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.
This was a great recipe but adding 1 heaping tablespoon of Sugar really brought out the taste.
Glad you enjoyed it, Howard!
Delicious. I added some cottage cheese to lesson the mayo component and add more protein and it is so delicious. Also added some chopped fresh parsley. Yum
Hi Joanne, I’ve never tried using cottage cheese in egg salad. What a great idea! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Create a egge salad using your recipe and enjoyed the taste. Thank You
Hands down best egg salad I’ve ever had!!! Thank you!!!
It is really good ??
So glad you liked it, Henry!
I like to add chopped Black Olives to mine. A tip from a friend.
Ooh fun addition, Aureline! I love that idea.
Please describe what and how that adds to the egg salad! I love black olives and never had that idea and now I need to know!
How long does it keep in the fridge?
Hi Matty, up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Great recipe. I didn’t have chives on hand so I omitted it. I did add the capers. I loved the taste and I am sure the chives would have really added to the taste. I had leftover dill from making your refrigerator dilly bean recipe that I wanted to use. I am so glad we tried this recipe.
Oops, It wasn’t your site that had the Dilly Bean recipe, but loved your egg salad
best egg salad ever.even though it is the first one I had but really flavorful really good love it five stares happy.
Hi Van, I’m so glad you loved it!
Good recipe. I did add bacon bits and a touch of sweet relish.
Huge fan! Great level of saltiness with the capers.
I’m so glad you loved it!
It would be really,., helpful if you printed nutrition info for your recipes.
I did make the egg salad, and although my husband & I are big fans of mustard, the mustard seemed to overwhelm the taste.
The boiled egg technique worked incredibly well.
I made this egg salad earlier today, and it was excellent. Even though I used dried chives and dill, it paired well with Ritz crackers. Thank you for sharing this recipe. ?
I’m so glad you loved it!
Chopped celery is a must in any egg salad recipe, maybe in a little more amount than chopped onion, because the onion has a stronger taste. The celery for crunch and saltiness. I’ve made it without, because celery spoils, but it’s not nearly as good.
Hi Jon, great suggestion! Feel free to add some celery to this recipe. It would be delicious here!
I always use celery. I’m surprised you saying celery spoils. I sometimes make 3 batches of egg salad in a 2 week time span and one package of celery is enough to make all 3 using 2 stalks at a tim. It keeps just fine in the fridge and is just as fresh after 2 weeks as the day I bought it.
Best egg salad EVER!!!
I LOVE THIS EGG SALAD! I have made egg salad for years and it never tasted this good! Is it listed in any of your cookbooks because I want to keep it forever!
Hi Denise, I’m so glad you love the recipe! Unfortunately, the egg salad isn’t in any of the cookbooks. We tend to publish separate recipes in the books and online.
This was awesome! I nixed the dill and capers but added sweet/hot jalapenos!! It barely made it into the fridge for lunch.
Hi Nicole, I’m so glad you loved the egg salad! The jalapeños would be so tasty here.
What a beautiful egg salad! Definitely different and very delicious!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Agree the dill and capers really make this recipe. Bright and elevated. Delicious – thank you!!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
Like most people, I’ve made egg salad a hundred times. It’s one of my favorites.
I decided to hop online to see if I could find something “fresh and new” to add to my normal recipe.
This is exactly what I was looking for. It’s delicious & fresh!
Hi Lisa, I’m so glad you loved the egg salad!