Delicious Bacon Egg Salad Recipe

This bacon egg salad recipe is a favorite around here. Some links in this article are affiliate links that may earn me a commission if you purchase through them.

I like egg salad. Or I want to like egg salad, but too many recipes give mayonnaise the starring role.

Egg salad generally needs way less mayo than people add, which not only lets other flavors shine, but it reduces the fat, too.

This bacon egg salad may add back some fat with the chopped bacon, but adding bacon makes it taste so much better – kinda like my bacon deviled eggs. The lemon juice and whole grain mustard and parsley, however, make the perfect flavor combination.

This is a great way to use up those Easter leftovers. Between this, bunsteads, and my after Easter casserole, I never have a problem with leftovers just sitting there.

What’s the best way to serve this gourmet egg salad?

I actually like this by itself of as lettuce wraps or on crackers for lunch. When I make a sandwich, I love it on my fresh sourdough bread, or on sandwich bread that I toast to add some extra crisp.

This grown up version of egg salad also is a great filling for fingers sandwiches if you do tea for fancy brunch or shower. As it’s less “gloopy,” it tends to stay where it belongs more than other egg salad recipes.

I don’t need to tell you that this tastes amazing on sliced croissants, right?

On a sandwich, it tastes great just by itself, but thinly sliced tomatoes or crisp romaine or bibb lettuce make a great accompaniment, too. Some like slices of cheddar cheese or provolone, but I find this egg salad has plenty of flavor without cheese.

What’s the best way to hard boil eggs?

Honestly, I love to use my Instant Pot to make hard boiled eggs. You can also easily boil them on the stove, and both methods work well.

For my Instant Pot, I find the 5-5-5 method works fantastic every single time.

Add a cup of water to the bottom of the liner and add the trivet. Carefully add the eggs onto the trivet, then close the lid and seal it.

Set your Instant Pot to cook for five minutes. When it beeps after cooking, set a timer for five minutes, and prepare an ice bath.

After five minutes, open the Instant Pot and place the eggs into your ice bath for another five minutes before you peel them.

To make hard boiled eggs on the stove, place your eggs in a pot with cold water, covering the eggs by about an inch. Cover the pot and turn on the heat to medium high heat.

And then listen. The second you hear water boiling, turn off the heat, and set the timer for 14 minutes for large eggs.

As with Instant Pot eggs, prepare an ice bath. When the timer goes off, follow the same procedure with the ice bath.

Do I really need to use an ice bath for the eggs?

If you want your eggs to peel cleanly, yes, you do. In addition to using older eggs, the ice bath makes a big difference and keeps the shells from sticking to the cooked egg.

To prepare an ice bath, add water to a bowl about a third to halfway full. Add at least half as much ice as water.

Simply place your eggs in the ice cold water, and let it do its magic. I use my spider to transport eggs from the heat to cold and again to remove them from the cold, but be careful whatever method you use.

What kind of bacon should I use?

I prefer center cut bacon, which tends to be less fatty. It’s often also cut thicker, which means it crumbles less.

I also bake my bacon in the oven so the fat drains off better, and it stays flat instead of curling up. Both make slicing the cooked bacon later easier.

To bake it in the oven, place it on a jelly roll pan with edges. Mine has a wire rack the fits inside that so the bacon cooks on all sides and the fat drains off more easily.

Cook the bacon at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes, until it’s crispy. The thickness of your bacon and amount of fat in it will mean the time may vary a bit.

What can I use instead of mayonnaise?

If you don’t have mayonnaise on hand or want to reduce the fat more, you can use Greek yogurt in place of the mayo.

To replace it, use a one to one ratio of Greek yogurt to swap it out. It gives it a tangy taste. Since this egg salad with bacon uses so little mayo, it works better than in some other recipes.

What else can I add to my egg salad?

While I enjoy this just as written, you can alter it some to your personal preferences.

In place of the whole grain dijon mustard, you may want to use one teaspoon paprika. If you do so, add just a touch more mayonnaise, less than a teaspoon.

You can also add chopped red peppers or celery for another crunch. You can also add thinly sliced green onion for a bit of a bite.

That said, I don’t add chopped onion to this version. If you choose to, I suggest you use red onion soaked in water to reduce the sharpness.

How to Make Bacon Egg Salad

Add the egg to a medium bowl, along with the crispy bacon, mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and black pepper.