Here’s an easy recipe for moist, chewy homemade aquafaba macaroons. These macaroons are made without eggs, condensed milk, or flour, making them egg-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. You can enjoy them plain or dipped in chocolate—I’ve included instructions for both options below, so keep reading!
Whether you consider them cookies or something else, these macaroons are chewy, moist, with a slight crisp on the outside—the perfect treat for any coconut lover.
Unlike other vegan coconut macaroons, these are made without condensed milk or any type of flour, making them both vegan and gluten-free. Plus, being egg-free, they’re the ultimate eggless macaroons!
Ingredients You’ll Need :
You just need FIVE of them (six if you include the optional almond extract): finely shredded unsweetened coconut, aquafaba, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and vanilla.
The Proper Type of Coconut :
To make these vegan macaroons, you need unsweetened, finely shredded coconut. This is a VERY important part of the recipe being a success
Unsweetened because you want to control the sugar in the recipe and finely shredded so they hold together well.
Have a look at the image below. The coconut on the left is shredded but that’s NOT the kind you need. You need the type of coconut on the right, the kind that’s finely shredded.
Some brands that make finely shredded coconut are Let’s Do Organic, NOW, Bob’s Red Mill, Anthony’s, and Camino.
If you’re unsure of the brand you want to use, send me a message and I will let you know! I want your vegan macaroon recipe to turn out perfectly!
If you cannot find finely shredded coconut, you can still use the type on the left, you’ll just need to pulse it a few times in your food processor until it looks like the coconut on the right. After pulsing, measure it again, and you’ll be good to go.
How to Make Them
The first thing you’re going to do is preheat the oven and then line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone / silpat liner, this is to avoid having your macaroons stick to the sheet.
Next, whip the aquafaba.
1. Within the first few seconds of whipping, the aquafaba will start to form bubbles.
2. After about a 30-seconds, it will start to get foamy and after about a minute, all of it will be foam.
3. After about a minute and a half (or longer), you will be at the soft peaks stage. This is when the aquafaba sticks to the beaters, but flops down when the mixer is held up.
4. After about two and a half minutes of whipping (or longer), you’ll reach the stiff peaks stage, this is when the aquafaba is stiff and it sticks straight out from beaters when the mixer is held up.
Once you get to the stiff peaks stage, you’ll then do the following:
5. Gradually add the sugar, making sure the previous addition has dissolved before adding the next addition.
6. After all the sugar has been added, the aquafaba will be stiffer and look glossy/shiny, like in image #6.
7. Slowly add the coconut, a little at a time.
8. Gently fold it into the aquafaba.
After all the coconut has been folded in, the coconut will look like the image on the left, below.
The next step is to scoop the mixture onto your baking sheet using a medium 1.5 tablespoon scoop. Press the coconut mixture into the scoop to get rid of any air pockets and so the coconut is packed.
Next, bake! Be sure not to over bake, this will dry them out and they won’t be moist.
After the baking time has passed, remove them from the oven. When they first come out, they’ll be very fragile and can fall apart easily, so let them cool for a few minutes before handling. When ready, place them on a cooling rack.
You can keep them plain, or you can dip the bottoms in chocolate and drizzle a little on top as well like I did, it’s up to you, they’re great either way!
How Long Will They Last?
Probably not very long because they are SO GOOD! But seriously, they will last quite a while if stored properly.
If your kitchen isn’t too warm, you can keep them in an airtight container on the counter for 4-5 days, after that, move them to the fridge. If you dipped them in chocolate, don’t store on the counter, always keep them in the refrigerator.
Both the plain and chocolate dipped versions will keep in the fridge for up to 2-weeks
