At the heart of a great egg sandwich is a creamy egg filling and essential to this are soft boiled, not hard boiled eggs! The creamy yolks practically makes its own mayonnaise sauce and the soft-set egg whites almost melt in your mouth.
Egg sandwich thoughts
You wouldn’t think that someone would have so many opinions about a simple egg sandwich, but as I sat down to write this recipe, it turns out I do! Here’s my egg sandwich thought-dump, roughly in care-factor order:
No rubbery bits of whites – I don’t like little firm bits of egg whites in what should be a creamy egg filling. So I use soft boiled eggs with soft just-set egg whites, rather than hard boiled eggs which is more common in standard egg sandwiches.
Semi homemade mayo – Soft boiled eggs = creamy yolk = practically makes its own semi-homemade mayonnaise. It’s so good! Better flavour and more luxurious with less mayonnaise required.
No celery. I know that might be an unpopular opinion but crunchy bits in a creamy egg filling, no matter how small or finely sliced, just don’t appeal to me. Goes in the same bucket as #1.
Soft bread is best. Too much filling oozes out when you bite the sandwich if you use chewy, crusty artisan bread like sourdough.
So, if all that sounds good to you, then let me introduce to the egg sandwich of your dreams!
Creamy egg sandwich filling
Here’s an up-close-and-personal look at the filling. The left photo is just soft boiled eggs mashed up. You can see that it’s already pretty creamy, even before adding the mayonnaise! Then the photo on the right is the finished filling after adding the mayonnaise and mustard.
What you need for my egg sandwich
As already emphasised a number of times (reeks of passion, right??!), the key ingredient here is soft boiled rather than hard boiled eggs! With creamy yolks, you only need a mere dab of mayonnaise and smidge of mustard for a creamy, luxurious filling.
If you don’t have chives, substitute with finely minced green onion.
Soft boiled eggs – The creamy yolk gives you a head start on the creamy sauce so we only need 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise for 6 eggs (4 sandwiches). So we’re sort of making a semi-homemade mayonnaise here!
Mayonnaise – Whole egg mayo is creamier and less tangy than normal mayo. My favourite brand is S&W (Australia), followed by Hellman’s and Kewpie (equal second).
Dijon mustard – For flavour and a touch of tang.
Chives – For freshness and nice green bits in our filling.
Salt – Just 1/8 teaspoon! Trust me on this. Egg is weirdly salt adverse. The opposite of potatoes which can take loads of salt!
Best bread for egg sandwiches
As for the bread, you can really use anything you want though for traditional tea-type sandwiches (like pictured), soft white sandwich bread is the go. My only tip is to avoid crusty, chewy artisan bread (like sourdough). Filling ooze issues. Stick with soft bread!
How to make egg sandwiches
And the making part:
Cook soft boiled eggs and peel (8 minutes in boiling water). For full directions see my boiled eggs recipe, but I’ve included abbreviated directions in the recipe card below.
Mash the eggs using a fork to get it started, then a potato masher. The finer you mash, the creamier your filling! Once well mashed, you’ll see your filling is already semi-creamy.
Filling – Stir in the mayo, mustard, chives, salt and pepper.
Spread butter on the bread.
Spread filling on bread, from edge to edge!
Crusts – If you’re going for quaint English tea sandwiches, trim the crusts off then cut to your desired shape. The sandwiches pictured in post have been cut into 3 rectangles (4 sandwiches cut into a total of 12 finger sandwiches).
TIP: For extra neat edges, refrigerate the sandwiches for 1 hour before cutting. This will set the filling so you can cut more neatly. But be sure to serve at room temperature!
And there you have it! My egg sandwich. I know there are recipes out there with more bells and whistles, using fancier ingredients like creme fraiche, perhaps a smidge of curry powder, and other add-ins.
But to me, all that is unnecessary if you use soft boiled eggs. This is one of those recipes where the end result is so much more than the sum of its parts. I hope you give it a go! Let me know what you think if you do. And also, you know I always love hearing your thoughts on my thoughts on matters of food. Do you disagree with my position on soft boiled eggs? Do you think celery is mandatory? Fancier bread? Bring on the egg sandwich debate! 😂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Egg sandwich
Ingredients
Egg sandwich filling:
- 6 soft boiled eggs , at room temperature (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp whole egg mayonnaise (S&W brand best, Note 2)
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp finely chopped chives (sub green onion)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp cooking/kosher salt (yes really, that's all!)
Sandwich:
- 8 slices soft white sandwich bread (Note 3)
- Soft salted butter , for spreading on bread
Instructions
- Mash egg: Place the eggs in a bowl and crush with a fork. Once mostly broken up, use a potato masher to mash them up really well. Smaller egg white bits = creamier filling.
- Filling: Add remaining filling ingredients and gently stir to combine. Taste and add more salt if desired, but add with caution because it's bizarre how little salt eggs can take!
- Make sandwich: Butter the bread. Divide filling between 4 pieces of bread, spread evenly edge to edge. Trim crusts (optional), then cut as you wish. (Note 4 tips)
- Serve: Always serve at room temperature, for best flavour!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life’s too short for bland sandwiches!
Life of Dozer
No egg sandwiches for Dozer! 💨💨
Delicious! Who would have possibly come up with that brilliant idea of using soft boiled eggs but you! 🙂 Anxiously waiting for your book. Has been delayed in the US again! 🙁 In love with Dozer 😀
I am trying this! It’s genius!
already make ours like this! picked up a few good notes though. From Van. Island, BC give pup a pet for us. We have 2 fat cats.
We always keep some boiled eggs in the fridge for snacks. This is an easy recipie and makes a great sandwich quickly. The spread will keep for about a week but best to use it right away. My mother made this often and I still love it.
Hallo Nagi! Deine Idee mit den weich gekochten Eiern finde ich toll, werde ich gleich ausprobieren. Meine Eier koche ich immer zusammen mit einem halben Ei aus Kunststoff, das sich von orange nach weiß verfärbt und so zuverlässig den genauen Garzustand des Eis anzeigt. Eier schälen sich relativ gut wenn man sie rundherum leicht anschlägt und dann einen Suppenlöffel zwischen Ei und Schale schiebt. Ein Teelöffel funktioniert nicht! Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland Doris
Fabulous. I add a tsp white vinegar but will try with mustard. Thanks Nagi and hugs to Dozer from Scotland
I went for 10 minutes because our eggs are huge. Also used ones about two weeks from the nest. Came out perfect!! I do love tiny bits of celery though!! Your cooking and peeling advice is spot on! Give Dozer a hug! 🐾🥰
LOL!!! So a lightbulb just went on in my head! Your sandwich is an egg sandwich and the one I prefer is an egg SALAD sandwich with all kinds of add ins like chopped pickles, celery, spring onions, red pepper and the use of chunky pieces of egg all on top of crunchy lettuce & two slices of wholesome artisan bread! I can see the pros of your version.
I love egg salad sandwiches but I try to add fresh dill (even my garden dill I’ve frozen for use after season ). Just gives it a fresh magical flavour. Other than that, it’s simple mayo, touch of mustard, salt and pepper.
If not celery… what about celery seed? Often used in colesalw
Your comment about “soldiers” makes me laugh. I live in the U.S. and when I mention dipping soldiers in an egg, I get funny looks. Absolutely loved your live, and just got the best news – your cookbook will be delivered tomorrow. Oh joy!
Lovely recipe although I find 8 minutes for an egg is too long.
A great variation is to add some finely chopped shallots and some grated vintage cheddar cheese. You may need to add a little extra mayo. In our house we call this “the mixture”. You really need to try it.
Lovely sandwich . Why can’t Dozer go in the pool? Mine loved it. xx0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Omg…….my absolute favourite sandwich filling and I can not believe I have been doing it wrong forever….
Can’t wait to try this one Nagi as no doubt it will be a game changer!
Just realised that I´m a very simple boring person, because this post excited me and I was drooling over it, you are the best Nagi, don´t think I´ve tried celery with egg mayo but I will, I can eat it raw like some people eat chocolate bars, my partner said.. yuk celery, fancy biting into some water with hair in it (I don´t agree, well maybe a bit but I still like it) I actually laughed out loud at the picture of poor Dozer wanting to go in the pool. Have a good week, love from the boring egg/celery queen x
Hi Nagi. Love your little masher…can you tell me where you purchased it please?
I have one of these. Great masher. The masher is an Oxo
Good Grips
Smooth Potato Masher on sale @Myer.
hi. fyi… email link takes me to a different recipe.
Thanks Tami!! I know, I buggered up – oops! 🙂 N x
Love the soft boiled egg concept but for me it must always be Kewpie.
Proud of you Lynn. So proud. 🙂 N xx
Hi Nagi, they look lush. I’m from England and have never heard of celery in an egg sandwich before, what part of the world does that? I don’t like anything green in mine, just pure soft creamy egg with a little mayo, salt and pepper.
Love your recipes, keep doing what you’re doing.
Would you use the same for a curried/devilled egg sanga? And just add a bit of Keens curry powder?