I love eggs. They are my go-to breakfast dish, no matter where I am. Home on a Saturday morning? Cheesy scrambled eggs it is. At a diner? One veggie omelet, please. On the way to an adventure with my family? Give me a breakfast burrito loaded with bacon and hash browns. But when I’m at a hotel and hitting the breakfast buffet, I tend to hesitate when I reach the chafing dish full of eggs. It always seems like there’s something a little off about them.
Turns out, I’m not the only one. But why are buffet eggs so weird, and should you be eating them? To get to the bottom of this eggcellent question (couldn’t help myself!), I turned to a registered dietitian. Read on to discover why people pause before choosing the eggs at a hotel breakfast buffet and why you may (or may not) want to skip them on your future travels.
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What’s the main issue with the eggs at a hotel buffet?
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It’s true: Hotel eggs taste and feel just a little bit different from what you’re used to at home. In all likelihood, it’s because the chefs aren’t cracking fresh eggs back in the kitchen—they’re using liquid or powdered eggs.
Hold up: powdered eggs? Yup.“Powered eggs are eggs that have been dehydrated into a powdered form,” explains Violeta Morris, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist at the Concierge Dietitian in Columbus, Ohio. “They are made through a process that involves breaking and mixing the eggs, removing the moisture and grinding them into a fine powder. The powder is then pasteurized to ensure the safety for consumption and to extend its shelf life.”
How can you tell if a hotel uses these eggs?
If you spot a pan full of premade scrambled eggs, they probably came from a mix. “Many buffets use powdered or preprocessed liquid products that are either eggs, egg substitutes or a combination of real and faux eggs,” says chef Maricel Gentile, the owner of Maricel’s Kitchen and a 30-year veteran of the food-service industry who’s worked at several New York City hotels. “You can tell right away because they usually are runny or dry and rubbery—but they always lack flavor.”
Powdered eggs, in particular, are easy to spot.Even though they are made from real eggs, scrambled eggs cooked using powdered eggs are going to differ from those you make at home in terms of taste, texture and even color. “When the eggs are dehydrated, it alters the chemical structure and removes the moisture naturally found in a fresh egg,” says Morris. “This affects the taste and texture.”
When cooked, powdered eggs are typically denser and flatter than fresh eggs, and the taste is often blander. “The color of the eggs is also affected by the high heat used during the drying process, which can cause the egg proteins to oxidize and brown, resulting in a more yellow or brownish hue,” she adds.
Still not sure what type of eggs a buffet is serving?“My advice to anyone looking at a buffet is to see if they have an egg station with a chef making your order fresh,” says Gentile. “Skip the hot pan full of eggs and order your eggs fresh at that station. Now, if you see the cook has a bowl of egg liquid for omelets or scrambled eggs and is not cracking them fresh, ask. Are they also using a liquid egg or powder product? Ask for fresh eggs. No high-end buffet of quality will put out a hotel pan full of scrambled eggs. They will run an action station.”
What are the other potential issues with them?
Apart from the fact that the food may not taste as good as what you’re used to, there are a few potential issues with eating buffet eggs. Here’s what to consider before you chow down on your hotel’s free continental breakfast.
They’ve been sitting out for hours
All the food at the hotel breakfast buffet is cooked before breakfast starts so that it’s ready for the earliest risers. Even if it is kept warm while on the buffet table, food tends to lose its texture and temperature the longer it sits out. For a dish that doesn’t have the best taste and texture to begin with, this isn’t a great combination.
There’s a potential for foodborne illness
“Any food that is served on hotel buffets is at risk for foodborne illnesses,” says Morris. “Factors that are important to consider include temperature, time and, in this case with eggs, how well the eggs are handled.”
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees and kept above 140 degrees to prevent the growth of illness-causing bacteria. The chafing dish or tray the eggs are in should be covered and have a heat source—without both, it’s unlikely those eggs are warm enough.
“It is essential to replenish the eggs at least every two hours to maintain food safety,” adds Morris. “If left out for an extended period, bacteria like salmonella can multiply, increasing the risk of foodborne illness.” Most hotel breakfasts are open for three or four hours, so if you’re hitting the buffet on the later side, it may be safest to steer clear of the eggs.
They might contain preservatives
Depending on the brand and type of liquid or powdered eggs that the hotel is using, there may be preservatives in the mix.
Since all the liquid is removed, powdered eggs have a shelf life of at least a year—some brands are shelf-stable for up to 25 years. Those with a longer shelf life will have some preservatives added in, so if this is a concern for you, it may be best to skip.
Is there anything else in these eggs—aside from eggs?
Besides preservatives? There might be. “Most commercially available egg powder mixes include powdered milk to enhance texture, flavor and nutrition,” Morris notes. So if you have a dairy allergy or are lactose intolerant, this could spell trouble.
“As a dietitian, I would personally advise individuals with food intolerances or allergies to avoid eggs served at hotel buffets or other establishments catering to large crowds,” she adds. You can always check with the staff or the kitchen about added ingredients before eating the eggs, but that can sometimes be trickier in a buffet environment like this than it would be at, say, a fancy restaurant. So if you’re avoiding dairy for any reason, it may be best to just skip the eggs at the hotel buffet.
Are buffet eggs as healthy as fresh eggs?
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One thing you don’t have to worry about when eating eggs from a buffet: a lack of nutrients. “There are no significant nutritional differences between powdered eggs and fresh eggs,” says Morris. “Powdered eggs retain most of the same nutrients as fresh eggs, including their mineral and trace element content.”
That’s according to a 2022 study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, which found that powdered eggs were still good sources of protein, vitamin A, vitamin E, selenium and zinc.
Why do hotels use these types of eggs?
“There are several reasons why these establishments may prefer powdered eggs to fresh ones,” Morris says. “A key reason is cost-effectiveness, as powdered eggs help keep expenses lower. Fresh egg prices have recently increased, averaging $4.50 per dozen, mainly due to the widespread outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu).”
While powdered eggs (and liquid, for that matter) are not necessarily cheaper than fresh eggs, there are two reasons they end up being more cost-effective: shelf life and price consistency. As we mentioned earlier, powdered eggs have a long shelf life, while fresh eggs last only a few weeks. Plus, the price of fresh eggs can change based on supply and demand (and there are shortages to deal with), while the price of powdered eggs doesn’t really change. So for hotels buying in bulk and working within a set budget, powdered eggs make much more sense.
But it often comes down to health regulations. As a corporate executive chef told Reader’s Digest, some resorts use pasteurized liquid eggs at their breakfast buffets in accordance with local health department regulations.
Then, of course, there’s the physical cooking. It takes chefs much longer to crack and beat the large number of eggs needed for a hotel buffet. Powdered and liquid eggs streamline the cooking process in a big way.
All of this—from the shelf life and possible shortages to health regulations and the ability to cook in large quantities—applies not only to hotels but also to any other location where there are a lot of people being fed at once. So you may see scrambled eggs made with powdered eggs on cruise ships, in college dining halls, in hospitals and at resorts.
Should you skip them when you see them?
That’s up to you. It’s true that the eggs on a hotel breakfast buffet don’t taste or feel quite the same as those made from fresh eggs. If this is enough for you to bypass the dish and head straight to the pancakes, that’s fine.
But nutritionally, buffet eggs aren’t any different from fresh eggs. “I typically avoid the eggs at hotel breakfast buffets due to their taste and unusual texture,” says Morris. “However, if there are no other protein options available, I’ll have a serving to balance my breakfast.”
Plus, there’s no one stopping you from jazzing up the eggs to make them more appetizing. “I like to add a bit of salt and pepper, along with hot sauce or salsa for extra flavor,” she says. “If possible, I’ll also include avocados or mix in cooked vegetables, bacon or sausage to enhance both the taste and nutritional value of the powdered eggs.”
The bottom line: It’s highly likely that your hotel buffet is serving reconstituted powdered eggs, which means they aren’t going to taste as good as the fresh eggs you make at home. What’s more, eating hot food from a buffet always carries a slight risk of foodborne illness, especially if the food has been sitting out for a while. That said, powdered eggs deliver all the same nutritional perks as fresh eggs, so if you need a protein-rich breakfast, they will do the trick.
About the experts
- Violeta Morris, MS, RDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist in Columbus, Ohio. She also holds a master’s degree in nutrition and metabolism.
- Maricel Gentile is the chef and owner of Maricel’s Kitchen. She has more than 30 years of food-service management and has managed food service at several New York City hotels.
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. For this piece, Alyssa Sybertz tapped her experience as a longtime health reporter and the author of The OMAD Diet: Intermittent Fasting with One Meal a Day to Burn Fat and Lose Weight to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Violeta Morris, MS, RDN, registered dietitian nutritionist in Columbus, Ohio; email interview, Jan. 22, 2025
- Maricel Gentile, chef and owner of Maricel’s Kitchen; email interview, February 2025
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration Food Facts: “Egg Safety: What You Need to Know”
- Frontiers in Nutrition: “Evaluation of spray-dried eggs as a micronutrient-rich nutritional supplement”
