Egg Weights: What Small, Medium, Large and Jumbo Actually Weigh
A large egg is about 50 g out of the shell, split roughly 33 g white to 17 g yolk. Here is the full table and how to measure half an egg.
A large egg is about 50 g out of the shell, split roughly 33 g white to 17 g yolk. Here is the full table and how to measure half an egg.
Recipes say "2 large eggs" and assume you and they mean the same thing. Often you do not, because egg sizing is a legal weight class that differs between countries — and because eggs within a class vary too.
US egg sizes by weight
American egg sizes are legally defined by minimum weight per dozen. Divide by twelve and you get the per-egg figure.
The shell is about 10% of the total weight, which is where the gap between the first two columns comes from. The white-to-yolk split is close to 2:1 by weight.
Large is the default. Unless a recipe says otherwise, it means a large egg — about 50 g of actual egg.
UK and EU sizes are different
This trips up anyone cooking across the Atlantic.
A UK large egg is meaningfully bigger than a US large. A UK medium is the closer match. If you are following an American recipe in Britain, medium eggs will get you nearer the intended weight than large ones.
Why weighing eggs is worth doing
In a cake with four eggs, using extra large instead of large adds about 24 g of egg — roughly half an extra egg. Eggs bring liquid, fat, protein and lift all at once, so that is not a small change.
The fix is to weigh. Recipes that matter are increasingly written this way:
1 large egg → 50 g beaten egg
How to measure half an egg
Halving a recipe with an odd number of eggs is the classic problem, and it has a clean answer.
Beat one whole egg until the yolk and white are completely combined — properly combined, not just broken up, or you will get a half that is mostly white. Then take half.
By weight: 25 g for a large egg.
Whites and yolks by volume
Recipes that call for a cup of egg white — angel food cake, macarons, meringue — are asking for a specific weight in disguise.
Weighing is far easier than counting here, particularly for yolks, where you will otherwise separate fourteen eggs and hope.
Temperature matters more than people expect
Most baking recipes assume room-temperature eggs. Cold eggs do not emulsify properly into creamed butter and sugar, which is why a batter sometimes looks curdled — that is cold egg refusing to combine with warm fat.
To warm eggs quickly, put them in a bowl of warm tap water for five minutes. Not hot water, which starts to cook them.
The exception is separating: eggs separate far more cleanly straight from the fridge, because a cold yolk is firmer and less inclined to break. Separate cold, then let the whites come up to room temperature before whipping, since warm whites whip to a greater volume.
Egg substitutes, by weight
If you are converting a recipe rather than an egg, these are the usual replacements for one large egg's worth of binding.
Flax egg — 1 tablespoon ground flax (about 7 g) plus 3 tablespoons water, left to gel for ten minutes.
Chia egg — the same proportions with chia seeds.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a large egg weigh?
About 57 g in the shell and about 50 g shelled. The white is roughly 33 g and the yolk roughly 17 g.
How do I measure half an egg?
Beat a whole egg until the yolk and white are completely combined, then weigh or measure out half — 25 g, or about 1½ tablespoons for a large egg.
Can I substitute two medium eggs for two large ones?
For most recipes yes, but you will be about 12 g short. In a cake with only two eggs that is noticeable. Weighing is the clean fix: use 100 g of beaten egg wherever a recipe wants two large.
Are UK and US egg sizes the same?
No. A UK large egg is 63–73 g in shell while a US large is around 57 g. A UK medium at 53–63 g is closer to the US large than a UK large is.
How many egg whites make a cup?
About seven large egg whites, since each is around 33 g and a cup of egg white is roughly 243 g.