Yes, White Egg Yolks Exist—But Are They Okay to Eat?

Hailed as an almost perfect food, eggs are some of the most versatile ingredients in your fridge. Whether it's a sunny-side-up situation or a devilish appetizer, eggs are an anytime snack. But what if you crack open your egg and the yolk is white? We recently had a hard-boiled egg with a white center and that got us wondering: what does that mean, how does it happen, and is it safe to eat?

What Makes Up An Egg?

An egg has three major components: the outer shell, the albumen (egg white), and the yolk. The yolk, though arguably the best part, only makes up about 30 percent of the individual sphere. Yolks are rich in vitamins, lipids, and protein making them one of the most complete high-protein sources in the dairy aisle.

What Impacts Egg Yolk Color?

Yolk color depends entirely on pigments in the food chickens eat. When hens are raised in a more open and free environment, the variation in diet can cause variations in the eggs they lay. The natural pigments in egg yolks are called xanthophylls which, in tandem with provitamin A, result in a rich orange yolk color.

Chicken feed containing yellow corn or alfalfa meal will produce eggs with medium-yellow yolks. Vital Farms proudly states on its website that it feeds its hens additional natural ingredients such as paprika and marigold petals to help produce eggs with deep orange yolks. Some farmers might even use red peppers to get almost red centers to their eggs!

A diet plentiful in vitamin A itself, but without A provitamins or xanthophylls, possibly from light-colored wheat or barley, can produce practically colorless yolks.

Can You Eat a White Egg Yolk?

Good news! White yolks are absolutely safe to consume.

"They're still safe to eat even though they aren't the color you're used to," says Breana Killeen, owner of Killeen Crossroads Farm and chicken farming advocate.

Although egg yolk color doesn’t determine nutritional value, many people prefer dark-colored yolks over lighter-colored yolks due to perceived taste. This is subjective, however, so you’ll just have to try for yourself with one of our many easy egg recipes.