From breakfast omelets and French toast to fried rice and decadent cakes, eggs play an important role in the kitchen. But nowadays, they can come at a high price—that is, if you can find them at all. You might have to opt for egg substitutes or other products you can find in the refrigerator section, like that carton of liquid eggs.

But what exactly are liquid eggs? They're either a combination of liquid egg whites with additives or whole eggs, according to Delish food editor Francesca Zani. "Every brand varies, but the idea is that they're supposed to act like real eggs."

They're also a convenient staple: They're shelf-stable and freezeable. But the real question is whether they actually cook like real eggs and taste like real eggs.

We compared the two in three recipes: scrambled eggs, banana bread, and chocolate chip cookies.

Do Liquid Eggs Work As A Substitute For Whole Eggs?

Scrambled Eggs

scrambled eggs

The two plates of scrambled eggs looked slightly different. Zani said that the liquid eggs produced a thicker, fluffier, and chewier product, with more body. But when it came to taste, both passed the test.

"If you don't think this is a real egg when eating it then I don't know what you're thinking," said Zani.

"I say you can use liquid eggs as a substitute for whole eggs when making scrambled eggs."

Banana Bread

banana bread

Because freshly cracked eggs need to be whipped into the batter, there's added air and volume, which makes the banana bread made with whole eggs taller than the one with liquid eggs. While the whole eggs produced a "firmer and spongier" product, the liquid eggs made a softer baked good.

But which is better? "I actually prefer the liquid egg one," Zani says.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

chocolate chip cookies

When we made the chocolate chip cookies, we were surprised how different the batter looked between the batch with whole eggs and the one with liquid eggs. In the end, the finished products looked identical. But did they taste the same?

While there was a very slight textural difference, Zani says the cookies tasted the same.

"I'd say you can definitely use liquid eggs in place of whole eggs for your chocolate chip cookies."

The Bottom Line

In the end, we were surprised how well the liquid eggs held up against the real thing. We actually preferred the banana bread made with the liquid eggs. And in the other two scenarios both types of eggs gave nearly identical products in terms of taste. Between being shelf-stable, freezable, and convenient, liquid eggs might be a good product to keep on hand, especially if the real thing is hard to come by at the grocery store.

"Liquid eggs are actually a really great substitute for real eggs," Zani says.