Opinion Egg-free shopping tips: How to avoid egg ingredients & our top egg-free swaps

Keen to explore egg-free options at the grocery store? Here are some label-reading tips to help you easily spot hidden eggs in everyday foods — and all the best plant-based swaps to reach for instead!

Choosing egg-free is surprisingly easy these days, and a lot more familiar and delicious than you might expect! With a huge range of plant-based products now lining the supermarket shelves, there’s an abundance of tasty egg-free options to choose from.

From egg-free cake and egg-free cookies to egg-free pasta and even egg-free mayo — you name it, there’s an egg-free version of it readily available in stores. The tricky part isn’t actually finding these alternatives (they’re truly everywhere once you start looking), it’s realising how often eggs show up where you wouldn’t normally expect, so you can nimbly sidestep them as you go about your regular grocery shop.

Many people are surprised to learn that eggs, including cage eggs, don’t just come in cartons — they can also be baked into breads, blended through sauces, dips, and dressings, and quietly added to all sorts of everyday packaged foods.

So whether you’re avoiding eggs for the animals, your health, allergies, or for environmental reasons, a little label-reading know-how can go a long way!

In this beginner-friendly guide, you’ll learn what packaged products tend to contain eggs, what to scan for on ingredients lists, and plenty of substitutes to pop in your trolley instead — to help make choosing egg-free feel effortless, no matter your reason for giving it a go.

Why shop & cook egg-free?

Many people start rethinking eggs after learning about how cruelly mother hens and their chicks are treated in commercial egg production systems — and realising that choosing egg-free foods is the simplest and most reliable way to avoid supporting egg industry cruelty. 

Beyond wanting to make kinder choices for animals, people may also decide to avoid eggs because they: 

• Have egg allergies or intolerances
• Want to reduce their cholesterol or saturated fat
• Are keen to eat more plant-based food for environmental reasons
• Prefer foods that align with their values
• Want to get more creative in the kitchen

Whatever your motivation, eating egg-free isn’t about missing out at all — it’s about leaning into the many brilliant plant-based alternatives already on offer, so you can still enjoy all the same flavours and meals you love, just without the eggs!

Eggs are baked into all kinds of everyday products

Eggs are commonly used as binders, thickeners, or glazes in processed foods, which is why they pop up in products you might not typically associate with eggs, like pasta, sauces, baked goods, desserts, and dips.

At first, reading product labels can feel overwhelming, but as with any new skill, it gets easier with practice. Before long, you’ll be able to quickly scan a label and spot egg ingredients at a glance, making egg-free choices a natural part of your weekly shop.

Eggs can appear under several different names on packaging, including: 

• Egg
• Egg white
• Egg yolk
• Liquid whole egg
• Egg powder 
• Egg solids 
• Albumin/albumen 
• Ovalbumin

If you see any of these ingredients listed, the product isn’t egg-free.

Handy label-reading shortcuts

Firstly, what does “may contain egg” actually mean? If a product says it “may contain egg” or is “made in a factory that also processes eggs” — but does not list egg as an ingredient — it’s still considered egg-free. This wording is intended to warn people with severe allergies about the risk of cross-contamination during manufacturing. 

For those avoiding eggs for the animals or for any other non-allergy-related reason, foods with a “may contain” note on the label are generally good to go. 

The vegan and plant-based fridge and freezer sections at the supermarket are often goldmines for egg-free finds — here’s your cheat sheet: 

🌿 Vegan foods are always egg-free.  

🌿 Plant-based foods are usually egg-free, but it’s worth checking the ingredients list to make sure.

Common foods that contain eggs (& what to choose instead)

Here are the most common places egg ingredients might be hiding, and some tasty swaps you can make next time you head to the shops:

🍝 Pasta & Noodles

Some fresh pastas and noodles contain egg, particularly refrigerated varieties. 

Egg-free alternatives include:

• Dry pasta (e.g. spaghetti, penne, fusilli)
• Chickpea or lentil pasta
• Rice noodles
• Udon noodles
• Soba noodles

🥗 Sauces & Dressings

Eggs are often used to emulsify condiments like mayonnaise, hollandaise, and creamy dressings. 

Instead, reach for:

• Egg-free mayonnaise
• Vinaigrettes
• Most sesame or soy-based dressings
• Vegan sauces & condiments

Tip: You can even make your own delish sauces at home, like this Lemon Basil Mayo!

🍗 Crumbed & Battered Foods

Watch out for eggs hiding in anything that is crumbed, battered, or tempura-style. 

Next time you’re craving something crispy and golden, head to the vegetarian or vegan freezer section instead (or, cook up your own with this crispy southern fried “chicken” recipe)! There, you’ll find a growing range of delicious plant-based nuggets, schnitzels, and meat alternatives that are 100% egg-free, meat-free, and kind to all animals. 

🥖 Baked Goods

Some breads and pastries are glazed with egg wash; others contain egg in their dough or crust. Thankfully, the vast majority of breads are egg-free — just check the label!

Sourdough and wholegrain breads are usually a safe bet, and these days you can even find plant-based brioche buns, croissants, and banana bread at the supermarket. 

Tip: Baking banana bread at home, and need an egg wash alternative? Try a light layer of plant milk or melted vegan butter to give your baked goods that lovely golden sheen.

🧁 Desserts

Next time you need dessert in a pinch, skip the egg-based options and go for something labelled ‘plant-based’ instead. 

From decadent chocolate brownies and cupcakes to egg-free cakes and cookies, you’ll find plenty of ready-made vegan desserts to choose from at Coles & Woolies. These plant-based treats are just as indulgent as the classics you’re used to — and if you didn’t know better, you’d never guess they were egg-free!

If none of the store-bought options tickle your fancy, try this deliciously decadent double-layer vegan chocolate cake and thank us later.

🍰 Cake Mix

Some boxed cake mixes and packet baking mixes do contain egg ingredients, but many just so happen to be naturally plant-based — which is great news if you’re craving cake without the egg industry cruelty (or the hassle of baking from scratch).

Check out our full round-up of all the best egg-free cake mixes at the supermarket that make egg-free baking a piece of cake — literally!

Tip: Instead of adding eggs when mixing up the batter, use powdered egg replacer or one of these other easy egg substitutes for beautifully fluffy results.

🍮 Custard

Custard is conventionally made with eggs, but there are some truly divine plant-based alternatives these days. Try a velvety dollop of Coyo Vanilla Custard on top of your next berry crumble, or grab a box of Foster Clark’s Original Custard Powder from the baking section to whip up a bowl of plant-based custard in minutes.

Curious about other substitutes? There are even more egg-free custard options where those came from (plus a ton of mouthwatering vegan custard recipes — like this classic custard tart),

🍦 Ice Cream

You won’t see it very often, but egg ingredients occasionally appear in premium or ‘custard-style’ ice creams. This is super easy to avoid — just reach for some gloriously indulgent plant-based ice cream or some frosty, fruity gelato instead! These options are guaranteed to be both egg-free and dairy-free, making them kinder to both cows and chickens.

(FYI: this Biscoff soft serve is rich, creamy, and totally egg-free!)

🍬 Lollies

Egg white (albumen) is sometimes used to give lollies a glossy finish.

Luckily, there are plenty of plant-based lollies to satisfy your sweet tooth instead. (Our current fave is the Colin the Caterpillar range, which you can find at Coles!)

🍪 Biscuits

It’s pretty common for eggs to be baked into biscuits, but that’s not the way the cookie has to crumble. Many popular favourites at the supermarket are naturally egg-free!

Our go-to recommendations for egg-free cookies and biscuits include:

• Plantitude Granola Cookies 
• Nature’s Kitchen Granola Cookies 
• Biscoff Lotus Biscuits
• Select Arnott’s Biscuits (Choc Ripple, Gingernut, Lemon Crisp, and Raspberry Shortcake)

Or you can use one of these easy egg substitutes to bake your own batch of biscuits at home — like these next-level brown butter choc chip cookies.

🥣 Dips

Eggs can sometimes sneak into dips as emulsifiers — but thankfully, there are stacks of options that are egg-free nowadays. 

Look for plant-forward brands like Fifya, Obela, Pilpel, and Yumi’s, and you’re sure to find a delicious egg-free dip to satisfy your savoury cravings. Just always double-check the label to make sure it’s one of their fully plant-based (and egg-free) offerings.

Keen to DIY? You can’t go wrong with this beetroot dip or this punchy roasted red pepper dip that takes just minutes to blend up.

Egg-free eating is easier & more delicious than ever

As you’ll no doubt have realised, many of these egg-free swaps look just like the everyday foods you’re already buying, and they’re usually hanging out in the same spot in the supermarket too — making it super easy to reach for an egg-free option instead of your usual choice!

It’s a simple mindset shift to make, and yet an impactful one. 

After all, the seemingly small food choices we make every day are the most powerful opportunities we have to help hatch a kinder world for hens and their chicks, and indeed for other unseen animals in the food system, too. 

And with so many innovative plant-based foods now available at your local shops and online, switching to egg-free alternatives has never been simpler — or more satisfying!  

Hungry for more egg-free content? Crack into these easy egg substitutes for baking & cooking, as well as these irresistible egg-free recipes! And don’t forget to grab your FREE egg-free guide today to get started!