This easy and simple chunky egg salad recipe has mayonnaise, diced eggs, pickles, celery, onion, and mustard. Garnish it with fresh parsley or dill if you like.
This egg salad is a standard in our home and has been at family reunions and potlucks since as long as I can remember.
Serve chunky egg salad on its own, over fresh salad, or on crackers or toast.
Egg salad makes a great sandwich too. I like to add a couple slices of quick pickled red onions as a garnish for extra tang.
Making eggs salad sandwiches? The general rule of thumb is to use two eggs for every sandwich.
Chunky Egg Salad is Versatile
This is a great simple egg salad recipe because it's versatile.
Add a potato or cooked macaroni to egg salad for more bulk and texture.
Try some new spices: add a dash of ground paprika, cumin, or curry.
Herb up this simple egg salad with fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, or parsley.
Switch from eggs as the main ingredient to cooked chicken or canned tuna for another easy salad recipe.
The Low Down on Peeling Eggs
Plenty of great cooks/chefs have their preferred way to make a hard boiled egg. This boiled egg recipe works for me nearly all the time, although there are the occasional outliers.
Peeling eggs is a mystery even to a food service professional. I've tried adding baking soda to the pot of water or vinegar or poking the eggs with a tack on the fat end before placing in the pot to boil. In my experience, none of that works, eggs peel the best when you talk dirty them and/or start praying.... 🙂
But seriously, it's a bummer when eggs aren't peeling and playing nice. Take a breathe and do the best you can.
The best advice for the most consistency I can give is to plunge the cooked eggs in ice water and let sit at least 20 minutes. This will pull the egg shell and membrane a little bit away from the egg and SHOULD make it easier to peel.
Gently try to crack the entire egg lovingly under running cool water with a lot of gentle pushes on the shell (and patience!). When it’s all cracked, find your opening and peel away. Peeling eggs is easiest to do under a gentle flow of water from the faucet.
Mayonnaise vs. Miracle Whip in Egg Salad
Mayonnaise all the way. Having said that, either of them can be used, so if you're used to Miracle Whip then use that instead.
Mayonnaise is richer, fattier, and basic. It uses real ingredients. Miracle whip is watered down, has some different spices, and has sugar. It's more like a dressing in my opinion, and it tastes pretty sweet.
You’ll need mayonnaise for this simple egg salad recipe. Buy it at the store or look at my recipe online or watch Eat Simple Food’s video on how to make it at home.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this Chunky Egg Salad recipe with these similar cold dishes that would work well for potlucks or picnics:
You May Also Like
If you like this Egg Salad dish, then you may also like these cold salad recipes:
Things In My Kitchen:
- Pastry chopper / scrapper - I use this all the time for scooping up ingredients and placing them into a bowl or pan.
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Traditional Chunky Egg Salad
EatSimpleFood.com
Traditional chunky egg salad recipe with diced eggs, tangy pickles, and crunchy celery. Serve on it's own, over fresh salad, or on crackers or toast.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 12 large hard boiled diced eggs, peeled & diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- ⅓ cup red onions, finely diced
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- ⅔ cup dill pickles, diced
- ½ cup mayonnaise + more to taste
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Place large eggs in a large pot and cover with water by ~ 1 ½ ". Turn the heat to high, set a timer for 18 minutes, and cover pot. When eggs begin to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and boil uncovered.
- Drain, run under cool water or place in ice bath to cool (this also makes them easier to peel generally). Peel and chunk eggs.
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and gently stir.
- Add more mayonnaise and mustard to desired consistency and taste.
- Add salt to taste. Serve on toasted bread, over greens, or just grab a spoon. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Wanna bulk up this egg salad recipe? Add potatoes or cooked macaroni and you've got a lot of food to take to a potluck.
- Add chopped parsley or dill to change it up if you like.
- Eggs aren’t peeling and playing nice? Bummer… You have fresh eggs and that makes them hard to peel. Take a breathe and do the best you can. The best advice for the most consistency I can give is to plunge the cooked eggs in ice water and let sit at least 20 minutes. Gently try to crack the whole egg with a lot of gentle pushes on the shell. When it's all cracked, find your opening and peel away.
- Older eggs are generally easier to peel, so use your older eggs first.
- Higher elevations may need to add a couple more minutes to the timer as it takes longer for water to boil.
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