A perfect classic deviled eggs recipe – light on the mayo to let the eggs and other simple flavors really shine!

Am I the only one that associates deviled eggs with Easter? Clearly you can enjoy the little gems all year round but I find I only feel good about making them in the spring. Whatever. Issues.

Thanks to the preparatory post on perfect hard-boiled eggs, we have all the tools we need to make deviled eggs. Cause, you know, they are such an intense culinary project and all.

Top view of a white tray of deviled eggs with a sprig of rosemary on the side.

This recipe is a slight adaptation on the deviled eggs my mom used to make growing up and they are simple, classic and delicious.

Here’s the beauty of deviled eggs: they are wildly adaptable. Sometimes I feel like a bit more yellow mustard. Other times, I can’t be stopped from throwing in a bit of blue cheese and sprinkling with bacon.

You really can’t mess them up unless you decide to add pickles. To which I say, pickles have no place in deviled eggs (sorry if this offends your soul).

I’m excited to eat my fill of deviled eggs over the next few weeks and then not see them again until next spring. That’s kind of how deviled eggs and I operate.

Even though I’m a seasonal deviled egg eater, I feel very fulfilled knowing I have a tried-and-true recipe to pull out when it becomes Time For The Deviled Egg to Appear.

A white rectangular platter filled with deviled eggs.
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Classic Deviled Eggs

4.53 stars (34 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 7 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, light or regular
  • 1 teaspoon yellow prepared mustard
  • 1 ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • Dash of Worcestershire sauce
  • Dash of hot sauce, like Tapatio brand
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Paprika for sprinkling

Instructions 

  • Place the eggs in the bottom of a saucepan and cover with cold water by at least an inch. Bring the water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Immediately take the saucepan off the heat, cover and let the eggs sit for 15-16 minutes. While the eggs cook, fill a large bowl with ice water.
  • Carefully drain most of the hot water out of the pot (keeping the eggs from rolling out) and slosh the pan side to side to crack the shells of the eggs. Scoop the eggs out with a slotted spoon and place in the ice water bath for 3-4 minutes. Peel the eggs under a stream of warm running water.
  • Slice each peeled egg in half lengthwise. Scoop out all of the yolks into a small bowl. Discard the two ugliest egg whites (or let your kids eat them with a sprinkle of salt like mine love to do). Mash the egg yolks into small pieces. Stir in the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir or whisk vigorously until the filling is thick and creamy.
  • Fill a quart-size ziploc bag with the filling (pressing it into one of the corners) and snip the corner off the bag. Squeeze the filling into the 12 remaining egg whites. Dust with a sprinkle of paprika and chill until ready to serve.

Notes

Variations: the recipe, as written, is a fantastic base for classic deviled eggs. You could do a million variations of this recipe. My favorite is to add a few crumbles of blue cheese to the filling and instead of paprika, sprinkle cooked, crumbled bacon on top of the deviled eggs. Wow.
Vinegar: I prefer red wine vinegar here but you can really experiment with any type of vinegar you have on hand.
Mayo: if you enjoy making and eating homemade mayo, this might be the time to break it out since the mayo flavor really comes through on deviled eggs. Good tasting mayo is key here.
Serving: 1 Deviled Egg, Calories: 50kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Sodium: 72mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g
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Recipe Source: adapted from the deviled eggs of my youth (I spied the idea for cracking the eggs together in the pot in Cook’s Country)