Product Review: Follow Your Heart’s VeganEgg

Hello friends,

Today I want to share my review of a relatively new product in the vegan market – Follow Your Heart brand’s VeganEgg.

I first learned about companies attempting to produce the perfect “vegan egg” earlier this year when a flurry of articles related to Hampton Creek (and the “JustMayo” controversy) took over my Facebook newsfeed. While Hampton Creek is supposedly releasing their take on the “vegan egg” later this winter, Follow Your Heart beat them to the punch.

 

Hampton Creek Just Mayo, 30oz Jar

Follow Your Heart released their product, VeganEgg, in November 2015. In their press release, their CEO Bob Goldberg said, “We have been working toward VeganEgg™ for over a decade now, and there were many challenges that we overcame before developing a products that could truly replace eggs.”

VeganEgg is non-GMO, vegan, and allergen free. VeganEgg is made from: Whole Algal Flour, Whole Algal Protein, Modified Cellulose, Cellulose, Gellan Gum, Calcium Lactate (Plant Source), Carrageenan, Nutritional Yeast, Black Salt.

While the product is not readily available in stores, it can be purchased through Amazon for $7.49/ package. (Each 4oz package equals a dozen eggs, and the product has a six month shelf life.)

VeganEgg is incredibly easy to make. To make a simple scrambled egg, you just mix 2 tbsp VeganEgg with 1/2 cup of ice cold water and whisk until smooth.

 

Next, pour the mixture into a well-oiled sauté pan over medium-high heat. The VeganEgg should sizzle immediately, and mine sure did!

Once the VeganEgg begins to solidify and form, chop and flip it around with a spatula, scrambling continuously until the food no longer looks watery.

First Impressions:

Look – This product looks very similar to real scrambled eggs. The texture is close to the real thing, and the color is spot on. The VeganEgg is soft, chewy, and eerily reminiscent of what I recall the texture of scrambled eggs to feel like.

Smell – I don’t know what they added, but VeganEgg smells like real eggs! There is a slight sulfur-smell that is apparent, but not too overwhelming.

Taste- I’ll be the first to admit VeganEgg has a super mild flavor. However, I don’t recall scrambled eggs having much flavor in general. The true flavor is in the egg yolk. Thus, if you use VeganEgg in an omelet, quiche, frittata, etc., you simply won’t miss the eggy flavor.

Cost – This product is going to do wonders for vegan breakfast foods; however, it should not be used as an “all the time” egg replacer. A dozen eggs costs under $2.00 in the US. VeganEgg is $7.49/ package, and thus, this product is 3-4x more expensive. In the vegan world, we’re used to spending more on specialty grocery items. That said, I do not think that this should be used as egg replacer in baking recipes. Simply use banana, applesauce a flax egg, or EnerG Egg Replacer, as these are much more cost effective options.

So what do you think? Can a VeganEgg really work? Give this product a try and let me know what you decide! Cheers!

Jocelyn