Classic Egg Salad
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Searching for the best homemade egg salad? Look no further — this is the only egg salad recipe you’ll ever need!
Egg salad is a simple dish that’s undeniably delicious when done right (and, let’s be honest, falls a bit flat when it’s not). The trick is to begin with perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs, aiming for tender whites and creamy yolks. From there, it’s all about amping up the seasoning with a good-quality mayo, a squeeze of lemon, a spoonful of Dijon mustard, and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. For a little crunch and color, I like to stir in some celery and fresh parsley, and finish it off with scallions for a subtle onion flavor. The result? An egg salad that’s rich and creamy yet also vibrant and fresh — perfect for sandwiches, wraps, or simply on its own.
“Without a doubt THE best egg salad ever! It was so good I made a second batch.”
What You’ll Need To Make Egg Salad
- Eggs: Hard-boiled and chopped, they’re the protein component and base of the salad.
- Mayonnaise: Adds creaminess and binds the salad together. Use a good-quality brand, such as Hellmann’s or Duke’s.
- Dijon mustard: Introduces a tangy depth and sharpness.
- Fresh lemon juice (or white wine vinegar): Adds brightness and acidity, balancing the richness of the eggs and mayo.
- Worcestershire sauce: Offers a hint of umami and complexity to the salad, deepening the flavors.
- Celery: Provides a crunchy texture and a fresh, slightly bitter contrast to the creamy components.
- Scallions: Add a mild onion flavor and a touch of color, enhancing the freshness of the salad.
- Fresh parsley: Contributes a pop of color and a fresh, herbal note.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by hard boiling the eggs. Place the eggs in a saucepan in a single layer, and fill the pan with enough cold water so that it covers the eggs by about an inch. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
Carefully pour out the hot water; place the pan in the sink and run cold water over the eggs until the pan is lukewarm, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and refill with cold water; let stand until the eggs are room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Gently crack the eggs all over and peel under running water. Then dry the eggs and chop into 1/4-inch pieces.
Meanwhile, finely chop the herbs, celery, and scallions.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and sugar.
Add the chopped eggs, celery, scallions, and parsley.
Using a rubber spatula, fold to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, then serve or refrigerate until ready to use.
If you refrigerate the egg salad, be sure to taste it again before serving and adjust the seasoning; I find the flavors mellow out a bit after some time in the fridge.
Video Tutorial
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Classic Egg Salad
Searching for the best homemade egg salad? Look no further — this is the only egg salad recipe you’ll ever need!
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup finely diced celery, from 1 stalk
- 3 tablespoons finely sliced scallions, from 2 to 3 scallions
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a saucepan in a single layer, and fill the pan with enough cold water so that it covers the eggs by about an inch. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Carefully pour out the hot water; place the pan in the sink and run cold water over the eggs until the pan is lukewarm, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and refill with cold water; let stand until the eggs are room temperature, about 10 minutes. Gently crack the eggs all over and peel under running water. Dry the eggs, then chop into ¼-inch pieces.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add the chopped eggs, celery, scallions, and parsley. Using a rubber spatula, fold to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve or refrigerate until ready to use. (If you refrigerate the egg salad, be sure to taste it again before serving and adjust the seasoning; I find the flavors mellow out a bit after some time in the fridge.)
- Make Ahead: The eggs can be cooked, peeled, and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator 3 days ahead. If you keep the eggs in their shell, they can last for up to a week. The egg salad will keep well in a covered container in the fridge for about 3 days.
- Tip: When peeling an egg, start at the wider end -- there's usually a small air pocket in there, which makes the egg shell easier to remove.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 214
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Sodium: 248 mg
- Cholesterol: 285 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I tried this salad because the ingredients intrigued me. It is so savory. I did not have all the ingredients, so I improvised. I added spicy deal pickles. Fresh cucumbers chopped. I did not have celery, but the cucumbers sure made it pop. Thanks
This is my go to recipe for egg salad.
I did have to add a small amount of finely diced red onion, as no scallion in the house. And I usually don’t have it unless a recipe calls for several pieces. I have kept regular onion out of the recipe.
What made it a little different was my addition of about an 1/8tsp of Sumac. Just gave it that Unami taste. So will be adding it from now on.
Thanks again Jenn.
Best egg salad I have ever made
This was very good. I would however, only use one green onion. I used two and felt like I couldn’t taste the eggs as much as I would like. I’m also not a huge raw onion fan so maybe that’s part of it.
Our 7 year old has been begging for an egg salad sandwich to take to camp. I usually make mine blindly with eggs, Mayo, Dijon, and a pinch of salt and pepper (basic). My husband picked up dinner tonight so I had time to put a little more effort in, and I made this recipe for her for tomorrow. I asked her to be the taste tester and upon trying it her eyes rolled back and closed for a moment. With a smile before she opened her eyes she told me it was like Calgon was taking her away. So I think we are now calling this Jenn’s Calgon Egg Salad.
Egg salad is an often served breakfast in our home. Typically my renditions are a very short list of ingredients yet always satisfying. And normally the onion thing is not happening in what I prepare. Well, hello “Egg Salad Jenn Segal”…..gosh what a fun breakfast sandwich on toasted rye bread this morning , with strong black coffee. The small amount of Scallions was a fantastic ingredient, not to mention the kiss of lemon. Loved this recipe like all get out.
This has a home in my do again file,made it today for lunch but did not have any green onions on hand and subbed in about 1 1/2 T. of minced shallots and it was still delicious.Thanks Jenn
Seriously, the best egg salad recipe!
I had to make a couple adjustments due to diet and what I had on hand.
I used dried parsley, a little chopped red onion instead of scallion, and powdered xylitol instead of sugar.
I also separated the yolks and mixed that in with the Mayo mixture, then added in the onion, celery and chopped egg whites.
This will for sure be my go to!
best egg salad Ive ever had. Thank you
Yay! Fantastic recipe. Im making a double batch this time. Its so good its not going to last long.
Egg Salad! This took me back to the fifties and what a treat it was! I served this with homemade tomato soup and enjoyed this wonderful hearty winter meal! I only had dried chives and parsley, but let them hydrate in the mayo and mustard while the eggs cooked. The hard-boiled egg directions were spot on. Thanks, Jenn!
Delicious. Adding a little dijon and lemon would kick it up a notch. Same with the tuna salad.
When making something I check to see if you have a recipe. A go to reference. I have sent out your url to many folks. Thanks.
This is RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. I am really picky about egg salad but never made my own before. I made this just now and upon tasting it I said out loud, “RIDICULOUS” and just kept shaking my head. It’s THAT GOOD. I added a bit of cayenne but that’s the only addition I made. I can’t wait to put my computer down and wrap up this egg salad with soft tortillas and stuff my face.
The best!
Best egg salad ever!! Was skeptical about worcestershire sauce but really good depth ingredient. This is recipe that I will always use, thank yoù!!
Quite simply, this is the best egg salad recipe ever. I didn’t change a thing and it comes out perfect every time, even when doubling the recipe. Thank you Jenn!
Somebody gave us a dozen small eggs from their chickens. Having no other immediate use for them I decided to try this recipe. I used seven of them. I also halved the mustard since my wife is not a big fan of that condiment. Having no scallions on hand I substituted chives from the garden. The result was good, but perhaps a bit blander than I expected.
Today I used the other five but kept the other ingredients the same. I also chopped the eggs finer since I prefer that texture. Perfect!
So, a very good recipe but depending on your taste you may want to increase the seasonings a bit.
Made this for the first time a few weeks ago. VG recipe. Thanks.
Best egg salad I ever ate! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Is it at all possible to sub something else in for the Mayo? Never been a big Mayo fan… but really want to try this! Greek Yogurt, maybe? Or would eliminating it just completely defeat the purpose?
Hi Claire, I think it would work but because Greek yogurt is more tart than mayo, I’d suggest eliminating the lemon juice/white wine vinegar to reduce the tart flavor a bit. Please LMK how it turns out with yogurt!
Made this for lunch today and loved it! Used lemon juice for the acid, white pepper, and fresh dill in place of parsley, also omitted the sugar. By far the best egg salad I’ve ever made. This site has become my go to for truly foolproof recipes, thanks Jen!
This is my favorite of the various classic egg salad recipes I’ve tried so far (we eat a lot of egg salad here). I used lemon juice for the acid and omitted the celery because one of the household does not like raw celery in anything.
I hate when the egg shell sticks! Thanks for the tip on how to peel an egg!! I can’t wait to give it a try.
Great recipe! A fun change from my regular egg salad that I normally just free style. I personally prefer to lower the amount of salt and sugar. I also love adding dill (dried or fresh) to my egg salad and rubbing some garlic in my bread before adding the egg salad.
I make this egg salad at least once a week. It’s by far the best egg salad recipe I’ve ever come across. The addition of Worcestershire sauce is brilliant! Overall Jen’s blog has become my go-to spot for high quality recipes that always, always come out with great results. I look forward to her email blasts every week.
Very good recipe
love Worcestershire in it
This recipe upped my egg salad sandwich game. I try to use what I have on hand so sometimes I’ve substituted red onion in place of scallions and finely shredded greens in place of the parsley. I make my egg salad the night before and usually have to add some extra mayo and salt before assembling the sandwich at lunch time.
I love this recipe. Best egg salad ever. I use a country dijon mustard with some mustard grains in it for some added flavor but other than that, it is pretty much perfection. Easy to keep in the refrigerator for easy lunches. Pair this with her crusty artisan bread and you will look like a culinary genius!
Love this recipe – really elevates the genre. Tasty and satisfying – easy to do!
The flavor profile of this egg salad is exactly what you are craving if you find yourself wanting a classic egg salad sandwich. I really appreciate Jenn figuring out the seasonings for me – before I would more or less randomly flavor my egg salad and some days it would be great and other days blah. Now it’s perfect every time!
I thought this was delicious. Just enough dressing and great flavor. I also love chopping the eggs instead of mashing them.
I have one question. When you give a salt measurement is that for table salt, or kosher salt. I use kosher salt and though this needed another pinch or two after chilling.
Thank you. This will be my new go to egg salad.
Hi Steve, So glad you like the egg salad! When a recipe of mine says salt in the ingredient list, I am referring to regular/table salt. If it calls for something else like kosher salt, I will specify that in the recipe. Hope that clarifies. 🙂
Dear Jenn,
I am so confused! Help! I’ve followed your blog for over a year now and used dozens of recipes in every area of food from your site! I love it! However, whilst having my eye for quite some time on your Classic Egg Salad, I finally made it yesterday. I made it exactly measured , except doubled as I needed 12 eggs worth not 6 for our large family. I was precise in each measurement and only didn’t add the shallots….but —- it was like soup!! I was so disappointed. What did I do wrong please? Perhaps this is one of those recipes that don’t do well doubling? I can’t figure what happened, but 8 Tblsp of mayo for 12 eggs + 3 tsps of Lemon Juice and the mustard made soup! Help please when you can! It was my first try at egg salad, and for something so simple I feel puzzled. Thank you!!
I’m sorry you had a problem with doubling the egg salad. This recipe should translate okay into being doubled so I’m not sure what may have gone wrong. Is there any chance you made a measuring error?
No, I measured exactly….I was very careful. The only other thing I wondered was if I didn’t chop the egg fine enough. Could it having been too chunky have made it liquidy?
Hi Stephanie, That wouldn’t have occurred to me, but if the eggs were in pretty big chunks, that may have made a difference in terms of how much liquid got absorbed. Also, what kind of mayo did you use? (I like Hellman’s or Duke’s best.)
Could you have possibly made it while the eggs were still too warm?
Dear Mrs. M.
I make this and love it. I noticed you said 3tbs lemon juice and it would actually be 3 tsp. (1.5 tsp is in the original recipe). Maybe this is your error. Good luck. Jen
Thanks for another great recipe, Jenn! The balance of flavor was perfect! The addition of the mustard and Worcestershire made all the difference. So much better than the bland salad I’m used to! I used vinegar, next time I’ll try the lemon juice to see the difference
I’m not a celery fan and didn’t have any on hand, so didn’t miss it. Is there an alternative for celery that you would recommend for more crunch?
Also, thanks for the tips for boiling and peeling the eggs. They were perfectly done, although I still have trouble getting some of them out of the shell!
Glad you liked it! You could substitute the celery with diced jicama or water chestnuts to get that same crunch. 🙂
Awesome. I’ve never been able to crack the code for egg salad until now. Just the right amount of spice and crunch and not too much mayo. The best way to make hard boiled eggs is in your Instant Pot or other like machine. I cook at high pressure for 5 minutes, let release naturally for another 5, then place into an ice bath for another bath. They peel easily without massacring the egg white.
Yes, eggs cooked in the IP can be peeled very easily! Try it and you might never go back to cooking on the stovetop.
I use low pressure for 12 minutes with quick release.
It was great! Like mom used to make!
Wow! This was delicious. Grew up with just strictly mayonnaise and salt & pepper and eggs mashed with a fork. And, usually too much mayonnaise! This was light and so flavorful! I loved the way the egg were chopped not mashed.
I’ve never made a recipe from Jennifer that I didn’t like!
Mary
Just perfect! No matter how good you might think your egg salad is, this recipe takes it to a whole new level. Is there anything that doesn’t do that on this site?
❤️
Is it rude to lick the bowl after you make something? Well, I came very close. This recipe was fantastic!!!!
🙂
We used every last spec of this egg salad. Made my husband the last sandwich today. He just raved about it. I in turn heated up the next to last slice of the crustless broccoli quiche. That too was amazing. Froze the last slice for another day. Thanks so much for answering all our questions so promptly.
Made this egg salad yesterday. One of the tastiest ones I’ve had. I usually just put in celery, Old Bay seasoning and a touch of dry mustard. Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. I only had one difficulty. I followed the recipe exactly, but the eggs really needed to be cooked a tad longer. I usually boil as instructed, but follow my grandmother’s instructions to shut off heat and let sit 20 min. And I leave it on same burner(electronic). Other than that this will be my go to recipe. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes.
Sunny D.☀️
Made this because we needed to use up a lot of eggs. First time making egg salad and it was easy and delicious! My husband loved it.
Thanks for the recipe! I was looking for one that wasn’t so heavy on the mayo, and this was perfect.
The best egg salad I have ever tasted! Easy with basic ingredients but so well balanced and flavorful!
Egg-cellent! Great flavors!
This was so easy and so delicious. Love the creamy, flavorful dressing! Perfect summer lunch.
I forgot to add that I omitted the sugar and Worcestershire sauce–and it tasted great.
My better half and I are preparing dueling egg salads with the left over hard boiled eggs from Easter – I am making this one and my wife her family recipe. Controlled at the bread level – leftover homemade challah. The only modification I made was to use shallot finely minced instead of green onions since we didn’t have those. We both liked this recipe very much. We will find out tomorrow at lunch which we like better, but this is excellent as is written.
This was just okay for me — I think it’s a great recipe and well-balanced and flavorful. I think I just personally didn’t care for some of these flavors in my egg salad. It’s either the mustard or the worchestire sauce, or both, that is making it a little off for me. It’s also a little wetter than I like. I love egg salad and I think I prefer it salty and mayo-laden haha. Will try again but substitute with red onions for the scallions, leave out the worchestire and mustard, and use more eggs so it’s less wet. Didn’t want to rate below 4 stars because it’s still a good recipe and I enjoyed it.
I don’t have any parsely (fresh or dried), is there another herb you might recommend or will it be okay without? Thanks.
Hi Dee, it’s fine to omit it – it will still be delicious!
The egg salad is wonderfully classic and perfect. Thank you for your delicious recipes. It all started with your pumpkin bread which is to die for… Then I bought your cookbook. Made chocolate lover’s birthday cake that is definitely a 5 star + and now you beautiful egg salad- I have been looking for a recipe for years and now I found it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You give home cooks a whole new lovely confidence and you are truly appreciated.♥️ Thank you so kindly Pam
You’re so welcome, Pam! ❤️
5 stars! This is the best egg salad I have ever made. I used white wine vinegar. Won’t ever use another recipe. Thank you for sharing!!