Sometimes there are recipes that just don’t seem to be as popular anymore. Think an easy egg salad recipe is one of those. Egg salad is one of those things that hits a finger sandwich plate occasionally or is a final option in a rest area food vending machine. How long has that thing been in the machine? Yuck!
For me, I like egg salad as breakfast sandwich or lunch option. It’s an easy recipe using inexpensive ingredients and still gives me some protein to keep me powered up until the next meal.
It’s also forgiving. If you’re practicing your hard boiled egg cooking skills, this is the PERFECT recipe to do it with. Did your eggs crack while cooking and now the look like aliens? Maybe they don’t peel easily and look like the surface of the moon. No one will ever know once you make egg salad.
Let’s make an easy egg salad recipe along with some hard boiled egg tips.
Easy Egg Salad Starts With Hard Boiled Eggs
Perfect hard boiled eggs are tricky. I’d be lying to you if I said mine come out perfect every time. They don’t. As I said earlier, a great thing about egg salad is it doesn’t matter if the eggs cook and peel perfectly since you’re chopping them up. Here’s the method I use for hard boiled eggs, followed by some cooking and peeling tips.
How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs
- Put the eggs in a pot that has a lid, in a single layer.
- Cover the eggs in an inch or so of cold water.
- Bring the pot to a boil over high heat leaving the pot uncovered.
- As soon as the water boils, turn off the heat, leaving the pot on the burner, and cover the pot with the lid.
- Keep the eggs covered for 10 minutes.
- After the 10 minutes, drain the water and cover eggs again in cold water. This will help stop any further cooking and make them easier to peel.
- Crack the eggs all over on a flat surface (like a counter or the inside of the sink) and peel off the shell.
Hard Boiled Egg Cooking Tips
There are numerous hard boiled egg cooking tips in cookbooks and online. Here are some of my favorites.
- The Right Size Pan – Use a saucepan large enough so the eggs are in a single layer.
- The Water Temperature – Use cold water to cover the eggs before boiling.
- A Gentle Cook – Turn off the heat and cover the eggs just after they boil. This allows the eggs to cook gently in the hot water and not overcook.
- Banish the Greenish Ring – This happens around the yolk when eggs have cooked too long or if the temperature was too hot (see the tip above on gently cooking). Egg yolks with the ring are perfectly safe to eat even though they are not as perfect to look at.
Hard Boiled Egg Peeling Tips
Hard boiled egg peeling tips are as plentiful as the tips for making them. Here are the ones I find most helpful.
- Eggs Should NOT Be Fresh – I know this is an odd statement. I’m not saying the should be rotten either so hear me out. Eggs lose moisture through the pores in their shells as they age. That being said, air pockets that build in the egg allow the egg white to separate from the shell more easily and makes the eggs easier to peel. If you’ve had eggs in your fridge for a while, those are the ones to use.
- Cold Shock Them – After draining the eggs, cover them again in cold water or put them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process and make them easier to peel.
- The Right Time to Peel – The eggs are easiest to peel just after they finish cooking and are cool enough to handle.
- Crack the Heck Out of the Eggs – Crack the eggs all over well before trying to peel them.
- Peel them Under Running Water – Running cold water over the eggs as you peel them can help with peeling because the water will help separate the egg and shell.
- Start Peeling From the Wider End of the Egg – The air pocket in the egg is at that wider end of the egg so start peeling there. It’s easier to get your fingers under the shell on that part of the egg.
- Add Vinegar to the Water – Using a little white or apple cider vinegar to the water before boiling helps with peeling eggs. The vinegar helps dissolve some of the calcium carbonate the shell is made of and makes the shell softer and easier to peel. Use about 1 Tablespoon of vinegar to your pot.
My Favorite Way to Chop Eggs for Easy Egg Salad
Now that the boiling and peeling is done, let’s talk chopping.
A rough chop with a knife is fine for egg salad but I like mine pretty chunky. Since the eggs break up more as you mix them with the other ingredients, I prefer using an egg slicer like this one for the texture I prefer. Here’s how I do that.
- Place an egg in the slicer and slice.
- Rotate egg 90 degrees and slice again.
- The eggs are similar to a short julienne cut. When mixing up the salad it will keep some texture and not look like the inside of a deviled eggs.
Easy Egg Salad Ingredient Add-In Ideas
I love the use of celery seed in my egg salad recipe. It gives it little bit of mystique. Celery seed isn’t something used all the time so people may not know the flavor. Here are some other ingredients that would be perfect for adding to your egg salad.
- Cayenne Pepper Sauce to add some heat
- A dash or two of Paprika
- Some chopped Dill
- A squirt of Yellow Mustard
- Dill or Sweet Pickle Relish
- Swap out the Mayonnaise for Greek Yogurt for a healthier option
That’s how I make my easy egg salad. Since you’ll be making this for lunch, you’ll need something to go with it. Sandwiches go well with soups so here’s a few options you may want to try.
More Healthy Gluten Free Lunches
Easy Egg Salad
Ingredients
- 6 Large Eggs
- 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp. Lemon Juice
- 1/2 tsp. Celery Seed
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- Pinch or Two of Pepper
Instructions
- Make hard boiled eggs, cool, and peel.
- Roughly chop the eggs and place in a large bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients and gently but thoroughly.
- Serve on your favorite sandwich bread with soup or salad and enjoy.
