Egg Salad Lettuce Cups
To make Egg Salad Lettuce Cups, boil and chop eggs, fold them with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and celery, then spoon the salad into lettuce leaves to serve.
Egg salad has spent decades being stuffed between two slices of bread and sent to work in a plastic container, which is respectable service, but it can handle a change of scenery. These egg salad lettuce cups keep the creamy part—chopped hard-cooked eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon, chives, celery, salt, and pepper—and swap the bread for crisp butter lettuce or romaine. The result is cool, crunchy, creamy, and light enough for lunch without tasting like you accidentally wandered into the punishment section of a diet plan.
The small details matter more than the ingredient list suggests. Cooling the eggs completely in an ice bath stops the cooking and makes peeling easier, while gently folding the dressing preserves actual pieces of egg instead of turning the bowl into beige paste. Celery brings a clean snap, Dijon cuts through the mayonnaise, and fresh chives keep the flavor from feeling flat. Spoon the mixture into individual leaves just before serving and add paprika if you want a little color. It’s egg salad with better posture—same comfort, less bread, and considerably less chance of the filling shooting out the back of a sandwich onto your shirt.
