How to halve an egg
Beat the egg, then weigh or spoon out half. It takes a minute, and a halved cake or batch of cookies keeps the balance of the original.
Half a large egg is 25 g, about 1 tbsp + 2 tsp of beaten egg. 1 large egg: 50 g ⅓ large egg: 17 g 1 ½ large eggs: 75 g
Halve an egg in three steps
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Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat it with a fork until the yolk and white are one even color, so each half gets its share of both.
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Weigh it and pour off half, about 25 g for a large egg. With no scale, measure 1 tbsp + 2 tsp.
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Cover the rest and refrigerate it. Brush it on bread or pastry, or add it to scrambled eggs within a couple of days.
Egg weights by size
Weights without the shell, from USDA FoodData Central. Most US recipes are written for large eggs.
| Size | Whole | Half | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 38 g | 19 g | 13 g |
| Medium | 44 g | 22 g | 15 g |
| Large | 50 g | 25 g | 17 g |
| Extra large | 56 g | 28 g | 19 g |
| Jumbo | 63 g | 32 g | 21 g |
US egg sizes are set by the minimum weight of a dozen in the shell: at least 24 ounces for large and 27 for extra large. Single eggs in a carton vary, so for baking it is worth weighing even a whole egg when you have changed the recipe size.
Eggs in a scaled recipe
The recipe scaler keeps eggs as halves, thirds and quarters rather than decimals. This is what it shows for some common scales, and what to use with large eggs:
| Recipe | Scaled | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 egg, ½× | ½ egg | 25 g |
| 3 eggs, ½× | 1 ½ eggs | 1 whole + 25 g |
| 5 eggs, ½× | 2 ½ eggs | 2 whole + 25 g |
| 1 egg, ⅓× | ⅓ egg | 17 g |
| 2 eggs, ¾× | 1 ½ eggs | 1 whole + 25 g |
| 3 eggs, 1.5× | 4 ½ eggs | 4 whole + 25 g |
For the part egg, beat a whole egg and weigh out what you need. Halving a whole recipe? The halving guide covers cups, spoons and pans too.
Yolks and whites
A large egg is about 17 g of yolk and 33 g of white. Half a yolk is about 8.5 g and half a white about 17 g. Stir the yolk or whisk the white lightly before you divide it: a white is easier to pour evenly once it is loosened.
When rounding is fine
In meatballs, breading or a frittata, an egg mostly binds or adds richness, so rounding half an egg up to a whole one changes little. In cakes, cookies and custards the egg is part of a balance with the flour and sugar, so measure the part egg there.
Keeping the leftover egg
Keep leftover raw egg covered in the refrigerator. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service gives raw yolks and raw whites 2 to 4 days in the refrigerator; raw whites also freeze for up to 12 months, but yolks do not freeze well.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central, food 171287 — “Egg, whole, raw, fresh”: small 38 g, medium 44 g, large 50 g, extra large 56 g, jumbo 63 g; 1 cup = 243 g
- USDA FoodData Central, foods 172184 and 172183 — large yolk 17 g, large white 33 g
- USDA AMS, United States Standards, Grades, and Weight Classes for Shell Eggs (AMS 56) — weight classes, § 56.218
- USDA FSIS, Shell Eggs from Farm to Table — storage times for raw yolks and whites
Amounts use US cups and spoons (1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons). Checked against these sources on October 23, 2026.