The Shell Shock Is Real—America's Egg Crisis Breeds Culinary Creations

Here’s how to adapt to the egg shortage in the U.S. without sacrificing flavor.

If you’ve recently gone out for brunch, popped over to the store for ingredients to make French toast, or suddenly found that certain dishes at restaurants were pricier than usual, then you’re surely aware of our current egg crisis. Egg prices have surged dramatically, with the average cost of a dozen large, Grade A eggs reaching $4.15 in December 2024, up from $3.65 in November—a 14% increase in just one month. This spike is due to a severe avian influenza outbreak, which has led to the culling of millions of egg-laying hens, significantly reducing supply. Inflationary pressures have only made matters worse, further driving up costs and making eggs one of the most expensive pantry staples today.

Thankfully, vegans exist.

I checked in with prominent Philadelphia vegan gourmand Caitlin McCormack and a couple of bakers who are currently highlighting their vegan offerings for tips on how to navigate cooking and baking without eggs. And no, you don’t need to rely on heavily processed egg substitutes—you likely have everything you need in your pantry already.

Tofu

If you’re a fan of rich, ice cream-based milkshakes, silken soy tofu is your new best friend. Blend it into a smoothie for extra richness or with chocolate and milk to satisfy dessert cravings. Lose the milk, add a touch of sugar, and you can manipulate silken tofu into an eggless pudding.

Mashed Bananas 

“If you can accept that your brownies will be a little banana-y, mashed up bananas work well in baked goods (better than applesauce which can create a gummy and unpalatable fructose texture that I don’t like,” said McCormack. Rebecca Foxman of Fox & Son, which specializes in carnival foods at Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market says, “At Fox & Son luckily we have a large vegan audience which allows us to experiment in the gluten free vegan space. Because our regular funnel cake is made with fresh shell eggs, we have been pushing our vegan version. The vegan funnel cake is made with a mixture of blended creamed corn, ripe bananas, our funnel cake dry mix, and vanilla extract.  It's like a chewy banana donut. It sells really well, and fortunately bananas are an item easy to get and stay affordable. We collect the extra ripe bananas that are unsellable from local produce stands nearby. They drop them off for us. The upcycling also feels really good.”

Aquafaba

Aquafaba, the liquid rendered from cooked chickpeas and other legumes, is a marvelous egg substitute and works as a great thickener in soups, stews, pastas, and baking. It can replace eggs in mayonnaise and acts as a binder in baked goods. “Aquafaba with a little ground flax mixed in works well for a dry breading situation (like cutlets),” said McCormack.

Ground Flax Seeds

“I use a mixture of ground flax seeds, vegetable oil, and water, let it sit and hit it with my egg beater before incorporating it with what I’m making,” said McCormack. “It’s like one tablespoon of flax to 1 tablespoon of oil.”

Chickpea Flour and Burmese Tofu

“You can make really good mini frittatas in a muffin pan with chickpea flour and some very simple ingredients, with whatever sautéed vegetables you’d like mixed in. For a breakfast sandwich you can just make straight up Burmese tofu (using ground yellow pea flour) from scratch, let it sit until it has truly set, and you can cut it into an egg-sized patty square which can be griddled in a pan and then plopped on some bread with vegan cheese and tempeh bacon. It has to be truly set though, or else it’ll fall apart,” said McCormack, who also makes Burmese tofu and whips in steamed cauliflower to then make a quiche. 

Apple Cider Vinegar

“In our existing vegan items at Flying Monkey Bakery, we focus on recipes that don’t call for eggs. For a lot of vegan cakes, we just use apple cider vinegar and baking soda (rather than eggs). The baking soda is typically already in the recipe. The amount of apple cider vinegar is very low and you can’t taste it, but it activates the baking soda. Right now, it’s in our vegan cupcakes, which we make in chocolate and vanillas, and we also make a series of bundt cakes that are vegan. For every teaspoon of baking soda you’d want a teaspoon and a half of apple cider vinegar,” said Elizabeth Halen, owner of Flying Monkey Bakery.