Classic Egg Salad Recipe With Pickles

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

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

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

Here's another easy salad 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 what you've got available. A great egg salad has a mixture of creamy, crunchy and a little bit of spice.

• 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 - or fresh chives. This brings a freshness to the egg salad as well as colour. You can also swap this for some finely chopped red onion.
• Sweet pickles - tangy and sweet and the not so secret ingredient that make this egg salad so special. They bring a bit of bite to the salad in texture as well as in taste. You could use sweet pickled gherkins, bread and butter pickles or a different pickled vegetable entirely! If you've got no pickles, you can substitute them for some finely chopped celery to bring some crunch.
• Mayonnaise - This is the creamy dressing base for the egg salad.
• Dijon mustard or yellow mustard - brings a little spice.
• Lemon juice (or you could use the pickle brine) - brings a little more acidity to lift the salad.
• Salt and pepper - for flavour. Salt may not be needed. It is depending on personal preference or how salty the mayonnaise is.
• Fresh herbs. You could use fresh dill and/or fresh parsley - for vitamins and colour. Dill is a classic egg salad flavour. Parsley is a powerhouse of vitamins, so take any excuse to incorporate some into your meals!

Egg salad without mayonnaise

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

Adding regular yoghurt to the egg salad can make it quite watery, so do choose a thick type. Yoghurt is acidic so you may not need all or any of the lemon juice if using yoghurt instead of mayonnaise.

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

Step by step instructions 

Hard-Boiled Eggs

• Place eggs in a saucepan, in a single layer and fill the saucepan with water until the eggs are covered by about 2 cm 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, 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.
• Gently tap the eggs on the side of the saucepan all over, to crack the shells. Peel off the shells. 

Making the salad

• 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.
• Chop the green onions, dice the pickles and finely chop the dill and parsley and add to the bowl along with the mayonnaise, dijon mustard and lemon juice (or pickle juice). Toss it all together to coat. 
• Taste and add a little salt if necessary, black pepper and more lemon juice according to your preference. 

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.

Related Recipes

More salad ideas -

• Vibrant noodle salad
• Healthy potato salad with herb dressing
• Apple and fennel slaw

Continue to Content

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. 

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Ingredients

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

Instructions

Hard-Boiled Eggs

1. Add 8 eggs to a saucepan and fill the saucepan with water until the eggs are covered by about 2cm of water. 
2. Place the saucepan over high heat and put a lid over the saucepan. Bring the water to a boil.
3. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-high and boil for 7 minutes. 
4. After 7 minutes, take the eggs off the heat and drain out the hot water. 
5. Run cold water over the eggs in the saucepan and let them sit in the cold water until they have cooled down. 
6. Gently tap the eggs on the side of the saucepan all over, to crack the shells. Peel off the shells. 

Making the salad

1. Chop the cooled and peeled eggs into small pieces and add them to a large bowl.
2. Chop the green onions, dice the pickles and finely chop the parsley. Add to the bowl along with the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and lemon juice. Toss it all together to coat. 
3. Taste and add salt if necessary, black pepper, and more lemon juice according to your preference.
4. 
   Store leftover egg salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

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