Classic egg salad recipe never gets old. This picnic-perfect recipe is made using hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, celery, onions, chives, dill, and paprika. It’s my favorite summer salad that’s packed with protein and nutrients, along with wonderful flavors.
You would also love deviled egg pasta salad.
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Why this salad works
- This protein-rich, low-carb, healthy dish that you should add to your daily meal.
- Great for summer picnics and potluck parties!
- Needs a few simple pantry ingredients!
- Great to serve in so many ways – as a salad, stuff in between sandwiches, as a snack, or for a quick light low-carb lunch.
- It packs loads of flavors in it.
- Easy to customize. Easily swap mayonnaise with Greek yogurt to make it health-ish!
Ingredients
- Eggs – perfect hard-boiled eggs make a great salad. That perfectly cooked rich yellow egg yolk is what makes egg salad delicious!
- Mayonnaise – use store-bought or homemade. Full-fat mayonnaise adds a rich creaminess to the salad.
- Dijon mustard – a hint of mustard sauce enhances the flavor of the salad.
- Lemon juice – use freshly squeezed lemon juice. I do not recommend lemon juice from the bottle.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic clove adds flavor. You can substitute fresh garlic with garlic powder.
- Smoked paprika – smoked paprika adds an extra earthy savory flavor. Don’t forget to sprinkle some on top just before serving.
- Red onion – adds great texture and flavor to the salad. You can use white onion, yellow onion, or shallots instead of red onion, whichever is available. If you can’t handle the astringent flavor of raw onion, use pickled red onion.
- Celery – adds a fresh crunch to every bite. You can add more or less celery depending on your preference.
- Fresh herbs Dill, Chives, Parsley – fresh herbs add freshness to the salad. Use all three or a mix of a herb that is available.
Variation
- You can do a few variations by including bacon, chicken, or shrimp in the salad along with eggs.
- Shredded carrots or cucumbers make a great addition too to boost the nutrients of the salad.
- Feel free to substitute smoked paprika with cayenne pepper or red chili powder for an extra kick.
- Use a mix of plain Greek yogurt and mayonnaise to make a lighter version of classic egg salad.
- Feel free to add extra add-ons for added taste and texture. Extra add-ons like capers, hot sauce, sweet pickles (chopped), cooked and crumbled crispy bacon, pimientos, pickled cucumbers, and even chunks of canned tuna.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Place eggs in a wide saucepan. Pour room temperature water until eggs are fully immersed in water. The water level should be at least 2 inches above the eggs.
Step 2: Bring water to a gentle boil on medium-low heat. Let it boil for about 8 to 9 minutes. Depending on the egg size and its freshness the time needed to make hard-boiled eggs may vary. If your egg whites aren’t set and firmed up in the mentioned time, adjust the timing by increasing by 2 minutes.
Step 3: Remove eggs from boiling water and immerse them in ice-cold water. This is to stop eggs from cooking further. Let it sit in an ice batch for a couple of minutes.
Step 4: Remove eggs from the ice bath, and peel the shells off.
Step 5: Coarsely chop the egg white and yolk, so the salad has a texture in its bite.
Step 6: Add chopped eggs, diced red onions, celery, dill, parsley, and chives to a wide salad bowl.
Step 7: In a small bowl add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Step 8: Mix well.
Step 9: Add the mayonnaise salad dressing over the egg salad mixture.
Step 10: Mix salad with your hands without breaking the eggs too much. Chill salad for an hour or more before serving. This salad is best served chilled.
Serve it as a salad or spread it over the bread as a sandwich for a low-carb lunch/dinner.
Useful tips
- Highly recommend you use organic free-range eggs.
- Add a teaspoon of baking soda or white vinegar to the boiling water to avoid the cracking of eggs.
- Use good quality mayonnaise for the best taste. You can add more mayonnaise for creamier salad, or reduce the amount to make it less creamier.
- Feel free to use ½ plain Greek yogurt and ½ full-fat mayonnaise if you like.
- Coarsely chop the egg white and yolk, so the salad has a texture in its bite. You can use a pastry cutter to chop the eggs.
- The recipe can be easily doubled to make more.
- Feel free to add extra add-ons for added taste and texture. Extra add-ons like capers, hot sauce, sweet pickles (chopped), cooked and crumbled crispy bacon, pimientos, pickled cucumbers, and even chunks of canned tuna.
Storage
Egg salads are a great make-ahead dish. It can be made a couple of days ahead. Store in clean air-tight containers covered in the fridge, it’ll last for 4-5 days. However, I recommend you eat it in 2-3 days.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can! A creamy component helps bind egg whites, egg yolk, and everything else together. There are a lot of mayo alternatives that can be used to make creamy and healthy egg salad recipes.
Some of the mayo alternatives for creamier salads are –
Greek Yogurt
Ricotta Cheese
Mashed avocado works too
Homemade hummus – sounds amazing, isn’t it!
Egg salads are a great make-ahead dish. It can be made a couple of days ahead. Store in clean air-tight containers covered in the fridge it’ll last for 4-5 days.
Place any salad leaf over toasted bread. Using spinach leaves instead of regular iceberg lettuce makes your lunch much healthier. Spread a couple of heaped tablespoons full of the egg salad over the toasted bread. Spread evenly. Place the top bread and serve immediately.
White sandwich bread slices are best to make an egg salad sandwich. You can also use French baguettes, croissants, sour bread, or bagels to make sandwiches.
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📋Classic Egg Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs
- ¾ cup mayonnaise for best results use full fat mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ red onion finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk diced fine
- ¼ cup dill finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
- ¼ cup chives finely chopped
Instructions
- Carefully place eggs in a pan, and pour room temperature water until eggs are fully immersed in water.
- Bring it to a boil on medium-low heat and let eggs cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Drain eggs immediately and immerse them in ice cold water bath for 5 to 8 minutes.
- Peel the skin off.
- Coarsely chop hard-boiled eggs.
- In a small bowl add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, minced garlic(optional), ground pepper, salt, smoked paprika, and lemon juice. Whisk well until combined.
- To chopped eggs, add diced red onions, celery, dill, parsley, chives and the dressing. Mix well.
- Serve it as a salad or spread it over the bread as a sandwich for a low-carb lunch/dinner.
Video
Notes
-
- Highly recommend you use organic free-range eggs.
- Add a teaspoon of baking soda or white vinegar to the boiling water to avoid cracking of eggs.
- Use good quality mayonnaise for the best taste. You can add more mayonnaise for creamier salad, or reduce the amount to make it less creamier.
- Feel free to use ½ plain Greek yogurt and ½ full-fat mayonnaise if you like.
- Coarsely chop the egg white and yolk, so the salad has a texture in its bite. You can use a pastry cutter to chop the eggs.
- The recipe can be easily doubled to make more.
- Feel free to add extra add-ons for added taste and texture. Extra add-ons like capers, hot sauce, sweet pickles (chopped), cooked and crumbled crispy bacon, pimientos, pickled cucumbers, and even chunks of canned tuna.
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you for stopping by.
I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2014 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
Comments & Reviews
Steve Ault says
This my go to for egg salad and sometimes I throw a table spoon of horse radish in. Thanks.
Jyothi Rajesh says
So glad you are loving the recipe! Love horse radish in egg salad too.
Heidy says
I am a huge fan of egg salad. Just so yummy tasting and affordable to make. I enjoyed your version and will be making it again.
Jyothi Rajesh says
Thank you
Natalie says
What a delicious egg salad. i love that you added paprika. Makes salad so much more flavorful. I must try this recipe!
Daniela says
Love all the ingredient and step-by-step pic of this egg salad! Thanks so much for sharing :).
Mikayla says
I love egg salad, it’s always a quick and satisfying meal, you’re right! I really liked your version with the punch of onion and fresh herbs, it works nicely with the creaminess of the salad.
Tara says
Yum! Egg salad is one of my go to’s. I love the option of swapping out the mayo for greek yogurt or ricotta cheese. I’m making this tomorrow!
Paige says
This looks really great, and your eggs are perfectly cooked!