52 Brilliant Ways to Use Up Leftover Egg Yolks

52 Brilliant Ways to Use Up Leftover Egg Yolks
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Key lime pie with a graham cracker crust, topped with whipped cream and lime slices, one slice removed.
Credit: Photo: Erik Bernstein; Food Styling: Spencer Richards

Have you made an airy pavlova or crunchy meringue lately? Or did someone in your family abscond with all the egg whites for his breakfast scramble, leaving you with an excess of egg yolks? Don’t be annoyed! Step up to the challenge and look at this as an opportunity to use these protein-packed, sunny spheres in new recipes. We promise that whatever you choose to make, it’ll be delicious.

Whether you’ve got one leftover yolk or six, here’s a list of recipes, grouped together by number of yolks used, so you can make something tasty and use them up at the same time. And if you don’t have the time to use up your egg yolks right now, remember that you can freeze them for later! Here are 52 easy ways to use your leftover egg yolks.

In This Article

1 Egg Yolk

2 Egg Yolks

3 Egg Yolks

4 Egg Yolks

5 Egg Yolks

Credit: Tara Holland

Crème Anglaise

Crème anglaise is a silky, pourable custard sauce flavored with vanilla bean. It’s thinner than a regular custard, and although it’s very similar in flavor and color, it is different to crème pâtissière (aka pastry cream), which is much thicker.

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6 Egg Yolks

8 Egg Yolks

9 Egg Yolks