Choose an aquafaba mocktail foam method and compare alternatives

Aquafaba is the cooking liquid from chickpeas. In a mocktail it does the job an egg white does in a classic sour: shaken hard, it traps air and settles into a soft, foamy cap on the drink. A clear, documented starting point is RICARDO's basil and matcha sour mocktail. Its aquafaba option replaces one egg white with 30 ml (about 1 oz) of liquid from canned chickpeas, shaken for one minute without ice and then for one minute with ice.

The canned-aquafaba basil sour method

RICARDO's recipe makes one drink. The base version is written with an egg white. The aquafaba version swaps in chickpea liquid and keeps everything else the same, so you can choose your foamer without rebuilding the drink.

• 8 basil leaves
• 1 green cardamom pod
• 15 ml cane syrup
• 45 ml non-alcoholic gin
• 22.5 ml lemon juice
• 30 ml liquid from canned chickpeas (or 1 egg white in the original version)
• Ice
• Matcha powder, for dusting

• 1. Muddle the basil, cardamom and cane syrup in a shaker.
• 2. Add the non-alcoholic gin, lemon juice and aquafaba.
• 3. Shake vigorously for 1 minute without ice. Bartenders call this a dry shake, and it builds foam before any dilution happens.
• 4. Add ice and shake vigorously for another minute.
• 5. Pour through a fine sieve into a very cold glass.
• 6. Dust the foam with matcha and serve immediately.

Scaling for two guests: an illustrative calculation

As an example, two individually shaken servings of the aquafaba version need 60 ml aquafaba, 90 ml non-alcoholic gin, 45 ml lemon juice, 30 ml cane syrup, 16 basil leaves and 2 cardamom pods, plus ice and matcha. Shake each drink separately. The recipe's foam depends on a full minute of vigorous shaking per drink.

How to make aquafaba from dried chickpeas

If you would rather not use a can, Cocktails & Bars outlines a homemade method that starts with 1 cup of dried chickpeas and 3 cups of water.

• 1. Soak the chickpeas overnight, or for about 12 hours.
• 2. Discard the soaking water.
• 3. Simmer the chickpeas in fresh water for about 40 minutes, or longer, until very tender.
• 4. Reserve the cooking liquid. If it seems thin, reduce it further.

Homemade aquafaba does not necessarily behave like the canned kind. In North Shore Distillery's foam trials, it performed differently from canned aquafaba. RICARDO's 30 ml quantity was written for canned-chickpea liquid, so treat it as a starting point if you switch to a homemade batch.

Aquafaba vs. egg white vs. bottled foamer

Except for RICARDO's recipe, all of these comparison trials used alcoholic drinks. North Shore's work was done with spirits, and Stir and Strain tested a sloe gin fizz. Their findings describe how each foamer behaved in those drinks and do not rank the options for mocktails.

Each option has a clear use case:
• Canned aquafaba is the easiest choice for an egg-free, alcohol-free sour, because it has a documented mocktail recipe behind it.
• Egg white is the traditional option, but it brings handling questions, and its results can vary by brand.
• A bottled foamer can work, but judge it only by its own label. Dosing affects color, flavor and foam.

How much aquafaba replaces one egg white?

There is no single fixed conversion. RICARDO uses 30 ml of canned-chickpea liquid in place of one egg white in its basil sour. Monin suggests swapping aquafaba for egg white in equal volume. Stir and Strain compared 1 oz of aquafaba with one egg white in matched fizzes, and both drinks foamed. For a single-serving sour, 30 ml (about 1 oz) is a well-supported place to start. Adjust from there for your drink.

Can you taste aquafaba in a drink?

Sometimes. North Shore found some chickpea character in drinks foamed with canned aquafaba. Stir and Strain's tasting notes on its aquafaba fizz differed from North Shore's, so how much the flavor comes through depends on the drink and the batch of aquafaba. In RICARDO's mocktail, basil, cardamom, lemon and a matcha dusting all compete with the foamer for attention.

Shaking variations

All of these sources build foam before full dilution, but the sequence differs:
• RICARDO: 1 minute without ice, then 1 minute with ice.
• Monin: shake without ice first, then with ice.
• Stir and Strain: start with a single ice cube, then add more ice and shake for about 25 seconds.
If your foam comes out thin, a longer or harder dry shake is the step to look at first.

Check labels before you buy

For aquafaba, a can of chickpeas is the most direct source, since RICARDO's recipe calls for exactly that. RICARDO also mentions an emulsifier alternative but names no specific product, and it notes that such products may contain alcohol. That makes the label the deciding document for any bottled foamer.

• Before buying, note these details from each label:
• The exact recipe you are following, plus the foamer and its quantity
• The full ingredient list of the non-alcoholic gin, chickpeas and any bottled foamer
• The alcohol declaration on the gin and foamer, where one is given
• Egg or chickpea ingredients, as labeled, for guests with allergies or dietary limits
• Storage and handling instructions on each package
• The shaking sequence and the serve-immediately timing from your chosen recipe