What Is a Substitute for Egg Yolks?

What's the best egg yolk substitute?

For most baking applications: 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise per egg yolk. Mayonnaise contains egg yolks and oil, so it provides the richness and binding that yolks bring to cookies, cakes, and quick breads. Use 1 tablespoon per yolk and reduce other oil or butter in the recipe by 1 teaspoon.

For vegan baking: 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water (let it sit for 5 minutes to gel) replaces 1 egg yolk for binding. Add 1/2 teaspoon of oil to compensate for the fat in real yolks. This works well in cookies, muffins, and quick breads.

How do you substitute egg yolks in custard and sauces?

For custards, pastry creams, and similar applications: 2 tablespoons of cornstarch plus 1 tablespoon of melted butter or oil per egg yolk. Mix the cornstarch with cold liquid before adding to the recipe to prevent lumping. The cornstarch provides thickening; the fat provides richness.

For lemon curd, pudding, and similar dessert sauces, this substitution works well but the texture is slightly less velvety than real yolks. For best results in vegan custards, agar agar (1 teaspoon per cup of liquid) provides thickening, and silken tofu blended with the cooked custard gives a yolk-like richness.

What about emulsified sauces like mayonnaise and hollandaise?

For homemade mayonnaise, soy lecithin (1 tablespoon per egg yolk) provides the emulsifying property that yolks bring. Aquafaba (3 tablespoons per yolk) also works for vegan mayonnaise. Both are widely used in commercial vegan mayo products.

For hollandaise, the substitution is harder. Silken tofu blended smooth with lemon juice and melted butter (or vegan butter) creates a yolk-free hollandaise that doesn't quite match real hollandaise but works as a vegan alternative. The flavor is close enough that the difference is mostly in texture.

When does the egg yolk substitute fail?

For carbonara, the egg yolks are central to the dish's defining texture (the silky, emulsified sauce coating the pasta). No substitute fully replicates this. Cashew cream blended with nutritional yeast comes closest in vegan versions, but the result is different from traditional carbonara.

For creme brulee, the smooth, custardy texture depends on egg yolks. The cornstarch substitute works but produces a slightly grainier texture. For ice cream made with egg yolks (custard-base or French-style), the yolks provide both richness and the smooth mouthfeel. Substitutes work but the result is more like Philadelphia-style (no egg) ice cream than true custard-base.