On Doing Without Eggs

I promise it's not that hard!

I was and am a chicken girl. We kept backyard chickens starting in the mid 90s, as part of our general OG Crunchy aesthetic, before the circle rounded itself and went MAGA conservative. To clarify, we were the libreal type — who grew our own food, kept our own chickens for their eggs, noped out of just a coupleeee chikhood vaccines (but only some!) and avoided some food dyes (but others were fine! My mom always made us pick out the blue M&Ms on the rare occasions we had them!) Anyway, I love a chicken. Despite being 10 years vegan now and hating the taste of eggs, I’d raise them again just as pets in a second, if I had the time and safe space to keep them (chickens are hard to keep alive!) They’re just the cutest, sweetest, smartest, and best.

Because even when I had a flock of 12 + chickens all named after First Ladies in the backyard, I’ve never liked the taste of eggs, this whole 2025 Egg Mania thing puzzles me a little. Like, I get it, eggs are traditionally thought of as essential for baking bread, cakes, pancakes, etc, but also…do you know how totally easy it is to do without? I’m gonna break it all down here.

For those who love scrambles, omelettes, and boiled eggs, I get it a little more…thought I can’t relate, as I was always forcing down bites of nubby yellow scrambled eggs in the morning and low-key gagging at Easter boiled eggs. I only found them edible when rolled in so much salt the whites looked to be coated in a crunchy layer of sand.

Anyway, in case you’ve been in a coma, egg prices are ridiculous right now! I laugh internally remembering how circa 1997-2003 when I sold eggs around our neighborhood for the then-pushing-it price of $2/dozen. The neighbors complained. And yet, they were getting a dozen eggs fresh from our backyard super-happy chickens, delivered right to their doorstep sometimes still warm from the coop by a gangly kid. Bet they’re missing that now!

If you’re looking for some painless, easy swaps to if not totally cut out, at least lessen your consumption of eggs in these crazy times — or for good, read on! I’ve mastered eggs, cake, cookies, pancakes, scrambles, and omelettes, egg-free. And not for nothing, but spend some time researching the egg industry. Yes, even the “cage free” industry. It’s heart wrenching and stomach-turning enough to turn you off to the idea altogether — at least it did for me.

All hail the flax egg

For cakes, cookies, and the like, flax egg is one of the common egg substitutes you’ll see in lots of recipes and that you’ll wanna get cozy with. Simply put, it’s usually one tablespoon of ground flax seed (a super healthy fat), mixed with three tablespoons of water and allowed to sit until the slurry turns into a gelatinous texture not unlike an egg. That 1:3 mixture = one egg, and you can pour it in with your wet ingredients in cakes, cookies, pancakes, etc.

I bought a bag of ground flax seed for I think $6.99 and it literally lasted me WELL over a year (kept in the freezer to keep fresh). It’s insane how much you can save baking with flax eggs versus real ones, and you’ll be none the wiser when you taste the finished product. Get into it!

Meet aquafaba

For a frothy meringue or adding airy height to treats without egg whites, you’re gonna need a can of chickpeas. Yep, the liquid that fills the can of chickpeas when strained off, can be whipped into what’s known as aquafaba.

It can be folded into baked goods, or beaten till stiff into a meringue. Or, used in cocktails that traditionally contain egg. I use it in my grandma’s cornbread recipe.

Try out a crazy cake

It’s nothing new for people to get priced out of certain foods, or simply not have access to them. During the great depression and then in WWII, eggs were either unaffordable or completely inaccessible. People already figured out how to do without! The “crazy cake” became popular during the Great Depression, which is a simple vanilla or chocolate cake made with oil and vinegar, instead of eggs or butter. It’s inherently vegan, totally moist and fluffy and delicious, and just as good today as it was then.

Here’s a basic crazy cake recipe.

I also made this 1-bowl coconut cake the other day and realized after the fact it’s also oil and vinegar based,so kinda the same thing! It came out delicious and I was asked how I did it without eggs, cause it rose so well. You don’t need ‘em!

Scramble Your Tofu

If you’re a morning scrambled egg girlie, but are being priced out of this habit, try a tofu scramble! You can make this using whatever style of tofu you have — soft, firm, extra firm, whatever, by crumbling or mashing it with a fork and tossing into a skillet with a bunch of spices like turmeric and paprika and chopped veggies. Here’s a basic recipe, but it’s more of a feel it out type thing.

For a little extra heft, I like to add cubed potatoes to the mix for a real skillet-style breakfast, and then dress up with lots of hot sauce and squares of avocado. Again, so high protein, so much cheaper, and totally delicious. You can also make it ahead of time and enjoy for a couple of days, and it’s a great way to use up random bits of veggies about to go bad in the fridge.

Make a chickpea omelette

No one’s pretending this recipe tastes identical to a traditionally omelette — if you’re after that, I suggest you try out the faux eggs made by the Just brand, which tastes so like egg my palette can’t handle it. Anyway, I love a chickpea omelette, which is made from a base of chickpea flour (sold in the baking aisle usually, or avail online), nutritional yeast, spices, and water.

Then, you ladle spoonfuls of this mix into a hot skillet, let bubble up, and fill with cheese, spinach, onions, whatever you’d make a traditional omelette with. Then, fold and flip! Not only is this pennies on the dollar cheaper, but also super high in protein. It’s easy to make the dry mix ahead of time and keep it a jar for quickie breakfasts or dinners.

My main tip, always, is to start with Googling, so if you’re looking for a good egg-less cake recipe, just google one — they’re all over the place! Once you start cooking and baking without eggs, you’ll realize just how doable in almost all cases it really is — and they’ll be no reason to ever go back. Enjoy all that money you’ll save!

Looking for specific recipes or have questions for me? Drop ‘em below!