Classic Egg Salad is a perfectly balanced mixture of hard boiled eggs, mayo, mustard & spices. Best served on soft white bread for a taste of childhood!
Classic Egg Salad was something we ate a ton growing up. It’s such an easy recipe, with minimal ingredients you probably already have on hand! It’s full of protein and can be dressed up or down, depending on what you’re in the mood for. Egg Salad is a basic recipe, with so much potential for variation!
How to Make Classic Egg Salad
This is a very simple and straightforward recipe, with minimal ingredients. There are a few steps involved to help with boiling your eggs and assembling the egg salad. I have outlined it all below so you can follow along, step-by-step!
What You Need to Make Egg Salad
Classic Egg Salad is made up of just a few simple ingredients. Most of which you probably already have in your kitchen!
- eggs
- mayo
- mustard
- paprika
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- sliced bread (if you’re making sandwiches)
How To Boil An Egg
Hard boiling eggs used to be a complicated task for me in the kitchen. It’s a simple task, but I was never sure how long to boil them? If I needed to add salt? Do I start with hot or cold water? So. Many. Questions. I finally found a method that works for me, and it works every time, which is crucial.
You can boil an egg anywhere from a soft boil (3-4 minutes, still runny) all the way to a hard boil (12 minutes, completely set). Plus every variation in between. For egg salad, a hard boil is best, because the yolks are completely cooked. This makes it much easier to chop up the eggs and combine them with the other ingredients. If the yolk is still slightly jammy or soft, it’s can be difficult to break down.
This method is specific to hard boiling eggs. Soft boiling & jammy eggs will have a slightly different process.
- Begin by placing your eggs in the bottom of your pot. The size will depend on how many eggs you’re boiling at once. Just make sure the eggs can sit flat at the bottom of the pot and are not overlapping.
- Cover the eggs with cold water. Fill the pot with enough water that the eggs are fully submerged and there is about 1 inch of water covering them.
- Bring the water to a rolling boil, then cover the pot. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for exactly 12 minutes.
Prepare the Ice Bath
In order to stop the cooking once the timer is done, you have to ‘shock’ the eggs. This is just the term used to describe putting food directly from the boiling water to an ice bath. The ice bath will immediately drop the temperature of the eggs and stop the cooking. This not only helps to cool down your eggs, but it also prevents your eggs from being overcooked. This method can also be used to stop vegetables from overcooking, after boiling.
Prepare your ice bath when the timer has just a few minutes left. Fill a bowl with ice and top it off with cold water. Make sure the bowl you’re using is big enough to fit the eggs, and the ice water.
Measure Out Your Ingredients
While your eggs are cooling, you can measure out remaining ingredients so when the eggs are ready, you can quickly assemble the egg salad.
Chopping the Eggs
Once the eggs are cooled and peeled, it’s time to chop! I like to separate the yolks from the whites when making egg salad because of their textural differences. The yolks are more of a powder-like consistency and the whites are solid. I separate the yolks into the bowl first, and mash them until they are completely broken up. Next, I chop the whites into a small dice. This method results in an Egg Salad with creamy yolks, and whites with more texture. You are more than welcome to chop up the eggs all at once, or even throw them into a food processor for a super quick blitz!
Assembling the Egg Salad
Once you have your eggs chopped and ingredients measured, it’s time to assemble! It’s as simple as throwing everything into a bowl and giving it a good mix. You want to make sure the eggs are mixed well and all the seasonings have been distributed evenly. Once the whole mixture is homogenous, it’s ready to go! It can be eaten immediately or set in the fridge to let the flavors develop further.
Time to Serve
My favorite way to eat egg salad is in a sandwich, but it’s also delicious eaten with crackers, on a salad, or by itself! You can make a batch at the beginning of the week and have it waiting for you to serve up all week.
FAQs about Classic Egg Salad
I like to make my egg salad the day before I plan to eat it, because the flavors develop more when it sits overnight. It can be eaten immediately, but will last in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Definitely! This recipe is a basic egg salad, and would be delicious with the addition of extra ingredients or spices!
Classic Egg Salad
Ingredients
- 4 Eggs
- ¼ cup Mayo
- 1 tablespoon Yellow Mustard
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Begin by hard boiling your eggs. Place your eggs in the bottom of a medium saucepan. Add cold water to completely cover the eggs, by about 1 inch. Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a boil.
- Once water is boiling, lower heat to low and cook for exactly 12 minutes.
- After the eggs have boiled, immediately move them to a large bowl filled with ice and water. Allow the eggs to cool completely in the ice bath. About 10 minutes.
- Peel and chop the eggs into small pieces. Place chopped eggs in a medium bowl.
- Add mayo, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- The egg salad can be stored in the fridge for another time, or served immediately.
I usually suck at boiling eggs so I never make egg salad but this recipe made it so easy and it was so delish! Definitely a new staple in our house! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
I’m so glad! It can be so tricky but once you get it down, it’s so simple! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
This is now my go-to egg salad recipe. I made it once without the salt to fit someone’s dietary needs and it was still so flavorful.