Adorable little vegan peeps that you can make yourself! Regular marshmallow peeps that you buy at the store have gelatin in them and are therefore not vegan, but don't worry you can make your own!
My vegan peeps recipe uses agar agar instead of gelatin for a vegan marshmallow. You can make them into chicks, bunnies, or any shape that you like and dust them in the colored sugar of your choice.
To make peeps, I use my recipe for vegan marshmallows and make some adjustments to form it into the peep shape and coat it with vegan sanding sugar.
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🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Aquafaba - this is the liquid from a can of chickpeas or white beans. When you whip it, it gets fluffy similar to egg whites.
- Cream of Tartar - this is an acid that comes in a powder. You can find it in the spice aisle at any local supermarket.
- Vanilla Extract - clear vanilla will give you a whiter marshmallow, but regular brown vanilla works great too.
- Sugar - and vegan granulated sugar will work. Whiter sugar will give you whiter marshmallows.
- Water - to make a solution of agar agar, sugar, and water that will firm up your aquafaba.
- Agar Agar - this is a vegan gelatin that is derived from seaweed. It can be a little tricky to find and expensive at a natural foods store, but I order mine from Amazon or get it at my local Asian market. Use the powdered version, not the flakes!
- Colored Sugar - for dusting the marshmallows. (You can easily make your own with granulated sugar and food coloring).
- Chocolate Chips - just about a tablespoon to melt and use to dot eyes onto your peeps.
🔪 Helpful tools
- Mixer - you can use a hand mixer, but a stand mixer is a lot easier.
- Saucepan - to cook the water, agar agar, and sugar solution.
- Rubber Spatula - for scraping out the agar agar syrup.
- Piping Bag - for piping out the marshmallow mixture into peep shapes.
- Large Round Piping Tip - to fit on the end of your piping bag.
- Cookie Sheet - for spreading out the colored sugar and piping the peep onto.
🥄 How to make vegan peeps
Step 1 - Fill the bottom of a small cookie sheet or tray with colored sugar and set it aside. (See instructions below on how to make your own).
Step 2 - Have a piping bag ready with a large round tip assembled and ready to go!
Step 3 - Put the aquafaba in a mixing bowl with the cream of tartar and mix on high for 6 minutes until very fluffy.
Step 4 - Add some vanilla extract and whip for 3 more minutes until it is white again and it forms very stiff peaks.
Step 5 - In a small saucepan, combine water and agar agar and bring to a boil.
Step 6 - Boil the water and agar agar for 3 minutes stirring frequently.
Step 7 - Add sugar and boil for another 3 minutes stirring constantly over medium-low heat. (Be careful not to cook it too hot or you will burn or caramelize the sugar).
Step 8 - Turn off the heat and add the hot sugar mixture to the beaten aquafaba.
Step 9 - Add this mixture slowly while beating aquafaba with a mixer set to low. This will turn the fluffy white mixture a little shiny.
Step 10 - Quickly transfer it to a piping bag with a large round tip.
Step 11 - Pipe out your peeps directly onto the sanding sugar. (Do this as fast as possible since the marshmallow mixture will set once it cools.)
Step 12 - Sprinkle the tops and sides of your peeps with colored sugar.
Step 13 - Melt chocolate chips in a very small bowl in the microwave for 1 minute and use a toothpick to stir the chocolate and dot eyes onto your peeps.
Step 14 - You can eat them immediately or let them sit out in the air overnight to dry out a little more. (After 24 hours, store in the fridge).
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Whip the aquafaba for a full 9 minutes before adding the agar agar syrup.
- Stir the agar agar mixtures constantly over medium-low heat, just hot enough to keep it slowly bubbling.
- Make sure to cook the agar agar for a total of 6 minutes to make sure it's completely dissolved and melted.
- Be sure to get all of the agar agar syrup into the aquafaba! Use a rubber spatula to scrape out the bottom of the saucepan to get it all.
- Have your piping bag ready to go before adding the agar agar syrup to the aquafaba! It cools quickly and you have to work fast!
- If it starts to harden in the mixing bowl, turn on your mixer for about 10 seconds to get it smooth again.
🗒️ Notes
- Most sanding sugar aka colored sugar that you find at regular grocery stores has a confectioner's glaze in it. Confectioner's glaze is made from crushed-up insects and is therefore not vegan. You can read more about colored sugars and sprinkles in this article from PETA.
- Piping your peeps into the right shape was the hardest part of this recipe for me. (I'm not good at piping in general and it took some practice). You may find this Youtube video helpful. She makes traditional peeps and not vegan ones, so skip ahead to 3:05 to where she pipes them out. The vegan version is not quite as sticky and stringy as hers, but watching the piping process will help.
- If you don't want to pipe your peeps - You can use my regular recipe for vegan marshmallows and use colored sugar instead of powdered sugar. After they cool, use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes that you want and dust them again in colored sugar.
❔How to make vegan sanding sugar?
It is easy to make your own colored sugar with just granulated sugar and natural food coloring.
Step 1 - Simply place 1 cup of sugar into a food processor and drop in about 6-8 drops of liquid coloring into the sugar.
Step 2 - Pulse a few times until the color appears to be even. Then pour the sugar through a wire mesh strainer and sift out any clumps of food dye.
Step 3 - Sift the sugar onto a cookie sheet and let it dry out a little.
Step 4 - Use sanding sugar to decorate any of your vegan desserts or store them in airtight containers for later.
✨ More recipes using aquafaba
- Vegan Whipped Cream
- Aquafaba Icecream
- Aquafaba Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Whipped Cream Frosting
- Vegan Egg Wash Substitute
- Egg-Free Lemon Meringue Pie
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan peeps recipe
Vegan Peeps
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 tbsp vanilla
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 tbps agar agar powder (not flakes)
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup colored sugar (1 cup sugar and a few drops of food coloring)
- 1 tsp chocolate chips (any vegan variety)
Instructions
Get your sugar and piping bag ready
- Fill the bottom of a small cookie sheet or tray with colored sugar and set aside.
- Have a piping bag ready with a large round tip assembled and ready to go!
Make your fluffy aquafaba
- Put the aquafaba in a mixing bowl with the cream of tartar and mix on high for 6 minutes until very fluffy.
- Add some vanilla extract and whip for 3 more minutes until it is white again and it forms very stiff peaks. In a small saucepan, combine water and agar agar and bring to a boil.
Make your agar agar syrup
- Boil the water and agar agar for 3 minutes stirring frequently.
- Add sugar and boil for another 3 minutes stirring constantly over medium-low heat. (Be careful not to cook it too hot or you will burn or caramelize the sugar).
Mix everything together
- Turn off the heat and add the hot sugar mixture into the beaten aquafaba.
- Add this mixture slowly while beating aquafaba with a mixer set to low for about 30 seconds. This will turn the fluffy white mixture a little shiny.
Piping your peeps
- Quickly transfer mixture to a piping bag with a large round tip.
- Pipe out your peeps directly onto the colored sugar. (Do this as fast as possible since the marshmallow will set once it cools).
- Sprinkle the tops and sides of your peeps with colored sugar.
- Melt chocolate chips in a very small bowl in the microwave for 1 minute and use a toothpick to stir the chocolate and dot eyes onto your peeps.
- You can eat them immediately or let them sit out in the air overnight to dry out a little more. (After 24 hours, store in the fridge).
Notes
- Whip the aquafaba for a full 9 minutes before adding the agar agar syrup.
- Stir the agar agar mixtures constantly over medium-low heat, just hot enough to keep it slowly bubbling.
- Cook the agar agar for a total of 6 minutes to make sure it's completely dissolved and melted.
- Be sure to get all of the agar agar syrup into the aquafaba! Use a rubber spatula to scrape out the bottom of the saucepan to get it all.
- Have your piping bag ready to go before adding the agar agar syrup to the aquafaba! It cools quickly and you have to work fast!
- If it starts to harden in the mixing bowl, turn on your mixer for about 10 seconds to get it smooth again.
- If you don't want to pipe the peeps, you can follow the directions for my vegan marshmallows and cut them out with cookie cutters.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
I have made these many times now and they turn out great every time! Not only that but they are so fun to make and you can use the extra marshmallow for chocolate covered marshmallow eggs or just general marshmallows! 10 out of 10 recommend! You've made my vegan Easter better too!
I'm so happy that this recipe helped you have a happy Easter! 🙂
Oh my goodness!! You made our Easter! These are so easy and so delicious! They taste spot on the real deal only slight better even. I did find that I had to let the mixture sit a bit before it was proper piping consistency to hold their chick shape. My first ones were just puddles. Delicious puddles, but puddles. lol (Just a little tip for those trying it 🙂 ) This is going to be my go-to from now on. My kids saw them and shouted "BEST EASTER EVER!" Thank you!
Aww! Thank you, It made my day to read this! Happy Easter! 🙂
These are beyond adorable...you are so good at making these look great!
Thanks so much Sandi! They are really fun to make! 🙂
OH my goodness! How awesome are these! I would have never thought to make my own peeps. I love them and now don't have to miss out. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh, these are adorable! You know, my husband has always hated peeps, but I'm betting he would love these.
These are SO cute! It's a great way to use aquafaba that isn't just whipped cream!
Thanks so much Erica! 🙂
These are darn adorable! I don't think there are any commercial vegan peeps, are there? Yours look way cuter, too!
Aww, thanks so much Dreena! 🙂
These would be so fun to make with my kids and probably taste better than actual peeps!
Thanks! I think that they do taste better. Definitely not as stale tasting. 🙂