Plant-based, oil-free Mung Bean “Eggs” that can be enjoyed on their own, as an omelet, in a breakfast burrito, in an egg sandwich, and more! Interested? …keep reading.
Mung Beans
Mung beans, sometimes referred to as Mung (or Moong) Dal, are categorized as a “pulse” (surprisingly they don’t fall under the lentil or bean categories). Pulses are typically available in three forms: the whole unprocessed pulse, a split pulse with the skin on, and a split pulse with the skin off. “Dal” means a split version of a pulse, which is why split mung beans are sometimes called mung dal.
The outside of the mung bean is green and the inside is yellow. Therefore, if you buy them in their whole form, they are green. If you buy them split with their skin off, they’re yellow.
For this recipe, we used mung beans that are split with their skin off, which is why they are yellow. These are the mung beans I order from Amazon (*Affiliate link) — don’t you love how cheap pulses are?? Plant protein for the win!
Ingredients
Black salt is the key to making these mung bean “eggs” taste like real eggs. If you’ve never used black salt before, you probably don’t have it in your kitchen. No worries.. you can order it HERE. (*Affiliate link) It’s cheap and should last you a long time because it’s potent so you only need a small amount (1/4 tsp for this recipe). The black salt has a distinct “eggy” smell and flavor. That can be a good or a bad thing… If you’ve been plant-based for awhile, you probably haven’t had eggs for so long that they aren’t appetizing — If that’s you, just omit the black salt when you make this recipe. On the other hand, if you’re newly plant-based and crave eggs, black salt is a great way to get the egg flavor without the saturated fat and cholesterol from actual eggs.
Nutritional yeast has a cheesy/nutty flavor, which makes these eggs a bit more savory. It also contains Vitamin B12 and is a cheap and tasty way to give your food some added nutrition!
Turmeric gives these eggs their eggy color, but its other contributions are much more valuable. It actually has the potential to prevent cancer growth! Curcumin, the yellow pigment in turmeric, is the anti-cancer component that has demonstrated health benefits in thousands of studies. Research has shown that curcumin can prevent DNA damage that leads to cancer growth as well as promote cancer cell death.
The baking powder in this recipe is what makes the eggs nice and fluffy. Make sure not to add the baking powder until you’re ready to cook the eggs, as it will start reacting when it gets wet.
Use any non-dairy milk you like (I used the cashew milk from JOI *Affiliate) for this recipe, just make sure it’s unflavored. Flavored milks are packed with sugar. Plus, sweet vanilla eggs would probably be pretty weird…
How To Cook Mung Bean Eggs
A nonstick skillet is a must for this recipe. This allows you to forgo oil to prevent sticking (check out our Why No Oil? post). Heat the skillet to medium heat before pouring the batter in.
I recommend using a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop and pour the egg batter onto the skillet. That will be the size of about one real egg and will fit nicely on a slice of bread if you are wanting to make an egg sandwich. The batter can be dividing into half or thirds to make omelets. I like to sprinkle pepper on the egg after I pour it into the skillet.
After pouring the batter into the hot skillet, let cook for a couple minutes. Bubbles will start to form on the surface of the eggs and you will see the edges start to cook (shown below). When that happens, it’s time to flip.
How to Enjoy Mung Bean Eggs
You can use this recipe for just about whatever breakfast dish you would use eggs for. You can eat them as is, throw some veggies in the mix to make an omelet, put it inside a breakfast burrito, make an egg sandwich, I’ve even used the batter for french toast.
I don’t recommend making scrambled eggs with the batter. In our experience, even with the best nonstick skillet, it’s a sticky mess. Instead, if you’re using these to put inside something like a breakfast burrito, cook them like usually and then cut them up and put them in the burrito.
Plant-Based Mung Bean "Eggs"
Equipment
- Nonstick Skillet
- food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Split Mung Beans
- 1/4 tsp Black Salt
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp Ground Turmeric
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 cup unflavored non-dairy milk any kind - we use JOI
Instructions
- Place split mung beans in a bowl and fill with water. Make sure the beans are completely immersed. Let soak overnight or for at least 8 hours. The mung beans will soak up some of the water. After soaking, strain the water out.
- Place the split mung beans, along with all the other ingredients, in a food processor and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of the mung bean egg batter on the heated skillet (this makes 1 egg). Sprinkle some pepper on top if you like. Let it cook for a few minutes, until the bottom is cooked, and then flip and cook for another few minutes. Continue until all the batter is gone.
Notes
Nutrition
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Is the batter able to be made and then kept in the fridge for a few days?
Yes, it is! You may have to add some water before using though — it does thicken a bit with time.
Can I make eggs up and freeze for later?
I’ve never tried cooking the eggs and then freezing, although I would imagine they would be fine! I have froze the egg batter and after thawing they cooked the same.
Thank you so much for this oil free version! It is delicious…no oil needed!! Sharing this recipe with friends and family who are trying to kick their addiction to high fat, artery clogging food.