A classic egg salad is incredibly easy to make and comes together quickly. It’s a favorite for simple meals, brunch or as a sandwich filling.
Best of all, you can keep it in the fridge for a few days – a great recipe to make ahead.
Easy egg salad recipe
- A flavorful, yet easy egg salad for special brunches, simple lunches and as a delicious sandwich filling.
- With tips to make it easier to fill a sandwich you need to take with you and keep in a cooler for a couple of hours.
- This recipe can be made ahead for up to 3 days and kept in the refrigerator – great for easy meal prep!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Eggs: I cook eggs for my egg salad for 16 minutes with the method I describe in this recipe. Chop them up for a chunkier egg salad, or mash them with a potato masher for a creamier salad.
- Mayonnaise: While there’s nothing like homemade mayonnaise, I do mostly use a decent store-bought one like Hellman’s for convenience. If you want a mayo-free egg salad, try my Greek Yogurt Egg Salad or my Avocado Egg Salad.
- Celery/green onion/red onion: This is my favorite combination of aromatic ingredients to add flavor and some sharpness to the egg salad, but you can use just one or two if you prefer, or leave them out entirely if they are not to your taste. Keep in mind that it will make the taste of the egg salad more simple.
- Mustard: If you don’t like mustard, feel free to leave it out.
- Worcestershire sauce: Soy sauce is a great substitute if you don’t keep Worcestershire sauce on hand. Alternatively, you can also add an additional teaspoon of pickle juice or vinegar.
- Pickle juice: This is just the brining liquid from a jar of pickles. It’s such a great secret ingredient to add a ton of flavor and some tangy notes! I use Cornichon pickles from Maille, because they are my favorite. Avoid sweeter pickle variations, briny/tangy ones work best here. If you don’t have any pickles on hand, feel free to use additional vinegar in place of the pickle juice.
How to make egg salad
1. Combine the condiments and spices to make a smooth sauce.
2. Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl.
combine sauce ingredients add remaining ingredients
3. Stir well to combine all ingredients and to coat everything in the sauce.
stir to combine
Recipe tips
Scale
This is an easy recipe to scale up or down. Just use as many eggs as you need and adjust the remaining ingredients to reflect the amount of eggs you’re using.
I usually calculate about 1 egg per person as part of a brunch spread or for mid-sized sandwiches, 1.5 eggs per person for a larger sandwich or 2 eggs for big eaters or for a meal where the egg salad is the main part.
Texture
Chopping the egg, then stirring it into the sauce with the other ingredients makes a more chunky egg salad. I like it this way for lettuce cups or on croissants, and to serve with salad to be eaten with a fork.
For a sandwich on bread, though, I prefer mashing the eggs with a potato masher (you can even just throw them in the bowl with the sauce whole and then mash up everything for the creamiest consistency). It just sticks better between two slices of bread and holds up better if you need to wrap up the sandwich and keep it in a lunch cooler for a couple of hours.
Make sure you do not mash too much to turn it into a smooth cream though – you still want chunks in there, just more mashed vs chopped to yield a thicker, creamier “sauce” with smaller egg pieces.
Storage tips
Keep the egg salad in an airtight container and refrigerate it at all times. Use it within 3 days of making it.
Serving ideas
- Serve the egg salad on split croissants for a special brunch or lunch – great for bridal showers, bridal brunches or Mother’s Day!
- Use it in lettuce cups for a lower carb lunch idea.
- Serve it on rye or sourdough bread with some lettuce as a simple sandwich.
- Serve the egg salad with something like a chunky avocado salsa or a tomato cucumber avocado salad for a light meal.
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Classic Egg Salad
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs chopped or mashed (see notes below)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons minced red onion
- 2 tablesooons minced green onion
- 2 tablesooons finely chopped celery
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
- salt & ground black pepper to taste
- chives parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Combine mayonnaise, pickle juice, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ground paprika, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir well to evenly coat with sauce. Use right away or refrigerate in airtight dish for up to 3 days.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Eggs: I cook eggs for my egg salad for 16 minutes with the method I describe in this recipe. Chop them up for a chunkier egg salad, or mash them with a potato masher for a creamier salad.
- Mayonnaise: While there’s nothing like homemade mayonnaise, I do mostly use a decent store-bought one like Hellman’s for convenience. If you want a mayo-free egg salad, try my Greek Yogurt Egg Salad or my Avocado Egg Salad.
- Celery/green onion/red onion: This is my favorite combination of aromatic ingredients to add flavor and some sharpness to the egg salad, but you can use just one or two if you prefer, or leave them out entirely if they are not to your taste. Keep in mind that it will make the taste of the egg salad more simple.
- Mustard: If you don’t like mustard, feel free to leave it out.
- Worcestershire sauce: Soy sauce is a great substitute if you don’t keep Worcestershire sauce on hand. Alternatively, you can also add an additional teaspoon of pickle juice or vinegar.
- Pickle juice: This is just the brining liquid from a jar of pickles. It’s such a great secret ingredient to add a ton of flavor and some tangy notes! I use Cornichon pickles from Maille, because they are my favorite. Avoid sweeter pickle variations, briny/tangy ones work best here. If you don’t have any pickles on hand, feel free to use additional vinegar in place of the pickle juice.
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