How to Make an Egg Salad Sandwich for a Budget-Friendly Lunch

With only a few ingredients, you can get this quick meal together on the cheap. Plus, get recipes for delicious and creative egg salad combinations.

Ever have those days when you look at the clock and realize it's way past lunchtime? I've been having them more than I'd like to admit recently, which is why egg salad is the perfect way to make sure I can still eat a delicious lunch when time gets away from me. Not only are eggs super affordable, but they're also a great source of protein, healthy fats, and even some essential vitamins. Instead of opting for the deli's egg salad (which usually has too much mayonnaise for me), making your own egg salad sandwiches is the better way to go. Use the following tips and recipes to inspire your next lunch prep session.

egg salad sandwich on croissant
Scott Little

How to Make an Egg Salad Sandwich

This step-by-step process uses a classic egg salad recipe, which is a simple combination of cooked eggs, relish, mayonnaise, and mustard.

1. Hard-Cook Your Eggs

The secret to delicious egg salad is perfectly cooked eggs. While there are several different methods, the BHG Test Kitchen's favorite way to cook eggs is actually steaming them in a pot fitted with a steamer basket ($23, Target). By steaming your eggs rather than the traditional boiling, we also find them easier to peel.

Test Kitchen Tip: It helps to use eggs that are 7 to 10 days old. As eggs age, the air pocket in the shell grows, making it easier to remove the shell after hard cooking them. To know how old your eggs are, look at the packing date. The packing date of eggs is stamped on the carton. It's a three-digit code near the sell-by date where each day of the year is numbered 001-365. So, 001 is January 1, 166 is June 15, and 365 is December 31.

2. Make the Egg Salad

You're just four ingredients away from traditional egg salad. To make, simply chop your hard-cooked eggs, then combine with pickle relish, mayonnaise, and yellow mustard. That's it!

3. Assemble the Sandwich

You can use any bread you like, but serving classic egg salad on a croissant with lettuce feels extra decadent. (You might also want to try a deviled egg croissant-wich that's phenomenal, too.) Try topping the sandwich with sharp cheddar cheese for even more flavor. If you're making the egg salad sandwich recipe for one, store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Just wait to make your sandwich the day-of so your bread doesn't get soggy.

Egg Salad & Bacon Sandwiches
Jason Donnelly

After you've eaten enough classic egg salad, try switching up your lunch with one of our creative twists. Add some Mediterranean flavor with this Greek egg salad. Try our avocado egg salad over slices of tomatoes or wrap it in lettuce for a low-carb option. For a real treat, combine your love for BLTs and egg salad into this delicious sandwich recipe (pictured above). Not a fan of eggs? Give this vegan smashed chickpea salad sandwich a go.

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