Whether you pile it on greens, spread it on crackers or make it a sandwich this Classic Egg Salad Recipe is a comforting, delicious meal.
Egg Salad is one of the best examples of how sometimes keeping things simple is best. You can do all kinds of tweaking to this base recipe to make it your own but I really just love it as it is. Classic, nostalgic, and always delicious.
I know there are a lot of strong feelings out there on just what needs to go into egg salad but I’m going to show you how I do it and also give you some tasty variations.
Check out my method for Perfect Easy to Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs – you’ll need 8 for this recipe.
Get this part done in advance and the rest is a breeze.
How to Make Classic Egg Salad
Let’s start with my uncomplicated, base recipe. From there you can add or substitute ingredients to suit your taste.
My Egg Salad recipe consists of hard-boiled eggs cooled and chopped, finely diced red onion, and celery. The creamy dressing is the key to this recipe. Mayonnaise, yellow mustard, onion powder, paprika, and a little salt and fresh ground black pepper. Sounds simple right? It’s the best!
If you really want that old-school, straight from Grandma’s kitchen flavor, the mustard has got to be good, old-fashioned yellow mustard in my opinion. You can substitute Dijon but yellow mustard will yield that classic flavor.
Let’s talk about onion for a minute. I’m not typically a fan of raw onion but this salad is just not the same without it and I think finely diced red onion is the perfect choice. It adds a little color contrast, a bit of texture, and excellent flavor. Check out my variations below for substitutions.
The same goes for the celery. We’re not adding very much, just enough to add some texture to the creamy eggs.
Once combined you can cover and refrigerate it but it’s best if used within a couple of days.
It’s always a happy day when I remember I’ve got a batch of this Egg Salad waiting in the fridge for an easy lunch.
Pile it on sandwich bread with greens. It’s also really good with sliced tomato and pickles.
Classic Egg Salad Variations
- Onion – If you are not a fan of red onion you can substitute thinly sliced green onion, finely diced shallots, or even fresh chives for a milder onion flavor.
- Mustard – For a slightly more sophisticated flavor give Dijon a try in place of the yellow mustard.
- Herbs – Add fresh or dried dill, basil, or tarragon. Start with a very small amount, taste, and go from there.
- Bold flavor boosts – Add some sweet pickle relish, a little crumbled bacon, chopped olives, or a touch of curry powder.
- Lighten it up – Substitute some of the mayonnaise for non-fat Greek yogurt.
Classic Egg Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 hard boiled eggs
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons finely diced celery
- 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Peel and chop the eggs and transfer them to a medium mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, celery, onion, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine the mixture.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Funny that this showed up in my Facebook feed just as I was trying to figure out what to do with the 10 or so two-packs of Costco HBE’s in my fridge! Gonna knock this one out tomorrow fir lunch, oh yeah!
I hope it worked out well for you!
The Egg Salad recipe kooks delicious…I must make it. The bread also looks great…what type of bread is it?
Thanks!
Hi Cynthia. I believe that is Nature’s Own Thick-Sliced Multigrain. It’s great for sandwiches!
I chop up some dill pickle in my egg salad.
Great recipe! Even my picky eater liked it!
So happy to hear it, Cindy 🙂 We crave this on a regular basis!
I just made this & it’s so good! Thank you for perfect proportions!
I love your recipe for Egg salad. The major difference between yours and mine is that I always add sweet relish.
Outstanding Recipe ! Thanks Again Val for a really great Recipe. I would like to see your version of Tuna salad also sometime.
This is great! My husband and I like lite lunches and this is perfect for us. Thanks for the recipe!