Egg Salad Lettuce Cups
Creamy dill egg salad with crunchy celery, spooned into cool romaine cups. Make the filling up to 4 days ahead and lunch takes two minutes.
- Prep15 min
- Cook12 min
- Total27 min
- Servings4
- Net carbs*1.8 g
- LevelEasy
Good egg salad is creamy, a little tangy and full of small crunchy bits. This one gets its snap from celery and green onion, a fresh herbal note from dill, and a gentle kick from Dijon. Spooned into romaine heart leaves, it makes a cool, light lunch that still keeps you going until dinner. It is also great on a picnic plate.
Chop the eggs by hand instead of mashing them with a fork. A rough chop leaves pieces of white you can actually bite into, and the yolks still break down enough to thicken the dressing. Mix the mayonnaise, mustard and lemon first, then fold in the eggs gently so the salad stays chunky rather than pasty.
Ingredients
Makes About 3 cups filling, 12 lettuce cups. Tap an item to check it off.
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Slotted spoon
- Chef's knife
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, turn off the heat and let stand 12 minutes.
- Lift the eggs into a bowl of ice water with a slotted spoon and chill for 5 minutes, then peel.
- In a mixing bowl, stir the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth.
- Roughly chop the eggs into 1/2-inch pieces and add them to the bowl with the celery, green onion and dill.
- Fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Taste and add a pinch more salt if needed.
- Spoon the egg salad into the romaine leaves and dust with paprika before serving.
Estimated nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 279
- Total carbs
- 3.2 g
- Fiber
- 1.3 g
- Net carbs
- 1.8 g
- Protein
- 13.5 g
- Fat
- 23.4 g
*These are estimates, calculated from the ingredient weights above and USDA FoodData Central data, divided by 4 servings. Net carbs = total carbs minus fiber. Values vary with brands, quantities, ingredient swaps and how you portion the dish. How we estimate nutrition.
Kitchen tips
- Eggs that are 7 to 10 days old peel much more easily than very fresh ones.
- If the salad tastes flat after a night in the fridge, a few drops of lemon juice wake it right back up.
Substitutions
- Half the mayonnaise → plain Greek yogurt Tangier and lighter; adds less than 1 g net carbs per serving.
- Fresh dill → 1/2 teaspoon dried dill Works fine; let the salad rest 10 minutes so the dried herb softens.
- Romaine leaves → cucumber rounds Spoon the salad onto thick slices for a snack; carbs stay about the same.
Swaps change the nutrition estimate shown above.
Storage and reheating
- Fridge
- Keep the egg salad in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Store the leaves separately and fill them just before eating.
- Freezer
- Does not freeze. Cooked egg whites turn rubbery and the mayonnaise separates.
- Reheat
- Served cold. No reheating needed.
Questions cooks ask
Why does my egg salad get watery?
Usually the celery. Pat it dry after dicing, and keep the salad well chilled.
