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Dehydrating Eggs (Dehydrated Eggs Step by Step)

Has the annual flurry of homegrown eggs filled your fridge to maximum capacity? Have you run out of ways to eat eggs- but more just keep coming? You need to tackle some egg preservation, ASAP! Dehydrating eggs may be just the thing to save your day.

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Dehydrating Eggs

You’ve probably heard of dehydrating apple slices or banana chips or fruit leather. But have you considered dehydrating eggs before? Eggs aren’t what comes to mind first when one thinks of dehydration, but I’ve preserved a few dozen eggs this way every year, and I’m glad I learned how.

Dehydrated eggs are the dry, crumbled result of pouring raw, scrambled eggs onto a dehydrator tray and leaving it to run for a few hours. This bright orange crumble is shelf stable and requires very little space. Rehydrating the eggs is as simple as combining the powder with water.

Why should you bother dehydrating eggs? It’s a great option for preserving last-resort eggs. That is to say, I final source of eggs after your frozen, water glassed, etc. eggs have run out. Dehydrated eggs are also a concentrated source of protein and fats- they’ve become a regular part of the slop that my pigs and meat birds get.

Beyond feeding animals, dehydrated eggs can be used in the kitchen to replace an egg inside of recipes. They aren’t great scrambled on their own, and they couldn’t be fried like a fresh egg. But if you need an egg for baking or stirred into a dish, dehydrated eggs are a great option.

Equipment Needed for Dehydrating Eggs

The equipment needed for dehydrating eggs is pretty straight forward- a bowl, a dehydrator, and a container to store the eggs in.

I like to use a 1 quart glass measuring cup to scramble the eggs (instead of a bowl) because of the pouring spout.

My dehydrator is an older Nesco/American Harvest brand. It’d been collecting dust in a cabinet long before my husband and I met, but has had a second life drying out things on the homestead. An oven at a low temperature could substitute for the dehydrator, but it’s a lot more inconvenient. You’ll also need the fruit leather trays for your dehydrator- or enough parchment paper to line the racks and prevent leaking.

(A newer version of our old trusty Nesco dehydrator is available on Amazon, here)

The easiest container for storage after dehydrating eggs is a canning jar. You could use any dort of air tight container though. I’ve fit about 2 1/ 2 to 3 dozen dehydrated eggs in a quart jar.

 

Ingredients Needed for Dehydrating Eggs

Unsurprisingly, the ingredients list for this project is very short. You’ll just need eggs.

The eggs can be old, new, small, large- doesn’t matter. Laid by chickens, ducks, turkeys- doesn’t matter. You can certainly dehydrate store bought eggs as well. I usually use older eggs from the back of the fridge for dehydrating (or freezing) because they’ve already been passed up as fresh eggs for so long.

 

Dehydrating Eggs- Step by Step

Start by assembling your supplies and ingredients.

You’ll need your dehydrator (with the fruit leather trays or parchment paper), a measuring cup or bowl, a fork or whisk, and a canning jar or other storage container.

Crack 6-8 eggs into your bowl. (Save the shells! They can be used for so many things around the homestead- I have a list here)

Scramble the eggs thoroughly. Don’t add any salt/pepper/milk- just scramble the plain eggs.

Place the fruit leather tray (or parchment paper) onto your dehydrator racks.

Pour the scrambled eggs onto the tray. You’ll want to pour slowly, moving as you go, so that the tray is covered with an even layer of egg. (You may be able to fit more eggs in each tray, depending on the size of your dehydrator- I can fit 7 medium sized eggs in each tray of my dehydrator easily)

Repeat the scrambling and pouring until all of your trays are filled.

Place the lid on the dehydrator, plug it in, and turn the temperature to 140*F.

After a few hours, check the eggs. They will probably have turned bright orange and begun to wrinkle and crisp up. I like to rotate the trays’ order part way through the dehydration process so that the dehydrating eggs are done at the same time. (This may be unnecessary with your dehydrator)

Once the eggs are dry to the touch and crumble instead of bending, they are done dehydrating. They will still feel greasy, but they shouldn’t be sticky or pliable. They’re usually ready around the 10 hour mark in my dehydrator.

Take the dried egg off the tray in pieces and place in your canning jar. You can crumble/crush the eggs with a spoon as you fill the jar, or you can run the eggs through a food processor to get an evenly fine powder. (I don’t have a food processor, so I use the spoon/jar method)

Add a lid to your storage container, adding a label with the contents and date.

Voila! Dehydrated eggs.

 

Storing Dehydrated Eggs

Dehydrating eggs is the hard part- storing them is easy. With your now-dry and powdered eggs in jars (with lids and labels), they’re ready to store. Simply place them on a shelf in your pantry alongside any other home canned goods you have. It’s that easy.

I haven’t stored dehydrated eggs longer than a year, though at the 1 year mark they were indistinguishable from newly dehydrated eggs. According to Science Direct, powdered eggs can last 5 to 10 years. (Find that article here) Either way, you’re getting a much longer shelf life from dehydrating eggs than by storing them whole/fresh.

 

Using Your Dehydrated Eggs

Using dehydrated eggs is pretty simple.

In most cases, you’ll want to start by rehydrating them. To rehydrate the eggs, combine equal parts powdered egg and water in a bowl. Let them sit to reconstitute, and then stir.

2 tablespoons of egg powder and 2 tablespoons of water is the equivalent to one egg.

Once the egg is rehydrated, what can you use it for? Not frying or hard boiling- obviously. But these reconstituted eggs are great for baking and other recipes that require eggs to be mixed into something. (Baking, meatloaf, soups, sauces, etc.)

Dehydrating eggs for homemade foods for backpacking, camping, hiking, etc. also seems to be a common use for dehydrated eggs, though I haven’t had the chance to try it out myself.

My main use for these dehydrated eggs is actually as a feed supplement. Eggs are a great source of lysine and other amino acids and fats that will be very beneficial to growing animals. I mix dehydrated eggs into the slop that we feed our feeder pigs every day, as well as our broilers and turkeys when they need a little treat or pick-me-up. If you’re feeding a lamb or kid egg drench, the dehydrated eggs can be used there as well.

 

Dehydrating Eggs- FAQ’s

How to rehydrate dehydrated eggs?

To rehydrate your dehydrated eggs, combine equal parts powdered egg to water. 2 Tablespoons of powdered eggs and 2 Tablespoons of water is the equivalent of 1 egg.

 

Are dehydrated eggs safe to eat?

Dehydrated eggs are safe to eat if they are cooked after rehydration. Drinking or eating the raw rehydrated eggs wouldn’t taste all that great, and probably isn’t wise in terms of food safety.

 

Are dehydrated eggs good?

Dehydrated eggs are (or can be) good. These homemade, raw dehydrated eggs are good when utilized as an ingredient. Mixed into cookies, they are indistinguishable from baked goods made with a fresh egg.

 

Can you dehydrate cooked eggs?

Yes, cooked, scrambled eggs can be dehydrated. However, they won’t rehydrate very well and will be very similar to the rehydrated eggs that were dehydrated raw. Cooking before dehydration adds an extra step that I’ve found to be unnecessary, but it may be worth experimenting with.

 

Are dehydrated eggs healthy?

Dehydrated eggs are just eggs, so yes, dehydrated eggs are healthy; just like their fresh counterparts. Rich in protein, fats, cholesterol, choline, and fat soluble vitamins- eggs are an unbeatable powerhouse of nutrition.

What are dehydrated eggs?

Dehydrated eggs are just raw eggs that have been processed in a dehydrator for 10 or so hours at 140*F. They have been powdered or pulverized after dehydration and can be stored on a shelf long-term.

 

What temperature for dehydrating eggs?

140*F is what I’ve found to be a good temperature for dehydrating eggs.

 

Dehydrating Eggs- Conclusion

I hope that you’ve been inspired to try dehydrating eggs yourself. Now that the hens are laying steadily with more light and better weather, it’s the perfect time to try your hand at preserving eggs. If you’d like more ideas around egg preservation, I’d suggest checking out this post that will overview 12 different egg preservation methods. I also have a post specifically about freezing eggs here, and a post all about water glassing eggs here.

Haven’t taken the leap into keeping chickens yet? Here’s a post with 10 reasons why you should!

If you give dehydrating eggs a try I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below, or tag me on Instagram, @EmigrantFarms.

Thanks for reading and happy homesteading!

-Maia