Ina Garten's Easy Egg Salad Is Foolproof—and So Delicious

My two young daughters have to be in just the right mood to get hyped about egg salad, and my husband could take it or leave it. Me? I love egg salad in just about any iteration. I’ve tried lots of recipes, and Ina’s is up there in the rankings. The user-friendliness of her cooking techniques and her knack for classically delicious ingredient combos make it a house favorite.

Making Ina Garten's Egg Salad

An egg salad’s texture depends mainly on two factors: how long the eggs are cooked and how they are chopped. In her recipe, Ina outlines a very specific cooking method that is pretty much foolproof. She has you simmer the eggs in a large pot of water for 10 minutes, then drain them and cool them gently with tap water. This results in tender whites and yolks that are fully set but still a little dark in the center, far from chalky or dry.

As for the chopping method, I love her shortcut of using a food processor, pulsing the hard boiled eggs until they’re chopped to your liking. Just don’t go too far and purée them—a few larger chunks of egg white here and there vary the texture a bit. Since this recipe is a pretty big one (it calls for 12 eggs and serves four to six people), processing the eggs is a good time-saver over chopping them by hand.

After the eggs are processed, Ina has you transfer them to a bowl, then use a fork to gently incorporate the rest of the ingredients: mayo, sweet pickle relish, whole grain mustard, chopped dill or chives, salt, and pepper. The salad comes out creamy but not overly loose, easy to scoop on a cracker or spread on toasted whole-grain bread, as she recommends.

Tips for Making Ina Garten's Egg Salad

The sweet pickle relish definitely asserts itself in the overall flavor of this egg salad. If you’re not a fan of sweeter egg salads, substitute some dill relish. To brighten things up, Ina offers two fresh herb options: chives and dill. Chives are my go-to if I’m using sweet relish, whereas a dill relish pairs well with fresh dill. Choose whatever combination you like best, or go rogue and try the recipe with another leafy herb like parsley or tarragon.

Tartines (a.k.a. open-faced sandwiches) are a great vehicle for an egg salad, especially one that’s moist and not too thick. With no second slice of bread on top, there’s no risk of a mess, with the salad squishing out the sides as you try to eat your lunch. They are certainly less portable than regular sandwiches, though. If I am bringing Ina’s egg salad for a packed lunch or on a picnic, I’ll pack it separately in a container, then spread it onto slices of crusty bread, or just bring a sleeve of sturdy crackers to scoop it up.

Since this recipe makes a big batch of about a quart of egg salad, I always end up with leftovers. It keeps very well in the fridge for up to five days, making it a great Sunday or Monday prep recipe to enjoy for the rest of the week. Or you can channel Ina, have a gathering of a few of your closest friends, and serve it all at once. Lunch party, anyone?

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