Egg salad with the Thermomix® is on our table whenever there are leftover hard-boiled eggs from the weekend or we have guests arriving at short notice. In ten minutes of machine work we have fresh mayonnaise, finely diced eggs, and a yoghurt and shallot dressing ready to go.
One important note first: this egg salad is the classic German version with mayonnaise, mustard, shallot, and chives. It is not the cream-cheese-based sandwich egg salad common in the English-speaking world. If you are looking for that creamy sandwich style, this is not it. If you want the hearty, slightly tangy classic for bread or a buffet, you are in the right place.
Egg Salad with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 11 ✓
- 500 g water
- 10 eggs
- 1/2 bunch chives
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp medium-hot mustard
- 10 g lemon juice
- 230 g sunflower oil
- 1 shallot
- 80 g yoghurt
- 30 g balsamic vinegar
- some freshly ground pepper
Instructions 0 / 6
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1
Cook the eggs.
Add the water to the mixing bowl and place 9 eggs in the Varoma container. Fit the Varoma and cook for 25 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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2
Chives.
Meanwhile, wash the chives, shake dry, and cut into small rings.
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3
Peel the eggs.
Plunge the eggs into cold water, then peel. Rinse out the mixing bowl.
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4
Mix the ingredients.
Add the remaining egg, mustard, salt, and lemon juice to the mixing bowl. Place the measuring cup in the mixing bowl lid, set to speed 3.5, and slowly pour the oil onto the mixing bowl lid. The oil trickles through the gaps in the measuring cup. Once all the oil has dripped through, the mayonnaise is ready.
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5
Mix the dressing.
Peel the shallot, halve it, add to the mixing bowl, and chop for 4 sec / speed 5. Push down with the spatula. Add the yoghurt and balsamic vinegar and stir for 10 sec / reverse direction / speed 3.
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6
Finish and serve.
Dice the eggs and place in a bowl. Spoon the dressing over the top and fold in gently with the spatula. Serve garnished with chives and pepper.
Tip: Instead of chives, other fresh herbs work well too.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Keep the yolk visible rather than blending to a mush
The key point in this recipe is how you handle the cooked eggs. We do not put them in the mixing bowl and let the machine run. That reliably ends in egg paste that looks like baby food and tastes like it too. Instead, we dice the nine cooked eggs by hand and fold them into the dressing at the very end using the spatula. This keeps the yolk and white visually separate, gives the salad its typical yellow and white look, and makes sure the texture has real bite.
The Thermomix® takes over the tasks where it is genuinely faster than doing it by hand. It cooks the eggs in the Varoma in one go, it whips the mayonnaise from one raw egg and 230 g of sunflower oil in three and a half minutes, and it chops the shallot to a fine dice in four seconds at speed 5. Three steps, one machine, one mixing bowl that only needs a quick rinse in between.
Cook the eggs in the Varoma, not in a pot
We do not cook the ten eggs in a pot. Instead, we place nine of them in the Varoma container. 500 g of water goes into the mixing bowl, then 25 min / Varoma / speed 1. The tenth egg stays in the fridge because we need it raw for the mayonnaise later. The advantage of the Varoma: the eggs crack less often than in vigorously boiling water, and the mixing bowl is immediately free for the next step. If you prefer a slightly softer yolk, go down to 22 minutes; for a fully set yolk, stick with 25.
After cooking, plunge the eggs into ice-cold water straight away. Otherwise the hot core keeps cooking and the yolk develops that grey ring, which looks especially unpleasant in egg salad. We leave the eggs in a bowl of cold water for about five minutes; the shell practically comes off by itself.
Mayonnaise made directly in the mixing bowl, no detours
Instead of using shop-bought mayonnaise, we make it directly in the rinsed-out mixing bowl. The one raw egg, the teaspoon of medium-hot mustard, the teaspoon of salt, and 10 g of lemon juice go in. Then the key trick: place the measuring cup in the mixing bowl lid, set to speed 3.5, and slowly pour 230 g of sunflower oil onto the top of the measuring cup. The oil trickles through the side gaps and emulsifies with the egg in a thin stream. That is exactly how you get a stable, thick mayonnaise that does not split.
Once everything has dripped through, we switch off. More blending time does not improve the mayonnaise; it only makes it warmer and more likely to split. We season briefly with salt and lemon juice before moving on. The mayonnaise then goes into a separate bowl and the mixing bowl gets a second quick rinse.
Shallot and yoghurt dressing as a counterpoint to the richness
Pure mayonnaise would be too heavy on its own. So we make a second element: halve the shallot, add it to the mixing bowl, 4 sec / speed 5, push down with the spatula. Then add 80 g of yoghurt and 30 g of balsamic vinegar, 10 sec / reverse direction / speed 3. Reverse direction matters here; otherwise the blade chops the shallot too finely and the salad becomes watery. The yoghurt and balsamic vinegar bring acidity and freshness that pure mayonnaise would lack.
Leave it to rest for 30 minutes, otherwise nothing comes through
Once everything is ready, we dice the nine cooled eggs into small cubes, place them in a large bowl, pour the mayonnaise and shallot yoghurt dressing over the top, and fold the whole thing together gently with the spatula. Now the most important step, which many people skip: cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. During that time the mustard and shallot flavour works its way into the egg cubes and the salad develops its real depth. Mixed fresh it tastes flat; after half an hour it tastes rounded; after two hours it is at its best.
The freshly cut chives and freshly ground pepper only go on just before serving. Chives lose their colour when added too early to the acidic mayo, so really do put them on at the very end.
What tends to go wrong with egg salad
Mayonnaise turns runny instead of thick
Usually because the oil was poured in too quickly. The measuring cup trick only works if the oil runs through in a thin stream. We pour all 230 g onto the top at once and let the machine work undisturbed. If the mayonnaise still turns out runny: add a second egg yolk and blend for another 30 seconds at speed 4; it usually comes together after that.
Eggs look grey after cutting
A classic sign that the eggs were cooked too long and not plunged into cold water. We stick to 25 min / Varoma and put the eggs straight into ice-cold water. If you want to be extra safe, add a few ice cubes.
Salad turns watery in the fridge
This happens when the shallot is blended too finely or when you use low-fat yoghurt. We use yoghurt with 3.5 per cent fat and stick to four seconds at speed 5 for the shallot. In the second mixing step, make sure to use reverse direction.
Four variations we make often
With gherkins: Three small pickled gherkins, finely diced, folded in at the end. Adds crunch and extra acidity, which many people expect in a classic egg salad.
With apple: A quarter of a tart apple (Boskoop or Granny Smith), cut into small cubes. Sounds unusual, but this is our favourite summer variation to serve on bread.
Lighter with more yoghurt: If you want to reduce the amount of mayonnaise, use only 150 g of mayo and add another 80 g of yoghurt. Fresher in taste, but it keeps for less time in the fridge.
With curry: Half a teaspoon of mild curry powder stirred into the mayonnaise. Reminds us of the Berlin-style egg salad with its yellow colour.
What to serve with the egg salad
Classic on a fresh bread roll or a thick slice of farmhouse bread. On a buffet it sits well alongside other Thermomix® spreads, such as a herbed cream cheese or hummus. Anyone looking for a lighter version can try the healthy egg salad without mayonnaise, where we replace the mayo completely with yoghurt and avocado.
Keeps for two to three days in the fridge, cannot be frozen
Goes well with: bread rolls and potato salad.
In an airtight container the egg salad keeps in the fridge for two to three days. No longer, because the homemade mayonnaise with raw egg is not as stable as the jarred product. Before serving a second time, give it a quick stir as some liquid may have settled at the bottom. Freezing does not work. The mayonnaise breaks on thawing, the egg white turns rubbery, and the salad is ruined. If you want to have some on hand, it is better to cook extra eggs, keep the unpeeled eggs in the fridge for 5 to 7 days, and mix the salad fresh each time.
More spreads and cold salads for bread and buffet:
- Healthy Egg Salad without Mayonnaise
- Mayonnaise with the Thermomix®
- All Thermomix® spreads
