We lucked into repack eggs at $1.99 a dozen last week – the best price I’ve seen for quite a while. Nationwide, the average* cost of a dozen eggs is about $3.59, according to government research.
Back in February, we were paying $7.69 per dozen** – and these were just ordinary eggs, rather than the fancier kinds. I’d blocked the actual price tag. That’s when we got serious about egg substitutes.
For the uninitiated, “repack” eggs are created by combining eggs from various boxes. Ever open a carton to check before buying and found a cracked egg, or more than one? Dairy department managers remove the busted cackleberries and put their unbroken brethren into new boxes; where we live, those boxes are marked “Grade B.” Maybe the B stands for “broken.”
As a result, we get a mix of white eggs, brown eggs, Eggland’s Best (which have little red “EB” tattoos), extra-large and regular. Maybe some are even organic. All we know is that they’re $1.99, whereas large eggs are currently $2.79 and extra-large are $3.19.
Even at a reduced price, we’re looking to stretch the grocery bill any way we can. For us, that means egg substitutes.
That’s for baking, not for breakfast. DF still has one or two eggs in the morning, four or five times a week. He’s worked hard his whole life and is willing to spend on things that matter to him. But when it comes to cookies and cakes, we’ve found that egg substitutes work pretty well.
Maybe that’s because we substitute only one egg out of the two (or three) called for in most recipes. But vegan bakers swear by egg substitutes like:
1. Flax eggs
I mix a heaping tablespoon of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of cold water and let it rest until it starts looking gel-like. My research indicates that this is best for pancakes, cookies and muffins, but it’s worked great for most of the cakes I bake (including my mom’s famous sour cream chocolate cake).
Incidentally, our ground flaxseed was free thanks to a Buy Nothing score: One of the members of our neighborhood group was helping a friend clear out her prepper dad’s place after he went to assisted living. We and other BN devotees walked away with cases of beans, oats, wheat and more. As luck would have it, I arrived just when she was bringing out the one case of sugar (36 pounds) and she asked if I wanted it. Did I?!? Then she said, “There’s a bag of flaxseed, too – do you use it?” The bag weighed 20 pounds, and may last us forever.
2. Yogurt, buttermilk or sour cream
Erin Huffstetler of My Frugal Home suggests using a quarter-cup per egg for pancake, muffin, cookie or cake recipes.
3. Aquafaba
Funny word, huh? Aquafaba is the liquid drained from cans of white beans or chickpeas. You use three tablespoons per egg you’re substituting. Apparently you’re supposed to whisk it until it’s foamy, but I skipped that step and it still turned out well.
4. Fruit puree
My Frugal Home recommends a quarter-cup of applesauce, pumpkin puree, or mashed avocado or banana, along with a half-teaspoon of baking soda.
5. Oatmeal or bread crumbs
Not for baking, obviously. This is for meatloaf, meatballs or any other savory dish that uses eggs to bind ingredients together. Apparently you can also use a few tablespoons of aquafaba, but I haven’t tried that.
6. Tofu
Not just any old tofu, but silken tofu – and it needs to be pureed in a blender or food processor. A quarter-cup per egg should do it, according to Martha Stewart. Note that your baked goods won’t get as brown, but they’ll stay tender. You may also have to add a few minutes to the baking time for recipes that use egg substitutes.
What about powdered eggs?
Although we did buy*** some powdered eggs online during the shortage, this isn’t a good strategy for us. They actually weren’t bad: DF scrambled some up and we both agreed they were agreeable enough. If push comes to shove, I could see doing a panful of half-fresh, half-powdered.
A few more pro tips:
Eat less. If you do a two-egg omelet or scramble two eggs with your toast, that dozen eggs will become six breakfasts rather than four.
Bulk up your eggs. Start your scramble or omelet by sauteeing onions and/or peppers, then stir in some sliced leftover baked potatoes. If you have leftover meat, beans or some shredded cheese, throw that in, too. Throw them in, too. At that point, you might not even want to add any eggs; instead, fold the skillet mixture into a tortilla, top with a little salsa and sour cream (or yogurt), and enjoy. Or go ahead and make it a Mexican or Denver omelet, but with two eggs instead of three.
Eat them less often. Make eggs a treat rather than a daily special. If you eat two a day, you’re talking more than a dozen a week just for breakfast before you’ve even thought about baking.
And yes, we do like to bake our own treats: Not only is this much more affordable, it lets us avoid preservatives. We also get to tinker the recipes, such as adding a little of our homemade green powder or substituting dried cranberries for raisins. Some day, maybe I’ll write about the resounding success of pork cake.
Readers: What are egg prices like where you live? Have you ever tried egg substitutes?
*This average includes the prices of organic, free range and cage free eggs along with traditional ones.
**I know this from reading an article I wrote at the time, but I’d blocked the actual price tag. If you’d asked whether we’d ever spent 64 cents per egg, I would have denied it. Wow, that was a lot of money.
***When I say “buy,” what I really mean is “cash in rewards points for gift cards to pay for the eggs.” Learn how to do this at “Rewards points FTW!”
Related reading:
- Extreme frugality: Liquid assets
- Frugal hack: Grocery substitutions
- Senior Tuesday takedown
- Extreme frugality: Deal eyes
Down in these parts, Florida Gulf Coast, about $2.50/dozen at Aldi for regular eggs – and I find they have the best price. Cage free/free range just under $5 dozen.
I don’t think we will ever be back to the days when they would go on sale for 99 cents/dozen at Easter time !
I still buy them, still a decent deal on a good protein srouce!
Agreed. We watch for seasonal deals and eat a lot of egg salad sandwiches at those times.
I’ll have to be on the lookout for repack eggs – haven’t noticed them in Chattanooga. Great advice!
Hope you find them. Ask the manager if they do this?
South Jersey. Shoprite their brand just regular eggs are $2.49 this week… the most expensive dozen they sell is Vital Farms with all the buzzwords $11.49 this week.
Wow. I always think of Shop Rite as affordable. Will still go there next year when I visit my brother, to buy local favorites like Tastykakes, Herrs chips and birch beer.
Thanks for the information. I live in Phoenix, AZ and Frys grocery is $2.49 for a 12 ct. But other grocery stores are high in price.
Had to put up netting as the ravens were stealing eggs out of the nesting boxes. Almost had to buy eggs, but now have enough to get through a couple of months. I will look into the replacer options during the dead of winter when my girls take a breather.
Yikes. I will let my neighbor know, as she is now raising chickens.
I have to have eggs in the house as our daughter has 3 scrambled eggs every day for breakfast. She is autistic and don’t mess with her routine! She is living at home now and is paying us rent as eggs don’t grow on trees.
I think the best price per egg is at Costco but hubby gets them at Aldi as they are cheaper there then Shop Rite. He’s realized how much prices are and where he can get things, like staples, for less.
I grocery shopped yesterday at Market Basket, a New England chain, and needed eggs. I was happy to get an 18 pack of large cage free (not free range) eggs for $3.49. That comes out to about .19 per egg. As I remember, during the egg shortage, they were around $5 for 18 so egg prices have certainly dropped, always a delight for us frugalists. We have an egg meal (bacon or sausage and toast) about once a week, sometimes for supper, sometimes for a Sunday morning breakfast. I also use them for baking a few times a month. I have to say, I’ve never tried egg substitutes due to my fear of having to throw away the whole recipe. I detest food waste. I’m a product of frugal parents…what can I say?
I wouldn’t make a regular habit of powdered eggs, but they’d do for baking. Then again, so will flaxseed and some of the other substitutes mentioned.
As the child of frugal parents, I approve of your trepidation.
Thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment.
I think the regular eggs at our store are back down to $3.23, IIRC.
They had been 6 or 7 bucks earlier.
Our organic eggs cost more, of course.
BTW, back when eggs were sky high, I heard a good joke:
Did you hear what the Little Red Hen said to the Goose Who Laid The Golden Eggs?
“Amateur!”
Ha! I’d forgotten that one.
Yesterday I found close-dated eggs for $1.50 a dozen. We’re making deviled eggs and egg salad.
$1.50 a dozen? Lucky you!!
Deviled eggs and egg salad – YUM!
In Fairbanks the cheapest I have found was $2.50 and that was last week. We do savory crepes about once a week for dinner.
$3 a dozen, mixed varieties, from co-worker Scott down the hall 🙂 He claims he keeps the chickens for amusement, but I know they are free-range, organic, and much loved.