A worldwide financial meltdown appears to be the one occasion that may trigger individuals to chop again on meat. Within the years that adopted the 2007 Nice Recession, the common American’s annual meat consumption fell by nearly 9 p.c. Milk purchases fell too.
However by means of all of it, egg consumption remained comparatively secure and saved climbing, reaching round 280 eggs per individual on common in 2022.
That quantity may fall this yr, not as a result of individuals have soured on eggs, however as a result of there aren’t sufficient to fulfill demand. Simply within the final two months, 27 million egg-laying hens — 9 p.c of the nation’s egg-laying hen flock — have been (brutally) killed to gradual the unfold of H5N1, a extremely pathogenic pressure of hen flu.
Shortages have doubled the price of eggs, and impressed a minimum of two egg heists. Regardless of grand guarantees from Donald Trump’s presidential marketing campaign to convey down the worth of eggs, his personal agriculture division now says their price will proceed to surge this yr.
This has some customers — possibly you — turning to egg alternate options.
Whereas most grocery shops now provide all kinds of plant-based milk and meat merchandise, there are fewer egg alternate options in the marketplace. However there’s nonetheless lots you are able to do with the plant-based egg alternate options seemingly out there at your native grocery retailer, and even with extra conventional kitchen elements, when you have got fewer eggs than regular, or none.
Simply Egg, a plant-based liquid egg launched by San Francisco-based startup Eat Simply in 2018, is comprised of an ingredient that’s international to most People — mung beans — nevertheless it scrambles and capabilities like the actual factor. The style could not idiot you, because it’s not fairly as eggy (as in, pungent) and is much less fatty than rooster eggs. However eggs normally aren’t eaten alone — cooking Simply Egg with olive oil, garlic, onion, tomato, and a vegetable or two of your selection makes for a tasty breakfast that comes near an egg scramble. And it has an analogous quantity of protein as liquid eggs from chickens per serving.
I’ve additionally had scrumptious quiches and frittatas made with Simply Egg, and it may possibly even be used to interchange eggs in baking (extra on this later). The corporate additionally sells pre-cooked frozen egg patties for breakfast sandwiches, and breakfast burritos.
Nevertheless, Simply Egg prices round $7.50 for a 16-ounce bottle, which is far more than liquid rooster eggs partly as a result of, as I’ve written about, animal agriculture has benefited — and continues to profit — from many years of presidency help that helps hold costs low.
Simply Egg is by far the preferred plant-based egg: Eat Simply’s CEO, Josh Tetrick, informed me that within the first two months of 2025, gross sales grew 5 occasions sooner than in the identical interval final yr. It’s out there in practically 50,000 grocery shops and eating places in North America — use the corporate’s retailer locator right here to examine availability close to you.
At first look, Merely Eggless seems virtually equivalent to Simply Egg, in that it’s a plant-based product that is available in each liquid and patty kind and is made with a bean (lupin beans as an alternative of Simply Egg’s mung beans). However I’m unhappy to report that that’s the place their similarities finish. I used to be excited to search out the product at Dealer Joe’s final yr, however I used to be rapidly disillusioned once I cooked with it. For one, it doesn’t scramble in addition to Simply Egg or common eggs — it simply will get clumpy. Second, it tastes dangerous. As one BuzzFeed author put it, “These have been, sadly, nasty. There’s no solution to beat across the bush right here. I truly spit them out.”
I didn’t go as far to spit it out — I soldiered on and completed my meal — however I haven’t purchased it once more.
AcreMade, an organization partially owned by livestock large Cargill, makes a plant-based egg product comprised of pea protein that’s…okay. It is available in powder kind, which when combined with water could be scrambled. It has a great texture and is functionally much like Simply Egg, however doesn’t style fairly nearly as good. It’s solely out there on-line and prices $15 for a 5.6-ounce bag, which comprises 24 servings — equal to 24 eggs — and can also be out there for buy on its web site. The corporate additionally has a comparable product to interchange eggs in baking.
Yo Egg is a more recent firm that has not too long ago expanded the variety of grocery shops and eating places that promote its merchandise, which embrace a plant-based poached egg, a patty, and a hard-boiled egg substitute. I not too long ago tried the poached product — made with soy and chickpea protein — at a restaurant and favored it. The flavour was good, however I used to be much more impressed with the corporate’s technical potential to create an egg white pouch stuffed with a thick, yolky liquid.
Discover their merchandise at a grocery retailer or restaurant close to you.
I by no means favored hard-boiled or deviled eggs, so WunderEggs — launched in 2023 by Texas-based startup Artful Counter — aren’t for me, however I’ve associates who like them. WunderEggs’s fundamental elements are easy — water, almonds, coconut milk, and cashews — and so they look remarkably much like eggs.
Final yr, the corporate received an innovation award from grocery large Albertsons, and it’s now out there in 1,600 of its shops (Albertsons, Safeway, Shaw’s, and Vons), in addition to all Entire Meals areas.
A tray of six prices round $8 and comprises 8 grams of protein.
Tofu is the right meals: it’s low-cost, excessive in protein, iron, and calcium, out there nearly all over the place, and can be utilized in quite a lot of dishes and cuisines, together with as an alternative to an egg scramble. By itself, it doesn’t style like eggs, however medium-firm tofu, when mashed and sauteed, can have an analogous texture. Like rooster meat, tofu doesn’t have an inherently sturdy taste and may soak up no matter spices and sauces you throw at it.
Why it’s best to contemplate making tofu a dietary staple
Tofu, comprised of soybeans, isn’t as glamorous as all the brand new plant-based meat startups, however it needs to be. It was invented in China round 2,000 years in the past and stays a dietary staple world wide for good purpose. At $2-3 per pound, it’s cheaper than meat — besides, generally, rooster— and is broadly out there in grocery shops and most Asian eating places. It’s low in saturated fats and excessive in protein, calcium, and iron, and you may get it in smooth (silken), medium-firm, agency, or extra-firm varieties. It’s versatile within the kitchen, taking nicely to frying, grilling, baking, or even in desserts. And as a bonus, it’s extremely environmentally pleasant, utilizing much less land and water, and emitting far fewer greenhouse gasoline emissions, than animal-based protein.
For those who’re skeptical, attempt first ordering a tofu dish at an Asian restaurant to expertise how actually scrumptious it may be.
Tofu scramble — a basic plant-based staple — is usually made with oil, garlic, onions, greens, and (plant-based) cheese. It’s filling, reasonably priced, wholesome, and if made nicely, tasty in its personal proper even when it doesn’t instantly replicate the flavour of eggs. A pinch of kala namak, or black salt, will give it an eggy style and scent.
Listed here are a number of common, fool-proof recipes to get began:
A good tofu scramble ought to take you half-hour or much less to make, however if you would like it even sooner, attempt the all-day egg scramble from tofu maker Hodo. It’s a spiced and mashed block of tofu wealthy with taste, made with onion powder, garlic, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, and extra. It’s a bit salty, however cooking it with a number of greens and cheese can minimize a few of that.
I’m extra of a baker than a prepare dinner, and I’ve been vegan for nearly 20 years, so I’ve mastered the artwork of baking with out eggs, and I can let you know it’s fairly easy — as a result of lots of baked good staples don’t want eggs within the first place. I can’t let you know what number of occasions a non-vegan bit into one thing that I or a buddy made, had no concept it didn’t have eggs (or dairy), and have been none the wiser.
You need to use merchandise like Simply Egg, AcreMade’s egg replacer, or this one from Bob’s Crimson Mill, to interchange eggs in baking. However to save cash, you possibly can merely use, relying on what you’re making, bananas, floor flax seeds with water, apple sauce, silken tofu, and even the water from a can of chickpeas (known as aquafaba). These elements could strike you as odd egg replacers, however eggs don’t add an excessive amount of to the flavour of a baked good. Somewhat, they’re extra of a practical ingredient, working to bind different elements collectively, enhance texture, and provides sure desserts some fluff. Relying on the recipe, these different elements can do the trick.
This information from common vegan recipe developer Nisha Vora covers the best way to use these elements as egg replacers and that are finest for which baked items. To be protected, I like to recommend utilizing recipes which are already egg-free so you recognize it’s been examined as such, somewhat than attempting to reformulate a basic recipe, particularly once you’re simply getting began.
Other than what I’ve talked about right here, there are a number of different plant-based egg merchandise that both aren’t straightforward to search out at grocery shops or aren’t out there in any respect within the US: Beleaf plant-based egg, Crack’d, Neggst, and Zero Egg. (I’ve had the Beleaf egg and loved it however haven’t seen it in shops.)
Why aren’t there extra plant-based egg choices?
If the US have been going through shortages of rooster, beef, or cow’s milk, shoppers would have a wide selection of different decisions. However for some purpose, regardless of the enduring reputation of the egg, the plant-based meals sector has put little effort into making tasty and reasonably priced animal-free choices.
That’s a disgrace, as a result of egg farming is notably merciless to animals. Most egg-laying hens are packed into tiny cages, unable to even flap their wings, the place they languish for one-and-a-half to 2 years earlier than they’re slaughtered for pet meals. Cage-free farming is an enchancment, however nonetheless far more inhumane than you would possibly suppose.
I requested Tetrick of Eat Simply why there’s such a scarcity of competitors (Simply Egg, he mentioned, makes up 99 p.c of the plant-based egg market). He informed me it’s a extremely technical problem in comparison with making, say, a plant-based burger, and it’s required the corporate to boost lots of capital, and tackle lots of threat.
“We nearly didn’t accomplish it,” he added.
I’m glad they did, as a result of it means we’ve a minimum of one nice plant-based egg product that’s additionally broadly out there. However for the sake of the hens, and meals safety threats just like the hen flu, I hope they get much more opponents.
