This egg salad recipe is bound to become one of your favorite lunches! Thanks to lemon, mustard, and lots of herbs, it's bright, tangy, and fresh.
If you have hard boiled eggs leftover from celebrating Easter or Passover, make this egg salad recipe! If you don’t, make it anyway. In my opinion, it’s what a classic egg salad recipe really wants to be. It still has a rich, creamy texture and tangy flavor, but it’s fresher and more complex.
It uses far less mayo than a traditional egg salad, and it gets bright, briny flavor from capers, lemon juice, and plenty of Dijon mustard. A pinch of celery seed, a dash of turmeric, and a handful of fresh herbs tie it all together. Stuffed into a sandwich with crisp veggies and greens, it’s the perfect spring lunch.
How to Make the Best Egg Salad
- Start with good hard boiled eggs. Like with brownies and chocolate, your egg salad will only be as good as your hard boiled eggs. I make mine using this method, where I add the eggs to a pot of cold water and bring the water to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a boil, I remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 10-12 minutes. Then, I transfer them to an ice water bath for 14 minutes. Find my tips and tricks for making perfect hard boiled eggs here!
- Maintain some texture. The best egg salad is a little chunky, with a rich, creamy dressing surrounding it. It’s ok if the 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 bright, oniony flavor to this recipe, and they make it feel really fresh. If you don’t have one of them, use more of the other, or add fresh parsley or green onions instead.
- Add a pinch of celery seed. Celery seed is the secret ingredient in Jack’s mom’s famous deviled eggs, and it really takes this recipe for egg salad over the top! Its distinctive savory flavor pairs perfectly with the fresh herbs, bright lemon, and tangy mustard.
Egg Salad Sandwich Serving Suggestions
Once you’ve made this egg salad recipe, pile it onto a sandwich with your favorite fresh fixings! I love it with radishes, watercress or other greens, and pickled red onion. Enjoy your egg salad sandwich on its own, or pair it with a fresh salad or soup. These recipes would all be great choices:
- Creamy Asparagus Soup
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- Rainbow Kale Salad
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Best Broccoli Salad
- Caesar Salad
For more ideas, check out my 37 Best Salad Recipes or 25 Best Soups!
If you’re not in the mood for a sandwich, feel free to serve the egg salad with crackers or pita or over a bed of spring greens. It will keep in the fridge for 3 days, so it’s a great recipe to make ahead for quick lunches throughout the week. See this post for my best meal prep tips!
More Sandwich and Toast Recipes
If you love this recipe, try one of these sandwiches next:
- Avocado Toast, 5 ways!
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
- Seared Tofu Banh Mi
- Lemon Edamame Avocado Sandwich
Then, find more healthy lunch ideas here!
Best Egg Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon capers
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 hard boiled eggs, diced
- Pinches of celery seed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, olive oil, mustard, capers, lemon juice, garlic, turmeric, salt, and several grinds of black pepper.
- Mix in the eggs, then stir in the celery seed, dill, and chives. If desired, lightly mash the mixture if it's too chunky. Chill until ready to serve.
“Well this sure isn’t my mom’s egg salad. Wow! It’s amazing!” – my husband
I think this has now become our go-to egg salad recipe!
Super GOOOD Thank you!
EPIC recipe. This is a family fave. They BEG me to make this. We only use tofu however. Perfect anytime of day. Thank you for sharing this!!!
I’m so glad you love it!
This is the best egg salad I’ve ever had. Delicious. I had to cut some corners using dried dill and garlic powder and it still turned out great. I made the eggs without shells in a pan in my instant pot (look up egg loaf) so it couldn’t be easier!
Best egg salad I’ve had and I’ve tried all sorts. Next day is best due to herbs.
I make my eggs in my instant pot. The rest as recipe.
Will be making this from now on…my husband. Loves it also.
Creamy yolks with chunky whites is texture perfect.
I’m gonna try this looks very tasty
Omg. This is the best egg salad I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it!
This egg salad is so tangy and delicious! We had it as a summer picnic with fresh baked sourdough bread and a green salad.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Yum! Recommend!! Good served over half an avocado
Oooh, love that idea!
I had never made my own egg salad before or LIKED egg salad… And then I dunno why but I decided it was time. I think the idea of capers and herbs warmed me to the idea.
So a weeks ago I made this for the first time (and LOVED IT), and today I’m back for more! Making this again later today for my next batch of work meal preps.
Haha, that’s how I used to feel about egg salad too :). I’m so glad you loved the flavor combo!
Thank you
I LOVE THIS EGG SALAD! it is so fresh and almost tangy, but in a good way! I will be making this on repeat, I made sandwiches on homemade birdseed bread ❤️ Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Lani, I’m so glad you’ve loved it so much!
Interesting take on a classic.
The only thing I’ll change next time is reducing the amount of dressing.
We all thought the final result to be a little too *wet*.
Hi Gil, I’m glad you enjoyed 🙂
I will try it at home it really yummy
Do you have a recommendation for a mayo substitute? 🙂 Thank you!
I love Sir Kensington’s Fabanaise, it’s made with chickpea brine.
This looks delicious!! Surely I will try this recipe.
This looks so perfect for Spring!
My family always has egg salad after a hard days work in the yard during spring/summer. I cannot wait to share your recipe with everyone! Perfect with lemonade to cool down during the hot days!
I hope you enjoy it!
Delicious recipe, Thank you! great way to used all the dyed Easter eggs. I served it on toasted brioche. I used thinly cut scallions instead of chives, because I just had that on hand. It was great !!!.
That sounds delicious, I’m so glad you loved it!
Made this for lunch today . . . IN-CRE-DI-BLE!! Seriously the most delicious egg salad I have ever tasted, THANK YOU! We didn’t have chives or dill, but opted for finely chopped green onion, but it worked perfectly with everything else. Dicing the boiled eggs instead of mashing added a nice texture too. Ate with sliced tomatoes and radishes, perfection!
Hi Jess, I’m so glad you loved it!!