Do Cake Mixes Really Need Eggs? (2024)

There’s a widely believed myth that boxed cake mixes sold poorly until companies decided to require the addition of an egg. Rumor has it that the American housewives of the ‘30s and ‘40s felt guilty about contributing next to nothing to the baking process. They’d been taught that homemade is always best, and just adding water to powder was an insufficient amount of work.

That may have been true for some bakers, but that’s probably not why General Mills decided to go the egg route in the 1950s.

The fact is, adding eggs produces a superior cake.

Proteins in the egg help provide the cake’s structure, while the fats in the yolk make it richer and keep the texture becoming chewy. The yolk also contains emulsifiers that help the ingredients blend together smoothly.

There are ways, however, to bake a perfectly delicious boxed cake without any eggs:

Applesauce:

Use ¼ cup of applesauce for every egg you would include in your mix. Use unsweetened applesauce to avoid a too sweet cake.

Canned Pumpkin:

Low in calories but rich in fiber, adding canned pumpkin can make for a healthier cake. Use ¼ cup of canned pumpkin for each egg.

Banana:

Use half a banana for each egg. This method might add a bit of banana flavor to your cake, but that might not be a bad thing!

Coca-Cola:

All you need for a simple and tasty chocolate cake is one box of cake mix and one can of co*ke. For a lower-calorie option, use Diet co*ke.