A large egg in USDA FoodData Central is about 6.2 g of protein, for roughly 50 g of what you eat. 12 Whole raw egg is 12.6 g of protein in every 100 g. Through an ordinary day, a large egg is about 6 g. A smaller egg comes in lower, and a larger one can pass 7 g. Boiling does not add protein. A little water leaves the egg, so a cooked one can feel lighter in the hand.
Cartons in India are not graded the way a USDA large egg is graded, and the eggs in one carton still differ in weight. How much protein is in one egg changes with the egg you choose. About 6 g is a fair working number for a large egg across an ordinary day. If you are counting every meal to the gram, weigh that egg.
The USDA 50 g is the part you eat, after the shell is off. If you weigh the egg with the shell still on, the scale reads higher, because that extra weight is shell. With no scale, keep 6 g for a large egg. A lighter egg, about 40 g of what you eat, is about 5 g of protein. 2
Protein depends on the weight of the egg
A 50 g egg and a 40 g egg from the same shop will not match. Oil or cream in the pan changes the calories of the dish. The protein is still the eggs you cracked in.
| What went on the plate | Rough weight | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| One large egg, shell off | 50 g | About 6.2 g |
| 100 g of whole egg | 100 g | 12.6 g |
| The white of one large egg | About 33 g | About 3.6 g |
| The yolk of one large egg | About 17 g | About 2.7 g |
In the usual USDA split of one large egg, about 3.6 g of the protein is in the white and about 2.7 g is in the yolk. The yolk also holds the fat, along with vitamins A, D, E and K. A dish that uses only the white has the protein that was in the white.
Shell colour follows the breed of the hen, while the protein follows the weight of the egg, so a brown shell and a white shell of the same weight carry the same grams.
Add the white and the yolk and you get about 6.3 g. The whole large egg is listed at 6.2 g. The small gap is just rounding. A plate of only the white keeps about 3.6 g. The yolk's 2.7 g stays in the yolk, with the fat and those vitamins, if the yolk is left uneaten.
The essential amino acids in eggs are the nine the body does not make on its own. A whole egg has all nine, across the white and the yolk.
Cooking does not change the protein
Bhurji, a boiled egg, and a poached egg made from the same egg carry the same protein, because cooking does not create protein. An older boiled egg that has dried a little can weigh less, and the protein can be a little lower. Boiled eggs keep for a couple of days in the fridge, which is one reason the amount is easy to know.
Two large eggs are about 12 g of protein
Here is how the eggs fit into the day. ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, put a 65 kg person at about 54 g of protein, from 0.83 g per kilogram. 3 The UK reference for that person is about 49 g, from 0.75 g per kilogram. 4 Two large eggs, about 12 g, cover breakfast. Lunch and dinner still have to make up the rest.
Eggs are one of the protein-rich foods people already count by the piece, one egg at a time, rather than by weighing out a raw ingredient.
Two large eggs are about 12 g, a bit under a quarter of 54 g. The other meals cover the rest. Four large eggs would be about 25 g, still under half of 54 g.
An egg with a Horlicks Protein sachet
One large egg is about 6.2 g of protein. If you also have a Horlicks Protein sachet, add the 24 g printed on that 36 g sachet, which you stir into 200 ml of cold water or milk. Together that is about 30 g. A Horlicks Protein milkshake is a 240 ml bottle with 20 g of ultra-filtered milk protein. One large egg with that bottle is about 26 g.
A 60 g egg you can eat, using 12.6 g of protein per 100 g of raw whole egg, comes to about 7.6 g. A lighter egg of 45 g comes to about 5.7 g. Two of the 60 g eggs are about 15 g, and on a 54 g day for a 65 kg adult that still leaves about 39 g to eat. Two of the 45 g eggs are about 11 g, which leaves about 43 g. In a usual large egg, about 3.6 g of the protein is in the white and about 2.7 g is in the yolk. A lighter egg keeps that split, just smaller. Weigh what you eat, after the shell is off. If you are using the raw whole-egg figure, that is 12.6 g of protein per 100 g.
To summarise
To summarise, the protein in one egg depends on how heavy the egg is. A large egg, about 50 g once the shell is off, has about 6.2 g, close to 6 g if you are counting through the day. About 3.6 g of that is in the white and about 2.7 g is in the yolk. A lighter egg has less and a heavier egg has more. Boiling or bhurji does not add protein. Two large eggs are about 12 g. If a Horlicks Protein sachet is on the same plate, add the 24 g the sachet lists to the egg's own grams.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central. Eggs, egg whole, Large, Grade A. FDC 748967.
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-search/?query=748967&type=Foundation - USDA FoodData Central. Egg, whole, raw, fresh. FDC 171287.
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-search/?query=171287&type=SR%20Legacy - ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024.
https://www.nin.res.in/downloads/DietaryGuidelinesforNINwebsite.pdf - British Nutrition Foundation. Nutrition requirements, Reference Nutrient Intake for protein, from the 1991 UK Dietary Reference Values.
https://www.nutrition.org.uk/media/nmmewdug/nutrition-requirements.pdf