Shredded Egg Salad
Made by shredding hard-boiled eggs on a box grater. This shredded egg salad is light, fluffy, and bright. I must say, a nice alternative to chopped, heavily dressed versions of the classic.
I thought I’d update my shredded egg salad recipe today, it has been a while! The first time I made a grated egg preparation like this was in 2014 after discovering some exceptional eggs at the Farmers’ Market in San Francisco. I’ve been making variations over the years, and made a version of the grated egg avocado toast (the one that recently took TikTok by storm) for lunch yesterday. You grate eggs over the top of avocado toast. I added some extra flare - curry powder and the like. Such a great, easy lunch.
Why Shred or Grate Eggs?
My shredded egg journey started when I bought some really good eggs. I mean, there are special eggs, and there are special eggs. The kind of eggs some people might feel compelled to roll their eyes at. But I had to buy them. Bring them home with me so I could try them. And I wanted to do something straight-forward yet special with them. So as I drove back from the Saturday market - through North Beach, up the Fillmore hills, and down into Hayes Valley, I settled on egg salad.
Not earth-shattering, I know. That was sort of the point. But the twist? I was going to shred the hard-boiled eggs on a box grater into a fluffy pile. I'd toss it gingerly with my fingertips working in a bit of salt and pepper, add a few herbs and whatnot, and not much beyond that. Well, maybe the tiniest dollop of creme fraiche or thread of olive oil, enough to add a hint of cohesiveness, but not enough to weigh the salad down. I was after an egg salad that was fluffy, light, bright, and vibrant. Nothing wet, damp, or heavy about it. That is why you shred them, to keep things light.
More About The Eggs
If you’re curious about the inspiration eggs - here’s what happened. I was at the market when a lovely, petite lady rolled up next to me with her cart. You could tell she knew exactly what she was after, so I stepped back and watched the scene unfold. She pointed straight at a mega-cooler behind the table, and asked if "any" were available. At that point I wasn't entirely sure what she was asking for, but the way she inquired insinuated she didn't always succeed. Now I know.
That's where the eggs live -- when they're available. They are eggs from sprout-fed chickens. Think about that - sprout fed chickens. And they're perhaps the best eggs I've had (with the exception of the eggs I'd buy from the grandmotherly figure who would sell in the corner of the old Testaccio market in Rome). So, I wanted to do something special with them, but nothing too complicated. Nothing that was going to get in the way of the eggs themselves. And this is what I came up with. There might be times when a more standard approach to egg salad might be called for - smashing and chopping the eggs + a more enveloping dressing. But for now, I'm on the shredding bandwagon.
Shredded Egg Salad Variations
- Shredded Egg Salad Toast with Gruyere: This has been my long-time favorite version of this sandwich. Grate some gruyere cheese onto a slab of garlic-rubbed toast and put that under the broiler for a bit (until the cheese bubbles and melts). Top with the shredded egg salad (recipe below) and a sprinkling of chives.
- Shredded Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps: I love the shredded eggs in a wrap of some sort of tender butter lettuce along with a sprinkling of fried shallots, toasted almond slices, and a kiss of hot sauce.
- Grated Turmeric Egg Salad: You know where this is headed right? If you have some of these Pickled Turmeric Eggs on hand you can use them as a component. They aren’t as mild as standard hard-boiled eggs because of the vinegar, but they are a great accent.
- Shredded Curried Egg Salad: I can imagine a shredded egg version of this curried egg salad would be really amazing. I’d scale back the amount of yogurt called for a bit, but imagine the grated egg with toasted pecans, apple bits, and chives! Would be so good!
TikTok Grated Egg Avocado Toast
The version of the internet-famous TikTok Grated Egg Avocado Toast I made for lunch was just that plus some flare. I topped the grated egg with a few quick-pickled red onions, whisper thin slices of scallions, a nice squeeze of lemon, a pinch of curry powder, and a few sesame seeds. Good bread is key!
Have fun with this one, but if a more classic version is your speed, here’s where you can find my go-to egg salad sandwich.
More Egg Recipes
- Pickled Turmeric Eggs
- Skinny Omelette
- Deep Dish Quiche
- A Tasty Frittata
- Frittata Sandwich
- Sheet Pan Frittata
- Scrambled Eggs with Cream Cheese
- all egg recipes
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Shredded Egg Salad
This is more an idea to explore than a recipe, although knowing how to hard boil eggs flawlessly is an important component covered in the recipe here. See the variation ideas in the main post up above. Aside from the eggs and salt and pepper, use your imagination to come up with different add-ins and toppings. Enjoy!
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 small head of radicchio, shredded
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 3 baby radishes, shaved thin
- to serve: little dollop of salted creme fraiche and/or a drizzle of olive oil.
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Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil.
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Now turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for ten minutes (a couple minutes longer than I normally do). Have a big bowl of ice water ready and when the eggs are done cooking place them in the ice bath for three minutes or so - long enough to stop the cooking.
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Crack and peel each egg, then use the big holes on a standard box grater to grate the eggs. Place in a bowl and use your fingers to gently toss the eggs with the salt and pepper. At this point you can add whatever you like to the salad - I tossed in shredded radicchio, fresh dill, shallots, and shaved baby radishes. Serve topped with tiny dollops of something creamy - like creme fraich or plain yogurt, and a drizzle of olive oil. Just a bit of each so you don't weigh it down.
Serves 3
Related Recipes
Egg Salad Sandwich
The perfect egg salad sandwich is all about the little tweaks and a smart ratio of eggs to other ingredients. This is my favorite. Served on garlic-rubbed toasted bread with chopped celery, onion, and whole-grain mustard.
Curried Egg Salad
A variation on my favorite egg salad recipe, this version uses plain yogurt in place of mayo and incorporates curry powder, chopped apples, toasted pecans, and minced chives.
Frittata Sandwich
A robust frittata sandwich made with a spicy garlic spread, roasted cherry tomatoes, and avocado on slabs of homemade bread.
Sheet Pan Frittata
You don't need much to make a good sheet pan frittata. This one starts with a dusting of lemon zest across a sheet pan, and uses a simple egg, cream, salt and pepper base.
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Comments
I love the addition of herbs, shallots and dill here. My family make a simple egg salad seasoned with, S+P, red wine vinegar and olive oil. This post has inspired me to combine the two versions.
You can use a potato ricer for hard boiled eggs and they come out much lighter and fluffier than if you shred them and they are much less of a mess!
Oh my.. Never heard of sprout fed chicken eggs but a friend makes shredded eggs salads and now I can't wait to try myself. May be with a nice saurekraut that I have right now.
This is such a unique idea to me! I love eggs and what a great way to feature it. Besides, it looks absolutely stunning!
Sounds delicious and so simple! Think I'll try this out for lunch this week! Thanks for the recipe.
This sounds incredibly delicious. Did you have any trouble peeling the very fresh eggs?
Never had eggs prepped like this. Am going to try this soon. I echo Amanda when she says you changed her life when she learned cooking from you. My sister, who is mother earth healing cook, is amazed at my new found passion and accomplishments in the kitchen. ......I get it now......thanks to you!
Margie in Texas- Since you have chickens, you may benefit from knowing that fresh hardboiled eggs are nearly impossible to peel. I save a dozen or so for a couple of weeks and hardboil them and they peel easier. I don't refrigerate my eggs either. They last for weeks outside of the fridge if the temps are cool. Once summer hits and my kitchen warms up, I refrigerate them. Either way let some of your eggs age a little in or out of the fridge and they will be easier to peel.
This sounds incredibly delicious. Did you have any trouble peeling the very fresh eggs?
Substituting a little paprika for the dill and blending a bit of dijon mustard with the olive oil would make for a tasty deconstructed-deviled-eggs spin, too.
Sounds lovely! Here's my version of egg salad - I don't have amounts - just add according to your tastes: slightly soft hard cooked eggs coarsely chopped so there's still lots of texture salt coarsely ground pepper grated horseradish (I use A LOT) olive oil
I have been thinking about egg salad a lot lately. Thnx for sharing this unique & tasty version!
Brilliant use of creme fraiche! So worth it, especially if your not a bottled mayo fan. Thanks.
Love that you're sharing the box grater egg salad trick! My family has been doing that ever since I can remember - for egg salad, for when you put hard boiled eggs into green salads, etc. i thought we were the only ones! Thanks for the validation & your recipe
Do you have any comments on how long to age fresh eggs so they peel easily when hard boiled? And which method of hard boiling do you prefer?
HS: The short answer is a few days, but I rarely wait...it does make the task of peeling easier though.
i've never heard of the idea to shred eggs, but this recipe is beautiful and looks delicious. i can't wait to try this out!
I'm going to make this tomorrow! Plus, I will champion for all of the egg salads you can think of. best,
Oh I love egg salad, and this looks right up my street! Simple, but delicious. I love the idea of grating the eggs. I'll be trying that soon.
YES!!! I am sure this is why my Aunt Gail makes the best egg salad - a very, very, very fine egg (I think she uses shredded onion too).
Another recipe we use for not so awesome eggs is ..grate some harboiled eggs on a grater, add in some grated cheddar and gruyere and what ever herbs you really like , for example dill,parsley,coriander,oregano etc , some salt and pepper and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Now bind them together in the shape of a finger or a cutlet , coat with bread crumbs or panko crumbs and pan fry them on a non stick with a little oil till crisp. They are DIVINE with any asian dipping sauce!