Can You Eat Eggs While Pregnant?
Yes — eggs are safe and nutritious; cook them until set, or use pasteurised/lion-marked eggs if you want them runny.
The full answer
Eggs are a great, affordable source of protein and choline in pregnancy. The only concern is salmonella from raw or runny egg, and cooking eggs until both the white and yolk are firm removes that risk entirely. If you love runny yolks or dishes with lightly cooked egg — soft-boiled, poached, homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise, mousse — use eggs that are pasteurised or, in the UK, carry the British Lion mark, which are produced to a standard that makes runny eggs safe in pregnancy. Without that assurance, stick to fully cooked eggs and avoid raw-egg homemade sauces. Scrambled, hard-boiled, or well-cooked fried eggs are always a safe, nourishing choice.
How to eat eggs safely
- Cook until the white and yolk are firm to be sure
- For runny/lightly cooked egg, use pasteurised or British Lion-marked eggs
- Avoid raw egg in homemade mayo/mousse unless it's pasteurised
When to avoid: Avoid runny or raw non-pasteurised (non-Lion) eggs and raw-egg homemade sauces.
Pregnancy food-safety basics
Most “can I have this?” questions in pregnancy come down to four things. Listeria — a bacterium that survives the fridge — is why chilled ready-to-eat meats, pâté, and mould-ripened soft cheeses are heated or avoided. Mercury is why certain fish are limited. Caffeine is capped at about 200 mg a day. And alcohol is best avoided entirely, as no safe amount is known. Cooking food until it’s steaming hot kills listeria and most other bugs, which is why “heat until steaming” solves so many of these questions.
For the full picture, see our pregnancy safety guide, and track your pregnancy with the How Far Along Am I? calculator and the week-by-week guide.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you eat eggs while pregnant?
- Yes — eggs are safe and nutritious; cook them until set, or use pasteurised/lion-marked eggs if you want them runny. Eggs are a great, affordable source of protein and choline in pregnancy. The only concern is salmonella from raw or runny egg, and cooking eggs until both the white and yolk are firm removes that risk entirely. If you love runny yolks or dishes with lightly cooked egg — soft-boiled, poached, homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise, mousse — use eggs that are pasteurised or, in the UK, carry the British Lion mark, which are produced to a standard that makes runny eggs safe in pregnancy. Without that assurance, stick to fully cooked eggs and avoid raw-egg homemade sauces. Scrambled, hard-boiled, or well-cooked fried eggs are always a safe, nourishing choice.
- Why is eggs considered safe in pregnancy?
- Eggs are a great, affordable source of protein and choline in pregnancy. The only concern is salmonella from raw or runny egg, and cooking eggs until both the white and yolk are firm removes that risk entirely. If you love runny yolks or dishes with lightly cooked egg — soft-boiled, poached, homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise, mousse — use eggs that are pasteurised or, in the UK, carry the British Lion mark, which are produced to a standard that makes runny eggs safe in pregnancy. Without that assurance, stick to fully cooked eggs and avoid raw-egg homemade sauces. Scrambled, hard-boiled, or well-cooked fried eggs are always a safe, nourishing choice.
- When should I avoid eggs during pregnancy?
- Avoid runny or raw non-pasteurised (non-Lion) eggs and raw-egg homemade sauces.