My favorite egg salad recipe is light on the mayo, brightened up with mustard, herbs, flaky sea salt, pepper and chopped fresh herbs. Dill, chives or scallions are all delicious options here, depending on your taste or what you have on hand.
It's good to have an egg salad recipe that you can rely on. When you're wondering what to serve for lunch or brunch, egg salad is always a good choice and you're likely to have all the ingredients in house to make it. This egg salad recipe is simple yet special enough that when I serve it, people always remark on how delicious it is.
How to make great egg salad
The key to making excellent egg salad is starting with perfect hard boiled eggs - not always easy to do. But fear not, I've spent years researching how to best make hard boiled eggs and I have a fantastic technique that works every time. The egg whites are tender, the yolks are cooked through but not chalky, and the shells peel off easily.
How to make perfect hard boiled eggs for egg salad
- Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water by an inch
- Bring water to a boil over medium heat.
- As soon as the water boils, cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and leave the eggs soaking in the hot water for 12 minutes.
- Cool the eggs in cold running water to stop the cooking process. Let the eggs soak in cold water for ten minutes and then peel them under running water or submerged in the pot, to rinse the shells away as you go.
Now the easy part - Making Egg Salad!
- Place the eggs in a bowl and use a potato masher or a fork to chop them finely. Alternatively, a few pulses in the food processor will do the trick.
- Mix in the rest of the ingredients: mayo, mustard, salt, pepper and herbs.
That's all there is to it. Now you've got a delicious egg salad that balances rich eggs and mayo with spicy mustard and fresh herbs.
When there's egg salad in the house.....
- Toast up some bread and get ready for an amazing egg salad sandwich
- Add pickled red onions for some delicious vinegary crunch
- Try egg salad on a toasted bagel with smoked salmon, for breakfast
- Serve egg salad with crackers or cucumber rounds, as an appetizer
- Make mini egg salad tea sandwiches for an afternoon tea party
By the way, If you love egg salad, you might also want to try Eggs Mimosa: French-style deviled eggs with tuna.
Here's my favorite egg salad recipe. If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
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My Favorite Egg Salad Recipe
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
A fantastic egg salad recipe, light on the mayo, with bright fresh flavors.
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise (my favorite is Hellman's)
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard (creamy or grainy)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, scallions or dill
Instructions
- Place eggs in a heavy saucepan that's large enough to hold them in a single layer. Fill the pan with enough cold water to come up an inch above the eggs. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat. As soon as the water comes to a boil, cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and set a timer for 12 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, pour off the hot water. Run cold water over the eggs for a minute or two to stop the cooking process. Let the eggs sit in cold water for 10 minutes.
- Crack the eggs and peel them under cold running water or submerged in water, to rinse the shells away as you peel. .
- Place the eggs in a bowl and use a potato masher or a fork to chop them finely. Alternatively, a few pulses in the food processor will do the trick.
- Mix in the rest of the ingredients: mayo (⅓ cup) , mustard (2 teaspoons), salt (1 teaspoon), pepper (½ teaspoon) and chopped herbs.
Notes
How long will egg salad last? Egg salad will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, in a tightly covered container.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Category: eggs
- Method: boil
- Cuisine: American
JT
I made it exactly as directed. Delicious!!
Lori
Just going to share. Kewpie Mayo has MSG in it! No way!
Hollis Ramsey
Here’s the story about MSG and me: In my 20s I couldn’t eat anything with MSG without having migraine-level headaches and heart arrhythmia. Seriously, folks, I couldn’t handle MSG at all! So I avoided it for decades. Now that I’m in my 60s, I tried it again out of curiosity and the adverse reactions were gone. Now I have a 16-oz bag of MSG and I put it in lots of recipes. Same thing happened with green bell peppers — I’ve always loved them but my digestive system didn’t, so I avoided them, buying the pretty orange ones instead. But now I can eat them! They’re just delicious in my amazing Baked Greek Salad, and the juices are perfect for sopping up with thick toasted baguette slices. So I don’t know if you’re like me, but my body changed. Now I can eat gumbo with a proper trinity! MSG is fantastic if your body can handle it, and the same for green peppers. And Kewpie mayonnaise is the best thing since sliced brioche!
Hollis Ramsey
If your favorite mayo is Hellman’s, chances are good you haven’t tried Kewpie Mayonnaise. I’m seriously kvelling about this Japanese mayo in a squeeze bottle, it’s miles above the rest!!! (available on Amazon)
Lisa
Hi Hollis,
Actually I have tried Kewpie Mayo. I've used it to make Japanese potato salad. I never thought to use it in other things but now I think I will! 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration!!