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How To Make Deviled Eggs

posted in Appetizers and Snacks, Breakfast and Brunch, Vegetarian by Kathy Maister
Difficulty:
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When I’m making deviled eggs for a buffet table, I sometimes think perhaps they are a bit old-fashioned and outdated. Then, when the party is over, the deviled egg platter is always empty!

To make deviled eggs, in addition to the eggs, you will need mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper, and green olives stuffed with pimentos for flavor as well as garnish.

The first step is to hard-cook (what some people call boil) six eggs.

If you are unsure of how to boil an egg, check out my 30 second video for a quick review!

If you’ve just cooked the eggs, let them cool to room temperature before peeling them. Actually, cold, hard boiled eggs, just out of the refrigerator, are much easier to peel than just cooked eggs. If you are having trouble peeling the eggs, crack the shell at the ends of each egg and put them in a bowl of ice cold water. Let the eggs sit in the cold water about 10 minutes. This allows the water to seep in and make peeling much easier.

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Once all the eggs are peeled, slice them in half lengthwise.

Using a spoon or a fork, gently remove the yolks from the whites and place the all the yolks in a bowl. Set the whites on your serving dish.

I’m using my deviled egg dish which has grooves in it to hold the eggs in place for serving. If you do not have a deviled eggs dish you could put them on a bed of washed parsley so they not only look festive but the parsley will also prevent the eggs from sliding all over the place.

To make the filling, mix together the 6 yolks, add ¼ cup of mayonnaise, 1 ½ Tablespoons of mustard, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

(There are many variations to making deviled eggs including skipping the mustard and using horseradish OR curry powder OR even sweet relish.)

With a fork, mix all of this together until it’s smooth. Taste it to make sure it doesn’t need more salt.

Using two small spoons, fill the egg white shells with the yolk mixture. You’ll need one spoon to scoop up some yolk and the other to slide it off the spoon. (Or as Bill suggested in the comments section below, put the mixture into a small Ziploc bag, cut off a corner, and pipe it back into the whites.)

Sliced olives with red pimentos are a traditional garnish for deviled eggs – plus it’s a great flavor combination. A sprinkle of paprika, if you have some in your spice cupboard, is also a lovely garnish on deviled eggs!

Deviled eggs make a great appetizer and a perfect party dish.

Enjoy!

P.S. Once you have mastered making hard boiled eggs you might want to give an egg salad sandwich a try!

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38 Comments

Kathy Maister said:

Hi Will, making your own mayo sounds like a great idea! But I’m afraid it won’t happen for a very long, long time as startcooking.com is for the absolute beginner. Cheers!

Bill said:

I put the mixture into a small Ziploc, cut off a corner, and pipe it back into the whites.

Also, a sprinkle (or “half sprinkle”) of cayenne pepper will add zip!

Marie said:

Hi Kathy,

Is this dish meant to be served cold, straight from the fridge, or serve at room temperature?

glenda said:

i’m trying to find out how to prevent or understand why i get condensation on my deviled eggs when i put them in the fridge. i make them today and cover them either with the lid or saran wrap and by the time i need them either six hours later or even over night when i go to take them out, they are wet! what causes this/

Kathy Maister said:

Bill that’s a great idea! Your deviled eggs must look beautiful!
Marie, I serve deviled eggs straight from the refrigerator.

Glenda, Try making the deviled eggs with really cold eggs that have been in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. If the eggs are made at room temperature, I have no doubt that condensation develops when you cover them with plastic and put them in the refrigerator. (I hate it when that happens when storing meatloaf!) You could also put your deviled eggs in the refrigerator uncovered for about an hour and then cover them up after they are cold. Just be sure not to forget to cover them!

Marie said:

how long can the hard boiled egss stay in the refrigerator without going bad?

Kathy Maister said:

Marie, a hard cooked egg should be put in the refrigerator within two hours of cooking and will keep in the refrigerator, unpeeled, about 1 week.

Ivy said:

I LOVE the idea about putting the ingreds.. in a bag and then squeezing it thru a hole.. LOVE IT.. I make deviled eggs for all of my kids b-day parties and i never use mustard.. i dont know i guess i ate one before that was just not “right” and swore to never use mustard…!!!

Kathy Maister said:

Thanks Ivy for sharing with everyone about using a (clean) plastic bag, instead of spoons to fill the eggs. It’s much faster and clean-up is a breeze!

kay said:

HI KATHY, IF I MAKE BOILED EGGS AND PEEL THEM ,AND CUT IN HALF. HOW LONG CAN I KEEP THEM IN THE FRIDGE ?

Kathy Maister said:

Kay, unpeeled, hard cooked eggs will keep 1 week in the refrigerator. Peeled and cut cooked eggs should get eaten within two days.

sherrie said:

Hi! My question is how long do you boil eggs, and how do you peel the eggs ,while they are hot or cold? I have had trouble getting the shell to come lose.

Kathy Maister said:

Hi Sherri, I have done a post on How to Buy, Store and Boil Eggs and a video on How to Boil and Egg which will answere all your questions and then some!

rachel said:

Deviled eggs are my favorite! It’s always a fight to get to the egg tray before they’re all gone at my family functions, there’s never enough!

Kathy Maister said:

Rachel, that’s great to hear! When I did this post, someone tried hard to convince me that no one ate Deviled Eggs any more! I love making them and eating them!

Erika said:

Deviled eggs were the very first thing I learned to cook. However, the way my father did the filling was to use relish instead of olives. Then he dashed the eggs with paprika. Very popular treat at parties of ours. We take our deviled eggs right out of the fridge once the party starts.

Kathy Maister said:

Hey Erika! What a great idea to use sweet relish. My husband will not eat olives – I’ll have to give sweet relish a try!

wafa said:

it is nice and easy and attractive specially for kids

Kathy Maister said:

Wafa, you are so right! Deviled Eggs are just the best to serve at a party. Everyone loves them!

pam said:

i love making deviled eggs I use salt, pepper, mayo, mustard, and some curry , its so great
also use week old eggs leave them out for a few hours on their sides, yolks go to middle. Then i put them in the fridge for a couple of hours before peeling. Decorate with paprika

Kathy Maister said:

Pam, I LOVE your tip about putting the egg on its side to center the yolk! I’ll have to give that one a try.

Curry Powder really adds an interesting flavor, which I love, to Egg Salad. Beginners have to keep in mind that not all curry powders are the same. Different brand names use different blends of spices.

Pam, Thanks for the great tip!

Becca said:

Thanks for all the tips. Its a big help. I love to cook. I’m only 12 though so its difficult for me. This seems easy and tasty. I love deviled eggs. I can’t wait to try this recipe out.

Kathy Maister said:

Good Luck Becca!

I started cooking at about that age. Do be careful and remember to use a pot holder and not a wet dish towel to lift hot pots off the stove! (The heat will go right through the wet dish towel and you will burn your fingers!)

Cheers!
Kathy

Arianna said:

After hearing so much different advise on the best way to boil an egg without breaking, I was happy to stumble upon this site. The video made it easy and uncomplicated. As for deviled eggs, I like to add a small amount of horseradish in addition to the mustard and mayo. It gives it a spicy kick. Just be careful not to add too much!

Shane said:

I have learned that when you put the eggs on to boil if you put about a tablespoon of baking soda in the water with the eggs they peel easier. This supposedly has something to do with how the baking soda affects the Ph balance of the shell lining that always seems to cling to the egg and make them harder to peel.

startcooking said:

Arianna, Thanks for the suggestion! Horseradish does brighten the flavors but a little really does go a long way!
Shane, I have never heard of adding baking soda to the cooking water – I’ll have to give it a try!
Cheers,
Kathy

Marie said:

I Does anyone have a suggestion on storing deviled eggs in the styrofoam egg cartons? Are they wrapped individually in sarap wrap??

Thanks for any tips on making ahead and storing. Marie

Anonymous said:

Deviled eggs are meant to be SPICY, that’s why they’re called “deviled eggs”. I can’t believe the many people I have introduced to liking deviled eggs, I use hotsauce, cayenne pepper. A lot of people said the reason they disliked deviled eggs was because of the relish, they had no idea to drop the relish.

startcookin said:

Marie,
I think it might be a bit tricky to store deviled eggs in a Styrofoam egg carton. They do not need to be wrapped individually either. To store deviled eggs just put them in a plastic container and cover them.

Over the years really popular recipes develop many variations on the original recipe. The mustard in my recipe gives them just enough zing without burning your mouth! (BTW The last time I made this recipe, I used honey-mustard as I had ran out of the regular hot and spicy mustard. I thought they tasted odd but everyone else LOVED them – go figure!)

LeAnn said:

I’ve had it! I have been making wonderful deviled eggs for 40 years now and all of the sudden no matter what I do, tupperware, plastic wrap, tin foil, regular bowls, plates, loose wrap, tight wrap, I have tried etverthing, the next day when we go to eat them, my wonderful, delicious filing is MUSH! What the heck is going on. I have always only used mustart, miracle and vinegar. And there is always alot of condensation in the bottom of the container. By the time we eat all we can (ha, ha), they are at rrom temp when they are put in the frige, does that have anything to do with it? I just don’t understand, even my mother-in-law, the go-to best cook can’t explain this one….HELP!! WE LOVE OUR EGGS Thanks,

startcooking said:

Hi LeAnn,
Have you tried putting your deviled eggs in the refrigerator uncovered for about an hour or so – then when they are cold, cover them until you are read to eat them?
Good Luck
Kathy

LeAnn said:

Thanks so much Kathy for answering, I am going to make another batch this weekend so am going to try this trick, hope it works!

Cindy said:

I use dill pickle juice and mayo in my deviled eggs and of course sprinkle paprika on top. I don’t like sweet pickles but you could use sweet pickle juice instead of dill.

startcooking said:

I’ve heard of sweet pickle in tuna salad, but this is a first to add it to deviled eggs. Who knew!
Thanks for sharing.
K.

Joey said:

I just love your cooking! I’m 12, but since I cook so well, my parents allowed me to cook for any parties. I wanted to know if there are any variations to deviled eggs, instead of using mustard?Thank you!

startcooking said:

Hi Joey,
The mustard gives this recipe a nice flavor but you can just use all mayo if you prefer.
Good luck developing your cooking skills!
Cheers,
Kathy

Fiona said:

One thing I always do, is rinse my cooked egg white halves with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel before filling them with the yolk mixture.

I found the zippered bag really helps when I need to transport large quantities of deviled eggs to say a church dinner. I pack the filled bag and empty egg white halves in separate bags, in my cooler. I then arrange and fill them just before the meal is served.

This always ensures a picture perfect presentation, and I have never had so much as one egg left over!

startcooking said:

Hi Fiona,
Filling the eggs “on site” is a great suggestion! The containers made for transporting deviled eggs always look so cumbersome. I’m not sure why you rinse the egg white?
Cheers,
Kathy

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