Rookie Mama: Are eggs all they’re cracked up to be? Substitutions keep your budget sunny-side up

By Michelle Cote
The Rookie Mama

There’s much to be said about eggs and bird flu at the moment; an Avian atrocity that’s put the nation on eggshells as we navigate an industry once considered unflappable.

The severe impact of rising egg costs on just about everyone is nothing to squawk at – and it doesn’t look to be resolved any time soon.

Between runny breakfast sandwiches and floury baked goods and four growing boys, my family consumes 18-36 eggs weekly on average. Well, ‘consumed’; past tense.

We’re adapting to ways around this, migrating to egg substitutions, because we’ve really no other choice for now.

Fortunately, I’ve recently learned great news about these swap-portunities – As it turns out, there are many alternatives. But as with any cooking or baking experiments, results may vary – sometimes laughably so.

My family and I kicked off the year with a resolution to start celebrating each other’s half birthdays.

We figured that there’s a lot going on in the world; let’s grow more veggies and eat more cake.

No sooner had we made this decision that we realized cakes – even the simplest of Betty Crocker box varieties – require eggs.

Oof.

Or, as the French word for ‘egg’ goes: ‘Oeuf.’

Whereas I’d originally thought avoiding eggs was easily doable by skipping our favorite over-easy variety fried up each week, I hadn’t quite wrapped my head around just how many eggs I use for baking weekly.

I dug out my well-loved, heavily creased Substitution Bible, to which I often turn in a frenzy when in a pinch to substitute a pinch of whatever a recipe calls for and I just don’t have.

A quick web search brought up easy solutions as well.

As it turns out, there are several affordable alternatives for eggs to keep your budget on the sunny side. To name a few:

• Unsweetened applesauce or mashed bananas – Use for waffles, quick breads, muffins where moisture is key. Swap ¼ cup for each egg.

• Ground flax or chia seed – Use for baked goods; results may be denser. Measure 1 tbsp of either one in a cup, add 3 tbsp water, wait five minutes prior to use.

• Vinegar and baking soda – Use for baking items in which the outcome needs to be light and fluffy. Substitute 1 tsp baking soda mixed with 1 tbsp vinegar.

• Plain yogurt or buttermilk – Use for cakes, muffins, quick breads. The acidity will add lift and moisture. Substitute ¼ cup for each egg.

• Carbonated water and beer – The carbonation will add moisture and make for a fluffy rise. Substitute ¼ cup of either one.

• Gelatin – Measure 1 tbsp mixed with 3 tbsp cold water to replace 1 egg.

• Nut butter – This substitution brings more flavor and works well in a quick bread where nuts are used. Substitute 3 tbsp of any nut butter to replace 1 egg.

• Soy lecithin – Use in place of recipes that call for egg yolks. Use 1 tbsp to replace 1 egg yolk.

• Aquafaba – Use in place of whipped egg whites, in recipes such as meringues and macaroons. The chemical bonds create a scaffold that keeps shape when baked. Use 3 tbsp for each egg or egg white.

• Liquid commercial egg substitute – Use for savory dishes, particularly for quiches, omelets, frittatas. Use ¼ cup per egg.

• Tofu – Use silken tofu for baking dense items such as brownies or cookies. Crumble extra firm tofu for a scramble or egg salad. Use ¼ cup silken tofu.

The beauty of using any of these over easy-peasy substitutions is several are inexpensive possibilities, so allow yourself a bit of grace should the recipe fail you.

Have fun with it.

Worst case scenario– Raise a toast with a can of soda, combine it with a box cake mix, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic dessert. Go ahead and do a happy dance, like Duncan Hines met Gregory Hines.

Earlier I mentioned laughable baking results.

Last week, I was whipping up a “half birthday” cake for one of my kiddos.

I dutifully subbed in a quarter cup applesauce for an egg in the mix.

After a straightforward baking, cooling, and frosting experience of the chocolate goodness, I noticed a large crack forming down the center of my “7 ½” designed in chocolate chips upon the vanilla frosting, an epic failing of sugary proportions before my eyes.

The cake was literally becoming a “half” birthday cake as it split.

I sprinted to action, placing toothpicks at various base points of the cake in desperation to keep it upright, as my witnessing kiddos tried their darnedest to stifle all the laughs and look away.

But lo and behold, the entire masterpiece became pieces indeed, falling delicately apart like a crumbly lava cake. The binding agent of the applesauce just hadn’t quite – bound.

What devolved became a Vesuvian science fair experiment and that, my friends, was the icing on the cake.

We were able to laugh about the dirt cake later – My family joked we should have placed gummy worms inside to complete the look – and fortunately it tasted just fine.

Next week, I’m trying the can of soda, and we’ll let the experimenting continue.

So let’s keep calm and scramble on, by whisking up egg alternatives as we weather these times.

Remember to bring the gummy worms.

And don’t forget your happy dance.

­­– Michelle Cote lives in southern Maine with her husband and four sons, and enjoys camping, distance running, biking, gardening, road trips to new regions, arts and crafts, soccer, and singing to musical showtunes – often several or more at the same time! <