This healthy vegan marshmallow fluff is going to rock your world…
Sweetener of choice
+
Water from a can of chickpeas
=
Homemade marshmallow fluff ????
Crazy, right?!
I can’t take credit for this brilliant “bean liquid egg whites” discovery.
The idea was sent to me in a facebook message earlier this year by a reader who discovered you could whip up the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans with sugar to form stiff peaks then pipe the mixture out and bake it into vegan meringues.
Since readers often write to tell me their own recipe ideas or experiments, I didn’t think too much about the message at first, especially since meringue and I have always been more of acquaintances than friends.
However, a few months later when I noticed some of my friends posting stunningly beautiful chickpea vegan meringues on instagram, suddenly I was intrigued.
Healthy Vegan Marshmallow Fluff
Then another reader left a comment on the blog asking if I’d tried bean meringue yet and mentioning that chickpea liquid–commonly referred to as aquafaba–has been used as an egg replacer since as early as in a 1968 cookbook (Ten Talents, by Rosalie and Frank J Hurd).
Wait… so it can be an egg replacer in other things besides meringue?!?
Like crepes?! Or baked goods??
So many ideas are swirling around in my head right now…
Christina’s message had mentioned whipping the liquid with fine sugar to form meringue, but I wanted to know if the aquafaba would also work with a liquid sweetener.
Only one way to find out! Seven minutes in, my pseudo meringue still looked like water, and I was almost ready to give up and throw the whole thing out.
But—magically at minute 9—it began to thicken… and thicken… and thicken even more!
Above – watch the video of how to make vegan marshmallow fluff
I had a baking sheet all ready to go for the meringues…
The only problem was that I just couldn’t seem to stop dipping my spoon into the airy cream.
It was just like marshmallow fluff!
Ideas for ways to use this healthy marshmallow fluff include:
Homemade s’mores, as frosting for cupcakes or my Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe, in fluffernutter sandwiches… the possibilities go on and on!
Edit – There’s also now a version for Chocolate Marshmallow Fluff!
Vegan Marshmallow Fluff
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas or white beans (15oz)
- 1/3 cup sweetener of choice, such as agave, fine sugar, or xylitol for sugar-free
- optional pinch cream of tartar, for stabilization
Instructions
- Open the can of beans and drain just the watery part into a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. (Save the actual beans for a different recipe. If you need inspiration, here are 50+ Healthy Uses For Canned Beans.) You should have about 1/2 cup chickpea liquid. Add all other ingredients, and beat with an electric mixer or in a stand mixer for 12-16 minutes. It will look thin for quite a while—and you’ll probably be cursing me—but don’t give up hope! Mine really began to thicken around minutes 10-11. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. It separates overnight, but re-beating works perfectly. (I’ve not tried this recipe without beaters, but you are free to experiment. The sugar version can be baked into meringues; I haven’t tried baking the liquid-sweetener version.) I’ve tried this healthy marshmallow fluff with both regular and unsalted bean liquid and can’t taste a big difference, so use whatever you have on hand.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Vegan Recipes:
Vegan Breakfast Recipes – 50 Vegan Recipes
And now I’m going to go work on some homemade Mallomars…
How about if we use a pinch of tapioca flour to keep its composure while processing the bean liquid and sugar! Would that work?
Hi Katie, I’ve got two questions for you:
I went to my local grocery store last night and couldn’t find anything labeled “white beans”, although there were white-colored beans called “Great Northern Beans” and “Cannellini Beans”. Are ether of those the same thing, in the same way that chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same? Also, would the marshmallow fluff separate overnight if I used them in your Homemade Mallomars recipe? If so, what would I do about that (I guess this makes it 3 questions:)?
Hi! Either of those will work! If you want to make up the marshmallow fluff the day before, just re-whip it before making the mallomars 🙂
Once the mallomars are made, just store them in the fridge or freezer and they last a few days.
Thanks a bunch! I went ahead and tried it with the Great Northern beans liquid, and it worked out really well 🙂 The fluff was delicious but tasted strongly of honey, so my only suggestion for other readers who may not want a strong honey taste is to maybe mix half sugar/ half honey or just do the sugar. If that’s not a problem, this recipe is perfect. 5 stars for this healthy version of marshmallow fluff.
Ok, I’m going to be honest: I was very skeptical at first. However, I decided to give this recipe a go. I wacked everything in the mixer and walked away. After about 8 minutes, I went back to the kitchen to see if it was already getting fluffy and it already was! I couldn’t believe it. Of course, I also had to taste it because how good can this taste when it’s made with chickpea liquid, right? I was sooooo wrong! BEST FLUFF EVER!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
i am interested i n fluff anything like marshmallows, icing, frosting
I am SO happy I found your incredible site! This recipe just made my day, cannot wait to try it out after work tonight : ) Will post with review, thank you and keep spreading your incredible food love!
I did as the recipe to a T, put everything (used honey) in my kitchen aid, and I beat on high for 22min before going up, looks the same as I put it in 20min ago! What am I doing wrong!??
I followed this recipe to a T, and after 22min I finally gave up. Looks just like when I first put it in…added 1/3 cup honey and 1/2 tsp cream of tartar and 1 tsp vanilla added to the bean water, I beat it in my kitchen aide on high, what am I doing wrong ?!
Can’t be vegan if it has egg whites.
I just made this & it whipped up almost immediately. My chick pea liquid was very cold & I used powered sugar & some vanilla.
Can I use this as a substitute for the marshmallow creme in fantasy fudge?