Deluxe Classic Egg Salad Recipe (2024)

This is a classic Egg Salad recipe with a twist that will take you from “Yum” to “I need another sandwich ASAP!” It is an easy, simple dish to make and perfect for taking to all your barbecues and picnics!

If you haven’t had egg salad with cream cheese. Prepare yourself. It’s incredible.

Cream cheese is what makes this the best egg salad recipe in the world. Even my picky kids would agree. This is amazing.

I love that easy egg salad is a cinch to make. The only cooking part is the eggs. Other than that, just mix and go.

I’ve put this egg salad on regular bread I’ve got lying around the house and on buttery croissants. It goes great with everything.

And it’s very customizable. Like paprika? Don’t like relish? How about bacon? You get to pick what goes into your recipe!

What Goes in Egg Salad?

• Butter: Room temperature butter will make the egg salad easy to mix.
• Cream Cheese: Also take your cream cheese out at the same time as the butter. Don’t skip this one or your egg salad will be droopy.
• Celery: Mince finely.
• Mayo: You can add as much or as little of this as needed for personal texture preference.
• Onion: Grated is the best option though you could always mince finely too.
• Sugar: For a hint of sweetness.
• Lemon Juice: If you don’t have lemon juice you could use vinegar instead.
• Salt: Very important to enhance the flavor of your egg salad.
• Pepper: Go easy on the pepper so your egg salad isn’t spicy.
• Eggs: Your hard boiled eggs can be finely chopped or squished with a fork.
• Bread: Regular sandwich bread or fancy croissants. You pick.
• Paprika: I love the color this gives to the egg salad. It is optional.
• Relish: Use dill pickle relish for best flavor. Also optional.
• Bacon: Optional but my favorite. Where would we be without bacon?

Pro Tip: It’s important to make sure the celery and onion are smaller than your egg pieces. I like using a food processor for ease of use and to make sure they are really small.

How to Make Egg Salad?

• Mix: Make sure everything is well blended. You don’t want to bite into a sandwich and find a big scoop of onion that hasn’t been mixed.
• Layer: I like to put lettuce, cheese, or tomato on the egg salad sandwich if I’m being fancy. But you can also leave it plain too.
• Eat: Sprinkling with paprika just before serving will really brighten up the dish.

How to Boil Eggs for Egg Salad

If cooking hard boiled eggs is something you haven’t yet mastered, I’ve got a few tried and tested ways to get a perfect hard boiled egg.

My absolute favorite method for boiling eggs is Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs. It is the easiest to peel eggs I’ve ever had. Even a 5 year old can peel a perfect egg with the instant pot.

If you don’t have an instant pot, follow these simple directions for how to cook Hard Boiled Eggs on an Electric or Gas Stove.

How Long Does Egg Salad Last?

Eggs can go bad very quickly when left at room temperature. Two hours is the max and then the egg salad will need to be tossed.

I highly recommend only pulling out the amount you are currently going to need and leaving the rest in the fridge.

This Deluxe Egg salad will stay good in the fridge for 3-5 days. Make sure it is properly covered.

At the end of 5 days, even if the salad looks fine and smells fine- toss it out.

The bacteria that eggs can grow is not something you want to mess with. Remember, the mold that grows on food is only after it has already gone bad.

Can You Freeze Egg Salad

Unfortunately, due to the dairy products in egg salad, it cannot be frozen. Frozen dairy separates in a way that makes it impossible to mix back together.

I’ve never needed to freeze anyway because this egg salad is so good it’s never lasted more than a couple of days in our fridge.

Is Egg Salad Healthy?

Eggs are actually really good for you.

There has been debate on good cholesterol vs bad cholesterol and all sorts of things like that, but overall, eggs are always a healthy choice.

There are lots of other things in egg salad that are also really good for you. Onions, lemon juice, and celery are all really healthy foods.

On the other hand, mayo, sugar, and cream cheese, have been widely acknowledged as being DELICIOUS for your waistline.

So do what you will. Egg Salad will probably not be the thing that makes or breaks your health.

Is Egg Salad Keto?

Aside from the sugar, I believe this egg salad falls in line with a keto diet. You can certainly omit the sugar if you need to.

If you have any questions about a particular diet you are following, I recommend looking each ingredient up individually.

Can Dogs Eat Egg Salad?

No. Unfortunately dogs cannot eat egg salad.

Many ingredients, including the onion and salt are not safe for dogs.

Your dog could eat your plain hard boiled eggs though.

So if you’d like to share, make some extra hard boiled eggs and you can both enjoy your eggs at the same time. Just be sure to leave your dog’s plain.

What to Eat with Egg Salad

Because we typically eat egg salad at barbecues, picnics, quick lunches, or potlucks, some easy side dishes you’ll love…

• Fruit Salad with Whipped Cream
• Grape Salad Minnesota
• Pistachio Salad
• Classic Potato Salad
• Broccoli Salad
• Sour Cream Potato Salad
• Creamy Cucumber Salad
• Tex Mex Pasta Salad
• Creamy Coleslaw Recipe
• Watermelon Feta Mint Salad
• Ramen Noodle Salad
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad
• 3 Bean Salad Recipe
• Grilled Corn Salad Recipe

If you are looking for an egg salad that you can absolutely devour, then look no further. Quick, easy, and absolutely delicious, this egg salad is going to become a new favorite!

Recipe originally posted: April 4, 2014

Recipe & photos updated: June 6, 2019

Recipe & Photos Updated: September 30, 2021