Cholesterol and Fat in Eggs

The edible portion of egg has two components: the egg white and egg yolk. Egg white is a clear fluid composed of mostly protein and water. Egg yolk is thick yellow fluid and contains all the fat and cholesterol in the egg. The fat and cholesterol content in egg also varies depending on the preparation and form it is consumed.

Table: Fat and cholesterol content in egg (g/ 100 gram edible food portion).

Egg part and preparationCholesterol

Monounsaturated fat

Polyunsaturated fatSaturated fatTotal fat
Egg, yolk, raw, fresh 1.23 11.74 4.20 9.55 26.57
Egg, whole, cooked, fried 0.46 6.35 2.66 4.29 15.30
Egg, whole, cooked, scrambled 0.35 4.77 2.15 3.68 12.21
Egg, whole, cooked, hard-boiled 0.42 4.08 1.41 3.27 10.62
Egg, whole, raw, fresh 0.42 5.02 1.80 3.52 9.95
Egg, whole, raw, fresh 0.42 3.28 1.18 2.35 9.94
Egg, whole, raw, fresh 0.42 3.35 1.20 9.93 3.59
Egg, whole, cooked, poached 0.42 3.80 1.36 3.09 9.90
Eggnog 0.06 2.23 0.34 4.44 7.48
Egg substitute, liquid 0.00 0.90 1.60 0.66 3.31
Egg, white, raw, fresh 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.18

Source: Data adapted from USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 20. Retrieved Jan 2008.

Explanation for why the individual fatty acid or the fatty acid classes don't add up to the total lipid (fat).
The fatty acids are reported as grams of fatty acid per 100 grams of food. They may not add up to the total lipid value provided in a database because the fat value may include some non-fatty acid material, such as, glycerol, phosphate, sugar or sterol. In the case of vegetable oils that are 100% triglyceride, 95.6% is fatty acid and the remaining 4.4% is glycerol. For other fats, the percent of fatty acid will be even lower. Lipid conversion factors for specific fats define the amount of fatty acid (in grams) per gram of fat. The factor is 0.956 for triglycerides and lower for other fats. The factors used in each section of Agriculture Handbook No. 8 were published in an appendix table. In addition, the individual fatty acids may not add up to their respective total fatty acid classes (saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated) and in turn, the sum of the total for each class may not add up to the value for total lipid.

A more comprehensive list of egg types and their cholesterol content can be found here: Cholesterol in egg.