What to Serve With Egg Salad Sandwiches

A classic egg salad sandwich is a staple of many small meal occasions such as tea houses and brunch. They are really simple to make yet are filling, healthy, and tasty. If you are preparing a gathering and intend on serving these, then you may be wondering what other food items would pair well with them. Thankfully, there is quite a lot that can pair with egg salad sandwiches so fear not and read on!

Table of Contents

• What is an Egg Salad Sandwich?
• Are Egg Salad Sandwiches healthy?
• When to Serve Egg Salad Sandwiches
• What Can You Serve with Egg Salad Sandwiches?
  • Caesar Salad
  • Yogurt Parfait
  • Chips
  • French Fries
  • Bacon Rashers
• How to make a Classic Egg Salad Sandwich
  • The Bread
  • The Eggs
  • The Condiments
  • The Salad
• FAQs on Egg Salad Sandwiches

What is an Egg Salad Sandwich?

An egg salad sandwich can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be. In its simplest form, it appears to be not much more than bread, scrambled eggs, and salad. While this is still perfectly fine to eat, you can change it so much to be even nicer. You can rub the bread with garlic and toast it, add seasonings to the eggs, add different vegetables and condiments. The list of modifications is almost endless and it can be tailored to any person’s preferred style easily.

A lot of people are quite cautious with buying egg salad sandwiches from street corner cafes or delis, and they have a reason to be. The ratio between how much salad and how much egg there is very difficult to perfect. Lots of things can go wrong with the sandwich if you are not preparing it for yourself. The eggs are the main part as no one knows how you like them more than you, so to stop the risk of them being too sloppy it really is best to make it yourself.

Are Egg Salad Sandwiches healthy?

Similar to a lot of food items, it can be really easy to make something healthy or unhealthy by just changing a few ingredients here and there. The same goes for an egg salad sandwich as you can substitute the bread for wholewheat bread or other healthier alternatives to white. The mayonnaise, yogurt, or any other condiments used can most likely be found in fat-free or far-reduced forms which will certainly help bring the calories of this sandwich down.

Apart from changing ingredients, there is not much of a need to make this healthier. The main ingredients are egg and salad, these are both really healthy for you as the egg is rich in protein and the vegetables will be rich in vitamins and fiber.

When to Serve Egg Salad Sandwiches

Thankfully this is not too important but knowing when they are best served is also helpful for knowing what to serve and pair them with. As egg salad sandwiches alone are not the most filling of foods, it would be unusual to serve them as a full meal at dinner in the late afternoon or evening. The healthy nature of them mixed with their light taste makes them perfect for a late breakfast or lunch. Tea parties or semi-formal brunches would be the best occasions to serve them, which can help us get an idea of what to serve with them.

What Can You Serve with Egg Salad Sandwiches?

Egg salad sandwiches are very healthy and light with a sort of sweet flavor to them. Because of this, the foods that will pair with them are going to either balance out those flavors, enhance them, or contrast them in a good way. A lot of foods that pair together will naturally contrast in flavor so that the person eating them does not get bored of either flavor too quickly.

A similar cooking technique to this consists of only seasoning or adding sauce to parts of your dish. For instance, if you have a bowl of rice and a certain sauce you want to enjoy it with, this method would have you only cover some of the rice with sauce. Of course, you would cover the majority of the rice but because of the rice without sauce on it, there are technically two different flavors which make the meal seem a lot more deep and flavorsome. This technique can be applied to all sorts of food as it helps add variety and a different texture to some dishes.

What to serve with egg salad sandwiches may seem like an impossible question but the answers are all quite simple. As long as the flavors of everything are not too similar and add contrast and variety, then you will be fine.

Caesar Salad

One of the most popular side dishes is a caesar salad. It is known for its tangy taste due to the sauce that is used in it, which is a bit bitter yet still pleasant. Alongside this, there is usually a hard-boiled egg, bacon, chicken, and croutons scattered on the plate that is lined with salad. The salad itself is nothing too complicated, some people will use rocket salad whereas others will choose to use lettuce and other greens.

It pairs well with an egg salad sandwich as it is still quite healthy, yet it has a different flavor and texture. The plate could consist of an egg salad sandwich and a portion of caesar salad and it would be a fine plate fit for anyone.

Yogurt Parfait

A perfect side dish to an egg salad sandwich would be yogurt parfait. This consists of yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit layered in a parfait glass. The slight acidity from the yogurt, especially if you use greek yogurt, combines with the natural sweetness of the fruit. This combination is delicious and also light enough that you don’t feel bloated or too full after eating it. The granola acts as a crunchy texture to add diversity to the dish which makes it so much more enjoyable. It pairs well with an egg salad sandwich as it can be eaten as a dessert to your lunch without being so filing that you are sluggish for the rest of the day.

Not only is it tasty, but it is also very healthy. Yogurt by itself is healthy due to how high in protein, calcium, vitamins, and live culture it is. These nutrients are all very essential to the body yet yogurt can still get healthier. You can buy specialized yogurt that has fortified nutrients such as high-protein yogurt and probiotic yogurt which helps with gut health.

The fruit in a yogurt parfait is also important for the body as it holds a lot of fiber and natural vitamins. The sugar content of fruit is also high but they are natural sugars which makes them slightly healthier than processed alternatives.

Chips

A bowl of potato chips being served can be a really nice addition to the egg salad sandwiches. The flavor of the chips does not have to be complicated, you can choose even the most simple of flavors such as ready salted. The reason they pair so well with the sandwiches is that they are bite-sized. and can be eaten as more of a snack than an actual dish. Alongside this, they also contrast the flavor and texture of the sandwich. The salty taste and greasy nature of chips make them unhealthy to a certain degree, which can be a nice balance for anyone who wants to eat something a bit more relaxed.

French Fries

Similar to the chips, a few french fries can really enhance the whole meal. They contain a lot of starch which is good for keeping you energized and potato fries are high in fiber which is great for your diet. Crispy french fries pair well with egg salad sandwiches for mostly the same reason as chips do, they are a snack that contrasts the sandwich perfectly. French fries are easy to prepare and can be cooked from frozen in a pan, which makes them a great low-maintenance snack.

Bacon Rashers

While it may seem like a minimalistic and simple side dish, having a couple of trays of crispy bacon rashers ready to eat can be very popular. They don’t need to be served in some fancy way, it is as simple as cooking them until they are crispy and crunchy, then serving them on their own for your guests to take and snack on alongside their sandwich.

Bacon rashers are high in protein and salt, and despite their reputation, they are not actually too unhealthy in moderation. Having a few bacon rashers alongside an egg salad sandwich is not going to be unhealthy in the slightest and will be very enjoyable.

How to make a Classic Egg Salad Sandwich

While it may sound a bit complicated to make egg salad sandwiches, it is surprisingly easy. There are a few components that are critical to the dish and as long as you have those, the sandwich will turn out perfectly. The ingredients can also be prepared in many different ways to suit anyone’s preferences and extra ingredients or flavorings can be added to enhance the flavor and make the sandwich a bit more unique.

The main components of the perfect egg salad sandwich are;

• Eggs
• Bread
• Lettuce
• Mayonnaise
• Yellow mustard
• Celery

The Bread

The bread may seem like a very boring and basic component of a sandwich as all it does is hold the other ingredients, but this could not be further from the truth. While it is traditional to use white bread for this sandwich, you can easily replace this with your favorite bread instead. This sandwich will get better and better if you play around with different types of bread and find the one you like the most.

On top of this, your choice of bread isn’t the only part to change. The preparation method for the bread can also be changed and will help improve the sandwich. Toasted bread that has been drizzled with olive oil or rubbed with garlic beforehand will taste amazing and also introduce a different texture than if you were to use normal bread.

The Eggs

How you prepare and season your eggs can make a huge difference to how the sandwich turns out. The most traditional way to prepare eggs for this is to hard boil them. The sandwich is then filled with chopped hard-boiled eggs alongside the other ingredients. No matter how they are prepared, this recipe will work so much better with fresh eggs that are high quality.

While it might be traditional, it can be quite boring to boil eggs and then chop them up and be done with it. Scrambled eggs work fine as an alternative, as long as they are not too watery. You want them to be thick enough that they hold shape when in the sandwich otherwise it will get very messy. They can be seasoned with salt and pepper, or you can add curry powder for a curried egg salad sandwich. This slight deviance in the egg salad recipe can really make your sandwiches be unique and delicious.

If you are wanting to boil your eggs to stick with tradition, but aren’t a fan of egg yolks then there is an easy technique to fix this. If you shake the eggs violently before cracking the eggshells open, the yolk and egg whites will mix together. The yolk is technically still there but is combined so well with the whites that it does not take on its usual texture or flavor. This can then be steamed or poached before being added to your sandwich. You can then cut them however you want and add the chopped egg whites to your sandwich.

The Condiments

While most people will stick with the same basic condiments for every occasion, there is a way to go above and beyond as long as you’re willing to try something new.

The mayonnaise in a sandwich is pretty important as it adds a lot of flavors but it also acts as a binding agent to keep everything stuck together. No matter what your diet is like, you can find an easy replacement if you do not want to use normal mayonnaise. For those who are wanting to limit their calory intake, there are a lot of low-fat mayonnaise alternatives available to buy. If you simply just want to change it up and make your sandwich more diverse, you can swap out the mayonnaise with yogurt, typically a greek yogurt as it has a nice bitter flavor.

Not everyone likes mustard but it can still be delicious if used correctly. The mustard in a sandwich normally acts as a bit of heat and not much else, but this can be changed. Swapping out your traditional mustard for wholegrain, Dijon, or honey mustard can improve your sandwich beyond belief. If you are using particularly strong mustard, make sure to use just the right amount so it is not too spicy.

The Salad

You can argue that the salad is almost as important as the eggs. After all, they are both in the name. A lot of people get lazy with the salad but there is no reason to when you can have so much fun with it. While it may be simple and effective to lay some lettuce on your bread, you can also add green onion and chopped celery to change the flavor a bit more.

A sweet relish does so much to help a sandwich as it adds texture and also a nice pickled flavor. Pair this with some green onions and the salad part of your sandwich is suddenly a lot more fun. If you are wanting to go an extra step and add one final trick to your sandwich, I recommend adding lemon juice to the lettuce. Not too much, as it might overpower the other flavors. Yet, in the right quantity, it can help add an extra level of depth to the sandwich.

FAQs on Egg Salad Sandwiches