Vegan Eggs—Say What?

Although egg shortages are finally resolving, and the retail price for a dozen eggs is coming down from historic highs, you might have wondered about other options over the past several months. Buying—or just renting—your own egg-laying hen has been one possibility. Another alternative: plant-based eggs.

Also referred to as vegan eggs, they are an animal-friendly, environmentally sounder, and usually allergen-free substitute for chicken eggs. But, spoiler alert: Plant-based eggs likely aren’t better for you health-wise than regular eggs.

Faux good or faux pas?  

Vegan egg alternatives are made from various plant-based protein sources, such as mung, lupin, or soy beans; pea protein; and nuts (like almonds and cashews). Companies like JUST Egg and Simply Eggless offer liquid “eggs” much like those you can buy in a carton at the grocery store. Another brand, AcreMade, offers a vegan egg substitute in powder form, while WunderEggs are made to look like real hard-boiled eggs. Other eggless “eggs” come as fully cooked scrambles, omelets, patties, and “bites” that you just heat up.

Most products also contain vegetable oils, stabilizers, colorants (such as from turmeric and carrots), and other food additives to help them mimic the flavor, texture, and appearance of real eggs. For instance, gellan and xanthan gums, agar, and tetrasodium pyrophosphate are used for their stabilizing, emulsifying, and thickening properties. Some vegan eggs have transglutaminase (an enzyme that improves the texture and shelf-life of processed foods) and nisin (an antimicrobial protein that acts as a preservative). One brand lists 14 different ingredients.

All of these ingredients either are approved as food additives or are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA—but that doesn’t mean they’re good for you. Such ingredients are found only in ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), and diets high in UPFs have been linked to hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, cognitive decline, and early death. What’s more, some early work suggests that transglutaminase could potentially contribute to the development of autoimmune and other chronic diseases.

Nutritionally speaking…

JUST Egg is most similar to standard chicken eggs in terms of macronutrients, delivering roughly the same amount of protein (6 grams) and total fat (5 grams)—and the same number of calories (72)—per serving. Some plant-based eggs have half the protein (3 grams). Despite their plant ingredients, most offer little or no fiber (then again, regular eggs have no fiber at all).

A notable downside is that these products generally have more sodium than eggs due to added salt (although adding salt to regular eggs while cooking or at the table would increase the sodium there as well). A chicken egg naturally contains about 65 milligrams of sodium. Most faux eggs deliver at least twice that much per serving, with some containing up to four times as much. And because they’re not typically fortified, plant-based eggs don’t deliver the vitamin D, vitamin B12, or choline (an essential nutrient that’s good for the brain and cardiovascular system) present in real eggs.

What about cholesterol? Vegan egg brands often highlight that their products are cholesterol-free, but this selling point isn’t as meaningful as it may sound. In fact, it’s pretty moot because dietary cholesterol is no longer considered the main culprit behind high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels in the blood. Rather, an excess of saturated fats (as well as refined carbohydrates) in the diet is what tends to raise blood cholesterol in most people. And while standard chicken eggs do contain a lot of dietary cholesterol, they’re not especially high in saturated fat (just 1.6 grams per egg, compared to 0 grams in most plant-based eggs). Overall, the nutritional benefits of eggs outweigh the small amount of saturated fat they contain.

In a nutshell, companies market plant-based eggs as heart-healthy thanks to their lack of dietary cholesterol, but this message is misleading. Studies in more recent years have largely shown no association between moderate egg consumption and risk of heart disease or diabetes—and both the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association recognize that eggs can be part of a healthy diet.

Egg-cellent features

Plant-based eggs are a good choice for anyone allergic to chicken eggs since they don’t contain the egg proteins that trigger immune reactions in this population. But bear in mind that while eggs are among the nine major allergens, so too are nuts and soybeans, meaning that vegan egg products made with those ingredients aren’t allergen-friendly for everyone. If you have food allergies, be sure to check the ingredients list for their presence.

Faux eggs are also a reasonable option if you’re vegan or have concerns about animal welfare and the environment. In industrial egg production, chickens bred to lay eggs are raised in extremely overcrowded cages, with no ability for them to even spread their wings or carry out other natural behaviors; even eggs labeled “cage free” are often not cruelty free. (When buying eggs, your best bet for chicken welfare is to look for a Certified Humane label on the carton.) And while egg production generates significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than meat production, vegan alternatives like beans create even less.

The brand Simply Eggless, made with lupin beans, claims that its product uses 95 percent less water, has a 90 percent smaller carbon footprint, and generates 83 percent less pollution and 90 percent less waste than animal sources.

Practically speaking…

To determine the best way to use plant-based eggs, read the product’s label. For example, powdered vegan eggs must be hydrated with water before use. Most plant-based egg products that come in liquid form can be used in classic egg recipes like scrambles, frittatas, fried rice, pancakes, and French toast.

JUST Egg’s website notes that while its vegan eggs can be used in baked goods, they’re not optimal for baking meringues or airy cakes, nor are they recommended for recipes that call for raw eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise and some cocktails.

How do vegan eggs taste? It depends on who you ask. Some people liken them to conventional eggs, saying they taste, well, “eggy”—especially when mixed with other ingredients in an egg scramble or omelet like veggies and cheese; others describe an earthier flavor and chewier texture. In our own tasting of JUST Egg, which we made into a scramble, they looked just like scrambled eggs but the texture was more jiggly and they had a very mild—not particularly eggy—flavor.

As for shelf life, liquid vegan egg products can last more than a month in the refrigerator if unopened. Once opened, they should be used within a week. Powdered plant-based eggs can last even longer—up to two years, according to AcreMade—but after hydrating or preparing them, they should be refrigerated within two to three hours and consumed within three to four days. By comparison, chicken eggs can be stored for up to five weeks when properly refrigerated (even if they are past the “Sell-By” date by then).

Finally, if you’re in need of a simple vegan egg white replacement, consider aquafaba (“chickpea water”). Aquafaba is the starchy liquid left over after cooking chickpeas (or other legumes like white beans) in water. When whipped, it froths and forms stiff peaks much like traditional egg whites. You can buy aquafaba (most easily found online) or make your own if you’re cooking legumes at home from scratch—or you can simply use the liquid in canned chickpeas after you drain them.

BOTTOM LINE: While some vegan eggs supply a similar amount of protein as real eggs, they fall short in other important nutrients, plus they are made with processed additives and preservatives not found in real eggs. But if you’re vegan or allergic to eggs—or concerned about the environmental and animal welfare impact of industrial egg production—plant-based eggs are a more than suitable alternative. Because the products vary in form, ingredients, nutrition profile, and applications, be sure to check the package labels to find one that best suits your needs.