I was surprised to see these at Trader Joe’s. Frankly they looked more to me like like eggs you might find at Whole Foods or your local Farmer’s Market. But I bet those would charge somewhere between 8 and 10 dollars for these, not six bucks.
They say: “Laid by heirloom chickens living in a free range, open air environment. Especially excellent for omelettes”. I didn’t try them yet as these are Medium sized and I tend towards buying Extra Large eggs but these do look really interesting and quite gourmet. Said to have a very deep colored rich amber yolk.
By the way, my limited city-boy understanding of why eggs are white, brown or a color like these is that its related to the breed of the chicken who made them. In simple terms white chickens lay white eggs, while brown chickens lay brown eggs, etc. Besides brown and white, some breeds also lay blue or green eggs, like Araucanas, due to other pigments.
Trader Joe’s Free Range Heirloom Fresh Blue and Brown eggs (medium) $5.99/dozen
Brown or white, all eggs are equal nutritionally if the chickens are fed the same diet. My wife says brown eggs are “better” than white ones but thats not quite the case.
Things seem to have slightly improved, as I am finally seeing eggs back at Trader Joe’s. Instead of finding mostly empty shelves like we have been seeing for the last month or so (sold out by 9 am). Perhaps one reason is the limit on 1 dozen eggs per customer.
So consider this an improvement? Plus price-wise, considering I have seen eggs at local supermarkets for $11-14, seeing eggs for $4 for a dozen Extra Large Brown at Trader Joe’s seems like a bargain. Other prices were $7 for Pasture Raised Organic Large Brown (Feb 15, 2025 Trader Joe’s Broadway 72nd Street, NYC) Let’s hope it stays like this or hopefully improves? That may be wishful thinking!
Update: Trader Joe’s just implemented a “1 per customer” limit policy
The pictures of bare shelves where the eggs are supposed to be, were taken at two different Trader Joe’s early February 2025 (in NYC (Upper West Side).
Trader Joe’s prices seem a bit better than elsewhere which is probably one reason why people are scrambling to get eggs from Trader Joe’s. I see $4.99/dozen listed. These days five bucks for a dozen eggs is “a deal”! Hah!! Well that is better than a supermarket near me I checked a few days ago. I got sticker shock to see yes they had eggs in stock however they were selling regular white large eggs for $10.79/dozen. Yikes!
When I spoke to an employee near the egg shelves at Trader Joe’s about when they come in he told met they come in in the morning and the eggs at present are usually all sold out of eggs by 10 a.m. Just a week later another employee updated this to tell me if you want eggs you better come before 9 a.m! They open at 8. So the moral of the story, is if you want to find eggs at Trader Joe’s you may have to go there early in the morning, 8-9 a.m. Unfortunately that leaves me out. I’m not really an early riser.
After 4 or 5 strike outs trying to find eggs at Trader Joe’s recently (I got there early afternoon) I ended up buying eggs elsewhere: Fairway Market (NYC). White Extra Large eggs there were just under $6. More for brown, cage free, etc.
As long as the Avian Flu problem exists – and it only seems to be getting worse and worse – expect to see high prices on eggs as well as limited supplies, especially at Trader Joe’s perhaps? Each Trader Joe’s store only gets so many daily, and it looks like demand is exceeding supply. This is a pretty major problem and just getting worse unfortunately.
Update: Feb 7 2025: Trader Joe’s added a sign saying “eggs are limited to one dozen per customer per day”
UPDATE: Mar 31 2025: I am seeing eggs on Trader Joe’s shelves, on and off, depending on what time of day you get there. They might be sold out around noon. However a TJ employee told me they put eggs out now about twice a day; mornings and afternoons. First at 8 am when they open, and then again around 4 in the afternoon (this was NYC, Trader Joe’s UWS). Limits are “one carton per household”. Prices at Trader Joe’s are FAR MORE REASONABLE than I see at other standard supermarkets in my area where eggs can cost anywhere from 8-9 up to 11-12 dollars. Contrast this with TJ’s prices: $3.49 for jumbo white, $3.99 for brown large, $4.99 for brown large cage free, up to about $6 or 7 for pasture raised brown large or extra large.
“Per household” – they are not people coming together and buying a carton each when they are clearly “together” and pretending not to know each other!? Though how exactly they figure that out is beyond me.
Mid-November 2024 – Twice this week I went to two different Trader Joe’s in my area (NYC UWS) and found eggs to be completely sold out. The egg case was completely empty.
An employee told me, “Sorry. All Sold out. Eggs are done for the day. “
Has the same thing has happened to you recently? Here’s why.
It’s directly related to another uptick in the H5N1 Avian Flu situation. Again.
Trader Joe’s is getting a limited supply of eggs delivered to them daily. The same employee told me, “We get a delivery in the morning. We put what we have out then and they’re first come first served. So come earlier. By the afternoon, they’re usually sold out.” (Early bird gets the worm?)
“What to know about the avian flu and the risk to humans. The number of confirmed bird flu cases has risen in the U.S. to 31, federal health officials said on Thursday. Washington health officials reported four presumptive positive bird flu cases over the weekend. Oct 24, 2024 “
Related to this of course is the real reason the price of eggs have increased is the Avian Flu and not so much inflation. Supply and demand.
On a related note I recall only a year or two ago, Trader Joe’s were selling Jumbo regular eggs for only 99 cents/dozen! Ah, those were the days. Those are now $2.99. Now $4.29 !! (Dec. 5 2024)
Ever hear of SHAKSHUKA ? It’s become kind of cool and trendy in the US. Shakshuka is a popular dish all over the Middle East and North Africa, consisting of peppers and onions in a spicy tomato sauce in which eggs are poached in the sauce. Eaten with fresh pita / bread, it can be breakfast, lunch or dinner! It’s delicious and one currently see’s it in trendy restaurants around the US.
In this version found in TJ’s frozen section they have come up with a “Shakshuka starter” kit meaning this is the base sauce to which you add at an egg or two to finish it, and possibly some other things optionally. I took the package, ran some hot water on the bottom to loosen it up and then slid the contents into a pan (personally I like to cook with fire, I’m not big on microwave). I used my trusty, small black cast iron pan. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover the pan and cook for about 6-7 minutes till nice and bubbly. When ready, make indentations with the back of a spoon, and carefully slide the eggs into the depressions. If you are talented, you can crack your eggs directly in. If not crack them into a little cup first, then pour them in. Whatever you do try not to break the yolks. The runny yolks will be important to the final dish. Put a cover back on the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Ideally we want the yolks runny. Well at least I do. I also added some cubes of Feta Cheese sprinkled around the top before covering the pan, which adds some great flavor.
Take off your cover and tuck in. You can bring the pan to the table and eat it right out of the pan – typical for shakshuka – or carefully spoon it with the whole egg onto a plate. Drizzle on some very good virgin olive oil, maybe add some chopped parsley, and break the yolks so they run all over. Mop up the eggs and sauce with a spoon and lots of bread like Pita bread (or Naan). This amount is only 9 oz, so say one portion. So you should probably make one for each person. YUMMY!
OPTIONS: you can sauté up some more red peppers and garlic in olive oil if you like and add them in. As noted, cheese such as FETA is very nice addition too. Something spicy like HARISSA, BOMBA, OR GREEN DRAGON sauce to give it some kick is a must IMO. This is not spicy as is. It’s only $1.99. Worth a try.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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