A Guide to Egg Size Conversions for Recipes

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Egg Conversions

The Spruce / Brianna Gilmartin

Eggs often play a critical role in baked goods and other recipes. Most recipes are standardized for the large egg, which yields about 3 1/4 tablespoons when beaten, or one cup for five large eggs beaten.

If a recipe calls for a different size egg than what you have, use the chart below to convert the quantity into the size you have while maintaining the correct volume. You may run into this problem if you bought a carton of jumbo eggs at the warehouse store or if your backyard chickens are producing a variety of sizes of eggs.

Egg Size Equivalents - Small to Jumbo

Replace the large eggs called for in your recipe (in the top row) with the number of eggs of different sizes listed in each row.

Number of Large Eggs: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Small Eggs 1 3 4 5 7 8
Medium Eggs 1 2 3 5 6 7
Large Eggs 1 2 3 4 5 6
Extra Large Eggs 1 2 3 4 4 5
Jumbo Eggs 1 2 2 3 4 5

As you can see, if a recipe calls for a single large egg, you can simply substitute any size of chicken egg. Once it calls for two or more, you may need to make an adjustment if you have only small or medium eggs or if you have only extra-large or jumbo eggs.

Helpful Egg Conversions

Here are more rules of thumb to use in converting egg sizes in recipes:

  • 4 Extra Large or Jumbo Egg = 1 cup
  • 6 Extra Large Egg Whites = 1 cup
  • 12 Extra Large Egg Yolks = 1 cup
  • 1 Extra Large Egg White = 2 extra large egg yolks (in volume)
  • 1 Large Egg White = 2 tablespoons
  • 8 to 10 Large Egg Whites = 1 cup
  • 1 Large Egg Yolk = 1 tablespoon
  • 12 to 16 Large Egg Yolks = 1 cup
  • 1 Large Egg = 4 tablespoons liquid egg product
  • 1 Large Egg White = 2 tablespoons liquid egg product

When Egg Size Matters and When It Doesn't

Egg size doesn't matter much if you are making scrambled eggs or a frittata. Nor will it matter if you are using egg as a binder in mixing up a batch of fritters or coating a cutlet. In those cases, simply use the eggs you have handy.

When you are baking dough or making a custard or emulsion, the liquid volume of the egg is important for the recipe to succeed. In those cases, you will want to make substitutions appropriate for the size of eggs you have handy.

Duck Eggs or Other Species

The egg sizes listed are for chicken eggs, as labeled for sale in the United States. Duck eggs are much larger than chicken eggs, even larger than jumbo eggs. You may have a bantam hen who lays eggs smaller than the typical small egg. You should use the substitution chart by volume, cracking a few and comparing it to 3 1/4 tablespoons per beaten large egg. You may have to do a little math to get the proportions right if you are using eggs that are far from standard chicken eggs.