine.
Another approach is to leave the cooked chickpeas sitting in their liquid in the fridge for one to two days. This allows more starches and proteins to dissolve into the water, thickening it naturally without the need to reduce it on the stovetop.
Storage and Shelf Life
Fresh or canned aquafaba keeps in the refrigerator for several days, similar to any opened canned product. For longer storage, freezing works well. Research labs routinely freeze aquafaba at standard freezer temperatures and thaw it overnight in the fridge before use with no loss of function. A practical approach for home cooks is to freeze it in ice cube trays, so you can thaw individual tablespoon-sized portions as needed.
Commercial Products
Aquafaba has moved beyond home kitchens. The first major commercial product to feature it was Sir Kensington’s vegan mayonnaise, branded as “Fabanaise,” which launched in 2016. Other companies have followed, including Fora Foods, a Brooklyn-based brand that developed a vegan butter using a blend of coconut oil and aquafaba sourced from hummus producers. For these manufacturers, aquafaba solves a practical problem: hummus companies generate huge volumes of leftover chickpea liquid, turning a waste stream into a functional ingredient.
Allergy Considerations
Because aquafaba comes from legumes, it carries the same allergy risks as the beans themselves. Chickpeas belong to the legume family alongside peanuts, soybeans, lentils, and lupine. Cross-reactivity among legume allergies is common, particularly between peanuts, soy, chickpeas, lentils, and lupine. If you have a known allergy to any of these, aquafaba is worth approaching with caution. There have also been documented cases of exercise-induced allergic reactions linked to legumes including chickpeas, where a reaction occurs only when physical activity follows consumption.