There’s a reason egg salad is a lunch classic! This egg salad sandwich has the perfect mayo-to-mustard ratio for creamy, tangy egg salad that’s flavorful without being heavy or mushy. Make it ahead and you’ve got lunch covered all week.
An egg salad sandwich is one of those classic lunches that sounds almost impossible to mess up, but somehow, it’s surprisingly easy to get wrong. Too much mayo and it’s heavy and mushy. Too little mustard and it falls flat. Overcook the eggs and you lose that tender, creamy yolk that makes Egg Salad so good.
After plenty of egg salad sandwiches (and trial and error!), I’ve found that the best version really comes down to a few simple details: perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs, the right mayo-to-mustard ratio, and just enough crunchy, tangy add-ins to keep everything balanced. This recipe brings it all together for you!
Piled onto your favorite toasted bread with crisp lettuce, it’s a simple lunch that’s actually kind of epic. Even better, the egg salad can be made ahead and kept in the fridge, so a batch on Sunday means delicious, ready-to-go lunches all week long!
Why You’ll Love This Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe
- Creamy but NOT heavy: there’s mayo but not tons of mayo.
- Balanced and tangy: lemon juice and mustard add balance and freshness.
- Make it ahead: make it a few days ahead and assemble sandwiches whenever the craving calls!
- Customize it: pile your sandwiches high with all your favorite toppings.
Ingredients
- Sliced bread of choice – soft white sandwich bread is the classic option, but I like toasted sourdough, wheat, potato bread, a croissant, or brioche.
- Lettuce of choice – butter, green leaf, or romaine all add mild crunch.
- Large eggs –you’ll need large eggs to hard boil. Alternatively, you can buy hard boiled eggs in the grocery store (although homemade ones are always better!).
- Dijon mustard – Dijon mustard adds tangy creaminess.
- Mayonnaise – use good-quality mayo for classic creaminess. A little goes a long way!
- Fresh lemon juice – lemon juice adds a pop of bright freshness.
- Shallot – shallot adds a touch of crunchy sweet onion flavor.
- Garlic clove – garlic makes everything better!
- Ground coriander – coriander adds lemony undertones without the acidity. While you can leave it out, it’s worth using!
- Fresh chives – chives add a pop of green and mild onion flavor!
Best Ways to Hard Boil Eggs
The magic number is…12! Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and boil your eggs for exactly 12 minutes, keeping the water at a gentle boil the whole time. Submerge eggs in an ice water bath immediately after, crack, and enjoy! Or learn How to Hard Boil Eggs for full instructions.
How to Make Egg Salad Sandwich
Egg salad isn’t hard to make! You can also make it ahead for egg salad sandwiches on demand! Here’s an outline; for the full recipe, see the recipe card below.
Boil: Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Use a large spoon to quickly yet gently lower eggs into the water. Set timer for 12 minutes. Keep water at a gentle boil.
Chill: Use a slotted spoon to immediately drop the eggs into an ice water bath. Let eggs chill for 10 minutes.
Peel: Tap and peel eggs, rinsing under cold water.
Mash: Place hard boiled eggs in a medium bowl. Use the back of a fork to mash eggs to desired chunkiness.
Mix: Add mustard, mayo, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, coriander, chives, and salt and pepper. Stir.
Assemble: Toast bread. Pile roughly ½ cup egg salad on the bottom slice of each sandwich. Add a thin layer of lettuce. Top with toasted bread, cut sandwiches in half if desired, and enjoy!
Recipe Variations
Change up your egg salad sandwich with these fun egg salad add-ins and sandwich topper ideas:
- Egg salad additions: chopped celery or cucumber, other fresh herbs, pickles or relish, capers, curry powder, hot sauce, or horseradish
- More sandwich toppers: Homemade Dill Pickles, radish, potato chips, tomato, avocado, sharp cheddar, or crispy bacon
My Pro Tips
Pro Tips
- Chill the eggs: chill themin an ice water bath before making the salad. This will stop the yolks from turning green after boiling…and who likes warm egg salad?
- Don’t go overboard on mayo: start with less and add more as needed. Too much makes the egg salad goopy and heavy.
- Enjoy right away: egg salad sandwiches are best freshly assembled, while the bread is still crisp, not soggy.
- Serving suggestions: serve with potato chips, a Cucumber Tomato Salad, Vinegar Coleslaw, Refrigerator Dill Pickles, or Fruit Salad for a perfect lunch.
- Storage: store leftover egg salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 4 days. Keep the egg salad separate from the bread until ready to serve to prevent sogginess!
More Egg Recipes You’ll Love!
Breakfast
How to Make Scrambled Eggs
Breakfast
How to Make Over Easy Eggs
Appetizers
How to Make Deviled Eggs (With Truffle!)
Breakfast
Easy Egg Bites Recipe
If you’ve tried this Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please let me know in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Please consider leaving a 🌟 star rating while you are here!
BEST Egg Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
- 8 slices bread of choice, or 4 croissants
- Lettuce of choice like green leaf, butter, or romaine, enough for 4 sandwiches
- 8 large eggs, to hard boil as directed below (or store-bought to save time)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- Small handful fresh chives, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To make hard boiled eggs, bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Use a large spoon to quickly yet gently lower eggs into the water (so they don’t crack on the bottom of the pot).
- Immediately set timer for 12 minutes. Keep water at a very gentle boil.
- While eggs are boiling, prepare a bowl of ice water. Once the timer goes off, use a slotted spoon to immediately drop the eggs into the ice bath to stop the cooking process (preventing yolks from turning green). Let eggs chill for at least 10 minutes.
- Tap shells on a plate, and gently peel them back, rinsing eggs under cold water to ensure there’s no stray shells left behind.
- To make egg salad, place hard boiled eggs in a medium bowl. Use the back of a fork to mash eggs to desired chunkiness.
- Add in mustard, mayo, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, coriander, chives, and salt and pepper. Stir until combined.
- To assemble sandwiches, toast bread in the toaster, or slice croissants in half and place them cut-side up in a preheated 350℉ oven for about 5 minutes until lightly golden.
- Pile roughly ½ cup egg salad (or desired amount) on the bottom slice of each sandwich.
- Add a thin layer of lettuce.
- Top with toasted bread/croissant slices, cut sandwiches in half if desired with a sharp serrated knife, and serve right away!
Video
Notes
- You can also buy hard boiled eggs in most grocery stores to cut back on time, although homemade ones are always better. The total time listed is based on having hard boiled eggs on-hand! Otherwise, if you make Hard Boiled Eggs, add an extra 25 minutes.
- Chill egg salad before assembling sandwiches if desired.
- You can also slice the bread in half before assembling sandwiches so egg salad doesn’t ooze out when slicing.
- Feel free to add additional toppings to your sandwiches like pickle slices, fresh dill, tomato, more fresh black pepper, etc!
- Make a double or triple batch, or even make this recipe for a single sandwich with 2 eggs!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Boring is the term that typically describes an egg salad sandwich, conjuring up images of lunch in a retirement home for folks with dentures.
This recipe turns boring on its head. It redefines how delicious and, dare I say, exciting an egg salad sandwich can be. Fantastic recipe!
Just WOW. I’m used to the typical deli egg salad and this is just a million times better. Making sandwiches all the time now!!
🙂 that little extra TLC is so worth it!
Grace