Amping up the classic egg salad recipe with fresh herbs, crunchy celery and red onion, and a few hearty spoonfuls of extra protein. This egg salad is extra rich and creamy and absolutely my new favorite!
Friends welcome to our second installment in our Summer Sammie Series in which I made a very good Egg Salad Sandwich.
If I have my finger on the pulse correctly, egg salad is pretty divisive. Isn’t it? I feel like, there are egg salad people and then there are real and true HATERS OF EGG SALAD. Listen, everyone is right, I just happen to be a person that loves this rich, creamy sandwich.
Like all delicious things in my life, the best version is always the version my dad makes. Because I’m me (with a chaotic Gemini sun and a stubborn Aquarius moon), I can’t rarely leave well enough alone and I’m prone to tinkering, in the kitchen especially.
Dad’s egg salad is thick and substantial. My version is a has a spoonful more of Duke’s (the only) Mayo (that matters) and a bigtime protein bonus from secret ingredient: cottage cheese. Get into this with me, skeptics and all!
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this egg salad sandwich recipe:
• hard-boiled eggs, cooked, cooled, and peeled (I always have large eggs in the fridge for baking so that’s the size I use in this recipe)
• cottage cheese (though greek yogurt is also a nice substitute)
• celery, finely chopped
• red onion, also finely chopped
• dijon mustard
• fresh dill (though other fresh herbs like chives or fresh parsley are also really nice!)
• fine sea salt and black pepper
• Bibb lettuce
• In this, my other best egg salad recipe I add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice – we want a hit of brightness from somewhere
First boil the eggs in a saucepan until cooked through. I spoon eggs into boiling water and let them bubble around for 11 minutes. Once boiled, drain the boiling water and run cool water over the eggs to bring the temperature down.
Crack the eggs and run them under cool water to separate the membrane from the egg white. Peel the eggs and rinse off any shell bits.
Have you seen that trick of pressing hard-boiled eggs through the grates on a cooling rack into a bowl? I tried it and can confirm it’s a great trick. Totally worth washing the cooling rack, especially if you don’t have this very specific egg slicing contraption.
Add mayonnaise, I measure with my heart. Add a heaping teaspoon of dijon mustard.
Add the secret ingredient: cottage cheese for a little extra protein and a little extra tang.
Very finely chop celery and onion. They’ll add crunch and a bite of flavor to the egg salad.
Fresh dill is iconic but you either love it or hate it. I like fresh dill in egg salad. It gives pickle vibes without pickles.
Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and taste. Adjust seasoning until it’s perfect to you. The flavors should be balanced and bright.
I prefer to chill the egg salad before assembling the sandwiches. Spoon the egg salad mixture onto soft bread slices (spread with mayo or mustard if you’d like!) and layer with tender lettuce slices.
Egg salad has a mush factor, that’s a fact.
Wrap tightly in wax paper and refrigerate if you’re not going to enjoy them right away. If you are going to enjoy them right away, I recommend paper plates and barbecue potato chips.
That’s the sandwich for today, friends! Leave any questions or comments below!
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This Egg Salad Recipe Has a Secret Ingredients
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: lunch, sandwich
Description
Lately, this is my favorite egg salad sandwich recipe. Creamy and crunchy from celery and chopped red onion. Amped up with Duke’s mayo and a few big spoonfuls of cottage cheese!
Ingredients
- 8 hard-boiled eggs
- 1/4 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons cottage cheese
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons very finely chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 slices of bread (I like white bread or a country loaf)
- Bibb lettuce leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and crumble the hard-boiled eggs in a mixing bowl.
- Add mayonnaise, cottage cheese, Dijon mustard, red onion, celery, and chopped dill (if using) to the bowl. Mix everything together until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Lay out the bread slices and evenly spread the egg salad mixture onto 4 slices. If desired, you can layer lettuce leaves and tomato slices on the bread before adding the egg salad.
- Place the remaining 4 slices of bread on top of the egg salad to complete the sandwiches.
- Trim the crusts from the sandwiches and cut them diagonally into halves for a more appealing presentation, if desired.
- Serve the egg salad sandwiches immediately, or you can wrap them tightly in wax paper and refrigerate until ready to serve.
13 Responses
Dukes fan here.
I grate up a little firm tofu in my egg salad. Get a little more protein that way. Also I add some homemade pickled red onion. Don’t know how I ever lived without those, put them in lots of things.
Thanks Joy! You add joy.
We love egg salad. It’s a summer must at my house. I would be willing to try the cottage cheese, but we are Hellman’s mayonnaise fans through and through. I think the choice of mayonnaise might be more diversive than the opinions on egg salad LOL!
I’ll try the cottage cheese, but Duke’s is a non-starter; tried it one time in my potato salad and almost had a family Revolt. We’re die-hard Hellmans/Best Foods fans.
Can’t wait to try this. I also add grated paneer to my egg salad. It enhances the texture and gives you a little extra protein.
Oooooh… the cottage cheese addition is brilliant! And I, too, second your choice of mayo as I am a card-carrying member of The Church of Duke’s Mayonnaise. My little twist on egg salad is the addition of sliced black olives and always eating the sandwiches with a big ol’ side of sweet potato fries :D
This is an awesome recipe. Made as tea sandwiches or toast bread for full size sandwiches. This recipe goes into the at least once a month rotation.
Brilliant! I am so up for adding cottage cheese to my egg salad. Been loving the CC, since I learned you can whip it smooth and sub it for sour cream to get a big burst of protein. And potato chips? INSIDE the sandwich please.
Also like Hollis’s idea of sumac — in place of paprika, it would add a citric peppery taste.
When I was growing up, my mom made egg salad with miracle whip, mustard, and pickle relish. Just writing this makes me gag in the same manner as when it was served to me all those summer meals. But your salad looks so fresh and beautiful that I’m almost thinking about making it.
I like mine on small toasted croissants; I like red onion but not in egg salad, I’m going to try the cottage cheese, however, for some reason unable to find Borden’s brand which is the most delicious!
Instead of cottage cheese I use Fage whole milk yogurt. Instead of bread I like these alternatives: in an avocado, in a radicchio cup, in a lettuce wrap, with cucumber slices and bell pepper squares and celery stalks as a dip, in a pita like a falafel sandwich, or wrapped in a tortilla.
I use various spices for different preparations: smoked paprika, za’atar, sumac, ground caraway seeds, etc.
Bacon is ALWAYS not an option! LOL
What’s your rising sign Joy? I am Aquarius sun, Gemini rising and Scorpio moon. Different placements but I feel like we are destined to be riding buddies! Ha!
Yum! And barbecue potato chips are a must with egg salad. There is no debating that fact.
I shall not fight you on this. :)