Vegan Coffee Macarons (plus video)
Hello friends! Let’s make some Vegan Coffee Macarons today! They are filled with Coffee Ganache! Also, make sure to check out the video on this page showing you exactly how to make these vegan macarons!
For more Macaron information and troubleshooting, visit the Vegan Matcha Macaron post to learn how to figure out your oven and why having an oven thermometer is so important. Also read this comprehensive Vegan Macaron Troubleshooting. And read this Vegan Macaron Basics Guide.
Making Vegan Macarons is becoming a great passion of mine! This is my 8th vegan macaron recipe on the blog. I have over 50 macaron recipes on my blog, including vegan and regular macarons. And a big list of flavors yet to be accomplished! I never run out of ideas for macarons!
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Make sure you watch the video on how to make these Vegan Coffee Macarons, which is on this page, and can also be found on my youtube channel. You can also find more Vegan Macaron videos there on my channel.
It’s important to watch videos so you can get a visual on what each stage is supposed to look like: the meringue, the macaronage, the piping, etc. Videos can be really helpful, and I don’t mean just mine. When learning how to master macarons, make sure to read, watch, research every material you can get your hands on. There are a lot of resources out there that can help you learn how to make vegan macarons.
Tips on how to make Vegan Macarons
- Whip the aquafaba until it reaches stiff peaks. Make sure they are stiff, shooting straight up. It might take a long time. With my handmixer it takes about 10 minutes, sometimes more!
- Slowly add the granulated sugar in.
- Make sure the macarons are dry before baking them. If they have been resting for too long and still aren’t dry, then the batter could have been overmixed.
- Let macarons mature for 24-48 hours before serving. This might help solve some hollow macaron issues, and also will improve texture and flavor!
This are just some tips. I could write a book with so many tips on how to make these! But for now, I’ll cover them on my blog posts.
To see more tips, check out my other Vegan Macaron posts.
Here are some suggestions:
- Vegan Vanilla Macarons with sprinkles (French method)
- Vegan Pistachio Macarons (French method)
- Vegan Biscoff Macarons (French method)
- Vegan Avocado Macarons (Italian method)
- Lavender Lemon Vegan Macarons (Italian method)
- Vegan Salted Caramel Macarons (Italian method)
- Vegan Raspberry Macarons (Italian method)
I recommend using the French method, but that’s only because that’s the one I am able to obtain the best results with. Some people really prefer the Italian. Find out what works best for you. You may have to experiment with different methods, make some mistakes, have some failed batches, before finding your groove.
How to flavor Macaron shells
I recommend keeping the flavoring of macaron shells to a minimum. Focus on the filling to give your macarons the flavor you want. And that’s because the shells are very delicate, and if you add anything that’s oil based, or with a high content of water, it might destroy your shells.
Try to stay away from extracts, or anything that’s wet in order to give your shells flavor. Instead, use powders if possible.
Espresso powder, cocoa powder, matcha powder. Some people use raspberry powder or strawberry powder to flavor their macaron shells also, and I even heard of someone making their own lemon zest, letting it dry overnight, then grinding it and adding it to the shells. However, they reported finding that it barely added any flavor to the shells anyway. So I really recommend focusing on flavoring the filling of the macarons instead of the shells.
In this case, I chose to sprinkle the espresso powder on top of the shells instead of adding it to the batter. But you can add the espresso powder straight to the shells along with the dry ingredients.
I wanted my shells to be white, which is why I did it this way. If you add the espresso powder to the shells they will become brown, which is also cute, and that’s what I did with my regular (non-vegan) Coffee Macarons, but for the purpose of this Vegan Coffee Macarons creation, I wanted the white shells with the dark chocolate filling.
The Vegan Coffee Ganache is very easy to make, simply mix hot coconut cream, with chocolate chips, espresso powder, and some Kahlua (which is totally optional).
These are my favorite vegan chocolate chips!
These are the containers I use to store my macarons. They are specially great to freeze them.
These piping bags are also awesome! Very thick and sturdy!
I hope you enjoyed today’s recipe! You may also want to check out my Vegan Coffee Donuts, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pistachios, and my Vegan Caramel Cupcakes! Which would all go fantastic along with a cup of coffee and also with these Vegan Coffee Macarons for a delicious afternoon coffee spread!
Thanks for reading my blog and following along! I appreciate all the love and support!
If you have any questions about macarons, don’t hesitate to contact me! You can dm me on instagram, send an email, etc… It also helps if you have a picture if the question is about troubleshooting!
Anyway, have a beautiful day! Much love and peace!
Vegan Coffee Macarons
Ingredients
Vegan Macaron Shells
- 75 grams aquafaba (water from a chickpea can)
- 110 grams almond flour
- 110 grams powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 66 grams granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder**
Coffee Ganache
- 1/3 cup coconut cream 78 ml
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips 56.6 grams
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon Kahlua optional***
Instructions
Vegan Macaron Shells
- Gather all of your ingredients before starting to make macarons. Measure out all ingredients. Line two baking sheets with silicon mats. And fit a large piping bag with a round tip. You want everything ready to go when you need it.
- Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together. Set aside.
- Place the aquafaba in the bowl of a mixer with the cream of tartar.
- Whip for about 1 minute on low, or medium low if the low on your mixer is way too slow. (On my hand mixer I whip on low, but on my KitchenAid I whip on medium low)
- At this point, raise speed to medium, and whip for another 2 minutes.
- Raise speed to high and start to add granulated sugar, slowly, a bit at a time.
- Continue to whip until the aquafaba achieves stiff peaks.
- The whole whipping, from beginning to end, should last about 10 minutes, but sometimes it may last longer. Make sure you have obtained stiff peaks, shooting straight up.
- Add sifted dry ingredients to whipped aquafaba. Start folding with a spatula slowly.
- Add food coloring at this point, if using any. You can add the espresso powder at this point also, I sprinkled mine over the shells because I wanted my shells to remain white, and adding the espresso powder to the batter will make the shells brown.
- Fold forming a letter J with the spatula.
- Fold until the batter is flowing slightly. You don’t want the batter to be flowing continuously off the spatula. When it comes to vegan macarons, the folding time is very very brief. You are basically just looking to incorporate the dry ingredients with the meringue. Please watch the video to see what the consistency should look like. If you grab a spatula full of batter and hold it over the bowl, it should still be separating in chunks, and not flowing continuously on a ribbon. Do not get to the ribbons stage! If you get to the ribbon stage, the macaron feet will spread out in the oven.
- Transfer batter to the piping bag.
- Pipe 1 1/2” circles on a baking sheet lined with silicone mat. I usually use 2 sheets. This will depend on how big you pipe your macarons.
- Slam the trays against the counter to release air bubbles.
- Use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles.
- If sprinkling the espresso powder on top of the shells, make sure to do so them before the macaron shells dry.
- Let trays rest for 30-45 minutes until the shells are dry. Test this by touching a macaron gently with your finger. Depending on humidity levels and weather, it might take longer or less time for your macarons to dry.
- Pre-heat oven to 285F.
- Bake each tray separately.
- Bake for a total of 20 minutes, or until the macarons are easily coming off the silicon mat.
- Remember to rotate the tray every 5 minutes, to ensure even baking.
- Baking time might vary depending on your oven.
- Let macarons cool down before filling.
Coffee Ganache
- Heat up the coconut cream until hot. Pour over chocolate chips.
- Whisk until all chocolate chips have melted. If they aren’t melting, microwave it for just a few seconds and whisk again to ensure the ganache is smooth without any chocolate lumps in it.
- Add espresso powder and Kahlua, if using. Whisk until combined.
- Let mixture cool down. Chill it in the fridge for a few hours.
- Remove from the fridge about 40 minutes before you wish to fill the macarons. This will help the ganache have the perfect consistency.
To assemble
- Place Coffee Ganache in a piping bag. Pipe a dollop of filling on top of half of the shells. And then top with another shell.
- Wait for the macarons to mature for 24-48 hours before serving them. And let them come to room temperature for 10 minutes before eating, for optimal results and enjoyment.
Storage
- Store macarons in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Imagino fazer esses macarons com os cafés lá de Carmo de Minas, acho que ficariam muito gostosos!!!!!
nossa verdade! ai sim seria uma delicia!!!
OK friend, I am going to try these tomorrow. I will watch the video a few more times. You make it look so effortless. I’ve got to get this right is my mantra right now. I will take a video of my process and send it to you if I have any problems. Thank you.
One question. What is the weight in grams of your 1/3 cup, do you know? I fear using a cup for some reason.
So, you start with 150 grams of aquafaba and reduce it to about 70 grams. Hope this helps.
Thanks I’ll try.
Well, they did not turn out. Batter still too thick. Temperature too hot, feet developed and then spread. At this point, I thank you for returning my comments but I just bought a plant-based macaron book using potato protein and I’m just so done with aquafaba. Still love your pictures. I think the key is a lower temperature, that I already kinda knew and less almond flour. That worked for me with the regular ones and I think it would work better for me with this recipe. Thanks so much.
Hey Deborah, best of luck in your macaron baking journey! Hope it all works out for you! Lots of people love using potato protein! Thank you for reporting back!
Have a great day!
How long do they last in the fridge once made?
Up to 1 week and in the freezer for about 1-2 months
I have been missing the macarons for such a long time now, ever since I switched to plant based diet. Your post looks so scrumptious, and the recipe seems easy to follow. I will probably have to watch your video couple of times before I try your recipe out. Thanks for sharing this. Loads of love & stay safe this season. 🙏 💟
Thank you so much! Make sure to watch my new video on Vegan Strawberry Macarons, I am giving out lots of tips and detailed info on making vegan macarons! 🙂
Everything went perfectly until the last turn of the tray. Within 5 minutes my macarons went from looking perfect to spread out and completely ruined. Not usable. Definitely should not have made the ganache until they came out. I think the oven temp is too high.
Do you have an oven thermometer?
Mine did the same thing! I am stubborn, though, so I trimmed the puddly bits and will still be enjoying my birthday macarons!
Camila, do you think this is an oven temp issue or a batter consistency issue?
it can be both! Please read this post https://www.piesandtacos.comvegan-matcha-macarons/ I explain in detail about the oven temperature. And also, I am working on a troubleshooting post for vegan macarons to come out this week, which should be very helpful!
And about the batter consistency, it will absolutely cause your macarons to spread out the feet. Try mixing before it achieves the “figure 8 stage”, as soon as the batter becomes runny, and flowing, stop mixing, and pipe.
Happy birthday! 🎂
Hi, love to see your video..
is there any substitute for the aquafaba ? Or can it be water from any peas ?
Since. Its wuite hard for me to find chickpeas here..
Thankyou
most beans will work! I’ve seen made with all different kinds. Also potato protein will work if you have access to it.
Hey! Would it affect the recipe if I decide to double everything?
you can totally do it
Hi! I love your website! So I tried making these before and they looked great but they were VERY chewy, not soft like macarons are usually. I was wondering when you make them, is the texture exactly like non-vegan macarons? And do you have any idea why mine came out so chewy? I want to try again this week!!
the texture of vegan macs does not turn out like the texture of egg white macarons. they are indeed chewier. They aren’t as light as egg white macarons texture wise.
Maybe you over baked them a bit if they were super super chewy? regardless, do have in mind that they aren’t as soft as the non-vegan ones.
I just made these today and they look amazing. They are for friends at work that follow a vegan lifestyle so I haven’t actually eaten them. Your video on the proper macronage was very helpful 🙂
I would like to make these coconut free for a friend who has a severe coconut allergy and was thinking almond milk coffee creamer for the ganache instead of the coconut cream. What do you think? My shells are resting and about to go in the oven, I’m super curious how they turn out. This is my first time trying them vegan. I may have under mixed a few strokes as they didn’t settle into perfect dome shapes like regular ones I make.
Sorry if I am replying too late, I dont have internet for a little while. You could try with those alternatives but may have to play around with the ratios.
Thank you so much Camila for the wonderful recipe of vegan macrons. Being strict vegetarian never tasted macarons. Try to make everything at home. Once my daughter ask me to make macrons (about 4-5 months ago) l, honestly at that time I do not have any clue about macrons. Than came across to your channel on YouTube already subscribed at that time buy I do not have that guts to make it. Finally, I made coffee macrons today with your recipe and it came out good definitely not perfect but my family and liked that will definitely love to try more flavors from you blog. Thank you one again. Would love to share the pic but can’t make it here will try it on your website.
Thank you so much!! I appreciate it!!!!
I’m new to making macarons, and tried this recipe twice. Between all of your detailed tips, and info I found in the Facebook groups, I managed to troubleshoot my way to success very quickly! I followed your suggestion to split the macs between 4 pans. I tested my first 4 trays at different oven temps and determined that I was better off around 260F. My oven fluctuates between 250F-260F. At higher temps, it fluctuated as much as 15 degrees! I experienced macs exploding every which way and up through the top – all on a single tray – so it was clear there was an uneven temp issue.
The second batch, I tested all at 260F. I tried not rotating the tray, rotating once half way, rotating every 5 mins, and then rotating every 3 mins. I found that my macs were already becoming lopsided at 5 mins, so 3 mins was the sweet spot for me and yielded perfect feet. It’s clear that my oven is a hot mess, so I’m going to try baking on a flipped sheet pan, and also in different rack positions, to see if I can avoid rotating every 3 mins. I’ll probably also experiment with the no rest method because I live in a humid climate. I hope this info can help someone, and thanks again for all of your great info! 🙂