Easy Keto Egg Salad Recipe

This recipe for Keto Egg Salad is one of those classic recipes that go back generations which has always been a low carb side dish. It’s easy to make and delicious to eat and only requires a few simple ingredients.

Egg salad sandwiches are something I remember my mother and grandmother making for lunch. They always said that it was an easy thing to throw together and if they made enough that was a bonus so that it would already be made for the next day or the day after that. 

It was an inexpensive meal that could feed a few people, and eggs and mayonnaise are staples that were always kept in the house, which did not require an extra trip to the market. It was just like always having bread, peanut butter, and jelly in the house.

So the same is true today with all of us being on a Keto or low carb diet. In our home, we always have several dozen eggs in the refrigerator along with a couple of jars of mayo in the cabinet. There’s one exception though, now when anyone eats egg salad it’s on a plate on top of a bed of lettuce instead of on 2 pieces of bread.

What is Egg Salad?

Egg salad is made from hard-boiled eggs, and a creamy base, with veggies, and spices. Everyone makes it a little different but these are the basics. You may have eaten it before but never tried your hand at it in the kitchen, so we are going to share with you our favorite way of making it.

Once you have tried it then feel free to experiment with what you like the best. You can’t really go wrong as long as you start with eggs!!!

Keto egg salad makes a great breakfast, a different way to eat your morning eggs. It is nice if you make it the night before, that way you already have breakfast prepared. You can even take it to work with you for break time, while everyone else is eating high carb foods you will be happy that you have something to eat that’s satisfying and will keep you on your diet.

Dinner is also a great time to eat Keto egg salad…put a few scoops on top of a bed of lettuce or make a complete tossed green salad and then top it off with the egg salad. 

Is Egg Salad Good for You?

Keto Egg salad is definitely a healthy meal option. Eggs are high protein and are full of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. They fill you up so that you are not hungry again for a while which makes it easier to stick to your low carb way of eating. 

Since there are so many health benefits to eating eggs, and Keto egg salad is just as healthy, you can eat it every day if you would like to.

Even mayo is not bad for you, it is made from eggs and oil, especially a homemade version and eaten in moderation. Mayonnaise gets a bad rap most of the time, but if you are on a Keto diet then a homemade mayo is a good low carb spread option.

How Many Carbs are in Eggs?

Eggs are a staple of a Keto/low carb diet. They are a good source of protein and have only 0.3 carbs for each egg, so you can eat eggs every day if you want to.

They are also easy to make, you can eat them in many different ways and they are very inexpensive to buy. So all around, eggs are little gems for a low carb diet.

Is Egg Salad Keto? 

The answer to this question is emphatically YES! It’s so easy to make egg salad low carb. The only thing that some people put in their egg salad that would not be low carb is bread. Yes, you heard me right. 

If you are like me I was shocked to hear about putting bread inside the egg salad. I don’t think it’s a regular ingredient, but it is one thing that is not good keto egg salad. 

But follow our recipe and it is certainly a great Keto meal. We will show you how we make our low carb egg salad and what’s nice is there are so many other ingredients that you can add to make it a little different each time you make it. 

Our Keto Egg Salad is only 0.6 NET Carbs per serving.

What Ingredients are in Low Carb Egg Salad?

• Eggs – You can’t have egg salad without eggs.
• Mayonnaise – A low carb or no carb one is best.
• Mustard – Any mustard will do but I like to use brown mustard. Dry mustard also works fine.
• Paprika – A little color and a slight bit of heat.
• Salt and Pepper – 2 basic but also essential spices in most recipes.
• Scallions  – You can’t have egg salad without onions and I feel that scallions are just the right amount of onion flavor, slightly milder than onions plus they add some needed color to the salad.
• Celery – This adds so much to salads, a little color, and a little crunch.
• Dill – An herb that adds a grassy taste with a slight licorice taste, or a mild version of caraway seeds. Just a little goes a long way.

Use the Best Eggs

It makes sense that the best egg salad starts with good eggs. Use the eggs that have rich and bright yellow yolks and are pasteurized. When the eggs are really fresh it makes it a much harder job to peel the shells off. 

So as a rule, even though we usually love farm fresh eggs, the ones that you have in your refrigerator for a few weeks are usually better for egg salad. Put them on a systematic rotation in your refrigerator for the best results.

Whether you decide to use the farm fresh eggs or the ones in the grocery store, let them sit in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks before trying to hard boil them.

Use a Low Carb Mayo

Of course, it makes sense that if we were going to make Keto egg salad then we need to use a mayo that is low carb or no carb. 

There are some that you may think are mayonnaise such as Miracle Whip, but in reality, are different from mayo because of the fat content being lower and the carbs being higher, which does not make for a keto egg salad.

Our preference is to make homemade mayonnaise. If we are in a hurry we also use Hellman’s regular mayo. My family will only eat Hellman’s which is ok because it has zero carbs!

What Can I Substitute for Mayo in Egg Salad?

Mayo is the most common traditional ingredient in egg salad. You may not like mayo or not want to use it for other reasons, so here are a few ideas of different things you can use in the egg salad instead of mayonnaise: 

• Greek yogurt is a very compatible replacement for mayo. 
• Coconut oil mayo which you can make yourself with coconut oil, eggs, vinegar, and salt.
• Hummus
• Pesto
• Nut butter, such as almond, cashew,…etc

How to Make Keto Egg Salad

There are a few steps to make this Keto egg salad recipe, so let’s show you how to make yummy egg salad.

Boiling the Eggs

The first step to begin making the low carb egg salad recipe is to make the eggs.

Don’t get overwhelmed thinking of making hard-boiled eggs. If you are like me I have thrown out so many eggs in the past because it has been so hard to get the shells off. Let me share with you my easy way to make hard-boiled eggs.

The first thing to do is to take the eggs out of the refrigerator and let them reach room temperature. If you try to boil them straight out of the refrigerator they can crack during the cooking process.

The next step is to get out a medium saucepan and fill it at least halfway with water and then bring to a boil.

Once the water is boiling then carefully add the eggs one at a time.

When the water starts to boil again set the timer for 11 minutes. As soon as the timer goes off then remove the pan from the stove and empty the boiling water into the sink. 

Pour cold water over the eggs and then immediately crack the shells completely in the pot.

Take the eggs out of the water and place them on a paper towel on the counter. Now peel off the shells.

If the eggs are still too hot to the touch to peel then rinse them for a quick second and then finish peeling them. 

• TIP: Do NOT let them stand in the water, otherwise, it will quickly become harder to get the shells off.

Preparing Other Ingredients

So now it’s time to get the other ingredients together. Start with a big bowl.

After you peel the eggs then slice them or cut them so that it will be easier to cut up in small pieces.

Press the small pieces with a fork to make them crumble smaller.

Put all of the eggs into the bowl.

Chop the celery and scallions to use and get out all of the spices.

Mixing It Together

There is not really a right or wrong way to add the ingredients to the eggs but when I make this Keto egg salad recipe I like to add the mayo first. Measure it out to ¾ cup and then add it to the egg mixture.

Now it’s time to add the spices and the celery to the salad and blend them all together.

• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Dill
• ¼ tsp Paprika
• 2 tsp Brown Mustard
• ½ cup Celery

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Garnish with the scallions on top or mix them into the egg mixture, whichever you prefer.

If you are going to add any extra ingredients like bacon…etc, then you can add them now and mix them in.

Best Tips

You can use any type of mustard that you prefer to use, dijon or french’s yellow, or dry mustard.  No matter what kind you use it will work well with the low carb egg salad so it’s a matter of preference. 

Fresh dill is the best but you can also use dried dill. We grow it in our garden in the summer which helps.

Cook a few extra eggs just in case you need to add more to the salad to thicken it.

Just another tip on making hard-boiled eggs – When your eggs are very fresh, especially the ones you get from a farm, it makes it a little more difficult to get the shells off. Instead, use those eggs for your breakfast eggs. When you make hard-boiled ones it is best to use the ones that have been in your refrigerator 1-2 weeks.

How Do You Thicken Egg Salad?

Sometimes when making tuna salad, chicken salad, or egg salad it’s easy to get carried away when adding the mayonnaise. You start mixing everything up and all of a sudden you see that you added too much mayonnaise and your salad becomes almost soupy. 

Some people add breadcrumbs to soak up the moisture but when you are on a low carb diet bread crumbs are out of the question.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to throw it out, just add a couple more eggs to the bowl and that should be enough to thicken it back up. That’s a trick that I learned while making this Keto egg salad recipe.

Different Variations of Low Carb Egg Salad

Here are a few ideas of extra ingredients that you can add to this Keto egg salad to change the flavor or enhance the flavor.

Vegetables:

• Olives, black or green
• Pickles or dill relish
• Avocados
• Diced Tomatoes

Protein:

• Chicken
• Ham
• Bacon
• Shrimp

Also if you like things a little spicy then add some jalapeno peppers or a dash of cayenne pepper.

Other Diets This Recipe is Good For

• Gluten-Free – Egg salad made this way is right up the alley for gluten-free.
• Paleo – A good recipe for paleo….eggs is one of the positive foods.  
• Dairy-Free – A winner with no dairy.
• Nut-free – There are no nuts in the egg salad.

What to Serve with Egg Salad

Keto egg salad is a good low carb meal or snack so here are a few suggestions of things to eat along with it to keep it low carb.

• Parmesan cheese crisps
• Low carb crackers
• Pork rinds
• Fresh veggies like peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, celery…etc
• Lettuce wraps

In the evening if you haven’t eaten all of your calories or fat for the day, take some celery sticks, pepper slices, or low carb crackers and dip them in a small bowl of egg salad as a snack.

Can I Make a Low Carb Egg Salad Sandwich?

We have a great recipe on our site for Keto Chaffles. One of the many uses for them is to use them just like bread. They are just the right size for a lunch sandwich and would be perfect for making a Keto egg salad sandwich. 

You could also use 2 large lettuce leaves as your “ bread” and make a sandwich like that.

Fathead dough also makes good rolls which would be a good match with egg salad.

How to Store

One important thing to remember about storing the low carb egg salad is that when you use mayonnaise you need to get any uneaten portion back into the refrigerator in a reasonable time so that it doesn’t spoil. It’s not one of those foods that can stay on the counter for very long.

Thankfully, it’s very easy to store your Keto egg salad. Just put it in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Why Does Egg Salad Get Watery Overnight?

It’s not unusual for egg salad to get watery overnight after it sits for a while especially if the eggs were not cooled off completely before adding the mayo. Plus sometimes the celery is wet from washing it so dry it off completely. Use regular hellman’s instead of low fat too to keep it from getting watery.

You can also get some water from the chopped celery and chopped onion. After you chop it up you could blot it with a paper towel to absorb any moisture that comes out before adding it to the egg salad.

Is Egg Salad Better the Next Day?

I think Keto egg salad is good the day you make it and also the next day. But like a lot of other foods, the day after it’s made it becomes more flavorful as the celery, onions, spices, etc soak into the eggs better and become more flavorful.

Breakfast can become quite interesting the next day, with leftover egg salad….It’s so yummy!

Can You Freeze Egg Salad?

We usually freeze so many of our recipes but this time freezing our low carb egg salad is not a good idea.  It will not freeze well especially because of the eggs and mayo. So when you make this Keto egg salad recipe make sure to eat it up within 3-4 days of making it.

More Keto Recipes

If you’re in the mood for some other Low Carb Recipes then try our:

• Keto Deviled Eggs with Bacon
• Low Carb Coleslaw without Mayo
• Best Spinach Salad with Eggs and Bacon
• Breakfast Egg White Cups

They all are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will be a hit at your next meal!

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