Make the best Whole30 Egg Salad in 5 minutes or less! Served in lettuce cups, this rich, creamy, and flavorful egg salad with bacon is the perfect protein-packed Whole30 lunch. It's also low carb, keto, and paleo.
I love a good homemade egg salad, so I'm always searching for ways to make traditional egg salad healthier and even more flavorful. That said, I swapped classic egg salad ingredients with their paleo-friendly counterparts and added crumbled bacon to make this quick and easy Whole30 egg salad.
Imagine everything you love about deviled eggs as a luscious egg salad plus bacon. YUM. It's delicious, served in fresh lettuce cups, over a simple green salad, or served as is. I hope you LOVE this new and improved keto, paleo, and Whole30 egg salad as much as I do!
Any breakfast lover will tell you that no flavors go better together than eggs and bacon! Crumbled bacon in egg salad is just heavenly. I like to save a little extra bacon to garnish on top, along with a sprinkling of paprika. This paleo egg salad recipe is great for a quick and healthy lunch.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's super quick and easy. There are only a few steps.
- The ingredients are 100% paleo, Whole30, and keto.
- It's the perfect high-protein breakfast and snack.
- It's a great dish for spring potlucks, brunches, showers, and Easter.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Hardboiled Eggs: This wouldn't be egg salad without them. See below for more information on making the perfect hard-boiled eggs for egg salad.
- Mayo: You can make Whole30 compliant mayo from scratch or use an approved brand. Primal Kitchen and Sir Kensington's offer sugar and soy-free compliant mayos.
- Bacon: Cooked and crumbled in advance. Be sure to use uncured sugar-free bacon with compliant additives.
- Onion: Sweet Vidalia onion is the best in egg salad. The mild flavor won't overpower the recipe. You can also use red onion here.
- Dill Pickle: A non-negotiable egg salad ingredient. "Grillo's Pickles" are my favorite Whole30 compliant brand, but you shouldn't have much trouble finding a compliant jar at the store. Vlasic and most store brands have compliant flavors. As always, double-check the ingredients.
- Celery: Celery is integral to achieving classic egg salad flavor.
- Cayenne: A little bit of cayenne goes a long way. Add just a dash to warm up the flavors.
- Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper: Balances the sweet, savory, and tangy flavors.
- Paprika: Just a dash as a garnish and a hint of smoky-sweet flavor.
How To Make Whole30 Egg Salad
Step 1: Make egg salad dressing. In a large bowl, add the mayo, onion, celery, cayenne pepper, pickle, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine.
Step 2: Mix with eggs and bacon. Next, chop the eggs into small pieces and add them to the bowl. Add the bacon (reserve some for garnish) and stir everything well.
Step 3: Garnish and serve. Top with a dash of paprika and reserved bacon bits and serve.
Recipe Tips
Make perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs - Boil your eggs on the stovetop, using an egg cooker, or in an Instant Pot pressure cooker. Follow the instructions below to make hard-boiled eggs in the Instant Pot quickly.
Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs:
- Place the trivet in the bottom of the pot. Add a cup of water and place the eggs on the trivet.
- Set your Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. Once the timer goes off, allow the pot to release pressure for 5 minutes and then quick release naturally.
- Immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool.
- When cooled completely, peel under cool running water.
Fixing runny egg salad - You can add more eggs to soak up the moisture if you're in a rush. Otherwise, setting the egg salad in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour should do the trick.
Variations
- Herbs - If I have fresh dill or chives on hand, I sometimes add them to my egg salad.
- Spices - Kick up the heat with a dash of chipotle chili powder or sprinkle your egg salad liberally with everything bagel seasoning.
- Mayo - For keto & Whole30 purposes, stick with using compliant mayo. Otherwise, the best substitution for mayonnaise in egg salad is full-fat Greek yogurt. You can always do a mixture of plain Greek yogurt and mayo like I do in my other favorite Roasted Red Pepper Egg Salad recipe. However, because it contains dairy it wouldn't be Whole30 approved.
Serving Suggestions
Of course, you can spread a layer of egg salad between slices of bread, but to keep things Whole30 compliant, paleo, and keto, check out the list below:
- Bibb Lettuce Cups
- Romaine Lettuce Boats
- Cucumber Slices
- Bell Pepper Halves
- Avocado
- Salad Greens
Although not Whole30, this deviled egg salad also tastes great with:
- Croissants
- Crackers
- Toasted Sourdough
- Bagels
Storing
Storing: Keep your egg salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days—Re-stir before serving.
Freezing is not recommended as the texture and taste will change when thawed.
Recipe FAQ
Depending on the ingredients you use, egg salads can be a nourishing meal loaded with protein and healthy fats. To improve the nutrition profile of egg salad, use paleo-friendly mayo (typically made with olive or avocado oils) and sugar-free bacon. The remaining ingredients are inherently healthy.
This may have happened because the eggs were overcooked. When eggs are boiled for too long, they become watery. You can try chilling the egg salad to help absorb the moisture or adding a couple of eggs that aren't overcooked to the mixture.
No, Neither eggs nor mayo remains stable once frozen.
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Whole30 Egg Salad with Bacon
Ingredients
- 7 eggs hardboiled and peeled
- ⅓ cup Paleo mayonnaise homemade or store-bought
- 8 slices cooked and crumbled uncured bacon
- 3 tablespoon sweet vidalia onion finely diced
- ⅓ cup celery finely diced
- dash cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoon dill pickle finely diced
- sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- paprika for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine mayo, onion, celery, cayenne pepper, pickle and salt and pepper. Stir until ingredients are well mixed.
- Chop your eggs and add to the mixture, then stir in most of the bacon (reserve a couple chopped slices for garnish).
- Top with paprika and serve over a bed of greens or in a lettuce boat.
Notes
- Place the trivet in the bottom of the pot. Add a cup of water and place the eggs on the trivet.
- Set your Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. Once the timer goes off, allow the pot to release pressure for 5 minutes and then quick release naturally.
- Immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool.
- When cooled completely, peel under cool running water.
Nutrition
*This post was originally published on June 5, 2013, and has been updated throughout.
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thelady8home
MY favorite!!! Yummm!!!
Amee Livingston
Thank you Minnie! 🙂
Christina Gathright
Oh that sounds awesome! Bacon really does make everything more delicious 🙂
Will Run For Chocolate
Delicious! I've been craving egg salad and it only gets better with bacon!!
Amee Livingston
Agreed!! Bacon rocks!
Donna
Made this last night! Huge huge hit. Am pinning on pinterest now. My husband said 'put it in the five yums folder' -- and I said I only do 3 yums! He said - make a new folder for this one!!! Very very good, and so easy. Thank you!!!
Amee Livingston
Donna, that's awesome! Wow, I feel honored to make the 5 yums folder!!! Thank you so much for the feedback and the huge compliment! xo~
Joanna
just made this and it's amazing. i made bacon fat mayo with all the bacon drippings and it's insane. only thing i didn't have were pickles so i added in some vinegar instead for that tangy kick.