What to Do With Leftover Egg Yolks
Leftover egg yolks keep in the fridge for two to four days, or in the freezer for up to a year if you stabilize them first. Store them properly, then use whatever you have on hand, from a single yolk stirred into fried rice to a full batch of pasta dough.
Leftover egg yolks stay safely usable in the fridge for two to four days, or in the freezer for up to a year if you whisk in a small pinch of salt or sugar first. In the meantime, turn them into custard, pasta dough, mayonnaise, or a pan sauce.
If you just made a batch of meringue, an angel food cake, or egg white omelets and now you're staring at a bowl of stray yolks, you're not stuck. Yolks are pure flavor and fat, and once you know how to store and stretch them, they're one of the easiest odds and ends to use up. For more ways to turn what's already in your kitchen into dinner, see our full guide to what to cook with what you have.
How long do leftover egg yolks last?
Raw egg yolks separated from their whites hold up in the refrigerator for about two to four days, based on USDA and FDA storage guidance. Keep them in a small airtight container, or a bowl pressed tightly with plastic wrap, since bare yolks left uncovered can dry out and form a skin within a few hours.
If you can't get to them in that window, freeze them. Frozen yolks, stabilized with a little salt or sugar, keep for up to a year in a 0 degree Fahrenheit freezer, though they look and cook best within the first few months. Plain yolks frozen without a stabilizer are still safe to eat, but they turn thick and gelatinous, which makes them hard to whisk smoothly into anything.
How do you freeze egg yolks so they don't turn to jelly?
- Separate and count. Crack your eggs, letting the whites drop into one bowl and the yolks into another. Note how many yolks you have so you can measure the stabilizer correctly.
- Decide sweet or savory. For yolks headed into savory dishes, stir in 1/8 teaspoon of salt for every four yolks. For sweet dishes like custard, curd, or ice cream, stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar or corn syrup for every four yolks instead.
- Whisk right away. Beat the yolks and the salt or sugar together immediately, the way you would for scrambled eggs. Letting a stabilizer sit on raw yolks without stirring can toughen them.
- Portion before freezing. Spoon the mixture into an ice cube tray or small freezer bags in one or two yolk portions, so later you can thaw only what a recipe calls for.
- Label with the date and type. Note whether you used salt or sugar, since a savory portion will throw off a dessert recipe and vice versa.
- Thaw in the fridge. Move frozen yolks to the refrigerator the night before you need them, and use them within a day or two once thawed.
What can you make with leftover egg yolks?
The right recipe usually comes down to how many yolks you're holding. Use this as a starting point, or plug whatever else is sitting in your fridge into our fridge recipe finder for more matches.
| Yolks on hand | What to make | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1 yolk | Stir into fried rice or scrambled eggs | Adds flavor at the end of cooking and doesn't go to waste |
| 2 yolks | Mayonnaise or aioli | The classic ratio is about 2 yolks per cup of oil |
| 2 to 3 yolks | Carbonara or a pan sauce | Yolks thicken a sauce off the heat instead of cream |
| 3 to 4 yolks | Lemon curd or a quick stovetop custard | Enough fat and protein to set without scrambling |
| 4 to 6 yolks | Ice cream base or creme brulee | Most custard bases call for 4 to 6 yolks per quart of dairy |
| 6 or more yolks | Egg yolk pasta dough or hollandaise for a crowd | Using only yolks makes a tender, golden pasta dough |
A few other easy homes for a stray yolk or two: brush it over unbaked bread or pie crust for a glossy egg wash, whisk it into hot pan drippings for gravy, or stir it into warm risotto right before serving for extra creaminess.
Never let another yolk go to waste
The hardest part of using up leftover yolks is usually just remembering they're in there before they go bad. If you log the yolks, along with everything else in your fridge and pantry, the app that suggests recipes based on ingredients you have at home can flag them with an expiration date and point you toward a curd, custard, or pasta recipe before they slip past their window. Our piece on how to tell me what is in my fridge and I will give you a recipe walks through exactly how that works.
Frequently asked questions
Can you freeze egg yolks without adding salt or sugar? Yes, and they're still safe to eat. But plain frozen yolks turn thick and gelatinous as they thaw, which makes them hard to blend smoothly into sauces, dough, or batter. A small pinch of salt or sugar per few yolks keeps the texture pourable.
Do leftover yolks need to sit in water in the fridge? No. Covering yolks in water is an old trick for keeping them plump for a day, but it also waters them down and isn't necessary if you store them in a tightly sealed container and use them within a few days.
Can you still use a yolk that has dried out or formed a skin? If it still looks and smells normal and you're within the two to four day window, trim away the dried film and use the yolk underneath. If it smells off or looks discolored, throw it out.
Sources: USDA FoodKeeper guidance, FDA refrigerator and freezer storage chart, University of Illinois Extension.