Egg Salad
Egg salad! The classic egg salad recipe that can be eaten plain with a fork or turned into a delicious sandwich (or wrap). You just need hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, red onion and fresh herbs for a quick and easy recipe that’s nourishing and loaded with flavor.
My avocado egg salad recipe is such a reader favorite but I thought I’d simplify things even further today with my take on the classic egg salad recipe. It’s the version you’ve likely come across at parties, picnics and holidays or enjoyed for a healthy lunch layered in a sandwich.
To be honest, I was never a fan of most egg salad recipes. I found them to be far too mushy with too much mayonnaise. But my version is different! It has texture and it’s chunky so you can see all the ingredients. No mushiness around these parts. And of course, it tastes amazing.
What’s in Egg Salad?
I’m sticking to simple ingredients in this recipe with nothing funky to surprise you. But I do probably add more fresh herbs than most, because fresh herbs make everything taste better. Here’s what’s in it:
- Hard Boiled Eggs: The star ingredient of course. Just follow my tutorial for easy peel hard boiled eggs, which I’ll talk more about below.
- Mayonnaise: I’m using my quick homemade mayonnaise, but any store-bought version works.
- Dijon Mustard: I always opt for Dijon mustard over yellow mustard. It has a more robust, and zingy flavor. Yellow mustard falls a little flat with a muted flavor profile.
- Red Onion: For a pop of red, savory crunch with every bite.
- Lemon Juice: You know my motto, fresh is always best!
- Fresh Parsley and Chives: These herbs pair well with the eggs and mustard. And of course add a pop of green.
Side note… if you want an extra earthy and spicy version, give my curried egg salad recipe a try!
Using the Best Hard Boiled Eggs
Given that this recipe is all about hard boiled eggs, you’ve gotta make sure you use perfectly hard boiled eggs. You don’t want them too hard and rubbery, too soft and not mixable or overly cooked and green around the yolk.
I’ve shared with you how to make perfect hard boiled eggs previously (step-by-step), so make sure to check out that post and video. I use 12 minute hard boiled eggs in this recipe, but anything between 12-14 minutes is fine.
How to Make Egg Salad
Step 1: Hard Boil the Eggs and Let them Cool
Remember to plan ahead to hard boil your eggs and allow time for them to cool. Once the eggs are cooked and cooled you’re good to mix everything together.
Step 2: Mix Your Ingredients Together
Slice your eggs into pieces (but don’t slice them too small) and add them to a mixing bowl along with the mayonnaise (I love my homemade version), Dijon mustard, finely diced red onion, lemon juice, parsley and chives. Give it all a stir and you’re done.
Ways to Enjoy Egg Salad
- Straight from the bowl. I’ll often eat this straight out of the bowl with a fork because it’s that good!
- Top it on bread. You can enjoy egg salad as an open faced sandwich, on either gluten-free toast or my falafel flatbread, with a sprinkle of microgreens on top.
- Wrap it up. Layer slices of cucumber, bell pepper, and other veggies inside tortillas, butter leaf lettuce leaves, or collard greens. Then wrap it up!
How to Store Egg Salad
Egg salad will stay good in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Just make sure that you don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Otherwise, it may start to go bad.
More Easy and Healthy Egg Recipes
Eggs are truly one of the most versatile ingredients. Here’s a few fun and tasty egg recipes you’ll love!
- Deviled Eggs
- Poached Eggs
- Zucchini and Prosciutto Egg Muffins
- Spicy Pulled Pork Fried Eggs
- Baked Eggs in Avocado
Egg Salad Recipe Video
While this recipe is easy to whip up, it always helps to watch a quick tutorial video. Give it a watch below!
If you make this egg salad, let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
BEST Egg Salad
Ingredients
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbs parsley, finely diced
- 2 tbs chives, finely diced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Then turn the heat to low so there's no bubbles. Use a skimmer to slowly and gently place the eggs in the pot. Turn the heat back to high and boil the eggs for 12 minutes.
- Transfer the eggs to an ice water bath for a few minutes to stop the cooking process and cool.
- Once your eggs are cool to touch, peel and discard the eggs shells. Cut the hard boiled eggs to your desired size (I prefer chunky). Then add the eggs, red onion, chives, parsley, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice to bowl and stir all ingredients together.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve in a bowl, in a sandwich, or in a wrap.
Lisa's Tips
- The eggs may crack if you introduce cold eggs straight to the boiling hot water. So I leave my eggs out prior to boiling, or run them under lukewarm water for a few seconds, as well as turn off the boil right before you introduce the eggs.
- I use a skimmer to introduce the eggs to boiling water so they don't slam into the bottom of the pan and crack. You can see more tips on how to make hard boiled eggs here.
- Definitely use Dijon mustard rather than yellow mustard. The spicier flavor makes all the difference.
- You can store egg salad for up to 3-4 days in the fridge.
Hey Lisa,
I am Harriet, from Nigeria. I tried this recipe today with my partner and we loved it. We used it as a sandwich dressing, with lettuce and he said it’s the best sandwich he has ever had🤭. I am looking forward to trying your other egg recipes. Thank you so much for all that you do. Keep shining ❤
Amazing! Glad both of you enjoyed this egg salad recipe :)
Great salad and great idea on using eggs! Thanks
Glad you loved this one Patricia!
I tried your “Best Ever Guacamole” this is truly the best guacamole! I’m going to try your other recipes.
Excited for you to try my other recipes as well Michael!
This is amazing! Delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Of course! Glad you enjoyed it Jan :)
Best egg salad recipe ! Boiled the eggs for 12 mins and they were perfect. So tasteful and perfect side dish for our Sunday barbecue!
Amazing! This one definitely is a winner for a weekend barbeque
I used to make my egg salad with just mayo and celery…NOT ANY MORE! I now make the best egg salad thanks to Lisa.
So glad you love this recipe Migdalia!
This is the best egg salad! Paired it with your falafel flat bread for an amazing delicious lunch!
Happy to hear you enjoyed this egg salad Belinda!
Do you use Italian parsley or regular?
Just regular parsley! But feel free to use whichever you like :)
I made this egg salad last week. Everyone liked it. Said it was the best they ever had and wanted the recipe. I added 1/4 cup chopped celery to the recipe.
This is the best egg salad recipe! We’re not big fans of parsley, so we subbed dill instead and it’s delicious. Only 6 eggs is never enough, so we always double or triple to make this worth our time to enjoy for a couple days!
Dill is always a great herb substitution :)
This sounds lovely, so lovely that I think we’re going to try it for lunch. Thank you for sharing.
I liked my hard boiled eggs done at 14 minutes….perfectly cooked!!
This is delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe Kelly :)
Delicious! Loved it and the hard boiling egg tips are so useful! Thank you so much!
Hi Jen- Wonderful! Happy to hear you found the tips useful to create the perfect set of eggs.
Delicious! Very simple and easy to put together. I meal prepped this so I wouldn’t have to cook in this heat, as Toronto temperatures are soaring! I love that I can grab it from the fridge to eat without any cooking or prep. I paired it with your creamy coleslaw recipe for the ultimate nourishing summer meal! Thank you for sharing :)
Hi Emily- So glad you loved this egg salad recipe! Sounds great paired back with some homemade coleslaw :)
Delicious….. but I would reduce the amount of red onion a bit. Maybe 1/6 of a cup rather than 1/4?
Great process for boiling the eggs and yummy recipe, thanks!
Glad you found this easy to make and delicious :)
Just delicious… even for those who aren’t huge fans of egg salad! Didn’t have chives and it still came out great!
Hi Danielle – Glad you loved this recipe, especially if you’re not an egg salad fan!
I had some leftover red onion and herbs from your tuna salad recipe, so I thought I would give this one a go. I am actually not an ‘egg salad kinda person’, but this one is really tasty. The mustard gives it a real kick and the red onion a nice crunch. Thanks Lisa for inspiring me to always try something new, even when I think it is not my thing ;-)
For someone who isn’t a huge fan of egg salad, I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. And good thinking about the leftover red onion and herbs! Great way to utilize these ingredients for different types of salads :)
How many servings?
Hi Victoria – there are 4 servings in this recipe.
I added a little sweet relish to mine and some slice black olives.
Hi Barbara – I love those small additions for a boost in flavor!
This was very good
So glad you enjoyed this egg salad recipe Karen :)
Tried, but I really prefer yellow mustard. Dijon just has a spicey taste whereas I feel yellow has more actual flavor. Also don’t really see the need for the chives,… flavor just gets lost with the onion. Added dill which made a nice difference.
Very tasty and easy. This will be my go to egg salad!
Wonderful! Happy to hear you found a winning egg salad recipe :)
Seriously good. I did not have parsley so subbed dried dill. So very, very good thank you. Ive tried two of your recipes (broccoli cranberry salad) and they are both 5 star!
Hi Kelly – So thrilled to hear that you loved both recipes! :)
My favorite recipe for egg salad includes Dijon, but also RANCH dressing! I sometimes like to add in a few green onions and a bit of pepper. So tasty as a sandwich or dipping veggies into. Be careful with putting too much ranch or it can be a little runny.
Delicious!!! Loved bigger chunks
Hi Alicia – Bigger chunks the better :) Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I just made this egg salad. It is great. Taste great. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Jamie – Wonderful! Can’t wait for you to whip this up again :)
This recipe is awesome, everything is explained so well! And the egg salad tastes amazing! It’s super creamy and has a lot more flavor than most egg salads I’ve tried. It’s great by itself, on a sandwich, or in a wrap! Love it!!
Hi McKenzie – Glad you loved this egg salad recipe :) It’s such a versatile recipe to use in other meals as well!
I love a good egg salad and I think I’ve been doing it wrong all these years:) I love this simple recipe, so delicious and creamy!
Hi Giselle – Glad you finally got to perfect a delicious egg salad :)
Does anyone else experience the egg salad becoming very watery after it sits for at least a day in the fridge? I’ve always noticed this happening. I’m thinking it could be the salt drawing out the moisture so I’m not going to add it this time and see what happens.
Excluding the salt didn’t seem to work. End up with a watery mess.
Hi David – there’s not much liquid in the recipe so I don’t know what could be causing that for you (I’ve never had mine turn watery). Perhaps try a different brand of mayo next time, in case that’s contributing to it.
This was DELISH…This is my first time ever making egg salad and it was so delicious, I ate the whole thing (guess I’ll have to make more tomorrow :) I don’t like parsley so I used dill and chives and it was so yummy. Thank you for sharing :)
Hi Mallory – Congrats on making your first egg salad! I’m glad it was a success :)
I am not not a vegan, so I added chopped crispy bacon and made breakfast sandwiches my my egg salad. Delicious.
Hi Susan – Adding crispy bacon sounds absolutely delicious with this :)
Delicious! More interesting than the typical egg salad recipe, with a nice tang from the lemon juice and dijon mustard (I used Grey Poupon), and tastes even better the 2nd day!
Thanks so much MaryLee! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and I agree, it always tastes better the next day (if you manage to have any leftovers). ;)
What is the leave you used to wrap it in in the photo
Hi Joanna – I used collard greens for the wrap. But you could use a variety of different lettuces and leaves.
I love this egg salad recipe! I did add some chopped celery,just for more crunch, but that is just my preference. Great also without it. You also showed me how to boil eggs in your boiled egg video to the concistency I want, which I have always struggled. with yay!
Awesome, April! I’m so happy you loved the egg salad and your hard-boiled eggs turned out perfectly! Thank you so much for the kind comment! :)
My favorite egg salad recipe!
Yay! I’m happy to hear that. Thanks Jeri!
This is the best egg salad recipe I have ever tried at home. I will make this again and again. I love the fresh herbs: I added parsley, chives, and dill. I had many compliments from my family who tried it.
Fantastic, Brianne! I’m so glad your family loved the egg salad! Thanks for the kind comment! :)
Super easy and delicious!!!
Wonderful! I’m so thrilled you loved the recipe Mary!
Simple and delicious ?
Thanks so much! I’m happy you loved the recipe!
I forgot to put lemon juice in it, but it was still an amazing salad, thank you!
Wonderful! I’m so happy you loved the recipe Mia!
Awesome, very tasty!! Totally enjoyed it. We also did the collard wrap as you shared with us Great taste loved it!!
Hi Wendell – Thanks for the kind words and I’m so glad you enjoyed the egg salad wrap! :)
To make this keto!
Increase (real) mayo to 1/3 c
Omit red onion and sub onion powder (about 1 t or to taste)
Add 10 sliced green olives
Make sure dijon has no sugar or use plain yellow
Omit toppings or add low carb options like sprouts or fresh herbs
Wrap in any leafy green of choice (I like butter lettuce or leaf)
Macros:
Fat 68%
Carb 3.7%
Protein 25%
Thanks for sharing your tips Shanna! :)
Hmmmm well I know what I’m making for dinner tonight! Lisa, I love all your recipes. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
You’re so welcome, Olivia. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm for my recipes. :)
I really love the idea of the collard wrap, it looks so fresh and delicious! Sounds like a wonderful recipe
Thanks Diana! Yes, the collard wrap and veggies gives this egg salad a delicious crunch. :)
Absolutely love your idea of wrapping your egg salad in a collard leaf. Such a great idea. Your pictures really highlight your dish!
Thanks, Kelly! Yep, always looking for a gluten-free wrap. :)
I love your simple deviled eggs and what a great idea to turn them into a collards wrap! I love collards!
Hi Pam – I think you mean my egg salad recipe, but I do have a deviled eggs recipe as well :)
This is a great recipe for summer picnics! Delicious!
Yep, totally agree, Cliona! :)
This is an amazing Dinner Salad. Looks creamy and tasty and delicious.
Thanks for the kind words Veena!