Egg Salad | Keto-Friendly, Low-Carb

A fast, easy, and delicious keto egg salad recipe that’s perfect for a quick snack or party spread.

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Peace, family. I’m just going to say it. I love eggs. Not to the point where I’m ready to do an egg fast, which I know is very common and effective for keto folks, but they are a go-to food for me. I grew up eating the most delicious scrambled eggs ever, courtesy of my beloved father. That guy is seriously the king of breakfast and you won’t convince me that he’s not.

I adore scrambled eggs, chopped boiled eggs in salads, deviled eggs, and of course omelets. I’ll even eat the occasional over easy egg, but I have to be in an extremely rare mood for that. Although I enjoy eggs, I try to limit my consumption to once or twice per week, because they tend to make me feel a little sick when eaten in excess. When it gets to that point, I’m disgusted by the thought of even seeing an egg, and won’t eat them again for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Hence why I’m not doing an egg fast anytime soon.

The thought of eating egg salad used to make my stomach turn. I thought it was for little old ladies to have with their tea while playing Gin Rummy. Boy, did that change. Living in Tulsa, Oklahoma while still in school, I worked at a specialty grocer – Petty’s Fine Foods. Let me tell you. That place was a dream come true for foodies. We carried rare and exotic foods of all type. The butcher was fabulous. The produce was immaculate. But, best of all was the bakery/deli. I’m talking beautiful petit fours, perfectly tart lemon bars, and the best tabbouleh you ever did taste. The salads were simply unrivaled. It was there, in the back cooler during one of my (possibly unscheduled) breaks that my manager convinced me to finally try egg salad. I obliged – nose pinched and eyes closed. To my delight it was absolutely delicious and reminiscent of the deviled eggs that often graced our holiday and party spreads. It was there that the humble and often unsung egg salad found its newest and most vocal enthusiast. Sadly, Petty’s has since closed their doors.

Boiling the Perfect Egg

There are many schools of thought when it comes to boiling the perfect egg. Everyone has a different method, everyone is an expert, and everyone swears that their way is best. The method that I used to try often was adding baking soda to the boiling water. For years I was convinced that the baking soda method was best, but in reality, it only worked sometimes. Luckily, egg salad does not require that your egg be perfectly peeled. I mean, you’re going to egg up chopping ‘em up anyway. But because I’m me, I still wanted every step in the process to feel “right”, so I wanted my eggs flaw-free after peeling. Cooking is art after all.

There are certain sources I turn to first when I want no-nonsense food facts. My brother-friend Kimani is one of them. But since he was busy crafting the perfect, completely from scratch (even the noodles…especially the noodles) lasagna I turned to another favorite source, J. Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats. If you’re not familiar with his work, then I’m not sure what you’re even doing here. Kidding. Don’t leave. He’s the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science. He insists that the best way of getting the perfect peel on your boiled eggs is to start hot. The means, with your water already boiling, add the eggs to the pot straight from the refrigerator. After that you lower the heat and allow to cook for 11 minutes if you desire hard boiled eggs. For soft boiled, the cook time would be 6 minutes. For this recipe, I hard boiled my eggs.

Choosing Your Eggs

I’d suggest buying the best quality eggs possibly. We tend to go the organic and pastured route, but the choice is completely yours and will depend on your specific values. Beware though. A lot of labels that are often plastered across cartons (free-range, grass-fed, etc.) are purely “fluff” so definitely do some research before you go to the grocery store. An even better option is the purchase from a famer’s market where you can speak to the farmers directly, but not everyone has the desire or access to do that. In this recipe I used large brown eggs that I picked up at Sprouts.

Making Egg Salad

Constructing an egg salad is so incredibly easy. Some people use a food processor to get the salad to the creamiest consistency possible, but I do not find that to be necessary nor ideal. I prefer a chunkier salad. I hate the word chunky, but I’m taking one for the team here.

After peeling, I place the yolks in a small mixing bowl and chop the whites separately. To the yolks, I add a little salt & pepper, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, dill, and chopped celery for texture. Fresh dill works best, but today I used dried. Another trip to the store with a toddler was not happening. I use a regular old spoon to mush and mix until well combined, toss the chopped egg whites back in, then a little silicon spatula to continue mixing from there.

You can serve egg salad any number of ways. You can do lettuce wraps, sandwiches, and even use it as a dip with crackers. In my case, I toasted my favorite keto-friendly bread, spread the egg salad on top and garnished with a touch of cilantro. I seriously eat cilantro with everything. Terrance repeatedly makes fun of me for it, but I have no shame surrounding this.

That’s it, y’all. There is nothing complicated or fancy about this. You might even choose to go your own route and add your own ingredients to take it over the top. I’ve even seen avocado egg salads. Do you.

If you’ve made it this far, let me remind you to join my mailing list, Adri’s Secret Menu. We’re gearing up for a year full of giveaways, events, challenges, new recipes, and more. I’d hate for you to miss any of the fun. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! My approach to keto and low-carb is very laid-back and doable, while still remaining interesting and delicious. We’re not just sticking with bulletproof coffee and jerky every day (both of which I’m fond of and have recipes for. Ha!) You’ll see the subscribe menu down below the recipe card. To the many of you who have already joined, I see you and I’m grateful for your support. It means the world and then some. You’re going on the wild ride with me, and I do not take you for granted.

Try this recipe out and let me know what you think! If you use MyFitnessPal then this recipe is searchable as AGirlCalledAdri’s Egg Salad.

Peace,

Adri

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