This Healthy Egg Salad Recipe Makes A Tasty Lunchtime Treat
Egg salad is an American favorite consisting of chopped hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper, then often served between two slices of bread. This classic recipe first started sometime in the 1800s and has been adapted to different flavor variations since. Here, we've created a healthier spin on egg salad with some simple ingredients swaps.
Promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors is a great way help prevent heart disease. In fact, diet is one of our best forms of prevention. A heart-healthy diet is one that consists of healthy fats and fiber-rich foods, while decreasing saturated fat and sodium. Incorporating this type of healthy eating pattern can help lower cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, which are contributing factors to heart disease.
By swapping traditional mayonnaise for non-fat Greek yogurt, we've slashed the saturated fat and boosted the protein. We've also added in avocados and walnuts to increase the fiber content and provide heart-healthy omega-3 fats. Read on to see how to whip together this healthy egg salad in no time.
Check out other easy, heart-healthy recipes by registered dietitian nutritionist Mackenzie Burgess on her blog at Cheerful Choices.
Start by gathering your ingredients for this healthy egg salad
This healthy egg salad recipe calls for just a few simple ingredients and comes together in a matter of minutes. The recipe as written makes enough for four to six servings. If you want to make more, simply double the recipe.
This healthy avocado egg salad is as easy as adding all your ingredients to a large bowl, mixing to combine, and enjoying right away. To make this recipe even quicker to prepare, buy pre-peeled and boiled eggs at the store. You can also make a batch of hard boiled eggs at home.
Hard boil your eggs for this healthy egg salad
If you don't have already prepared hard boiled eggs in your fridge, whip up a batch of them for this healthy egg salad recipe. Add six eggs to a medium-sized pot and pour over with enough cold water to cover them by about an inch. Then, add this pot to a burner and bring the water to a rolling boil. Once it reaches a boil, remove the pot from the burner, cover with a lid, and let sit for 12 minutes to cook through. We are cooking them for a longer time because you want to make sure the yolk is cooked through and not runny. After they are done cooking, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking process. Once they are completely cool, carefully peel and chop the hard boiled eggs.
Did you know you can also cook hard boiled eggs in an air fryer, Instant Pot, or a sous vide? They even have cookers made solely for hard boiled eggs. Whichever cooking preparation you choose, you can't go wrong!
Mash your avocados in a bowl for this healthy egg salad
Add two small to medium avocados to a large bowl and mash until slightly chunky. For this recipe, you want to make sure your avocados are ripe. This ensures they mash easily and it gives the egg salad that extra creamy texture. To tell if an avocado is ripe, give it a light squeeze — it should feel slightly squishy and not overly hard. This is also a great recipe to use up any avocados that are on their way out.
Avocados are a great source of healthy fats, fiber, antioxidants, and other important nutrients. Get creative with avocados and use them in everything from chocolate truffles to smoothies to avocado toast.
Stir in all other ingredients except the eggs to your healthy egg salad
To the same bowl as the mashed avocado, mix in the plain Greek yogurt, walnuts, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and chives. These ingredients provide creaminess and major flavor.
We are choosing Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise because it significantly cuts down on the calories and overall fat. Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and chives bring a tangy kick that boost the flavor with minimal calories and sodium.
The walnuts provide heart-healthy omega-3 fats and plant-based protein. If you don't like walnuts or don't have them on hand, you can use other chopped nuts like pecans or almonds. If you are nut-free, simply omit the nuts or add chopped celery to give your healthy egg salad that same crunch.
Finally, add the hard-boiled eggs to this healthy egg salad
After all the healthy egg salad ingredients are mixed together, gently stir in your chopped hard boiled eggs. These can be chopped as large or small as you'd like. You can customize this avocado egg salad too. Try sprinkling on additional spices like cumin, smoked paprika, or red pepper flakes. You can also bring on the heat by stirring in a touch of hot sauce.
Eggs were previously thought to be unhealthy due to the higher cholesterol content found in them. However, since then research has revealed that this dietary cholesterol has little effect on our overall blood cholesterol. Keep in mind, a healthy serving of eggs is about one to two a day.
How to serve this healthy egg salad
This healthy egg salad pairs nicely with whole grain toast, bagels, or crackers. If you're trying not to eat a lot of carbohydrates, serve the egg salad over a bed of leafy greens.
You can store any leftover egg salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. There may be some natural browning that occurs from the mashed avocados, but this is completely safe to eat. Simply give it a good stir to reveal the lovely green color underneath. You can also add more lemon juice over top to slow the browning.
This egg salad is the perfect recipe to meal prep ahead of time and add to your lunch routine. Pair with some sliced vegetables or fresh fruit for a balanced meal.
- 2 ripe avocados, peeled
- ¼ cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ lemon, juiced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons chives
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Cook eggs if needed: In a medium pot, add eggs and enough cold water to cover them. Bring water to a boil, then remove the pot from heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice cold water to cool.
- Peel and chop the hard boiled eggs.
- In a large bowl, mash the avocados with a fork or potato masher until broken down but slightly chunky.
- Mix in the plain Greek yogurt, walnuts, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and chives.
- Add in the chopped hard boiled eggs, and salt and pepper to taste. Gently mix everything together until combined.
- Serve over whole grain toast, bagels, leafy greens, or enjoy with crackers.
- Store any leftover egg salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
| Calories per Serving | 364 |
| Total Fat | 30.8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5.0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 224.7 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 12.6 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8.0 g |
| Total Sugars | 2.4 g |
| Sodium | 466.3 mg |
| Protein | 13.9 g |
