37 Ways to Use Extra Egg Yolks
Sometimes you make a meringue or some seedy power sprinkle and you find yourself with extra egg yolks. Which means you need some egg yolk recipes. Luckily, a yolk or four is what makes pasta carbonara so luscious, crème brûlée so luxurious, and, well, you'll see more in our collection of favorite egg yolk recipes below.
Marcus Nilsson1/37Rigatoni with Lemon-Chile Pesto and Grated Egg
The secret to this silky, lemony pasta sauce is plenty of butter, and the courage to use it all. You'll top off the dish with Pecorino and grated egg yolks for even more luxurious richness.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton2/37
Classic Crème Brûlée
A kitchen torch makes easy work of melting sugar into the crackly topping for classic crème brûlée. And once you have one, you’ll come up with all kinds or ways to use it (like coffee crème brûlée, and coconut crème brûlée, and pistachio crème brûlée…).
- Photo by Joseph De Leo3/37
Classic Mayonnaise
Repeat after us: Homemade mayo is easy to make. You can do it! And it's a great way to use up one extra egg yolk.
- Christopher Testani, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich4/37
Mashed Potato Croquettes
Wondering what to do with two egg yolks and some leftover mashed potatoes? If you've got 'em, you're well on your way to these crispy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside potato croquettes.
- Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Kaitlin Wayne5/37
French Buttercream
Five egg yolks enrich this French buttercream, which is perfect for topping these chocolate-peanut butter cupcakes. The instructions for this egg yolk recipe are very detailed—read the whole thing before you start!
- Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Claire Saffitz6/37
Custard Tart With Cream and Fresh Fruit
If eggy flan-like desserts are your thing, you are going to love this crustless vanilla-infused tart.
- Christopher Testani7/37
True Vanilla Ice Cream
There's nothing, um, vanilla about our homemade version of the classic. Of course, it also makes a great base for your favorite upgrades.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell8/37
Grand Aioli
To make the lemony, garlicky aioli for this classic French party platter, you'll need four extra egg yolks. (We also like to serve a few halved 8-minute eggs for dipping.)
- Photo by William Meppem9/37
Classic Lemon Curd
If you are lucky enough to have a lemon tree in your backyard, you should probably be making this lemon curd recipe and sharing it with friends. By constantly stirring the mixture, you'll end up with luscious, velvety smooth curd.
- Photo by Matt Russell10/37
Eggplant and Mushroom Tahcheen
This saffron-infused, vegetarian version of the traditional savory Iranian rice cake is made with earthy portobello mushrooms and meaty eggplants. Egg yolks and yogurt enrich the dish.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson11/37
Pasta Carbonara With Cabbage and Mushrooms
In this dish, you’ll sauté mushrooms and bacon until they become crispy. You’ll use bacon fat to sear the cabbage before tossing in an egg, Parmesan, and pasta.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Mira Evnine12/37
Caesar Salad
Our best Caesar salad recipe is classic version with a zesty homemade dressing and crunchy garlic croutons.
- Photo by Alex Lau13/37
Chocolate Budino With Candied Walnuts
This deliciously wobbly, very special pudding isn’t thickened with cornstarch or gelatin. Instead, it’s made with chocolate, milk, cream, and six egg yolks, and spiked with olive oil and salt, which complement the bittersweet and fruity flavors of the chocolate.
- Chelsie Craig14/37
Magic Crispy Chicken
For the satisfaction of fried chicken without the fuss, coat boneless breasts in an eggy, mustardy mixture, then toasted panko, and bake them in the oven.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson15/37
Classic Eggs Benedict With Blender Hollandaise
Hollandaise sauce is the classic egg yolk recipe. Here, we promise it's quick and easy, richly adorning buttery English muffins, savory Canadian bacon, and perfectly poached eggs.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Simon Andrews16/37
Italian Easter Bread
This fragrant Italian Easter bread is flavored with vanilla, almond, and candied orange peels.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell17/37
Cauliflower Carbonara
Cut into small pieces, roasted cauliflower mingles with pasta, bacon, egg yolk, and Parmesan in this hearty, comforting twist on classic carbonara.
- Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susan Spungen18/37
Grapefruit Bars with Candied Zest
Here’s a citrus bar that’s just as beautiful as it is zingy. The twice-cooked curd method ensures that these bars are extra sturdy and have a smooth, shiny surface.
- Photo by Alex Lau19/37
Kimchi Udon with Scallions
The power trio of butter, kimchi, and gochujang produces an umami ballad so beautiful in this udon recipe, you’ll want to play it over and over again. Drop in an egg yolk at the end for really excellent texture.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Simon Andrews20/37
Chocolate Mousse
You don't need any egg whites for this chocolate mousse recipe (but save them for our best recipes with egg whites); just chilled cream, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and bittersweet chocolate. A dollop of whipped cream at the end doesn't hurt.
- Photo by Alex Lau21/37
Brothy Beans and Farro With Eggs and Mushrooms
Stirring an egg yolk into each steaming bowl just before eating adds richness and body to this subtly spicy soup.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova22/37
Coconut Custard and Rhubarb Tart
Adding coconut oil to this coconut milk custard gives it an amazing coconut flavor. But yes, this is one of our favorite egg yolk recipes, too. You'll need five of them to make the custard, which gets topped with tangy rhubarb.
- Ditte Isager23/37
Chocolate Ice Cream
Plan to start making this truffle-rich ice cream five days before you serve it and you'll be rewarded for the waiting. It took the chefs at St. John years to arrive at this recipe. We're glad they did.
- Photo by Mandy Lee24/37
Pandora’s Box
This cube of crustless milk bread is encased in a shiny, shatteringly thin caramel shell, then filled with an enormous dollop of chamomile-infused vanilla bean custard. If you have five egg yolks on hand, it's a worthwhile project.
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Leche Flan with Grapefruit
Ceramic or glass baking dishes work best for cooking this creamy Filipino-American–style dessert. You can make the flan a day ahead of serving, so it's great for a party.
- Photo by Kenji Toma26/37
Crème Brûlée Tart
Crème brûlée, but in a crust. The smooth custard in a flaky shell with a crackling burnt-sugar top is one of the very best ways to use up egg yolks.
- Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani27/37
Breakfast Calzones
If you can't find 'nduja, a funky and spicy spreadable Calabrian salami, substitute torn or chopped hot soppressata or a salami with some kick.
- Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Heather Greene, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou28/37
Old-School Tiramisù
This tiramisú is moist but not wet, extra-fluffy, and made with real coffee and the perfect amount of dark rum. You'll need three egg yolks and some mascarpone for the filling.
- Photo by Ted Cavanaugh29/37
Bucatini With Lemony Carbonara
Lemon makes the perfect foil for carbonara’s salty richness. You may never go back to a basic egg yolk-only situation.
- Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich30/37
Broccoli Caesar
Broccoli stems are tender and delicious, but it’s important to cut away the dried-out base and peel the tough skin of thicker ones. This sturdy veg can handle a punchy dressing made with anchovy, garlic, lemon, and egg yolk.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova31/37
Tin Roof Ice Cream
Tin roof sundaes are traditionally made of vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and a scattering of red-skinned Spanish peanuts. This recipe uses chocolate-covered peanuts instead, folding them into the ice cream, where they become embedded between layers of fudge ripple.
- Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Chelsea Cavanaugh, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich32/37
Banana Cream Pie
Banana cream pie sure is a good way to use up three extra egg yolks. Roasted peanuts pull double duty in the graham cracker crust and sprinkled over the topping, keeping the bananas from making this pie excessively sweet.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Samantha Seneviratne & Jason Schreiber33/37
Iranian Rice Cookies
If you only have one extra egg yolk on hand, consider this cookie recipe. The indentations come from a meat mallet, and the terrific flavor comes from a mix of rice flour, cardamom, and rose water.
- Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani34/37
Tiramisù with Amaretti Cookies
The crunchy almond cookies replace soft smushy ladyfingers for a welcome twist on the classic dessert.
- Photo by Yuki Sugiura35/37
Korean Egg Bread (Gyeran Bbang)
Usually just a pancake-like dough with egg, this version sports bacon, tomato, and gooey cheese for a completely gratifying breakfast. You'll top each one with an egg yolk, so it's a great use for 9 extras!
- Photo by Peden + Munk36/37
Jam-Filled Challah Doughnuts
An egg yolk-enriched dough makes these doughnuts from Zahav in Philadelphia extra special. If your jam for the filling is too thick, a few pulses in a food processor will loosen it up—there's no need to add water.
- Photo by Danny Kim37/37
Cured Egg Yolks
Of all these egg yolk recipes, this one's really meant to solve your extra-yolk problem. Cured egg yolks are fantastic for grating over pasta or vegetables, shaving over crostini, or adding umami and richness to a soup.
Joe Sevier
Zoe Denenberg
Joe Sevier
David Tamarkin