Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (2024)

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Enjoying a simple egg salad sandwich is so satisfying.

By

Elise Bauer

Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (1)

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

Learn about Simply Recipes'Editorial Process

Updated August 29, 2023

15 Ratings

Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (2)

In This Recipe

  • Making an Egg Salad Sandwich

  • Egg Salad Tips

  • Egg Salad Add-Ins

  • Avoiding a Soggy Sandwich

  • Peeling and Slicing Eggs

An egg salad sandwich is one of the easiest sandwiches in the world to make, especially if you have hard boiled eggs already made. It's also a great way to use up leftover eggs after Easter.

How to Make an Egg Salad Sandwich

How do you make an egg salad sandwich? Just chop up some hard boiled eggs, add a little chopped celery for crunch, some green onions or chives for the green factor, a dash of salt and pepper for seasoning, and a spoonful of mayonnaise to bind everything together. Easy!

For Easy-Peel Eggs, Try Steaming

Ever have hard-to-peel hard boiled eggs for egg salad sandwiches? Try steaming them!

Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (3)

Tips for the Best Egg Salad

  • Add a dash of curry powder. There is one more ingredient that will give your simple egg salad a special zing, and that is a dash of yellow curry powder. Not only will the curry powder give your egg salad sandwich a gentle spicy lift but it will also give it a bit more color as well.
  • To mayo or not to mayo? You can substitute the mayonnaise in an egg salad sandwich with some ripe avocado; if you do that you'll need to add some vinegar or lemon juice for an acidic component, and add more salt than you would expect. Personally, I prefer my egg salad sandwich with a hefty amount of mayonnaise. That said, the amount of mayonnaise is completely a matter of taste.

Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (4)

More Egg Salad Add-Ins

Since we first posted this recipe, so many of you have chimed in with your favorite versions of egg salad. Here are a few great ideas for add-ins.

  • Chopped bell pepper
  • Pickles or pickle relish
  • Smoked paprika
  • Chopped green or kalamata olives
  • Horseradish
  • Capers
  • Chopped cooked bacon

How to Avoid a Soggy Egg Salad Sandwich

The best way to avoid a soggy egg salad sandwich? Make your sandwich by laying a piece of lettuce over the toast, adding the egg salad, layering another piece of lettuce, and topping with the bread. The lettuce helps keep the bread from absorbing liquid from the egg salad.

The egg salad filling can also be prepared up to a day ahead and kept refrigerated. Wait to assemble your sandwich until just before eating.

Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (5)

Peeling and Slicing Eggs for Egg Salad

Peel the hard boiled eggs by gently tapping them several times on a clean counter or cutting board, cracking them all over. Then gently peel the shells away from the eggs. If the shells are stubborn or clinging to the eggs, try peeling them under running water. Some eggs peel easily, while others can be frustrating. That's just how it goes (FYI, the older the eggs, the easier they peel once hard boiled).

Use any one of these kitchen tools to quickly slice or mash them to make egg salad.

  • Egg slicer — slice then in one direction and then the other
  • Potato masher
  • Pastry cutter
  • Whisk

More Recipes for Egg Salad

  • Deviled Egg Salad
  • Curried Egg Salad with Mango Chutney
  • Tarragon Egg Salad

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Quick and Easy Egg Salad Sandwich

Prep Time10 mins

Total Time10 mins

Serving1 sandwich

This recipe makes enough egg salad for one sandwich. If you are making more than one sandwich, you can easily scale up this recipe.

To make easy-to-peel hard boiled eggs, fill a saucepan with an inch of water and insert a steamer basket. Bring the water to a boil and place the eggs in the steamer basket. Cover the pan and let the eggs steam from the boiling water for 15 minutes. Then shock with cold water and peel.

You can also make easy-to-peel hard boiled eggs bycooking them in a pressure cooker.

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg, hard-boiled, peeled, and chopped (See Recipe Note)

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, to taste

  • 2 tablespoons chopped celery

  • 1 tablespoon chopped green onion or chives

  • Pinch curry powder

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

  • Lettuce

  • 2 slices white, wheat, multigrain, or rye bread, toasted or plain

Method

  1. Make the egg salad:

    Mash up the chopped egg a bit with a fork. Mix together the chopped hard-boiled egg, mayonnaise, celery and green onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and curry powder to taste. Mix with a spoon.

    Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (6)

    Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (7)

    Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (8)

  2. Assemble the sandwich:

    Toast your bread slices if making the sandwich with toast. Put a layer of lettuce on one slice of bread, spread the egg mixture on top of the lettuce, put another slice of bread on top.

    How do you like your egg salad? Leave a comment below and tell us all about it. Rate the recipe while you're at it!

    Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (9)

  • Egg Salads
  • Easy Dinners
  • Easy Lunches
  • Boiled Eggs
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
428Calories
28g Fat
31g Carbs
12g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories428
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 28g36%
Saturated Fat 5g26%
Cholesterol 198mg66%
Sodium 838mg36%
Total Carbohydrate 31g11%
Dietary Fiber 2g8%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 12g
Vitamin C 4mg18%
Calcium 130mg10%
Iron 3mg17%
Potassium 245mg5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Got Hard-Boiled Eggs? Make This Time-Tested Egg Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long do I boil an egg to make a hard boiled egg? ›

Hard boiled eggs should be cooked for about 10-12 minutes. This timing avoids a powdery, dry yolk that comes from overcooking while keeping it solid enough for applications like devilled eggs or egg salad.

How long can you keep homemade egg salad in the refrigerator? ›

Egg salad is always better fresh, but you can certainly store it for up to 4 days in the fridge for quick lunches or for potlucks and picnics.

What are the ingredients for egg salad sandwiches? ›

How do you make an egg salad sandwich? Just chop up some hard boiled eggs, add a little chopped celery for crunch, some green onions or chives for the green factor, a dash of salt and pepper for seasoning, and a spoonful of mayonnaise to bind everything together. Easy!

Do you boil water before adding eggs? ›

You might have heard that you should drop your eggs into room temperature or cold water and then bring the water to a boil. This is a myth. In our tests, bringing the water to a boil first and then lowering the eggs into the bath made for easy peeling and more accurate timing.

What is the trick to perfect hard-boiled eggs? ›

Cover with a lid and bring water to a boil over high heat; when the water has reached a full rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium-high and maintain a gentle boil. Set the timer for the desired time and boil for 6 – 7 minutes over medium-high heat for perfect hard-boiled eggs.

Is 10 minutes long enough to hard boil an egg? ›

Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Then, let them sit in the hot water. As soon as the water begins to boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Leave the eggs in the hot water for anywhere from 10-12 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs.

What makes egg salad go bad? ›

Creamy ingredients (mayo, yogurt): These are often the first ingredient to go bad. Always use the sniff test as a quick preliminary check. If you see any signs of separation or watery edges, it's time to discard the salad.

Why does my egg salad get watery the next day? ›

Every ingredient that goes into egg salad has water in it. Salt and sugar in the dressing draw the water out of the ingredients as they sit, and they make your egg salad watery regardless of whether it's in the fridge or in a sandwich.

Can you eat egg salad that has been left out overnight? ›

Never leave cooked eggs or egg dishes out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours or for more than 1 hour when temperatures are above 90° F. Bacteria that can cause illness grow quickly at warm temperatures (between 40° F and 140° F).

Why is my egg salad bland? ›

The simple reason may be that it's not seasoned enough. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste. Always use a good quality whole egg mayonnaise, as it can make or break your egg salad. If you've properly seasoned your egg salad and it still seems bland, add an acid.

How do I make boiled eggs easy to peel? ›

#2: Making easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs requires shocking them in cold water. After 13 minutes at a low simmer (not a boil—see full method below & read the tips to prevent cracking), immediately put the eggs in ice water to make them easy to peel. Shocking them in ice-cold water stops the cooking process.

How many minutes to boil eggs? ›

Start the timer – 6 minutes for runny yolks, 8 minutes for soft boiled, 10 minutes for classic hard boiled, 15 minutes for unpleasant rubbery whites and powdery dry yolks. Transfer into a large bowl or sink of cold water.

Is it better to boil eggs in cold water? ›

Here's a hard-boiled egg tip that we know to be true: Starting your eggs in hot, already-boiling water makes them easier to peel. In a column for Serious Eats, cookbook author and food columnist J. Kenji López-Alt found that "starting cold resulted in eggs that had just over a 50% success rate for clean peeling.

How to tell if hard-boiled eggs are done? ›

The Spin. To test this popular trick, I laid both eggs on a smooth, flat surface and gave them a light spin. The boiled egg spun quickly, smoothly, and without any wobble.

Can you hard boil eggs for 20 minutes? ›

For one to four eggs, bring the water to a rolling boil, cover the pot, and turn the heat down to its lowest setting for 12-14 minutes. For five to eight eggs, cook for 15 to 18 minutes. For nine to one dozen eggs, cook for 20 minutes. After cooking, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water.

How do you boil the hardest egg? ›

Instructions
  1. Method 1 – Rolling Boil.
  2. Cook for 14 minutes for large eggs, 12 minutes for medium and small eggs, and 15 minutes for jumbo eggs.
  3. Method 2 – Quick Boil and Let Sit.
  4. (12 for medium and small, and 18 for jumbo) Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool.
  5. Method 3 – Baked in Oven.

How long does it take for water to boil? ›

However, as a general rule, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes for 1 liter of water to boil on a medium heat source. Remember, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) at sea level.

Can you hard boil eggs too long? ›

Firstly, it is important to understand why overcooked hard boiled eggs occur. When eggs are boiled for too long, they can become overcooked and develop a greenish-gray ring around the yolk. This is caused by a reaction between the iron in the yolk and the sulfur in the white, which produces ferrous sulfide.

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