How to Make Easy Egg Salad - Recipe Ideas for Hard Boiled Eggs
Egg salad on lettuce with tomatoes
What is egg salad?
Egg salad is a basic egg dish of chopped boiled eggs, mayonnaise, perhaps some mustard, relish or chopped pickles, mixed together and eaten by itself or on crackers, or perhaps most commonly, on bread for an egg salad sandwich.
Egg salad can turn into ham salad, tuna salad, chicken or turkey salad by adding chopped amounts of those meats. With the basic egg salad, you can also turn it into a potato salad by simply adding boiled, chopped potatoes.
Eggs are cheap, healthy in many ways, and versatile to use in dishes or for a meal in themselves. Next time you're at a loss for a cheap, tasty meal, consider trying these different variations of egg salad.
Try these basic Ingredients in your egg salad
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
- 1 tsp. mustard
- 2 Tbsp.(approximately) sweet pickle relish, to taste, OR
- dill pickle relish, to taste, OR
- chopped sweet pickles, to taste, OR
- chopped dill pickles, to taste, OR
- chopped green olives, to taste
- 1/4 cup or so onions, any kind, chopped, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 slices bread, your choice, OR
- several lettuce leaves, romaine preferred
- My favorite combination has always been the mayo, mustard, salt and pepper, and sweet pickle relish. But there are many more options..., depending on your taste.
Instructions
- Put 4 eggs in pan full of water. Bring to a boil. Boil for seven minutes. Turn off heat. Put pan under running cold water. Run over until eggs are cool enough to peel. Peel eggs and chop.
- To chopped eggs, add mayonnaise and mustard, salt and pepper. Stir all together. Sprinkle on more salt and pepper as needed.
- Add choice of dill or sweet relishes or pickles, or opt for the delicious green olives version.
- Add chopped onions, if desired. Mix up for your basic egg salad recipe. Add any other ingredients at this time to try other egg salad variations.
- Serve egg salad on a bed of lettuce for a tasty salad or on two pieces of your favorite bread.
Cook Time
Sprinkle with . . . Spices!
Try different spices to sprinkle on top of egg salad, whether you put your creation on top of lettuce or on bread. Try these options:
- dill weed
- paprika
- garlic salt
- celery salt
- onion salt
- chili powder
- cilantro (I love cilantro, so I had to include this one!)
Experiment with more of your favorite spices!
Chopped or sliced tomatoes are always an excellent option to add to any type of egg salad or egg sandwich.
Basic Egg Salad with sweet relish
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1/2 cup | |
| Calories | 129 |
| Calories from Fat | 99 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 11 g | 17% |
| Saturated fat 3 g | 15% |
| Unsaturated fat 4 g | |
| Carbohydrates 23 g | 8% |
| Sugar 1 g | |
| Protein 9 g | 18% |
| Cholesterol 248 mg | 83% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Different Ways to Make Egg Salad: Veggie Egg Salad
Want to add more vegetables to your egg salad? Try this version. Just use the basic egg salad recipe. With this one, it is safe to make your base with dill or sweet relish, or dill or sweet pickles. If you like onions, choose green, red (purple), white, or yellow.
Add a few tablespoons of your favorite vegetables. Some good choices are the following.
- celery
- cucumbers
- green, red, orange, or yellow bell peppers (orange or yellow add more sweetness)
Breakfast Egg Salad
For a breakfast version that you will probably put on bread, choose your choice of relish or pickles--or omit this time according to your taste. Choose your choice of chopped onions, which are great in the breakfast egg salad.
To your egg salad mixture, add at least four pieces of crumbled bacon and 1/4 cup (or more) of grated cheddar cheese. Depending on your taste, you might add a few drops of hot sauce on your sandwich.
Egg Salad Sandwich
Gourmet Egg Salad
This variation I like to call my gourmet egg salad, as it includes some unusual ingredients such as capers. This is actually the egg salad shown in the pictures in this article. The ingredients I included are as follows:
- chopped green onions (2 or 3)
- 2 Tbs. chopped black olives
- 1-2 Tbs. capers
- 2 Tbs. chopped red bell peppers
Red pimentos (about half a small jar) also make a great egg salad sandwich without any other ingredients. Add them with or without the above options for a tasty combination. You could also replace the black olives for green for a tangier flavor. Just using the basic egg salad recipe, substituting green olives for relish or pickles, makes a tasty, zingy egg salad sandwich.
As always, I put chopped tomatoes (halved grape tomatoes in this case) on top. Egg salad is a food that is easy to make and flexible with its ingredients. Have fun mixing and matching your favorites!
Optional Ingredients for Egg Salad
Your thoughts on these egg salad options?
How to Peel an Egg: I cook a little less but do peel under cold water!
More Favorite Egg Recipes
- 10 Best Ways to Cook Eggs - Recipes
Here are ten great--many easy--ways to cook eggs. Eggs are versatile, cheap, and low in calories. They can be used in recipes but are also great stand-alone foods! - What Ingredients Make the Best Things in Omelet Recipes?
Do you love omelets? Here are some ideas for fillings and toppings, along with delicious combinations. - Favorite Swiss Cheese Spinach Quiche Recipe
If you like quiche and love spinach, then you will enjoy this tasty spinach quiche. Ingredients such as Swiss cheese and Dijon mustard blend together to make this a delicious creation.
© 2012 Victoria Lynn
