This creamy and delicious Deli-Style Egg Salad combines hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, vinegar, and chopped celery. It’s perfect scooped on salads, but we love it on toast with lettuce for an unforgettable sandwich!
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Walk into any New York deli and you’re sure to find a few staples, like chicken salad, macaroni salad, and potato salad.
You’ll also always find egg salad and it will always be creamy, tangy, and delicious!
I love to make a sandwich of egg salad and crispy bacon on toasted country white, but it’s also excellent with some peppery greens on earthy bread.
Egg salad (also known as egg mayonnaise) or deviled eggs are great ways to use up any eggs you may have from Easter,
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Eggs. Since there are so few ingredients here, use good-quality eggs. You may find that eggs closer to their expiration date may be easier to peel once hardboiled.
- Mayonnaise. For a true New York deli experience, use Hellman’s mayonnaise. Most delis use a thicker Hellmen’s or restaurant supply store mayo, also known as decorator mayo.
- Celery. I love the crunch that finely diced celery adds to egg salad!
- Vinegar. Delis use white vinegar, not lemon juice. That being said, feel free to use lemon juice if you like because the taste will be fairly similar.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Place 12 large eggs into a pot and fill with enough water to cover the eggs by 1/2-inch. Bring the water to a boil, then remove the pot from the heat and let the eggs sit in the water, covered, for 15 minutes. (Photo #1)
- While the eggs are sitting, finely dice 1/4 cup of celery and 3 tablespoons of green onion (mostly the white part) and set aside. Prepare an ice water bath by filling a large bowl with water and ice, then after the eggs have sat for 15 minutes, move them to the ice bath and let them sit for 10 minutes. (Photo #2)
- Peel the eggs then give them a rough chop and place into a large bowl. Use your hands to mash the eggs but leave some larger pieces for texture, if desired. (Photo #3)
- Add the celery and green onion along with 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and mix very well. Taste test and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Refrigerate for 2 hours, but preferably overnight, then use to make your favorite sandwich, or scoop on salad, and enjoy! (Photo #4)
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Top tips
- Peeling the eggs. Hardboiled eggs can be a pain to peel at times. You may find that using eggs closer to their expiration date are easier to peel. Also, placing the cold hardboiled eggs into a container and gently moving them around can rough up the shells and make them easier to peel.
- Full deli flavor. For full deli-flavor be sure to let the egg salad chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
More New York deli recipes
Having worked in several delis in my younger years, I’ve acquired a few tips and tricks to getting that authentic New York flavor and I’m thrilled to share them with you. In addition to the salads I mentioned above, here are a few more of our most-loved deli-style salads.
If you’ve enjoyed this Deli-Style Egg Salad Recipe or any recipe on this site, give it a 5-star rating and tell us about it in the comments below.
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Deli-Style Egg Salad
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup finely diced celery
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper plus more to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher salt plus more to taste
- 3 tablespoons green onion finely diced
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Instructions
- Place the eggs into a pot and fill with water to only a 1/2-inch above the eggs. Bring to a boil then cover and remove the pot from the heat. Let the eggs sit covered for 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, prepare an ice water bath. Place the eggs into the bath and let sit for 10 minutes. Peel the eggs.
- Rough chop the eggs and place them into a bowl. With your hands begin mashing the eggs, making sure to leave some larger pieces for texture.
- Add the celery, green onion, mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mix well. Test the mixture and season with more salt and pepper if required.
- Though it can be eaten right away, it's best to refrigerate for at least two hours but preferably overnight before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
- Placing the cold hard boiled eggs into a container and gently moving around to rough up the shells make the eggs very easy to peel when run under cool water.
- Egg salad can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi, guys!! In all my decades of making Egg Salad, and having Egg Salad at Nate ‘n Al’s Deli (an almost 80-year-old icon in BH), I never realized that the recipe required a little vinegar, so thanks for that “tip”. Additionally, I have been doing exactly as you do in “shocking” the hard boiled eggs by putting them into ice water for a few minutes. That method definitely makes peeling the eggs much easier, and the rinsing thereafter under cold water makes it far less likely to leave even the smallest remaining shell stuck to a peeled egg — which I literally cringe at biting into. Finally, I have my own little “trick” to share for making the creamy part of the egg salad — the use of a D-shaped dough blender/pastry cutter instead of my hands or a fork — especially when making a large quantity of egg salad. Many thanks again to both of you for this recipe, as well as for your other NY Deli-style recipes. What a treat!! Best wishes on the success of your projects over the Summer, hoping that you will keep “us fans” posted during the process, and looking forward to Season 2 of your Podcast in the future.
We’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe and truly appreciate your comment!
Best Egg salad I’ve ever had. Added a Tbsp of fresh chopped dill too! Very easy!
So happy to hear that, Paul!
Made the egg salad today… I give it q 10!!!
Husband loved it also…. thank you!!
So happy you and your husband enjoyed, Anna!
I want to preface my review by first saying that I have never actually had New York Deli style egg salad before, or honestly egg salad in general (minus a sandwich from a gas station, which I feel does not count lol).
This is very good! I am not a mayo purist and tend to buy whatever is on sale. This go around, I had Duke’s so that’s what I used. After I mixed everything together I felt like a little sugar would benefit it so I added about 2 tsps and that did the trick for me. I remember seeing somewhere that unlike Hellman’s, Duke’s doesn’t add sugar to their mayonnaise. If that’s true then it makes sense that I needed to add a bit of sugar and next time if I make it with Hellman’s maybe I won’t need to since it already has sugar in it.
I might take out a half teaspoon of salt the next time as well, but I don’t think most people would find this overly salty. I am just somebody who seems to be sensitive to salt for some reason and it’s easier to add a little to an individual portion than it is to take it out haha.
Definitely let it sit in the fridge overnight before making your final verdict, it was alright yesterday after a couple hours in the fridge, but way better this afternoon! I’ll probably make this for my yearly cabin trip with friends this August, since it’s easy and can make several sandwiches. Very yummy! Thank you for doing these deli recipes, I can’t wait to try the shrimp salad!
Thanks for the comment, Shelby! We’re so happy you enjoyed!
I have been making egg salad for 60 years. I have never added vinegar green onion until today, nor have I prepped the eggs by smashing in my hand. End result, creamiest, best tasting chicken salad ever. Thank you for this great recipe. Love the deli series. All your recipes are a 10 out of 10.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Judith! Thank you for the comment!
As it should be perfectly delicious,
Beats just mayo, salt & pepper.
My old way. Boring, this is way better
We’re so happy you liked it Virginia!
Whoa! Your son was 100% right! Waaaaay too salty for me. I recommend everyone Cut salt in half then taste it to see if it needs more. (I used the recommended salt)
James, great textured egg salad. Might I suggest two substitues for the white vinegar? For added sweetness, use Mirin. For lighter tartness, use Champagne vinegar. Of course, the type of mustard varies the flavor considerably, but, I have found that aioli mustard (Trader Joe’s has their own brand) works well with both suggested vinegar substitutes.
Plz know that I always enjoy watching your practical culinary magic unfold on YT.
Your recipe looks terrific, and I will certainly try it this summer. Thanks–and thanks, too, for showing how to easily peel the hard-boiled eggs:).
Hi Gerry, good to hear from you, and so happy you liked the trick about peeling the eggs!
The part of LI I’m from, the North Shore of Nassau County; our favorite breakfast sandwich is called a BECSPK Bacon Egg and cheese Salt Pepper Ketchup on a kaiser roll, I haven’t lived in NY for going on 20 years and no matter how I try to explain this sandwich, no one makes it like a NY Deli. Do you think you could show us?
Oh and by the way, that’s the BEST egg salad, thank you.
Hi Louise, We’re so happy you loved the egg salad and you’ll be happy to hear that Jim has a video of the BECSPK! Here’s the link to the recipe and you can watch the video within the recipe section at the bottom of the page. https://www.sipandfeast.com/bacon-egg-and-cheese-sandwich/#wprm-recipe-container-9488
Best basic egg salad recipe…… ever!
Delicious 😋
Thank you ! I love your recipes you have a great show
I made your deli style macaroni salad and it was a HUGE success! Delicious! I shared your recipe with several people already.
Thanks for posting the NY Deli Salad recipes. I miss my early days in NY, and that includes the neighborhood deli. But there is one I miss the most — do you have a recipe for Shrimp Salad? 🤞
Hi Dana, yes, here is the link to the shrimp salad recipe: https://www.sipandfeast.com/new-york-deli-shrimp-salad/
I love your recipes!
My egg salad recipe is almost the same except I add a little sugar and onion powder as well. My family loves it, and anything that is NY style works for me! I also steam my eggs (per Serious Eats) and they peel easily as well (so just another method).
Love egg salad! I use an instpot to hard boil my eggs. Peeling them is a cinch. Along with the celery and green onion, I sometimes add some green olives.
Thanks Jim, looks like another winner.
Thanks so much, Nancy!
Well Jim , once again you have provided a simple full proof recipe . I am looking forward to making it. I have no doubt by following your instructions it will be delicious. Thank you.
Thanks so much, Dave!
Another favorite recipe. That is my lunch for today.
We’re so happy you liked the recipe, Enza!
I’ve never added vinegar before. It’s a game changer!