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Classic Egg Salad Recipe With Pickles

Are you after an easy lunch idea? This creamy egg salad with pickles is super easy to make. Serve it over toast, in egg salad sandwiches, or alongside crispy cob lettuce.

egg salad on toast

Egg salad is a classic and simple recipe. In this recipe, the addition of tangy-sweet pickles gives a crunchy texture and brings a touch of acidity, bringing even more flavor to the salad.

Here’s another easy recipe you might like! Summer couscous salad with roasted tomatoes.

The ingredients 

The egg salad uses simple ingredients, and some can be substituted and tweaked depending on your available availability. An excellent egg salad has a mixture of creamy, crunchy, and a little bit of spice. Find the actual amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

  • Large eggs – 8 hard-boiled eggs. Hard-boiled egg yolks become rich and silky smooth and help to coat the rest of the salad ingredients
  • Spring onion – green onions, or fresh chives. This brings a freshness to the egg salad as well as color. You can also swap this for some finely chopped red onion.
  • Sweet pickles – tangy and sweet and the not-so-secret ingredient that makes this egg salad so delicious. They bring a little crunch to the salad. You could use sweet pickled gherkins, bread and butter pickles, or a different pickled vegetable entirely! If you’ve got no pickles, substitute them with finely chopped celery to bring some crunch. You can also use sweet pickle relish. Dill pickles can be used too if you don’t like the sweetness.
  • Mayonnaise – This is the creamy dressing base for the egg salad.
  • Dijon mustard, yellow mustard or whole grain mustard – brings a little spice.
  • Lemon juice (or you could use the pickle brine) – brings a little more acidity to lift the salad.
  • Sea salt and black pepper – for flavor. Salt may not be needed. It depends on personal preference or how salty the mayonnaise is.
  • Fresh herbs. You could use fresh dill and/or fresh parsley – for vitamins and color. Dill is a classic egg salad flavor. Parsley is a powerhouse of vitamins, so take any excuse to incorporate some into your meals!
a bowl of egg salad with pickles and parsley

Egg salad without mayonnaise

For a healthier egg salad, swap the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is one where most of the whey has been strained. It is thick and creamy.

Adding regular yogurt to the egg salad can make it quite watery, so choose a thick type. Yogurt is acidic, so you may not need as much lemon juice or pickle juice if you use yogurt instead of mayonnaise.

You can also use less mayo and choose half yogurt and half mayonnaise.

Method

Hard Boil Eggs

  • Place eggs in a large pot in a single layer, and fill the saucepan with water until the eggs are covered by about an inch of water.
  • Place the saucepan over high heat and put a lid over the saucepan. Bring the water to a rolling boil.
  • Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-high heat and boil for 7 minutes. 
  • After 7 minutes, remove the eggs from the heat and drain the hot water. 
  • Run cold water over the eggs in the saucepan and let them sit in the cold water until they have cooled down. You can also place the eggs in an ice bath to cool them down faster.
  • Gently tap the eggs on the side of the saucepan all over to crack the shells. Peel eggs and let them cool to room temperature.

Making the salad

  • Chop the cooled and peeled eggs into small pieces. You can use a knife or a potato masher to crush the eggs into pieces. Add the chopped eggs to a large bowl.
  • Chop the spring onions, dice the whole pickles, and finely chop the dill and parsley and add to the bowl with the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and lemon juice (or pickle juice). Toss it all together to coat. 
  • Taste and add a little salt and pepper according to your preference. 
a bowl of egg salad with pickles and parsley

Serving

Serve this homemade egg salad thickly spread on sourdough bread slices, in a sandwich, or for a lighter version make an egg salad lettuce wrap by scooping a generous portion into a large lettuce leaf.

Storing

Store leftover egg salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

If you made any substitutions with yoghurt instead of mayonnaise, some liquid may split from the yoghurt dressing as it sits in the fridge, which is perfectly normal. Simply stir it together before serving.

Freezing egg salad

It is not recommended to freeze the egg salad as it makes the eggs rubbery in texture.

a side view of egg salad on toast

Related Recipes

More salad ideas –

egg salad with pickles

Egg Salad with Pickles

Yield: Serves 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Cooling time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

This egg salad with pickles is creamy and full of flavour with a pleasant crunch from chopped sweet pickles. 

Ingredients

  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 spring onions (or use chives or a ¼ small red onion)
  • 4-5 small sweet pickles
  • 3 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 Tablespoon pickle juice (or ½ tablespoon lemon juice)
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place the eggs in a saucepan, in a single layer, and fill the saucepan with water until the eggs are covered by about an inch of water.
  2. Place the saucepan over high heat and put a lid over the saucepan. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-high heat and boil for 7 minutes.
  3. After 7 minutes, take the eggs off the heat and drain out the hot water. Run cold water over the eggs in the saucepan and let them sit in the cold water until they have cooled down. You can also place the eggs in an ice bath to cool them down faster.
  4. Gently tap the eggs on the side of the saucepan all over to crack the shells. Peel off the shells. 
  5. Chop the cooled and peeled eggs into pieces. You can use a knife or a potato masher to crush the eggs into pieces. Add the chopped eggs to a large bowl.
  6. Chop the spring onions, dice the pickles, finely chop the dill and parsley, and add to the bowl with the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and pickle juice (or lemon juice). Toss it all together to coat.
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 173Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 252mgSodium: 306mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 9g

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