While there technically isn’t lettuce involved, I’m never going to back down from saying that egg salad recipes are my favorite low carb salads. I won’t, friends!
These recipes are essentially deviled eggs meets chicken salad…
And each of the variations has its own unique spin. But the fact remains, they all create creamy, tangy, satisfying dishes that’ll knock the socks off other salads. Perfect for low carb lunch ideas, although, I’m not above eating them first thing in the morning…
I mean it, guys. You’re going to love each and every one of these recipes. Let me show you!
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What I Love About These Egg Salad Recipes
Here’s why these egg salad recipes are going to be on your weekly meal rotation moving forward:
- With only 6 ingredients (and salt, which I’m assuming you already have), you have a complete meal! You may even have these items stocked in your kitchen!
- It’s a quickie to make but also such a yummy one.
- It’s an American staple. EVERYBODY and their mom loves this recipe! And will WANT the recipe!
- This makes a great snack, appetizer, or a fabulous low carb, high protein meal.
Recipe Notes
Not much to this egg salad recipe! Here’s what you need to know before getting started:
Ingredient Notes
There is a handful of items you need to make egg salad, and a handful of options…
Eggs – One whole egg has 6 grams of protein to fill you up for longer periods of time. I’m into it!
Something creamy – Traditionally mayonnaise is used here. But you can easily swap the mayo out with low carb Greek yogurt (similar to my deviled eggs without mayo) if you want to jack up both the protein and health of this recipe! You can also sub in mashed avocado.
Something with a bit of crunch – I like to do this with low carb vegetables like celery and red onion. Red onion has the added benefit of lots of flava!
Flavor enhancers – This can be anything from tangy yellow mustard, so zesty tabasco, to freshly chopped herbs — Anything that you love, and that’ll bring a little flair to this dish.
Tools To Make
Here’s what you’ll need in your kitchen to make this:
- Large saucepan: for boiling eggs – You could also use an Instant Pot too!
- Large bowl with ice: to stop eggs from cooking in an ice bath.
- Slotted spoon: to remove the hot eggs from the saucepan and into the ice bath. Tongs also work great for this.
- Large bowl: for mixing up the chopped eggs and all other ingredients together.
Cooking Tips
There are tons of different ways to hard boil an egg:
- You can bake them. I’ve done this and don’t recommend it, it takes foreverrrr. “Forever” being 30 minutes but that’s waaaay too long for hard-boiled eggs!
- Boil them (like we do in this recipe)
- Or the easiest of all, you can cook them in the Instant Pot (if you have one!) in only 15 minutes. It takes 5 minutes to come to heat, 5 minutes to cook, and 5 minutes in an ice bath. The steam makes them crazy easy peel-able and saves beaucoup time!
Storing Tips
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Serving Recommendations
These egg salads make the best egg salad sandwich recipes ever! Make using your favorite loaf of bread, or one of my low carb bread recipes, lettuce and a couple of slices of tomato.
Another option is to add a couple of scoops to lettuce for lettuce wraps or enjoy it as a dip with crackers (or my low carb crackers) for a snack!
6 Best Recipe Variations
Check out our 6 favorite ways to make egg salad! And if you love egg salad as much as we do, don’t stop here! Keep the creativity going…
Traditional egg salad. The recipe shared below.
Relish egg salad. This one is easy — just add relish! Similar to my deviled eggs with relish, I prefer to use dill relish, as (often!) it doesn’t contain added sugar. Use whatever you love here.
Avocado egg salad. Simply swap mayo for mashed avocado — I like to do this in a bowl first with the spices and lemon juice, then add everything in. Avocado is the perfect mayo sub, so I kept it simple here. But if you’d like to take this in a guacamole direction, check out my avocado egg salad here!
Deviled egg salad. The main difference between deviled egg salad and this recipe is the amount of paprika used. Add more for the deviled eggs version!
Smoked salmon egg salad. Think of this version as lox and bagel, in salad form. We’ll add smoked salmon, capers, dill, and lemon zest.
Buffalo egg salad. From buffalo chicken salad to sandwiches, I can’t get enough of all things buffalo! For this variation, I add Frank’s red hot (or hot sauce of choice), blue cheese, and swap the red onions for green. Option to sprinkle cheddar on top!
Egg Salad
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Traditional:
- 12 Large Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Celery chopped
- 1/4 Cup Red Onions chopped
- 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1 Teaspoon Yellow Mustard prepared
- 1/4 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Relish:
- 3 Tablespoons Relish I prefer dill relish as it's lower in sugar
Avocado:
- 1 Medium Avocado sub this in for the mayonnaise. Mash it with the back of your fork along with the lemon juice and spices before adding it in.
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Deviled:
- 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika in addition to paprika above
Smoked Salmon:
- 6 Ounces Smoked Salmon diced
- 3 Tablespoons Capers
- 1 Tablespoon Dill
- 1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest
- 1/4 Cup Cream Cheese softened. Use instead of mayonnaise
Buffalo:
- 1/4 Cup Green Onions use instead of red onions.
- 1/4 Cup Blue Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Frank's Red Hot
- 1/2 Cup Celery in addition to celery above, so this variation calls for 1 cup of total celery.
Instructions
- Add eggs to a large saucepan and cover with water (about 1 1/2").
- Bring water to a boil, then remove saucepan from heat and secure the lid. Set saucepan aside and allow the eggs to rest like this for 18 minutes.
- Prepare a large bowl with water and ice.
- After 18 minutes, using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs from the saucepan to the bowl of ice, and allow them to chill for 5 minutes.
- After the eggs have cooled enough to handle, peel the eggs.
- Chop eggs and place them in a large bowl.
- Add all other ingredients and stir to thoroughly incorporate.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Lindsey's Tips
Nutrition
More Salad Recipes
Here are some more fresh salad recipes I think you’ll enjoy:
- Tuna Salad. Another summer classic!
- Greek Chicken Salad. Full of herbaceous flavor.
- Avocado Tuna Salad. Swatch mayo for avocados in this delectable salad.
- Cauliflower Salad. Your pasta salad just got a healthy upgrade.
- Canned Chicken Salad. Not sure what to do with that canned chicken in the pantry? Here ya go!
Conclusion
This classic egg salad recipe with its variety of ways to eat it, complete creaminess, and satisfying crunches throughout are sure to be your new super fresh, go-to snack or full-on meal!
Share in the comments section below how you like to eat it and what you added to make it your own (if anything!) Enjoy!
