Truly the best southern deviled egg recipe you'll ever make! A crowd favorite that pairs perfectly with so many dishes. Made with only 7 ingredients, learn how to make these classic deviled eggs!
A ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ southern deviled eggs recipe that is beyond delicious! Other than a homemade grilled cheeseburger and restaurant-style french fries, deviled eggs have to be one of the most popular foods in the entire world!
They're served all year long for all sorts of different holidays and occasions. They are served on 4th of July alongside some smoked baby back bbq ribs, or Labor Day paired with this smoked tri tip recipe. I always serve these at Thanksgiving dinner with smoked turkey breast and with my Honey Baked Spiral Ham at Christmas time. You'll see them served as appetizers, side dishes, or as a snack. And these stuffed eggs can be made in so many different ways. The possibilities are endless!
This is a traditional southern deviled eggs recipe that can be found at any holiday dinner table or picnic. What makes this recipe southern is the use of mayonnaise, with a small amount of yellow mustard and sweet pickles. And they are absolutely delicious.
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✔️ Quick Recipe Overview
Why This Is The Best Southern Deviled Eggs Recipe: A classic recipe that is simple to make, these deviled eggs are stuffed with a wonderful creamy filling that is full of savory flavor in every bite!
How Long It Takes: 30 minutes
Equipment You'll Need: large pot, knife, bowl, spoon
ℹ️ Why This Recipe Works
1. These southern deviled eggs recipe with relish are simple to make and deliciously creamy.
2. The deviled egg filling is made of cooked egg yolk, mayonnaise, mustard, and sweet pickle relish.
3. Made with hard boiled eggs, I've got a simple trick that ensures the white of the eggs won't break when peeling.
Deviled eggs originated in ancient Rome and were called "stuffed eggs". They began popping up pretty regularly around the 13th century. Typically, they were served to the wealthy before the main course and then became a popular food for serving while entertaining.
You'll see deviled eggs at Thanksgiving, Christmas, at church potlucks, and around Easter time. A lot of churches want to keep the word "devil" out when it comes to food so they started calling them "stuffed eggs" or "dressed eggs".
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
- Eggs - use either large or extra large size eggs. Both brown or white eggs work well.
- Mayonnaise - don't use Miracle Whip. Use real mayo. A reduced-fat version also works well.
- Mustard - adds a zesty flavor and helps balance the flavor of the mayonnaise.
- Sweet Pickles - adds a bit of texture the the filling and a subtle sweet taste.
- Paprika - sprinkle this on top of the stuffed deviled eggs for added color. If you add a smoked paprika, it will add a subtle smoky flavor.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🥚How To Peel Boiled Eggs
Peeling hard-boiled eggs can be very frustrating. They can breaks or the thin shell membrane won't budge. Learn how to peel hard boiled eggs using this simple method. It's a fool-proof technique that works every time!
👩🍳 Variations and Substitutions
- Instead of using regular mayonnaise, try using this garlic aioli recipe! It's made without using eggs and is ready in 10 minutes!
- Try using this avocado and egg salad to fill the eggs!
- There are a lot of different deviled egg recipes out there. Early ingredients included cilantro, onion juice, coriander, raisins, cheese, herbs, and mint. But you don't see a lot of those ingredients used in today's recipes. Here's some additional popular ways to make deviled eggs:
- dill pickle relish
- capers
- horseradish
- bacon
- shrimp
- caviar
- salmon
📝 How To Make Southern Deviled Eggs
Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Gently place the eggs in the pot of water and boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Peel the eggs according to the instructions listed above.
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Step 2: After the eggs are peeled, slice each egg lengthwise and remove the yolks.
Step 3: Place the cooked yolks in a bowl.
Step 4: Put the egg whites in a deviled egg tray or on a large plate.
Step 5: Use a fork to help finely break up the yolks until there are no large chunks. Then, add the mayonnaise, mustard, diced sweet pickles and stir until well combined.
Expert Tip: Make sure you're taste testing during this process. You may want to add a bit more mayonnaise or add a dash of salt and pepper.
Step 6: When it comes to stuffing the eggs, there are multiple ways to do this. The quickest method is to use a spoon. Simply dip a spoon into the egg mixture and scrape the filling into the white part of the egg.
Step 7: Once the eggs are filled, lightly sprinkle on the paprika.
Step 8: Cover the deviled egg tray and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
And that's all it takes to make this simple southern deviled eggs recipe! It doesn't get much more easy and delicious than this recipe!
🙋 Recipe FAQs
They got the name of "deviled" because they were originally made with spicy sauces. The word "deviling" is a word used to describe the process of making food spicy.
Yes! Just substitute the mayonnaise with an avocado. Overripe avocados work best. And be sure to leave out the sweet pickles.
Yes! They can be made 24 hours ahead of time. Store them covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
💭 Expert Tips
- Making the deviled egg filling with warm or room temperature yolks helps add to the creamy texture of the filling.
- While you can use a spoon or small cookie scoop to add the filling to the egg whites, you can also use icing bags or cake decorating nozzles. When I'm entertaining, I like to make them look pretty. I use this piping bag and nozzles to add fun designs to the mixture.
- Deviled eggs are delicious the next day. They will last in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- When it comes to using sweet pickles or dill pickles, use whatever you like best. The same holds true when making potato salad. I grew up with my family adding in finely chopped sweet pickles which tastes great, but I also like to use dill pickle relish. I'm a dill lover so I like to switch out the sweet for the dill every once in a while.
- Want an even creamier filling? Just add in some pickle juice.
🥘 Serving Suggestions
If you tried this deviled eggs recipe or any other recipes on my website, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love hearing from you! And, please leave a 🌟 rating while you're there!
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Southern Deviled Eggs Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 eggs
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ teaspoon yellow mustard
- 4 sweet pickles, finely chopped
- paprika, for garnish
- dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper,, for taste
Instructions
- Carefully put the 12 raw eggs in a big pot and fill with enough water so there is 2 inches of water above covering them.
- Bring the water to a boil and boil 10 minutes on high heat. After 10 minutes, remove the pot from heat and drain the water in the sink, leaving the hard boiled eggs in the pot.
- Add 4 cups of ice to the pot. Let the eggs soak in the ice bath for about 10 minutes.
- Expert Tip: Here’s the trick on how to peel boiled eggs so they don't break. Shake the pot over and over again to the left and right and in circles so the eggs roll around and start to have little tiny cracks all over them. Do this for about 2-3 minutes. Once they are nicely cracked, you are ready to peel them. The shell should slide off with no issues.
- Once peeled, slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the yolk and put in a bowl. Place your sliced eggs on a platter and set aside.
- Using a fork, finely break apart the yolks until they become crumbly. Add in ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 ½ teaspoon of yellow mustard, and 4 finely chopped sweet pickles.
- Mix well until you have a smooth creamy mixture. You may want to add in a bit more mayonnaise if you feel the mixture is too dry. You can also add any additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Take a spoonful of filling and spoon into each empty egg. Sprinkle paprika on top for garnish.
Notes
- Making the deviled egg filling with warm or room temperature yolks helps add to the creamy texture of the filling.
- While you can use a spoon or small cookie scoop to add the filling to the egg whites, you can also use icing bags or cake decorating nozzles. When I'm entertaining, I like to make them look pretty. I use this piping bag and nozzles to add fun designs to the mixture.
- These are delicious the next day. They will last in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- When it comes to using sweet pickles or dill pickles, use whatever you like best.
- Want an even creamier filling? Just add in some pickle juice.
Kylie | Midwest Foodie
Wishing I had a large platter of these deviled eggs right now!! I like to make a batch and eat a couple along with my lunch each day! Can't wait to try these.
Amanda
Deviled eggs are easily one of my favorite appetizers, and I love all the tips you gave โ super helpful. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kushi
Deviled eggs are my favorite and I can have it anytime of the day. Your version looks amazingly delicious. I will try this soon!
Leslie Kiszka
Deviled eggs are my go to appetizer when I'm going to parties. I never have to worry about leftovers I have to bring home!
Karyl
Oh wow, I never knew about the history of deviled eggs! How interesting. I could literally eat them by the dozen, but I only made them for the first time last year. There's nothing like the classic recipe either
Paula Montenegro
HUGE fan of deviled eggs here. They look fantastic! And the eggs are perfectly cooked! Only white and yellow. Love this.
Amanda Mason
Yeah Paula! I'm so glad you like them and are a huge fan!
Amy
When I was younger, I was always super scared to try deviled eggs. Then one day, I was finally pressured into eating one -- and I've never looked back! These look super yummy & I can't wait to make some to share with my family!
Amanda Mason
Yeah Amy! Let me know how these turn out!!
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen
I do love a good devilled egg, they are such a great finger food. Will be trying this recipe soon, thanks for sharing!
Nicolas Hortense
They look fantastic! Only had these once but definitely want to try them again (:
Amanda Mason
You're going to love these!!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Devilled eggs are always a hit. The hardest part is peeling them. I have a friend that LOVES devilled eggs. I know he would love this version too.
Amanda Mason
But I give you an easy method to peel them so check that out in the article for sure!! Let me know how you like these.