Eighteen years I’ve waited to experience the rich and runny yolk of an egg. I used to love “sunny-side-up” eggs, paired with toast I could use to soak the yolk once broken. After learning of the horrors of factory farming, fried eggs were off the menu- until now. The first plant-based fried and poached eggs with runny yolks have finally hatched, thanks to Yo! Egg.

Yo Egg was initially created at the request of a restaurant in Israel who wanted a vegan fried egg alternative. After seeing the demand for this product and the lack of alternatives available, Yo Egg was created. Now, according to their website, “Yo! Egg is on a mission to become the largest and most sustainable egg producer in the world, without the use of chickens.”

I first witnessed Yo Egg in a 2022 Facebook post. The only recognizable word to me was #vegan as the rest was in Hebrew, but with that hashtag in play, I knew I stumbled upon something incredible. Fast forward to 2023 and I was invited to a tasting during the Natural Products Expo West where I had the opportunity to meet Yo Egg Co-founder Eran Groner and see the vegan eggs in action.

I recently received a box of Yo Egg fried and poached eggs as a giveaway winner, making it possible for me to relive my tasting experience at home and document it for sharing. Since I grew up as a sunny-side-up fan, I was most excited to eat these again. I plated the vegan fried eggs both as a “traditional” American breakfast with toasted sourdough bread and plant-based bacon, then alongside a potato, onion, and red pepper hash with hot sauce. The rich and velvety yolk in contrast to the tangy and firey hot sauce offered my palate a kick, whereas the traditional plate presented nostalgia and an opportunity for the yolk to shine.

I used my vegan poached eggs to make eggs benny, along with Yo Egg’s very own vegan hollandaise sauce. Before Yo Egg, I’d never had eggs benedict or a poached egg for that matter. I found that other than the preparation and appearance, the overall taste and mouthfeel of poached eggs are similar to those that are fried. The egg white is neutral in flavor with a comparable texture to silken tofu, and the yolk is savory and buttery. Yo Eggs are delicious and upon first taste, I was reintroduced to a flavor experience I didn’t realize I was missing.

While Yo Egg is not currently available for purchase via retail, it is available for Foodservice sales. You can now find Yo Egg across the country, including locations in California like; LA, San Bernadino, and San Francisco. This is bound to be a brunch-time favorite and I for one, cannot wait for more restaurants to adopt and adapt their menus to include Yo Egg! Thank you Yo Egg and Plant Based Seafood Co. for the vegan eggs!

How would you plate Yo Egg?

Yo Egg Ingredients: water, vegetable oil (sunflower and/or canola oil), soy protein, chickpea protein, 2% or less of: [potato starch, yeast, seaweed extract, beta carotene, paprika extract, calcium lactate, salt, potassium salt, lecithin, guar gum, xanthan gum, maltodextrin, methylcellulose, carob gum

Yo Egg Vegan Poached Egg and Vegan Fried Egg

Yo-Egg.com

Location: Find a restaurant serving Yo! Egg