Walk down any supermarket aisle and you’ll find them side by side, brown eggs and white eggs, often at different price points. Many shoppers instinctively reach for the brown ones, assuming they’re somehow healthier, more natural, or more nutritious. But is there any science behind that choice, or are we paying a premium for nothing more than pigment?

The colour of an eggshell comes down entirely to the breed of the hen that laid it. White-feathered hens with white earlobes, such as the White Leghorn, typically lay white eggs. Brown-feathered breeds with red earlobes, like Rhode Island Reds or Plymouth Rocks lay brown eggs. There are even breeds that produce blue or speckled eggs, such as the Araucana. The shell colour is simply a genetic trait, much like eye colour in humans.

Here’s the part that surprises most people: nutritionally, brown and white eggs are virtually identical. Studies comparing the two consistently show no meaningful difference in protein, fat, cholesterol, vitamins, or mineral content based on shell colour alone. A large egg, regardless of colour, contains roughly 6 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat, and around 70 calories.

What actually influences an egg’s nutritional profile has nothing to do with shell colour, and everything to do with how the hen was raised and what she was fed. Eggs from hens with access to outdoor pasture and a varied diet tend to have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D. Some studies suggest pasture-raised eggs contain up to twice the amount of vitamin E and significantly more beta-carotene than conventionally raised eggs, which also explains why their yolks are often a deeper, richer orange.

If there’s no nutritional advantage, why do brown eggs typically command a higher price? It comes down to economics. The breeds that lay brown eggs are generally larger birds that eat more feed, making them more expensive to raise. That cost gets passed on to the consumer.

Shell colour is a cosmetic trait determined by genetics, nothing more. If you’re making a purchasing decision based on health, look instead at labels like free-range, pasture-raised, or omega-3 enriched. Those terms actually tell you something meaningful about what’s inside the egg.