This super high protein, creamy, and easy to make Egg Salad is a classic with a bit of a twist. Perfectly hard-boiled eggs, mixed with finely chopped celery, red onions, topped with chives are served in a zesty creamy dressing. Simply delicious.
No matter if you like your egg salad on a bed of lettuce, scooped up with stalks of celery, or served sandwich-style in a bun or croissant, this foolproof recipe works.
Egg salad is one of my favorite go-to lunch options. It's easy to meal-prep and keeps you satisfied for hours.
What You'll Need For This Classic Egg Salad Recipe
Salad Ingredients
- 8 EGGS, hard-boiled, 9 minutes
- ½ cup RED ONIONS - diced
- ½ cup CELERY - diced
- 1 tablespoon CHIVES - finely chopped
Dressing
- ½ cup MAYONNAISE
- LEMON - zest of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon LEMON JUICE
- 1 tablespoon MUSTARD, yellow or dijon mustard work well
- SALT and/or PEPPER, season to taste
How To Make This Egg Salad Recipe
A great egg salad starts with perfectly boiled eggs. Making perfectly hard-boiled eggs is key to having a salad that doesn't just look amazing but also looks enticing.
My preferred time for hard-boiled eggs is 9 minutes. This method results in eggs that have a firm, pretty, bright yellow center.
The longer you cook the eggs the firmer they will be. The goal is to look for egg yolks that have just set.
Prep: Making Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Remove eggs from the fridge about 15 minutes before you start cooking. This allows the eggs to rise to room temperature.
- Fill ¾ of a 5-quart pot with water. This stainless steel Dutch oven is my favorite pot for cooking multiple eggs. Bring water to a boil.
- One-by-one add the eggs to the boiling hot water. Try to avoid the eggs to touch each other. Social distance your eggs! ;-).
- Reduce the heat to a medium-high for a gentle boil.
- Boil the eggs for 9 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare a large bowl with ice cold water.
- Use a slotted spoon and transfer egg into the bowl of ice water and chill for 2 minutes.
- Remove and peel the eggs.
Making The Salad
- Coarsely chop the eggs.
- In a large bowl whisk mayonnaise, mustard, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix in finely chopped red onion and celery.
- Carefully fold in chopped eggs. Season to taste with salt. Top with fresh chives (optional).
Recipe Notes and Tips
- STORAGE - For easy storage simply keep the egg salad in an airtight container in the fridge. The salad will keep for at least 3 days. To boost the flavor you might need to season it with a bit of extra salt before serving it again
Avoiding Cracked Eggs
For best results use eggs that are a 7 to 10 days old. They are easier to peel than fresh eggs.
- Avoid cracked eggs by bringing the eggs to room temperature before boiling them. This takes about 15-20 minutes.
- If you are in a rush, simply place the eggs for 5 minutes in a bowl of lukewarm water before boiling them.
- If you are cooking a large number of eggs, be sure to use a large enough pot. Place each egg individually into the boiling water and make sure eggs aren't touching.
Substitution Ideas
Instead of fresh chives try adding:
- Fresh dill weed instead of chives. Dill and eggs are two flavors that pair incredibly well.
- Finely chopped parsley works really well, too.
You can also experiment by adding ½ teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika. It will add some delicious smokiness to your salad.
Adding capers and/or olives to your egg salad gives it a Mediterranean touch. Especially if you also make the dressing with greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.
For an Egg Salad Sandwich
Any one or a combination of these ingredients.
- tomato
- bacon
- avocado
Making It Healthier
Lower the number of calories by making these easy substitutions.
- Reduce the number of egg yolks and increase the number of egg whites.
- Swap mayonnaise with low-fat mayonnaise, greek yogurt, plain yogurt, or a combination of both.
As you can see there are a lot of ways to make an egg salad your own. To me, the simple combination of mayonnaise, lemon juice, and mustard is so tasty.
I've said this before, don't skip adding the lemon zest.
Trust me, it's the 'secret ingredient' that that will make your guests ooh and ahh over this delicious recipe.
Side Salads We Adore
- Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Cold German Potato Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Watermelon and Orange Salad
- Oma's German Cucumber Salad (non-creamy)
Classic Egg Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon mustard yellow
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 lemon zest of one lemon
Instructions
Making Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Remove eggs from the fridge and allow to rise to room temperature. About 15 minutes.
- Fill a 5-quart pot with water and bring to a boil. One-by-one add the eggs into the boiling water. Adjust heat to medium-high for a gentle boil. Boil for 9 minutes.
- While eggs are boiling, prepare a large bowl with ice water. Once done transfer the eggs into the ice water and chill for 2 minutes. Remove, peel, and coarsly chop the eggs. Set aside
Making The Dressing
- In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and lemon zest and whisk until well combined.
Making Egg Salad
- In a large bowl combine chopped eggs, celery, and red onion. Add dressing and combine well. Season to taste with salt. Top with fresh chives (optional).
