guess what I made last week when I was cleaning out my fridge and found like a dozen hard boiled eggs that I forgot I made for meal prep.

honestly I was gonna throw them out because they’d been sitting there for maybe 4 days and I wasn’t sure if they were still good. did that thing where you smell them really carefully and they seemed fine so I just went for it. made egg salad and ate it on crackers while standing at the counter watching TikToks.

my grandma used to make egg salad all the time when I was a kid and hers was always kind of watery and had too much celery which I hated. she’d put it on white bread with lettuce and I’d try to be polite but honestly it was not great lol. so when I started making my own I was determined to do it better.

first attempt I used way too much mayo and it was like eating mayonnaise with egg chunks floating in it. disgusting. second time I added mustard which helped but then I put in like a whole tablespoon and it was SO tangy I couldn’t even finish it. third try I finally got the ratios right and now I make it whenever I accidentally boil too many eggs which happens more than I want to admit.

Why this is actually good

uses eggs you already have so it’s basically free protein sitting in your fridge

takes like 10 minutes total if you already have hard boiled eggs ready to go

works for breakfast lunch or dinner depending on how you serve it

lasts in the fridge for days so you can make it Sunday and eat it all week

literally everyone likes it even picky eaters who claim they don’t like eggs

What you need

here’s what I throw in but honestly adjust to your taste:

How to make it

 

Peel your hard boiled eggs under running water. I always forget which end to start from and end up taking off tiny pieces of shell for like 5 minutes per egg. whatever just get the shell off however you can.

 

Chop the eggs into chunks. some people do this fancy thing where they separate the yolks and whites but I just chop everything together. chunks should be like… I don’t know, smaller than a grape? bigger than a pea? somewhere in there.

 

Put the chopped eggs in a bowl. I use a medium sized mixing bowl because if it’s too small the mayo goes everywhere when you stir.

 

Add your mayo and mustard. start with less than you think you need because you can always add more but you can’t take it out once it’s in there. learned that the hard way.

 

Chop your celery really small if you’re using it. I usually skip it because my husband hates celery and I don’t want to hear him complain. but if you like the crunch go for it.

 

Dice the pickles into tiny pieces. and I mean tiny. nobody wants to bite into a huge pickle chunk in their egg salad. also squeeze out some of the juice first or it’ll make everything watery.

 

Slice the green onions thin. just the green parts because the white parts are too strong. I use kitchen scissors for this because I’m lazy and don’t want to dirty a cutting board.

 

Mix everything together with a fork. some people use a potato masher to make it smoother but I like it chunky so I just stir it around until it’s combined.

 

Taste it and add more mayo if it’s too dry, more mustard if it needs tang, more salt and pepper because it always needs more salt and pepper.

 

Sprinkle paprika on top if you want it to look fancy. I do this when I’m bringing it somewhere but skip it if it’s just for me.

Tips and stuff

 

• Add a tiny bit of pickle juice instead of extra mayo if you want it creamier without adding more fat. like a teaspoon or two. gives it a tangy flavor that’s really good.
• Use Greek yogurt instead of some of the mayo to make it healthier. I do half mayo half Greek yogurt sometimes and can’t really tell the difference. don’t tell anyone though.
• Throw in some fresh dill or parsley if you have it. I never have fresh herbs because I always forget to use them and they go bad in my fridge but when I do remember it’s really good.
• Make it spicy by adding a dash of hot sauce or some cayenne pepper. my brother does this and swears it’s amazing but I haven’t tried it yet because I’m boring.

Storage notes

keeps in the fridge for like 3-4 days in a container with a lid. maybe 5 days if you’re brave. I wouldn’t push it past that because eggs can get weird.

doesn’t freeze well at all so don’t even try. I made that mistake once thinking I could meal prep it for the month and it turned into this watery gross mess when I thawed it.

serve it cold on bread, crackers, lettuce wraps, whatever you want. I eat it straight with a spoon sometimes when I’m really hungry and don’t want to deal with bread.

found a container in my fridge last week that I thought was egg salad but turned out to be tuna salad from like 2 weeks ago. smelled terrible and went straight in the trash. this is why I need to start labeling things but let’s be real I’m never gonna do that.

Nutrition per serving

for about 4 servings:

these numbers are from some random website calculator so don’t trust them completely. also depends how much mayo you actually use which for me is always more than the recipe says.

Questions I get

: How long do I boil the eggs

bring water to a boil, add eggs, boil for like 10-12 minutes then put them in ice water. or honestly just buy already hard boiled eggs from the store if you don’t want to deal with it. I do that sometimes when I’m lazy

 

can I use light mayo

yeah but it won’t taste as good. light mayo is kind of watery and doesn’t have the same richness. if you care about calories do the Greek yogurt thing instead. actually I take that back use whatever mayo you want I’m not your mom

 

Mine turned out watery help

you either used too much pickle juice or didn’t drain your pickles enough or added too much mayo. try adding more chopped eggs to absorb the liquid. or just eat it anyway it still tastes fine just looks weird

what do I serve it with

bread for sandwiches obviously. crackers. cucumber slices if you’re being healthy. lettuce cups. on toast. with chips. honestly whatever carb vehicle you have available works fine

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