Making the most amazing egg salad every time is easy! Start with the perfect mashed hard-boiled eggs, and mix in classic mayo and mustard, plus a few secret ingredients.
Sure, egg salad with just mayo and mustard is good, but this egg salad is awesome. It is balanced, with the right amount of tang and creaminess. It’s not heavy at all, with freshness from a squeeze of lemon juice, and texture from a finely minced shallot. Dijon mustard and fresh lemon juice add tanginess and freshness.
You know what else is egg-ellent? These Scrambled Eggs!
Why You’ll Love This Egg Salad Recipe
- Flavor, flavor, flavor. Dijon mustard, a little bit of fresh garlic, chive, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice add delicious flavor.
- NOT just a pile of mush. It’s not overly creamy, with just the right amount of mayo. A finely minced shallot adds texture too!
- Fresh, bright and light. This egg salad is not too heavy.
- Easy to make. All you need is 35 minutes for a bowl full of YUM. Need it faster? Buy pre hard-boiled eggs in the grocery store to save time!
How to Make Egg Salad
Full instructions in the recipe card; this is just an outline!
- Boil eggs.
Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Use a big spoon to quickly lower eggs into the water. Immediately set timer for 12 minutes. Keep water at a gentle boil.
- Ice bath.
Prepare a bowl of ice water. Once the timer goes off, quickly drop the eggs into the ice bath to stop the cooking process.
- Crack.
Let eggs chill for at least 10 minutes. Crack shells.
- Mash.
Use the back of a fork to mash eggs to desired chunkiness.
- Stir.
Add in mayo, Dijon, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, coriander, chives, and salt and pepper. Stir. Serve!
Egg Salad Ingredients
- Large eggs – we are making egg salad, aren’t we? HA! In a pinch, by pre hard-boiled eggs in the grocery store.
- Dijon mustard – Dijon mustard is more flavorful, sharp and complex than yellow mustard. Feel free to use yellow mustard if preferred!
- Mayonnaise – mayonnaise adds just enough creaminess.
- Lemon juice – lemon juice adds freshness and brightness.
- Shallot – shallot adds a bit of sharpness and texture.
- Garlic – garlic…because garlic.
- Coriander – a dash of coriander adds awesome lemony undertones. You can skip the coriander if preferred.
- Chives – fresh chives add a pop of green and freshness.
Egg Salad Recipe Serving Suggestions
There’s so many ways to enjoy egg salad. Here are a few of my favorites!
- Alone…you really don’t need anything else but this!
- On toast
- As a sandwich, on your favorite bread with lettuce (like arugula or bibb)
- On a croissant
- On Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
- With bibb lettuce for lettuce wraps
- On top of a salad, like this Green Goddess Salad
- With crackers
- With fresh veggies, like celery sticks and cucumber rounds
- On Candied Bacon pieces
- On Avocado Toast
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Want to change things up? Add in a dash of curry powder, raisins, capers, olives, minced celery, bacon bits, pesto, relish, pickled red onions, other fresh herbs, hot sauce, or everything bagel seasoning!
Boil eggs for exactly 12 minutes at a gentle boil, immediately submerging the boiled eggs in ice water to stop the cooking process.
Serve egg salad room temperature (up to 90 minutes at room temp) or chilled.
Egg salad is best enjoyed in 1-2 days. After this, egg salad might get a bit looser and lose its creaminess.
I do not recommend freezing egg salad.
Yes! Feel free to double (or halve) this recipe.
Other Egg Recipes You’ll Love!
Best Egg Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- Small handful fresh chives, snipped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Use a big spoon to quickly 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 gentle (not roaring) boil.
- While eggs are boiling, prepare a bowl of ice water. Once the timer goes off, use a slotted spoon to quickly drop the eggs into the ice bath to stop the cooking process (preventing the yolks from turning green).
- Let eggs chill for at least 10 minutes. Crack shells, rinsing eggs under cold water to ensure there’s no stray shells left behind.
- Use the back of a fork to mash eggs to desired chunkiness.
- Add in mayo, Dijon, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, coriander, a small handful of chives, and salt and pepper. Stir. Serve!
Video
Notes
- If your water is boiling too hard, the eggs will crack against the bottom of the pot. A gentle boil/hard simmer is perfect. You should hear a light tapping as the eggs dance on the bottom of the pot.
- In a pinch, by pre hard-boiled eggs in the grocery store.
- Feel free to halve or double the recipe!
- If you like your eggs a little less done, boil your eggs for 11 minutes.
- More of a yellow mustard person? Feel free to use it instead of Dijon mustard.
- This egg salad has a balanced mayo-mustard flavor that’s bright and tangy. If you prefer less tang, use 1 tablespoon mustard and 3 tablespoons mayo!
- Coriander adds mild citrusy, lemony undertones.
- This recipe serves 4 people (2 eggs each), or 2 very hungry people.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is genius Grace. I never thought to add garlic or shallot to my egg salad…it took it to a whole different level. Thank you for this!
It makes all the difference, doesn’t it? Thanks Tonya!!
Grace