How to Use Mayonnaise Instead of Eggs for Baking, Breading, and More

Eggs and mayonnaise might seem very different, but one can often work as a handy substitute for the other. You might be surprised to learn that you can use mayo instead of eggs in many recipes. It can be used for binding, leavening, browning, and adding moisture in dishes where an egg or an egg yolk is generally used. 

We’re not suggesting you forgo eggs in every situation, but when eggs are scarce and prices are high, mayonnaise can be a useful swap. And for those times when you have run out and need an emergency substitute, mayonnaise can come in clutch. We spoke with a pastry chef and a food technologist to find out why mayonnaise can be such a great substitute for eggs and how to use it.

Why Mayonnaise Is a Good Egg Substitute

Mayonnaise and eggs have a few key similarities that make them interchangeable in certain recipes. Isabella Maczko, a senior food technologist at Parker Development, Inc., explains that eggs and mayonnaise are both colloids. “Colloids are mixtures consisting of insoluble particles that are evenly dispersed and suspended in a continuous phase (for instance, water),” she says. An egg is a natural colloid in both the egg yolks and whites. Egg whites consist of proteins evenly distributed in water. Yolks are colloidal emulsions, where fat droplets are evenly dispersed in water. 

“Mayonnaise is technically an emulsion, which is a type of colloid,” explains Maczko. An emulsion is when one liquid, in this case oil, is evenly distributed in a water-based liquid—in the case of mayonnaise, this liquid is usually a mixture of water and lemon juice or vinegar. So, both are structurally similar in that they have oil droplets dispersed in water. 

The main difference is that most mayonnaise uses eggs and/or egg yolks as an ingredient. This allows for the lecithin found in egg yolks to be used as an emulsifier between the water and oil. “The lecithin stabilizes the oil droplets in the water portion of mayonnaise,” she says.

4 Ways to Swap Mayonnaise for Eggs

In cooking and baking, eggs have four main purposes: binding, leavening, browning, and adding moisture. When deciding where mayonnaise would make a good swap, it’s important to consider how it will affect any of those four things.

Binding

Mayonnaise can be a great substitute for egg wash when breading, says Trung Vu, chef-instructor of pastry and baking arts at the Institute of Culinary Education. Think about making breaded chicken cutlets: The typical breading process involves coating the meat in flour, followed by egg wash, and finally bread crumbs. The egg wash is what binds the bread crumbs to the chicken and makes them adhere, creating the ultimately crunchy outer crust. Egg wash is a pretty thin substance, so mayonnaise is often a better choice when it comes to breading. It clings better to both the dry bread crumbs and the ingredient they are binding to, according to Vu.

Mayonnaise can be used as a binding agent when breading other ingredients, such as seafood, pork chops, arancini, vegetable fritters, and much more.

Leavening

“Eggs tend to soufflé in a hot oven,” says Vu. Likewise, mayonnaise is made by whipping egg yolks with a neutral fat, which creates a slightly aerated emulsion of the two. That’s what makes it a good swap for certain baking recipes. That aeration can help baked goods achieve a light and fluffy texture that you’d usually achieve with eggs. 

While it might not be a perfect 1:1 substitute, mayonnaise can replace at least a portion of the eggs and/or fat in baked goods like cake, brownies, and pancakes, according to Vu.

Browning

Oftentimes, an egg wash is brushed over the top of breads or pastries to encourage browning. Mayonnaise can have a similar effect. If you’ve ever made grilled cheese by brushing mayonnaise over the bread, you know all about this. According to Maczko, the browning you see when using mayonnaise on grilled cheese or an egg wash on a baked good is referred to as Maillard browning. “Maillard browning is a non-enzymatic browning reaction that happens between reducing sugars (usually carbohydrates) and amino acids (proteins) in a food when heat is applied,” she says. This reaction helps develop color, flavor, and aroma. 

Vu says mayonnaise can also be used to help add a golden brown crust to the top of a homemade loaf of sandwich bread. “At its core, mayonnaise is just an emulsion of egg yolks and fat, both of which promote browning,” he says. Just like an egg wash, mayonnaise doesn’t have a particularly strong flavor, so it won’t change the overall taste of the bread.

Adding Moisture

Mayonnaise is a great egg substitute for many baked goods. Both are mainly made of fat, and fat, along with sugar, is what keeps most baked goods moist. So when a recipe only calls for one egg or an egg yolk, mayonnaise can come in handy. Use about ¼ cup of mayonnaise per whole egg and 2-3 tablespoons for each yolk you ned to replace. (We would not recommend replacing several eggs in a recipe with mayonnaise.)

Maczko also notes that mayonnaise can coat flour, which helps limit gluten development—producing a more moist and fluffy cake. “When too much gluten is developed in cakes and similar items, it can cause a dense and chewy texture,” she says.