Four Best Egg Salad Recipes You Can Make

Egg salad reminds me of the beginning of spring, which is probably because the majority of my egg salad memories take place after Easter. Egg salad isn't only a way to use up a surplus of hard-boiled eggs; there are other reasons to make it. Eggs and mayonnaise are the only things you need to make this delicious snack, which makes it the ideal option for any time of day.

Naturally, the majority of the best egg salad recipes step things up a notch by adding an element that is either crunchy, pickle-like, or fresh, such as herbs. In some recipes, the eggs are cooked by steaming, while in others, they are cooked by boiling. Additionally, there is no shortage of different ways to mash or sandwich the eggs.

Even if I don't think there's such a thing as the wrong method to prepare egg salad, I can't deny that certain versions are more delicious than others. I put four tried-and-true recipes up against one another in a head-to-head competition to determine which combination of components and procedures produces the best result. Would having crunch be preferable to not having crunch? Would the avocado turn out to be the real hero?

In the end, I discovered that there are a variety of methods for cooking an egg and chopping it, all of which are rather straightforward and offer a high level of gratification. And even though these recipes are full of clever hacks, what really mattered to me were their flavor and potential to be craved. The winning option was the one I went to most frequently, and I feel that it will do the same for you. Let's get cracking!

Meet The Four Contenders

For the benefit of maintaining a level playing field, I got rid of any recipes that emphasized the sandwich more excessively than the egg salad itself. And although the method of frying the eggs is unquestionably significant, it wasn't the primary focus of my attention. (Check out this Skills competition if you're interested in learning the most efficient technique to cook an egg.) In the end, I was seeking four well-known dishes that each offered a unique perspective.

The recipe by Smitten Kitchen calls for homemade pickled celery, an ingredient combination I had never encountered before. The fact that Deb requires an egg slicer had me even more thrilled, especially considering how little I use mine.

Since Carla Hall's recipe calls for homemade chive mayonnaise, it was only natural for me to wonder: Does homemade mayonnaise make egg salad taste better than store-bought mayonnaise? The remainder of her recipe is quite straightforward, and it calls for slicing the eggs into pieces about an inch and a half long using a knife.

In her unique take on egg salad, Martha Stewart only includes two egg yolks despite the use of ten egg whites. The recipe, which also calls for light mayonnaise and a whole avocado, results in a dish that is not crispy at all. When she wants to cut up her cooked eggs, she uses a pastry blender.

After cooking the eggs, you will be asked to break them up with your hands in order to follow the instructions provided by Serious Eats. In addition to that, it calls for a large number of fresh mix-ins, such as sliced scallions, fresh parsley, and lemon zest, as well as lemon juice.

The Process That I Used To Examine the Egg Salad Recipes

Over the course of three days, I sampled these salads to track the development of their flavors and sensations in my mouth. I tried each one by itself and on toast, ensuring that I used the same kind of bread for each evaluation. I had planned to use a Pullman loaf, but after three unsuccessful trips to the store, I decided to substitute Martin's sliced potato bread instead. In addition, I utilized the exact same brand of an egg for each and every test.

I used Hellman's canola mayonnaise for all of the recipes that called for mayo to be purchased from a store. I followed Martha's instructions and used Hellmann's light mayonnaise because her recipe called for it. I did not include any of the recommended additions to the salad, such as lettuce or radishes, in this competition since I wanted the focus to remain primarily on the salad itself.

1. The Least Impressive Of The Bunch Is Egg Salad By Martha Stewart

• The rating is 6 out of 10.
• The recipe name is Martha Stewart's favorite egg salad sandwich.

Since this recipe is labeled "Martha's favorite egg salad sandwich," and Martha is known for her impeccable cooking skills, I had no doubt that it would become one of my go-to dishes. However, out of all the recipes I tried, this is the one I will most likely not use again in the future.

Martha's most significant error in this recipe is that she substitutes avocado for most of the egg yolks. Additionally, she uses low-fat mayonnaise. After trying all four of these egg salads one after the other, I have concluded that the consistency and mouthfeel of egg yolks paired with full-fat mayonnaise is a significant part of what makes egg salad so good; however, Martha's egg salad did not have any of that. In addition, I did not enjoy that the recipe required such an excessive amount of waste: eight egg yolks were thrown away.

However, I will give her credit for the way in which she chopped the eggs. She breaks the eggs up with a pastry blender, which is an ingenious way to put this instrument, which is frequently underutilized, to use.

2. The Most Effective Method for Cooking Eggs, According to Serious Eats' Egg Salad

• The rating is 8.75 out of 10.
• The recipe name is egg salad with this Serious Eats recipe.

I had a great time trying out all of the dishes that came in first through third place, and there was just a point's worth of difference between them. The eggs were steamed in this recipe, which was just as simple as boiling them and making them the easiest to peel. This recipe stood out from the others because it steamed the eggs. This egg salad had a good crunch thanks to the finely sliced celery, but I would have loved it if the celery was pickled like in Smitten Kitchen's version.

The fact that it took so much time for the flavors to come together is the thing I dislike the most about this recipe. I could only fully enjoy the dish's flavors a few days after I had eaten it, but I liked how the scallions seasoned it. This is not the egg salad you get if you want something delicious that you can eat right away.

3. Flavor Queen: Smitten Kitchen's Egg Salad

• The rating is 9 out of 10.
• The recipe name is egg salad with pickled celery and coarse Dijon mustard from Smitten Kitchen.
• Read more about how Smitten Kitchen taught me the secret to making egg salad that is better and more flavorful here.

Only Smitten Kitchen quick-pickled their celery, which gave an incredible amount of texture and flavor to their egg salad. After that, she adds even more flavor by including coarse mustard and shallots that have been minced. This egg salad did not need to be served on bread for all of these reasons; I enjoyed eating it directly from the mixing bowl it was prepared in. In contrast to the recipe that can be found on Serious Eats, this one is at its peak flavor immediately after it has been prepared, and it actually begins to lose some of its zings after some time has passed.

An egg slicer is required, and this recipe is much more appealing to me. Hard-boiled eggs are sliced quickly and easily with this tool, and it's also a lot of fun. If Carla's egg salad hadn't been quite so mouthwateringly good, I would have no qualms about declaring this egg salad the victor.

4. My New Favorite Egg Salad Comes From Carla Hall's

• The rating is 9.5 out of 10.
• The recipe name is Carla Hall's Egg Salad Sandwiches with Chive Mayonnaise, complete with the recipe.

The egg salad that Carla Hall makes is, in fact, the dish that triumphed in this competition; yet, the homemade chive mayonnaise that she makes is the one that truly deserves the title of champion. Her ingenious method involving the food processor makes it a breeze to prepare, and it ensures that every component of the salad has an adequate amount of flavor. My taste buds have repeatedly gravitated toward this particular rendition. It has a rich texture while maintaining a crisp flavor, and toast brings out its full potential: The bread is able to take in the creaminess that has chives infused into it in an ideal way. For me, the only thing that was lacking was a little bit of crunch, so the next time I make this dish, I'll add some chopped celery. Or perhaps I will steam my eggs (in the style of Serious Eats), prepare some pickled celery (in the style of Smitten Kitchen), and then combine all of those ingredients with Carla's amazing mayonnaise to make a sandwich that is truly eggceptional. (Sorry. I'll take care of myself and leave.)