Vegan Vanilla Macarons with Sprinkles (plus video)
Hello my baker friends! Let’s bake some more vegan macarons today! Today’s flavor is Vegan Vanilla Macarons with sprinkles, and multi-color buttercream filling. This post also includes a video on how to make the macarons!
Let’s start out by saying how much in love I am with these beautiful Vegan Vanilla Macarons! Cause I am deeply in love with them. With their color, with the sprinkles on top, with everything!
If you have been following the blog, you know how much I love baking Vegan Desserts. And also, how lately I have been getting into Vegan Macarons.
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My vegan macaron baking journey has been evolving, and I feel the progress with each batch.
I’ve had my rough patch with the vegan macarons, as well as with the regular ones. And any macaron baker will tell you they had their own share of failures when it comes to mastering these cookies.
I hope my videos on Youtube and on my other blog posts, as well as my tips, can help you on your own macaron baking journey.
Tips on how to make Vegan Macarons
So, on this Vegan Vanilla Macarons post, I want to share with you some tips on how to make Vegan Macarons that I have learned so far.
Meringue
Make sure to whip the aquafaba to stiff peaks. It’s very important that the peaks are shooting straight up, not soft or bending down.
Please read this Vegan Macaron Basics Guide and also this Vegan Macaron Troubleshooting Guide for more information that will be very helpful to you when making vegan macarons.
If you don’t know what to do with so many chickpeas leftover from using all the brine, check out my Chickpea Tacos, or this Chickpea Salad.
What temperature to bake Vegan Macarons
So this is a huge one guys! When I started making vegan macarons, I was using the Italian method. And that required a very low oven temperature. My macarons had very tiny feet and were often lopsided. My results were not consistent, it was a hit or miss. Now, looking back, I believe the low temperature might have been a big culprit.
Even when I started using the French Method, with my Biscoff Macarons, I was still using a low temperature (215 F). And it worked fine for a couple of batches. But then, every batch after had: lopsided shells all over the place!
The trick to fixing that problem is to use a higher temperature. I’ve used 310 Fahrenheit for a while, but that was causing the feet of my macaron to explode. So now I am using 285ºF.
Please read this Vegan Matcha Macaron post to understand your oven better, with tips on how to figure out the best temperature for your oven, and why it’s so important to have an oven thermometer.
So, if you are asking yourself: why are my macarons coming out lopsided? The answer might lie in your oven temperature. Your temperature might be too low. If your macarons have tiny feet, and they are also lopsided, it’s most likely a low temperature issue.
If your macarons have huge feet, exploding to the side, and they are lopsided, the temperature might be too high, which is why so important to have an oven thermometer.
Huge exploding feet may also be due to over mixing the batter, as you can see on the Vegan Macaron Troubleshooting Guide.
Whip that aquafaba!
When should I stop whipping the aquafaba? Guys, it’s *almost* impossible to overwhip the aquafaba. So I say, keep whipping it until the peaks are really stiff! Underwhipping the aquafaba will cause for macarons that will not hold their shape at all.
I start whipping the aquafaba on low for about 1 minute with the cream of tartar (you can use vinegar if you can’t find cream of tartar).
After about 1 minute, once the aquafaba is starting to get white and foamy, raise the speed to medium. Whip on medium for another 2 minutes.
Once the aquafaba is white, and the whisk is leaving streak marks in the meringue, start adding the granulated sugar gradually, a little bit at a time, as you raise the speed to high.
Keep whipping on high for another 5-8 minutes. I usually whip for a total of 10 minutes from beginning to end. The peaks should be straight up, the meringue should be glossy.
So these are my tips for baking Vegan Macarons for today!
If you would like to know where to buy Vegan Sprinkles, this is a pretty cool guide with lots of information on brands and where to find vegan sprinkles.
Here are some suggestions of vegan sprinkles for you:
Here are some more Vegan Macarons ideas for you:
(If you want to keep using the French method I cover in this recipe -which I highly recommend- you can get the ideas for the fillings from these other posts too)
- Vegan Coffee Macarons
- Vegan Blueberry Lemon Macarons
- Vegan Chocolate Macarons
- Vegan Strawberry Macarons
- Vegan Matcha Macarons
- Vegan Biscoff Macarons
- Vegan Pistachio Macarons
I hope you enjoyed these Vegan Vanilla Macarons and my tips on how to make vegan macarons. If you give them a try tag me on instagram, and leave a review below!
These are some of the products I use to make macarons:
This is the container I use to store the macarons.
These are the piping bags I use.
This is the baking mat I use.
Vegan Vanilla Macarons with Sprinkles
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
Vegan Vanilla Buttercream
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter 1 oz, 28 grams
- 2 tablespoons shortening 1 oz, 28 grams**
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar sifted (6.61 oz, 187.5 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Vegan Macaron Shells
- Gather all of the 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 large round tip, I use a 0.5" diameter. You want everything ready to go when you need it.
- Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together. Set aside.
- Place the aquafaba and cream of tartar in the bowl of a mixer.
- Start whipping on low speed for about 2 minutes, until it starts to get white and thick.
- At this point, raise speed to high, 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. It can last more or less time depending on what mixer you are using, and what speed.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to whipped aquafaba. Start folding with a spatula slowly.
- Add food coloring at this point, if using any.
- 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 the batter to the piping bag.
- Pipe 1 1/2” circles on a baking sheet lined with silicon mat. I usually use 2 sheets. This will depend on how big you pipe your macarons.
- Bang the trays against the counter to release air bubbles.
- Use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles.
- If using sprinkles, make sure to sprinkle them before the macaron shells dry. Sprinkle them on half of the sprinkles, as you will want the other half to be used as the bottom of the macaron sandwich.
- Let the 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 285ºF.
- Bake one tray at a time.
- 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.
Vegan Vanilla Buttercream
- Place the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer.
- Whip on medium for about 1 minute, until fluffy and combined.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined. Raise speed and cream for another minute.
- Add vanilla.
- If you notice the buttercream is too stiff or dry, add a bit of non-dairy milk, or water, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- If the buttercream is too runny, maybe the butter is too hot. If the butter is room temperature, then maybe you need to add more powdered sugar to the buttercream.
- I divided my buttercream into 4 bowls and colored 3 of the bowls with blue, purple, and pink food coloring.
- Then, I laid a piece of plastic on the counter, and made one strip of each different color buttercream lengthwise on the plastic. Rolled the plastic onto a log, and inserted it in a piping bag fitted with my tip of choice.
To assemble
- Pipe a dollop of buttercream on each bottom shell. Top with a shell with sprinkles.
- Make sure to let macarons mature in the fridge for 24-48 hours before serving. They will have a much better consistency and flavor.
- Let macarons sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before enjoying.
To store
- Keep the macarons in the fridge for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
The whole recipe was going so well but mine really sank and spread in the oven I don’t know how to avoid that 🙁
your oven is too hot, or the batter is over mixed, or the meringue wasnt stiff enough.
I will reduce the temperature to see if that helps my next batch x
If I plan to freeze after filling, do I need to mature in the fridge first or can they can straight into the freezer?
straight into the freezer 🙂
Hey! I tried this recipe today and I don’t think it’s working out. Everything was perfect I even made the figure J and 8. But it’s just not drying. I live in a humid city and its 28 degrees.
It’s been 4 hours and it’s still not dried.
Please reply!
Was the meringue at stiff peaks?
Maybe the batter was over mixed.
I find that on humid days I have to stop folding the batter before it reaches the figure 8, or the macarons will be over mixed.
Also, do you have ac, or a dehumidifier, or a fan you place the macarons under?
Hi!
Thank you so much for your recipe. I’m a new vegan and I’m trying out a bunch of new recipes. I followed this recipe what I think was to the tee, however, upon baking, all of the macarons began flattening out. When I went to check every 5 minutes and rotate them, I saw them slowly growing in size and fusing together. I didn’t know what to do and just decided to leave it and make one massive macaron because, in my opinion, there really wasn’t any fixing it. I was wondering if you could tell me what I did wrong?
Thank you again!
probably over mixed batter, or oven temperature.
make sure you have an oven thermometer in place, play around with the temperatures to find out what works best for your oven
mix the batter less.
Hi, all I have is salted canned chikpeas will that work or it has to be without salt?
I’ve done with salted before, it was ok.
This recipe was easy to follow & I made pretty looking macarons! Unfortunately, I over mixed my batter and therefore didn’t end up with chewy cookies, but that 100% on me. I’m looking forward to making this recipe again! I wanted to attach a picture, but I can’t do that here and I don’t have IG, but they really do look perfect!
Awe I also wish there was a way for attaching pics here!!! Thank you so much Sonali!
Hi! I tried to make these, and they turned out hollow, no feet and looking like they had craquelin all over. It seems to have expanded up, not getting any feet. Can you tell me why? One batch, I did at 310, and another 285, and they turned out identical. Thanks! Something to not is that my meringue had slightly droopy peaks
sounds like under whipped meringue.
I was also wondering, is that the reason my macarons didn’t for feet?
maybe. Could be many reasons, oven temperature, macaronage, etc. Do you have a pic I can see them? if you do email to me or dm on instagram. my email is “camila @ pies and tacos. com” (without the spaces)
*note
As a veteran macaron baker, it wasn’t too hard for me to play around with the recipe to get what I wanted. From my experimentation, I found the dry ingredients in the above recipe to be slightly too high. I suggest the following, for every 60g of aquafaba, use 80g of almond flour and powdered sugar. My macarons came picture perfect, just the like those above when I tried it. When adding aquafaba didn’t word, I resorted to reducing the amount of dry ingredients. I hope this helps anyone with pending issues. What do you think about this Camila? In addition, for anyone who’s getting explosive macarons: don’t forget to deflate well, so really go through the macronage (just like in Camila’s youtube video) to get the right consistency and start out at maybe around 275 celcius. Thank you for the start up recipe Camila! Really helped me develop a good recipe for a vegan friend’s little sister who’s loves macarons but does not eat eggs.
Thank you so much that’s great! Yes I believe it could help to reduce the amount of dry ingredients! Thank you so much for this note. If you don’t mind I will add it to my notes on the recipe above.
Hey. I agreed with comment below that the batter was sticky. I did extra aquafaba and was adding one teaspoon at the time. I used two different tray whit to different baking sheet. The first tray with parchment paper burned… I did rotate tray every 5 minutes. And I was checking if they’re ready. The top was soft. The second tray was with silicon backing sheet. Same time. They didn’t burn off but they cracked and the bottoms looks super shiny… I don’t understand what I did wrong 🙁
Hi! I plan on trying these this weekend and I’m a beginner at macarons. I know oven temperature is important. Would you recommend starting with the lower temp at 285 rather than 310? I saw some comments of failed attempts due to the oven being too hot but not the other way around.
yes I do recommend starting with 285.
First attempt at vegan meringues – taste great but oven evidently runs high as macarons sadly resemble tiny fried eggs 😞 with little hollow shells atop big splurging feet. Will try again at lower oven temp next time: converted 310F to 154C as I’m in the UK so clearly was too heavy handed with the temperature dial. Great recipe though – determined to persevere once the supermarkets have confectioners sugar back on the shelves.
So with my old oven I used to bake at 310, with my new oven I have to bake at 285, so it is a matter of adjusting the oven temp, like you said. Thank you so much for your feedback, Mary! I appreciate it! 🙂
thank you for the reply but this is not my first batch of macaroons.
saying tht I have read your blog completely before starting and yet the wet to dry ingredients were off.
I even started by reducing the aquafaba your way and still didn’t work.the 1/3 cup aquafaba does not yield/whip up the amount of meringue shown in the video.
Sorry to say but the measurements are off.. that is just way too much dry ingredients to include to the meringue.. it does not work.. just wasted a bunch of ingredients..
The measurements are correct, because I make this recipe constantly. Please read the notes of the recipe where it says if the batter is too thick, to add more aquafaba when mixing. a lot comes into play when making macarons, the brands you are using, how much you’ve whipped the aquafaba, how thick your almond flour is, this all comes into play. And if you are a beginner at this, you will probably have to bake macarons lots of times before you actually master them. It takes a lot of practice.
I am so sad, I wish I could post a photo. I read many other comments here but didn’t see anyone else with the same problem as me. My batter was great and piped out wonderfully onto my sheet trays. I let them form a nice solid exterior to the point where it was dry and again, they still looked great. From there, I baked them and rotated after 5 minutes. They were amazing and started forming their feet! When I went to do the second rotation at the 10 minute mark, ALL of the macarons had deflated and the batter inside of them had pooled out of the side of the cookies. Now I basically have a bunch of top shells with batter connecting all of the cookies. The only thing that seemed to mess up my cookies was the rotation, not sure what happened at all!!! So sad right now 😭😭
That means high oven temperature. Do you have an oven thermometer? I’d recommend to definitely have an oven thermometer. Also, reduce the temperature of your oven, I’ve been baking mine at 285F, and sometimes I use a double tray, because my new oven is different than my previous one, and when baking macarons, you have to figure out the oven and how to make it work for your batches. Best of luck. If you’d like, you can send me pics on instagram dm or on my email camila (at) piesandtacos . com.
Hello how are you. I tried this recipe today but my peaks were not as hard as yours, at the end my final batch was quite runny and in the oven they expand and became whole inside, it was a disaster. What can I do to make the aquafada more stiff?. I did all the measurements.
You just have to keep whipping for longer. Depending on your mixer it might take even more than 10 minutes.
Hey there! Thank you for posting a video along with your recipe! My first attempt went not so well, but I’ll be incorporating your tips and adjust my technique accordingly. Thank you for your guidance and advice. I’ll be posting my successful batch soon;)!!!
Send me an email or dm on instagram with any pics if you would like troubleshooting help with the macarons!
Good luck!