Easy Deviled Eggs Recipe

This easy deviled eggs recipe is perfect for making delicious and easy holiday appetizers. You can save some time in the kitchen by prepping these in advance of your party!

It doesn’t matter if your holiday party is in spring, for Easter, or in the cold of winter, for New Year’s Eve. Deviled Eggs are a favorite at parties all year long. Best of all, this recipe is incredibly easy to make ahead. As a result, you can spend more time with your guests and less time in the kitchen.

You only need a handful of ingredients to make these simple deviled eggs, making them the best last minute appetizer if you have guests over. All the ingredients are kitchen staples for me so you probably won’t even need to go grocery shop to make these deviled eggs.

If you want to try more easy appetizers, you’ll love my Holiday Cheese Board and my Easy Cocktail Meatballs Recipe.

Why are they called Deviled Eggs?

Although they are sinfully delicious, I find it curious why deviled eggs have such a unique name.

According to Wikipedia, the term “deviled”, in reference to food, dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The term was used to describe spicy or zesty food. These appetizers often have cayenne pepper or zesty yellow mustard in them. As a result, the name does make sense.

What are the ingredients for deviled eggs?

• Hard Boiled Eggs — You only need 6 eggs for these deviled eggs. However, if you’d like extra filling, you can always add an egg yolk or two. It is important that you do not overcook the eggs as the yolk will end up dry and you’ll get a green ring around the yolk. You can also make your hard boiled eggs in an Instant Pot.
• Homemade mayonnaise — you can use store bought mayo if you want to, it doesn’t change the flavor too much but I do find my homemade mayonnaise to be tastier but I am bias!
• Prepared mustard — Yellow, Dijon, or even spicy mustard work well.
• Apple cider vinegar — the ACV adds a little tang to the deviled eggs filling and cuts the richness.
• Spices — we use salt, pepper and paprika to season our deviled eggs.
• Parsley — to add some color and brightness to the deviled eggs, we add some chopped parsley to our easy deviled eggs as garnish.

How do you hard boil eggs so they peel easily?

One challenge that nearly everyone has when making hard boiled eggs is removing the shell. Fortunately, through a lot of trial and error, I have a simple solution that works pretty well! Here’s how to boil eggs to make easy deviled eggs.

• Gently boil the eggs. When you hard cook eggs, it’s important that they remain in hot water long enough to cook but they don’t need to be at a full, rolling boil. Instead, put the eggs into a pan of warm tap water over medium-high heat. When the water comes to a full rolling boil, immediately place the lid on the pan and remove it from the heat. Allow the eggs to stay in the hot water for 20 minutes.

• Use an ice bath or very cold water to stop the cooking. After 20 minutes, use the lid to carefully drain the hot water from the pan, leaving the eggs inside. Next, place the hard boiled eggs into an ice/cold water bath. Leave the eggs there for at least 5 minutes. This will stop the eggs from cooking and cool them down enough to handle.

• Peel eggs under water. When you peel the eggs, do so in the cool water of the ice bath. It helps the shells to slip off more easily. If you need to crack them a little more, pull them from the water and tap them gently on the kitchen counter or other hard surface.

How to Make the Deviled Egg Filling

• Combine the egg yolks with the seasoning. Gently scoop out the egg yolks after you’ve halved each of the peeled hard boiled eggs and then mash them all up with the mayo, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It’s easiest to use a fork to mash them up.
• Transfer the egg filling. To fill the egg whites, you can use a spoon or a small cookie scoop or a piping bag, add a portion of the deviled egg mixture back into the hole of each egg white. Using a piping bag will yield the prettiest results. If you don’t have one, you can use a ziploc bag and cut the corner of it. Sprinkle on paprika for garnish and top with cooked bacon and fresh chopped chives.

TIME-SAVING PREP TIP!

Save time by making hard boiling the eggs ahead of time. They will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week. If you want to make the filling ahead, you can do that but the egg whites tend to dry out after the yolks have been removed.

How Do I Make a Smooth Filling?

If you want to present these easy deviled eggs to guests, a smooth filling looks very pretty! It might be difficult to get a super smooth filling just by mashing the eggs alone so a trick I use is pureeing the filling with a food processor! It only takes a couple of seconds to get an extremely smooth filling. You can even use a star shaped piping tip.

What Else Can I Top Deviled Eggs With?

Here are a few more suggestions of what you can put in your deviled eggs filling or on top for garnish. You can keep your deviled eggs classic or change it up to suit the occasion.

• mix in avocado
• top with a jalepeno slice
• add a kick with some cayenne pepper
• drizzle some sriracha on top
• add some shredded cheese
• sprinkle on some cajun seasoning on top before serving
• change the chives to whatever herbs you have on hand such as dill, basil, thyme, oregano
• top with finely diced green onions or red onions

What Do I Do With Leftover Deviled Eggs?

So deviled eggs should not sit out at room temperature for longer than two hours. I suggest enjoying them immediately. If you have extra deviled eggs leftover, my favorite thing to do with it to turn it into egg salad as a meal prep. Serve it up with my Easy Roasted Veggies Meal-Prep Bowls. Or, simply cut it up and serve it on some sliced bread.

Is There a Difference Between White and Brown Eggs?

There is no difference between white and brown eggs. It also doesn’t matter if you use small, medium, or large eggs. It’s up to you what size you’d like your eggs to be. I find smaller eggs to be easier to serve as a bite sized appetizer!

Can I Sub Mayo?

If you prefer not to use mayo, a great substitution to this ingredient is Greek yogurt. The Greek yogurt gives you a nice creamy texture and the increase the protein count for this high protein dish. Be sure to use plain Greek yogurt and not flavored yogurt to keep the flavor consistent.

Want More Egg Recipes?

• Healthy Breakfast Meal Prep Bowls
• Easy Vegetable Frittata
• Avocado Egg Salad Recipe
• Breakfast Egg Muffins Recipe
• Chicken Salad with Spicy Mayo Dressing