Avocado Egg Salad

The Trade-Off With Avocado

Avocado gives you creaminess, fiber, and a buttery taste, but it browns and softens faster than mayo. That's why this is a make-it-and-eat-it salad. Eggs can be cooked days ahead, though, so the actual assembly takes about 3 minutes on a busy morning. For a lunch you can make on Sunday and eat through Thursday, tuna salad without mayo holds up better.

What You'll Need

• Eggs. Six large eggs. Eggs a week or two old peel more easily than very fresh ones.
• One large ripe avocado. Hass is the creamiest. It should give slightly when pressed but not feel hollow or mushy.
• Lemon juice. Adds brightness and slows browning. Lime works too.
• Dijon mustard. One teaspoon gives egg salad its familiar tang.
• Greek yogurt (optional). Two tablespoons make it silkier and add a little protein. Leave it out for dairy-free.
• Chives and dill. Classic with eggs. Green onion can stand in for chives.
• Smoked paprika. A pinch on top for color.

Hard-Boiled Eggs Without the Green Ring

The gray-green ring around a yolk comes from overcooking. This hot-water method avoids it:

1. Put the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water by an inch.
2. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat.
3. Turn off the heat, cover, and let them sit 11 minutes.
4. Move them to a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes.
5. Peel under cool running water, starting at the wide end where the air pocket is.

Pat the peeled eggs dry before chopping. Water clinging to the whites makes the salad loose.

How to Put It Together

Mash the avocado in a bowl with the lemon juice, Dijon, yogurt, salt, and pepper until it's mostly smooth. Doing this first means you won't have to overwork the eggs later. Chop the eggs into bite-size pieces (an egg slicer used once each direction is fast), then fold them in with the herbs. Stop while you can still see chunks of egg. Taste, add a pinch more salt or a squeeze of lemon, and dust with paprika.

Ways to Serve It

• On toasted sourdough or whole-grain bread
• In butter lettuce or romaine cups for a low-carb lunch
• Stuffed into a pita or croissant
• With crackers, cucumber rounds, or bell pepper strips
• On a toasted bagel for breakfast

For a lunch spread, set it out next to chicken salad with grapes and pecans and a bowl of chickpea cucumber feta salad. If you're hunting for light morning ideas, it fits right in with these low calorie breakfast ideas.

Variations

• Bacon. Fold in 3 slices of crisp, crumbled bacon.
• Spicy. Add a finely diced jalapeño or a squeeze of sriracha.
• Half and half. Use half an avocado plus 2 tablespoons of mayo if you want a closer match to the classic.
• Southwest. Swap lemon for lime and add corn, black beans, and a pinch of cumin.
• Everything bagel. Sprinkle the seasoning on top just before serving.

Storage and Make-Ahead

Hard-boiled eggs keep up to a week in the fridge, peeled or not, so cook a batch whenever you have time. Mix the salad the day you plan to eat it. For leftovers, press plastic wrap right onto the surface so no air touches it and refrigerate. It's best within 24 hours. Any browning on top is just the avocado oxidizing, not spoilage. Stir it in.

Like any egg salad, don't leave it out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour on a hot day above 90°F. For a packed lunch, use an insulated bag with an ice pack. Don't freeze it. The whites turn rubbery and the avocado goes watery.

Cook's Tips

• Pick the avocado a day or two early. A firm avocado ripens on the counter in 1–3 days. Once it gives to gentle pressure, move it to the fridge to hold it.
• Season the avocado, not just the eggs. Salting the mash before folding means every bite is seasoned.
• Chop, don't grate. Grated eggs release moisture and turn pasty.
• Keep the pit out of it. Leaving the pit in the bowl doesn't stop browning. Plastic wrap against the surface does.
• Steam if peeling is a fight. Steaming eggs 12–13 minutes over boiling water, then icing them, makes shells slip off more easily.