Simple Egg Salad Recipe
Homemade Egg Salad is an easy, delicious recipe to know. This simple egg salad recipe calls for 5 ingredients and makes an excellent egg salad sandwich. Whether you’re using leftover Easter eggs or simply hard boiling eggs to make it, this lunch recipe is the perfect balance of creamy, savory and a little sweet. Makes two servings, but can easily be doubled or tripled.
This egg salad recipe was first published in October 2011. It was republished in March 2022.
When I was a kid, there was nothing I loved more in the summertime than homemade egg salad, chilled, on top of fresh bread with some sweet pickles and a tall glass of lemonade.
Stereotypical Southern alert: Those were also the days my sister and I ran around the neighborhood wearing no shoes, playing with friends and spending every daylight hour outdoors except for lunchtime.
I stopped eating egg salad sometime during my teenage years, forgetting the deliciousness of my favorite summer lunch of my younger years.
Why I love this recipe:
This simple egg salad recipe reminds me of my childhood because it’s comforting and strikes the perfect balance. It’s creamy, luscious (without being heavy) and has a hint of sweetness.
While this isn’t a classic egg salad recipe because it doesn’t involve all mayonnaise, some dijon mustard or even some fresh dill, but goodness gracious, is it a fun twist.
This recipe is beyond simple and absolutely delicious.
Other simple lunch recipes: Chicken Spinach Salad with Apples and Strawberries | How to Make the Best Summer Snack Sandwiches | Strawberry Romaine Salad in a Jar | Turkey Shawarma Wraps | Rotisserie Chicken Salad
Looking for more easy recipe ideas? Check out my Dinner Recipe Index for more ideas.
What you need to make this recipe:
Be sure to scroll all the way down to get the exact measurements of these ingredients!
- Hardboiled eggs—these are an essential ingredient to homemade egg salad, and there’s no replacing ’em. If you don’t know how to do it, check out how to hard boil eggs.
- Sweet pickle juice—while you could replace this with dill pickle juice or bread and butter pickle juice, I love the hint of sweetness it offers the egg salad.
- Greek yogurt—use whatever plain yogurt you’ve got on hand. Just make sure it’s not flavored.
- Mayonnaise—whatever brand that’s your favorite, use that!
- Sweet pickle—it’ll come from the same jar as the pickle juice. 😉
- Salt and pepper—we use these to add a little extra flavor. Season the egg salad to your tastebuds.
If you’re not a fan of mayonnaise and want to make Egg Salad without Mayonnaise, swap the mayo with the same amount of plain Greek yogurt. I’ve done this for my husband, who is a noted mayo hater.
How to make Egg Salad
If you haven’t already, hard boil the eggs. I like to do this in a sauce pan, though I know you can hard boil eggs in the Instant Pot, as well as Air Fryer Eggs, too.
Once the eggs have cooked, dunk them in an ice bath with cold water. Let ’em cool until you can handle them without burning your fingers.
Once cooled, peel the eggs gently.
Pro tip!
You can chop eggs without an egg slicer. Cut theeggs along the equator in half. Place on a cutting board with the flat side facing down, and cut length-wise into 3-4 strips. Turn the cutting board and chop going the other direction. You want the eggs to have some texture, so don’t dice them finely.
Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the the pickle juice, Greek yogurt and mayonnaise. Whisk together until smooth.
Chop the pickle, too, and add it to the mixture, stirring until combined.
Taste the sauce, and season with salt and pepper, if necessary. I like to do this step once I’ve added all the ingredients so I know the overall taste.
Make the egg salad. Add the chopped eggs to the wet ingredients, stirring gently to combine. Do not stir vigorously, as you want the eggs to keep some of their texture.
Chill in the refrigerator, and then enjoy!
Please note: You don’t have to chill the egg salad before eating. I just really like mine cold. 😉
How to make egg salad sandwich
Toast slices of bread. We like to use our regular ‘ol sandwich bread, but you can use a fancier bread if you want!
Slather on the egg salad. Don’t skimp on this!
Add your favorite toppings. We love lettuce, as shown in these photos, but you can add whatever makes you happy. Consider adding tomatoes, red onion, green onion, another leafy green and more.
And then enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Egg salad keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days easily. Just be sure to store it in an airtight food storage container.
I like to cut my eggs in half along the equator, then slice into bite-sized pieces from there.
You can add more hard boiled eggs or a little more yogurt to firm up the egg salad if it’s a little watery.
Quick tips to the best egg salad
- Use old eggs. Did you know that older eggs peel more easily? If you’re planning to make egg salad, consider purchasing your eggs a week early. They’ll keep in the fridge.
- Make ’em for a crowd. Egg Salad Sandwiches are perfect for play dates, bridal or baby showers and more because they are hand held, relatively mess-free and utterly delicious.
- How to store: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up for 4 days.
- Make your egg salad sandwich with the toppings you love, whether that’s romaine, red onions, tomatoes or anything else.
- Swap out the ingredients to your pantry and tastebuds. If you don’t love mayonnaise, use Greek yogurt instead. Don’t have yogurt? You can use all mayo!
Enjoy, friends!
Egg Salad
Ingredients
- 5 hard boiled eggs
- 1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 sweet pickle chopped
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
- If you haven't already, hard boil the eggs.
- When the eggs have finished cooking, dunk them in an ice bath, and let cool until you can handle them without burning your fingers.
- Peel the eggs.
- Chop the hard boiled eggs.
- In a medium bowl, combine the the pickle juice, Greek yogurt and mayonnaise. Whisk together until smooth.
- Chop up the pickle, and add it to the mixture, stirring until combined.
- Taste the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the chopped eggs to the wet ingredients, stirring gently to combine. Do not stir vigorously, as you want the eggs to keep some of their texture.
- Chill, and then enjoy!
Notes
- Technically, you don't have to chill the egg salad before eating. I just really like mine cold. 😉
- Use old eggs. Did you know that older eggs peel more easily? If you're planning to make egg salad, consider purchasing your eggs a week early. They'll keep in the fridge.
- How to store: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up for 4 days.
- Make your egg salad sandwich with the toppings you love, whether that's romaine, red onions, tomatoes or anything else.
- Swap out the ingredients to your pantry and tastebuds. If you don't love mayonnaise, use Greek yogurt instead. Don't have yogurt? You can use all mayo!
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
i giggled at the sweet pickle juice ingredient but i 100% know why it’s there – so good.
I have to say, I really loved my mother’s egg salad sandwich recipe, even though it was SUPER unhealthy. I would love to try this!
I love egg salad. Just reading this post makes me want to whip some up immediately – maybe I’ll make it for lunch sometime this weekend.