Nut Free Vegan Aquafaba Macarons Recipe

Believe it or not, macarons can be made without almond flour, and without eggs! I have been on a macaron making frenzy lately, and to be honest, I probably won’t be stopping anytime soon. I love making macarons, and they are difficult to execute perfectly, but worth all the effort! I have been thinking that I would like to make macarons for the kids’ teachers this year (I was originally thinking for Valentines, but it’s been a busy month and it sort of got away from me, so baking fell on the back burner while I got the house organized). I had been brainstorming about Macarons as gifts, and realized that with the Almond Flour as an important ingredient in Macarons, they wouldn’t be appropriate gifts for a nut-free classroom. So I went back to the drawing board, and did some research…

I have heard of people making Nut-free Macarons with finely ground sunflower seeds – which I would still like to try – and pumpkin seeds. I went to make a macaron recipe without almond flour, and was planning on grinding up some pumpkin seeds to use in place of the Almond Flour in my Vegan Macaron Recipe, however when I got to my pantry, I realized I wouldn’t have enough seeds to make up for the ingredients I needed. That’s when it hit me. Next to the pumpkin seeds, was a jar of chickpea flour – and it occurred to me that if I was using chickpea water in place of the egg-whites, why not try using chickpea flour in the recipe too, and give the whole garbanzo bean a chance to shine!

I will admit, the inside-texture of these macarons is slightly chewier than a traditional macaron, and I have plans to see what other flour alternatives might work better – so keep your eyes out for updates – but aside from the inside texture, the macarons turned out great! The shells filled out wonderfully, they developed feet, had nice smooth egg-shell like tops, and most importantly, they tasted great, so for a Nut-free Vegan Macaron, I think this is a great alternative! 

Take a look at my original recipe for Lemon Vegan Macarons for some troubleshooting tips if you are having difficulties with your macarons (they can be tricky little treats to figure out). If you would like some feedback or just want to share some of your nut-free macarons that you have made, then please comment below and follow me on social media so you can tag me in your posts – I love seeing what my recipes look like coming out of your kitchens!

Here is The Home Baked Vegan’s recipe for Nut-free Vegan Macarons:

Ingredients:

Macaron Shells:
3/4 Cup Aquafaba

1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Chickpea Flour, finely ground

3/4 Cup Icing Sugar

2-3 drops Food Coloring Gel – (optional)

Buttercream-style Frosting: 

1/2 Cup Vegan Butter, room temperature 

2 Cups Icing Sugar

1 tsp Flavoring Extract (flavor of your choice)

Gel Coloring (optional)

Method:

Prepare the Macaron Shells:

Preheat the oven to 235′

Sift together the chickpea flour & icing sugar. Set aside. 

In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the aquafaba on high. 

Add the cream of tartar when the aquafaba starts to get frothy. Once the aquafaba reaches soft peaks, add the vanilla extract.

When the meringue reaches stiff peaks, continue whisking on high, and slowly add the sugar, one teaspoon at a time, until stiff glossy peaks form and all the sugar is incorporated. 

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and sift the chickpea flour/icing sugar onto the meringue.

*Optional: add the food coloring gel to the batter now.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients together until combined and the batter resembles the consistency of pancake batter (the batter should flow off the spatula in a consistency that looks like ribbons when it’s lifted away from the bowl).

Using a piping bag, pipe the batter into 1″ – 1 1/2” circles, equally spaced out on a silicone lined baking sheet. 

Let the baking sheet sit at room temperature for 5 – 10 minutes before baking, and pop any air bubbles with a toothpick. 

Bake at 235’ for 30 minutes. Once the macarons are done baking, turn off the oven and leave the macaron shells in the oven with the oven door closed for 20 minutes. 

Remove the shells from the oven after 20 minutes, and let cool at room temperature. 

While the cookies cool, prepare the buttercream icing:

With a hand mixer, whip together the Vegan Butter, Icing Sugar, Flavor Extract, and Gel Coloring.

Use a piping bag to pipe the frosting onto half of the cookies, then sandwich them together with the remaining cookies.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!