12 Low or No-Egg Recipes from WWII

When eggs get pricey, wartime recipes come to the rescue!

I love how it’s raining eggs in this photo. Just what we all could use right now, right? Haha! Farm Journal December 1943

Egg prices these days are enough to leave one breathless! Avian flu is a big culprit, and if I learned anything from my episode about the importance of veterinarians, is that maintaining a disease-free farm or homestead is hard, intentional work.

Now if we want to make an egg-heavy recipe we have to think twice. Luckily, there are all kinds of solutions to getting by in baking without eggs (like using flax seeds or aquafaba from chickpeas), but that doesn’t help if the egg is the star of the show, unfortunately. I think it’s always a good idea to have some low-egg or no-egg recipes in the kitchen arsenal for just such occasions, especially from wartime inspiration! So, I thought I’d share a variety of these handy recipes that utilize one egg or no eggs at all. I hope these will be helpful and they all look quite delicious!

1. Eggless Mayonnaise

I’ve been wanting to try making homemade mayo for awhile. I thought these two versions of eggless mayo looked promising!

Tempting, Thrifty, Wartime Meals for 2, 4, and 6. (1942) by the Pet Milk Company

Tulsa World (OK) 24 Dec 1942

2. Meat Loaf

Meat loaf is a favorite of ours and it typically uses an egg as a binder. In this version the binding elements is oats and water (and the fats in the meat loaf). When I was growing up my mom always put oats in meat loaf.

The Sunday Oregonian (OR) 11 Apr 1943 via

I like finding more breakfast ideas than just eggs. Biscuits don’t typically have eggs in them, but I thought this biscuit version looked so interesting. It’s got added nutrition and a different flavor profile. Just like all biscuit recipes, care is needed to not over-knead the dough. 10-12 strokes of kneading should do the trick. I bet these would taste great in as a sausage patty sandwich!

Helps for Homemakers: Project 5 - Wartime Edition, by Kelvinator Division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation

4. Meat Dumplings with Mushroom Sauce

I love that this recipe provides an entire menu. No eggs in sight. Just a good, belly-filling recipe using beef or sausage, biscuit dough, and a can of condensed mushroom soup. I’m not sure if it’s the cream kind or just plain mushroom soup. Either would taste good, I think!

Farm Journal, January 1942

6. Dutch Apple Cake with Cinnamon Cream

I’ve had my eye on this recipe for some time. I love Dutch Apple Cake, so I don’t think you can lose with this one. And it’s always great to see a baked dessert that uses only one egg.