Growing up my dad always tended an oversized garden for our busy family of 6. From his garden, my mom would spend days in early fan canning applesauce, stewed tomatoes, salsa and many, many jars of dill relish.

She doesn’t believe in ever serving someone sweet relish when dill is perfectly available. And it was always available at our home.

From potato salad to egg salad, she always made everything with dill relish. To this day I am so grateful as I have developed my own egg salad recipe, that I have been told by many family members and friends over the years, that is it THE BEST. So, I’m going to assume the title of the BEST EVER Egg Salad Recipe and share it with all of you.

Hard Boiling Eggs

For years, I have tried many, many ways to make the perfect hard boiled egg. I have tried baking, boiling… and several methods of boiling, ice baths. Then, I tried steaming — and although the idea seemed a little odd to me at first, it is still and always will be my “go to” method of hard boiling an egg. I shared the step-by-step process here.

We prefer 10 minute eggs with yolks that are bright yellow, soft and not over-cooked.

The BEST EVER Egg Salad starts with the best Ingredients

HOMEMADE MAYO

Homemade mayo can be absolutely delicious. Ivy Larson, founder of Clean Cuisine came up with this recipe a few years ago and it’s still one of the most widely visited recipes on our site. A few weeks ago, someone commented that it tasted like Duke’s, and boy was she right. So, whether you’re a fan of Hellman’s or Duke’s, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

DILL RELISH

Dill Relish is made from fresh cucumbers, onion, pickling salt, onion, red pepper, turmeric and dill seed (be careful looking for dill relish because sometimes companies add sugar – but it’s not necessary at all). Dill relish is made from fermented pickles and are therefore full of good bacteria called probiotics, which are important for gut health.

SMOKED PAPRIKA

Smoke Paprika is the Spanish cousin to the more commonly used sweet Hungarian paprika. Sweet Paprika is made from pimiento peppers that have been dried and smoked over an oak fire. Then the peppers are ground into a fine powder. Smoke Paprika really does add the extra flair to this dish. My favorite brand is from Trader Joe’s – but if you don’t have a TJ’s nearby, check out this one available on Amazon.

GARLIC

Garlic is a wonderful antiviral and anti-inflammatory food. This recipes only calls for a little bit, but if you’re brave and want more health benefits from it – add a few more cloves! Garlic can also help to boost you immune system.