The BEST egg salad recipe! Delicious on a sandwich or straight from the bowl, this easy egg salad is creamy, tangy, and bright. A perfect lunch!
This egg salad recipe is creamy, flavorful, and bright. A perfect quick lunch, it’s easy to make with simple ingredients like mayonnaise, mustard, and fresh herbs. Try it on an egg salad sandwich (my favorite), or spoon it over crackers or greens!
I especially love this recipe for lunch during the spring. Lately, I’ve been making it weekly. But I haven’t always been an egg salad fan—for the longest time, I thought I didn’t like it.
This recipe changed my mind. Hands down the best egg salad I’ve tried, it has plenty of texture thanks to chopped (not mashed) hard boiled eggs and diced red onion. Fresh lemon juice gives the creamy mayo dressing a nice tangy kick.
Even if you’re on the fence about egg salad, I hope you’ll try this recipe. You might find that you love it as much as I do!
Egg Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy egg salad recipe:
- Eggs, of course! Prepare them according to this recipe for how to make hard boiled eggs.
- Mayonnaise – It makes the salad rich and creamy.
- Dijon mustard – For tangy, peppery flavor. Feel free to sub yellow mustard if you prefer.
- Fresh lemon juice – It adds brightness.
- Red onion – For crunch and oniony bite.
- Fresh herbs – Chives and dill add freshness to the salad and enhance its savory flavor.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Recipe Variations
- Make it tangier. I love adding capers to this recipe for an extra-tangy, briny kick. Diced dill pickles or sweet pickle relish would be great add-ins too.
- Add extra crunch. Stir in 1 diced celery rib.
- No red onion? Use chopped green onions instead.
How to Make Egg Salad
This egg salad recipe is simple! Cook the hard boiled eggs, then peel and chop them. Dice the red onion and chop the fresh herbs too.
Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine.
Just chill and season to taste before serving.
For the best results, follow these tips:
- Start with good hard boiled eggs. I make mine by adding the eggs to a pot of cold water and bringing the water to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a rolling boil, I remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 12 minutes. Then, I chill them in an ice water bath for 14 minutes before peeling. This method yields easy-to-peel eggs with yellow yolks. For more tips on making perfect hard boiled eggs, check out my hard boiled eggs recipe!
- Maintain some texture. It’s ok if the egg yolks crumble a little as you fold the chopped eggs into the dressing, but don’t mash them up too much.
- Go all in on the herbs. Fresh chives and dill add savory flavor to this recipe, and they make it feel super fresh. If you don’t have one of them, use more of the other, or add fresh parsley instead.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Ways to Serve
Enjoy this recipe straight from the bowl, or
- scoop it up with crackers or crostini,
- serve it over lettuce or other greens,
- or fold it into pita or a tortilla to make a wrap.
Or make a classic egg salad sandwich! Pile on fixings like lettuce, sprouts, or microgreens; thinly sliced cucumber, radishes, or avocado; and/or pickled red onions.
What to Serve with an Egg Salad Sandwich
I often pair mine with a side salad for lunch or a picnic. Try serving your sandwich with one of these recipes:
How long does egg salad last in the fridge?
Egg salad keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Storage Tips
- Store it in an airtight container. If you’re making egg salad sandwiches, don’t assemble them more than a few hours before you eat. If you make them too far in advance, they’ll get soggy!
- Keep it in the fridge. It can spoil if it’s at room temperature for 2 hours or more.
- Season to taste after chilling. I often find that this salad needs an extra pinch of salt or squeeze of lemon after it’s been in the fridge.
More Easy Egg Recipes
If you love this recipe, try one of these easy egg dishes next:
- Deviled Eggs
- Soft Boiled Eggs
- Poached Eggs
- Or any of these 30 Best Egg Recipes!
Best Egg Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Hard boil the eggs according to this recipe. Peel and chop.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
- Mix in the onions, then fold in the eggs, chives, and dill.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Stir, then season to taste and serve.
As an Alaskan I can’t help myself, though I LOVE this recipe. I dare you to try adding some smoked salmon to this dish. I used about 4oz and just broke it down into shreds with my hands, then folded it in with the eggs. I also added a teaspoon of pickled green peppercorns for a little extra spice kick! Thanks for this recipe!!! ?
Amazing recipe! My partner is typically not a fan of mayonnaise, but he loved this sandwich!
I’m so happy to hear!
Your vegan egg salad recipe is another winner! I didn’t have capers, so used chopped green olives. Who knew tofu could taste so good?!! My husband & I are watching our cholesterol, so this was the perfect answer for our hankering for egg salad! Thank you! <3
I’m so glad you both loved the tofu version!
Kind of obsessed with this recipe. Love how versatile it is. I made it a few times with slight variations depending on what I had on hand. The batch I made yesterday was great with some thinly sliced celery folded into it.
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying it!
I cringed when I saw Egg Salad as this months recipe. But I trust Jeanine so gave it a go.
It was really tasty. Pickled Onions and greens added nice texture to the sandwich. This won’t be in heavy rotation but definitely a few times a year.
Thanks!
Hi Cainim, I’m glad you gave it a try 🙂
The egg salad was refreshing with the herbs, spices and capers. Yummy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Zesty and tangy! Love the hint of garlic and all the herbs. A delicious new egg salad recipe to add to my repertoire.
I’m so glad you loved it!
This egg salad was perfect! Thank you for the recipe!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
This was delicious and made a great lunch! Loved the addition of turmeric and fresh herbs. Will be making this again soon!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I found this got more flavorful and delicious as it sat in the fridge for a couple of days. I drizzled a little balsamic glaze on top and it was?
I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this for lunch yesterday and loved it! The tangy, creamy combination is very tasty.
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
I will never make basic egg salad again after trying this recipe! I loved the addition of the capers, garlic, and turmeric. I get a bit tired of sandwiches, so I served the egg salad in a bowl alongside toast triangles and carrot slices.
Really super delicious! Very flavorful and simple. We nixed the capers and added extra dill (a truly sexy herb.) This was the perfect recipe to make after our Easter egg dye adventure. Thanks!
I’m so glad you loved it! I love dill so much too 🙂
I love the turmeric and abundance of fresh herbs in this recipe. I must admit that my entire adult life I’ve made egg salad only one way – the way my mother taught me. It was great to try something a little different. I’ll definitely make this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it a new way!
Loved this for the perfect April dish! Even added the spinach like in the picture, and adds even more freshness. Capers are a great bursts of saltiness to add even more flavor!
The bites with the capers are the best!
I love the capers too 🙂
I loved all the fresh herbs! The capers can make it a little salty though.
I’ve never had egg salad before, and I really liked this recipe. It was bright, creamy, and herbaceous. We had it as a sandwich with microgreens. I would make this again!
What a yummy recipe! I wouldn’t have thought to use capers and turmeric in an egg salad, but it turned out great!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Any good substitutes for celery seed?
Hi Samantha, you can just skip it!