What’s the deal with egg prices? Does anyone know? Seriously, the only option at Costco was 2 dozen organic eggs for $11.99. I passed. I still have 8 {?} left.
What do egg substitutes taste like anyway? Do you use them? What’s in them? I don’t think I’ve ever tried egg substitutes. Are they cheaper than real eggs? Maybe it’s time to check them out.
Costco $76.71
We were near Costco last week so we popped in and grabbed a few things. After devouring Costco’s tabbouleh salad last week I grabbed another tub. And some of our favorite Mediterranean Crunch salad too.
The HH spied the grapes and suggested I make Carole’s Cream Grape Salad so I think I’ll make that this afternoon. Man that stuff is good!
I had planned on making a quiche but after seeing the price of eggs I decided to save the ones I have for cookies and just buy the two pack of spinach and artichoke, chicken and broccoli quiches Costco had instead.
Have you tried them before? Are they any good? I guess we’ll find out.
Meals were pretty simple this past week. We had pickety bits for linner twice.
Mediterranean Crunch salad.
Trader Joe’s teriyaki chicken and rice.
Trader Joe’s roasted red pepper and tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.
And we also had loaded baked potatoes.
Twice. Simple meals. That’s what last week was all about. How about YOU? Did you make anything exciting last week? I think I’ll have the HH pop by Market Basket this week and get a rotisserie chicken so I can make chicken curry. It’s been a while since we’ve had that {plus there’s always leftovers too!}.
Happy Monday everyone,
~Mavis
Total Spent This Past Week: $76.71
Total Spent in January $229.38
Total Spent in February $76.71
Nancy Settel says
Eggs are at such a premium right now do to bird flu again. Should be coming down soon. We gave up our Costco membership and every time you mention the tabbaloueh salad man I want to go plop down my $60. again plus the crunch salad. I hate making a salad up for just the 2 of us.
Brianna says
You can always use a Costco gift card to shop without a membership. I use to live too far from Costco to make it frequently and used gift cards for the 2x a year trip. If you spend more than $1200 a year though it isn’t worth it because they charge a 5% premium and you also don’t get the warehouse savings prices.
Jennifer S. says
Interesting! I had no idea this was a choice… and thanks for doing the “break even” math for us. 🙂
Brianna says
I just buy eggs at the price they are. I can think of worse food items to spend money on. Last time I bought the 5 dozen box from Costco and it was $14.99. I never can check the condition of the eggs, but only one was cracked. My oldest likes to make himself 3 eggs every morning before school and the hubby usually has 2 eggs for breakfast because he cannot tolerate many foods. So, I go through a lot of eggs.
We did use the egg whites in a carton for awhile because it was what the hubby could eat. It wasn’t bad, but I felt it was lacking and they seemed watered down, even though they don’t add water. They just didn’t cook like egg whites if I had separated them from an egg. I did not like eating them or cooking them. I have used the regular eggs in a carton when we camp and they are ok, but again there is something different about them.
a NH Fan says
Hey Mavis, love the content as always 🙂
If your new house has room for chickens (that you can keep isolated), it might be something to consider. The short answer is bird flu is causing high egg prices. Although the disease itself been around a long time, a widespread and persistent outbreak started in 2022 and has kept on rolling. Unfortunately, eggs are likely to stay expensive for the foreseeable future.
Better spoken article on it:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/why-are-eggs-so-expensive
I haven’t eaten egg substitutes as eggs, but have used ‘chia eggs’ in a pinch on occasion in my baking.
Recipe for chia egg:
https://minimalistbaker.com/make-chia-egg/
Rachel B says
For cookies and muffins/quick breads I sometimes sub 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for an egg. If the recipe calls for 2 eggs, I’ll use 1 egg and 1/4 unsweetened applesauce.
If I have an ample amount of eggs, I will sub half of the oil/butter called for with applesauce in the morning muffins I make for the kids.
Elise in the SF Bay Area says
My daughter lives in a college dorm with a teeny fridge and no room (or usual need) for eggs. But she makes muffins to have on hand, so I got her some lunch-sized apple sauces (shelf stable) that she uses to make muffins – it’s the perfect solution!
Eggs are sometimes not even on the shelves around here. I got 2 dozen white eggs at Costco this weekend for $7.69. I got lucky! I’ve seen dozens range from 4.50 (limited supply at Trader Joe’s) to $8.99 at Smart & Final. We don’t eat a ton of eggs, those 2 dozen will last me about a month, I figure. I’ll start looking around again when I get down to about 6.
Julie says
Avian flu hit several commercial poultry operations in my area. Entire barns had to be culled and fumigated. We have also seen large flocks of migratory birds carrying the virus die in area open spaces. Chickens grow to egg-producing age pretty quickly, so the supply could replenish soon, but the virus is still spreading here.
Andrea says
Even at $6 per dozen, a single egg only costs 50 cents, so I’m ok with that. Egg subs are still egg whites, but with other stuff added in (like food coloring) that I don’t want to eat. There are far worse foods to be spending on, so I’ll take my nice nutritious eggs even if they’re pricey.
Linda says
If I were going to use a sub, I would use Ova Eggs, a dried egg product. Fake eggs are not what I want. Ova Eggs are expensive, but I have not compared them to fake eggs. We are spoiled. Eggs are not expensive compared to other foods. People (some) will buy pastries at a higher price or snack foods and never complain.
Paula says
Bird Flu!
Sue S. says
Yup. That’s the excuse this time around. Next they’ll blame it on tariffs. Geeeez.
Mark says
Avian flu has been through the country pretty heavy the last 2 years. They just found it on one of the largest layer farms here in Indiana and had to destroy 2.8 million birds. Over 13 million had to be destroyed last year across the country because of it. So there’s just a shortage of eggs due to lack of layers driving up the prices.
Amy says
I use chia or flax eggs in baked goods like muffins. They work great!
Just make sure you let them sit until they get gel-like, so they bind everything
Jennifer S. says
I use 1 T ground flax and 3T water as a substitute for one egg. I did this in oatmeal raisin cookies and you absolutely couldn’t tell a difference! That being said, when we made chocolate chip cookies, we used eggs. I wasn’t sure how much it would change the texture. Oatmeal cookies are pretty hearty, so I figured it would not matter. I might try a half batch of chocolate chip cookies to see if it works. I think it depends on what you are making. I sure wouldn’t try it with a quiche! But scones? Yes!
Margo says
I spent $12 for 18 eggs at a military commissary last week. But our local Albertsons has Nellies organic eggs for $6.99 a dozen,and that’s about the best price I have seen. Still pondering getting my own flock again. My daughter-in-law raises them now so she rarely needs to buy them. My church has a flock from which we sell eggs to congregants on Sunday at $4 for half dozen. For every half dozen sold one of our local egg producers provides 2 to 3 dozen to give out to the people who come to our food pantry.
Annette says
My local Kroger (Dillons) has a digital deal this week of 18 eggs for $4.49.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
As a couple of other commenters have said, I too have used flax eggs and aquafaba (liquid from chickpeas) as egg substitutes. I used them in baked goods and could not tell a difference. I used half and half in recipes to start with (half egg, half substitute) to be sure it would work and that worked well, so I graduated to using the substitute fully. Even if you don’t use solely an egg substitute, by adding it to your current eggs, you can double your functional “egg” usage ( or reduce your actual egg usage by half)
I know vegans whip the aquafaba like meringue, though I’ve not tried that.
Heather in NV says
I have made meringue cookies using the whipped aquafaba and it turned out really good.
Honeybee says
Please do review the Costco quiche.
Mavis Butterfield says
I will!
Lana says
I was allergic to eggs for many years and YMMV on substituting for eggs. In my opinion it is better to just use real eggs no matter the price because then you will always get good results and not end up having to throw out expensive ingredients when you decide that you re not going to eat a failure.
Interesting that Australia is going through the same prices and shortages. What in the world is going on???
Debbie says
I’ve seen some interesting egg replacement charts on pinterest for some easy choices to use in recipes for example 1/4 cup applesauce to replace an egg in baking
Kim says
Today at walmart in east texas 18 large eggs for 6 dollars. They were 9 last week so I skipped but bought them today.
Joyce Dvorak says
Depression era cakes, sometimes called wacky cakes, are made without eggs, using vinegar and baking soda to make them rise. They are pretty good, actually. There were 67 cases of bird flu found in humans, and one death. Bird flu is also spreading to cattle, but pasteurized milk is safe.
Christy says
Can u share a recipe for wacky cakes? My husband’s uncle and father talked about “funny cakes” that their mother made that used vinegar. They were from a Mennonite family. I have looked for recipes but haven’t found anything.
Patti says
Here is a comparison chart for using substitutes for baking with eggs.
https://extension.umaine.edu/food-health/2023/02/16/using-egg-substitutes-in-baking-and-cooking/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIOKZBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcmVz-2yB39LcbJWp2dlU803ubhU7px5k8j5adPuVPKv3m130n-fwL-DZQ_aem_3YjqwFT2a785nGl9-L4fbQ
Last time the bird flu came around, I bought Egg Replacers by Bob’s Red Mill. You can find that at your regular grocery store. One package replaces 24 eggs so you can calculate if they are a good price.
I would substitute eggs in your cookies and use your “real” eggs for eating fresh eggs like scrambled, fried, eggs in salad, etc.
Marcia says
Bird flu. Eggs are $12 for 18 here.
Heather in Nevada says
I am shocked that you even have eggs at Costco. Egg substitutes – I use it for baking, pancakes, etc. I use the flaxseed, chia seeds or applesauce as the replacement.
Last time I was in Costco they didn’t have any 2 dozen or 5 dozen packages. A local store was totally out today too.
My husband will make scrambled eggs once in a while so we are going through our regular eggs slowly.
Sue S. says
We sometimes have egg bites from Honey Dew but they taste pasty to me so I stopped ordering them.
Delma says
Use your eggs for breakfast and use Bob’s Mill egg replacer for baking. I discovered it a few years ago when baking for a grandkiddo with an egg allergy. Works perfectly in cookies and cakes and any baking calling for eggs. The $4.50 package = 34 eggs. We had chickens for the last 12 years and we currently have none. Looks like we will be in the backyard chicken game again this spring!
Delma says
FYI – the Bob’s Mill egg replacer is GF and in the flour section of my local grocery store.
Lucy from SC says
I’ve had the quiche and they were both good and filling. After I baked one, I cut it into 8 slices and then refroze individual slices. It’s just me so a great quick meal! Definitely will purchase again.
Jeri says
Last night I had a hankering for Joe’s Special, which in a nutshell consists of eggs, ground turkey (or beef), mushrooms, onions, spinach (if frozen, defrost and squeeze liquid out), and cheese (I use mozzarella, but any cheese is good, and finally S&P. I’ve never used a recipe, just figured out for myself what I like. Normally, I use 10-12 eggs, but since eggs are a luxury right now when you can find them, I used 7. There’s really no right or wrong way to prepare it, other than cooking the meat and throwing everything in with the eggs and cheese being the last to hit the pan. My husband and I have it for dinner two nights. It’s really quick and easy to prepare and so good with a crusty piece of bread and salad.
Melissa says
I agree with Delma- the Bob’s egg substitute works great in baked goods. Also, you can use a flax egg.
Nina says
I nearly dropped on the grocery floor last week when I went to purchase a dozen large eggs ! $7.18 NOPE we will do with out .
Columbia, SC
Pam says
Bird flu time!
Eggs are a cheap source of protein even when the prices spike. The higher price is a pinch though I will say. We had them as high as $13 a doz. I use chia eggs for baking, they work.
Egg substitutes are ok. Lots of people use them. I’ve used them in the past. One of those things, first time ok second time liking it less…
Beth W. says
There is a avian bird flu that is causing all the egg shortages. I have been lucky and been able to get a dozen at Trader Joe’s for 2.99, plain white organic ones. We are on the west coast, I do a lot of baking so thanks for the tip about using Bob’s egg substitute, I’ll give it a try!
Denise says
I personally don’t care for fake eggs. They don’t scramble the way real eggs do so I’d rather just do without. I will use flax often when baking. You cannot tell a difference in the finished product.
KCB says
I would rate Costco quiche at about 4.9 out of 10. It’s not awful but compared to a good homemade quiche or a bit pricier store bought one, it’s a bit lacking. That said, I still buy them several times a year.
Gigi says
I agree. Meh
Lynn says
I did not read all the comments, so I’m sorry if it shows in my comments. This egg crisis has been brewing for over a year as they have culled chickens in the millions, and so I prepared before it got to where it is today. My understanding is that they are killing the flocks without double-checking for false-positives.
Here is what I’ve done: I froze some ‘prepared’ foods that use eggs; I purchased Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer by the multi-pack-load before the price on that also shot up; and I’m purchasing my eggs by the crates, which is turning out to be better budget-wise at the moment (the last crate I purchased was $20/60 count – I use a lot of eggs because I do low-carb). The time to prepare is before the public learns about the problem. They now know about the problem and it takes 4-6 months before the hens are producing again — and I hear there is a problem with the chicks now, too, as they are pushing them out for sale before they are ready, stressing them.
Note: You cannot make scrambled eggs with the egg-replacer I get, but it is turning out fine for baking and making the chaffels I eat in the mornings. Hubby, sons, and grandkids cannot tell the difference in my baked goods. If you have allergie, pay attention to the ingredients.