There are deviled eggs, and then there are these Million Dollar Deviled Eggs. This is my favorite, best recipe, and it includes a secret ingredient that notches up the filling to the next level. Top everything off with paprika and bacon (if you feel so inclined) and enjoy!
The Best Deviled Egg Recipe
Let’s start the week off with a classic. While Monday morning might have you reaching for a peach bellini kind of classic, I have something slightly different for you today: the best deviled egg recipe that I have in my repertoire.
It’s also a little different from the classic deviled egg recipe that you might have stowed away, scribbled on a scrap of paper in the back of your kitchen cabinet, and that’s largely due to my addiction to secret ingredients.
That’s right, there’s a secret ingredient in these deviled eggs. Can you spy it below?
What Ingredients Do I Need for Deviled Eggs?
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Mayo
- Butter. This is it, the secret ingredient! We’re going to talk a little bit more about why we add butter below, but this is what makes these “Million Dollar” Deviled Eggs.
- Mustard (you’ll need yellow and dijon mustard)
- Sweet pickle juice
- Sugar (just a pinch!)
- Salt & pepper
- Tabasco sauce (optional, just a dash of heat is a great addition, though!)
- Optional toppings: paprika, sweet pickle slices, crumbled bacon.
The Secret Ingredient
Do you see it? Right there ⬆️⬆️, at 11 o’clock. That’s one tablespoon of pure, delicious, sweet cream butter.
Have you ever made deviled eggs with butter before? It’s a sneaky secret ingredient, nearly imperceptible except that the filling is just a touch creamier, just a tad more velvety, there’s just something about it that you probably won’t quite be able to put your finger on…
Something really, really good, but not overpowering. Just a little bit extra without being overwhelming, subtle, but so important.
In addition to preferring my deviled eggs with a spoonful of butter, I also prefer them to be slightly on the sweet side of things. To this end I’ve added a splash of sweet pickle juice and a sprinkling of sugar.
I’m told sweeter deviled eggs are a southern thing (while sweeter cornbread is a northern thing, go figure), but I happen to live just a notch above the Mason Dixon Line and can vouch for their deliciousness here, too.
I topped off about half of these eggs with bacon (mostly for my Zach’s benefit, he prefers deviled eggs with bacon) and cross-sections of sweet pickles, and all of them got a sprinkle of Paprika.
How Far In Advance Can I Make Deviled Eggs?
For best results, you should not assemble your deviled eggs more than a day in advance. If you’d like to make them two days in advance you can boil, cut, and remove the yolks from the whites. Make your filling and then store the eggs and the prepared filling in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve the eggs, give the filling a quick stir and everything can be quickly assembled.
Deviled Eggs should always be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Let me know what you think!
And if you happen to have some really amazing tricks for peeling fresh eggs, I want to hear them! My parents have chickens so I’m lucky to have a constant flow of farm-fresh eggs BUT those eggs cling to their shells like they were laid by hens with superglue diets. We’ve tried the baking soda trick, the ice bath trick, the spoon trick… none of it has worked here! I’ve heard great things about using an Instant Pot, though, and am considering getting one solely for this purpose!
Other Recipes You Might Like:
- Broccoli Salad
- Macaroni Salad
- Ramen Noodle Salad
- Corn Salad
- Pulled Chicken
- If you appreciate secret ingredients, check out my “Worst” Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Million Dollar Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- ¼ cup (55 g) mayo
- 1 Tablespoon butter softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons sweet gherkin pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- dash Tabasco sauce optional
- paprika for sprinkling
- bacon pieces optional
Instructions
How To Hard Boil Eggs
- Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with water.12 large eggs
- Transfer to stovetop over high heat until water begins to boil.
- Boil for one minute, cover with lid, and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 17 minutes and then drain and transfer to an ice bath.
- Peel eggs and set aside.
How To Make Deviled Eggs
- Slice eggs in half lengthwise.
- Remove yolks and transfer to a medium-sized bowl.
- Add mayo, butter, mustards, pickle juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce. Use a fork to mash well.¼ cup (55 g) mayo, 1 Tablespoon butter, 2 teaspoons yellow mustard, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons sweet gherkin pickle juice, 1 teaspoon sugar, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, dash Tabasco sauce
- Spoon filling into each egg white. Sprinkle with paprika and bacon (if using) and serve.paprika, bacon pieces
- If desired, top with a small slice of sweet gherkin pickle, as seen in pictures.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This Million Dollar Deviled Egg recipe was originally published 07/24/2017. Recipe remains the same but post has been updated as of 05/08/2019.
Ellen Shook
This recipe looks good, and I will try it over the 4th. About peeling those eggs: I bought an egg cooker from Amazon a few years ago, which will do 6 at a time. It basically steams rather than boils the eggs. It goes for 16 minutes for hard cooked eggs. I think it cost about $15 at the time. Immediately put them in a bowl of ice water after picking up the rack of eggs by its little handle, and when you crack them, the skins will slip right off. I do not have access to eggs straight from the source, but I have noticed in the last several years, a lot of eggs do seem to have been on that super-glue diet you mention.
Debby Fields
The butter made SUCH a difference! I was amazed at how creamy it made the deviled eggs! Thanks for this secret ingredient! Another game changer for me was baking the eggs instead of boiling them to get perfectly creamy yolks every time. Place eggs in muffin tins or directly on the rack in a 325° preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Place in an ice bath for 10 minutes, then peel. Perfection! Sometimes an egg or two will have brown marks if I use the rack method, so muffin tins are the way to go with this recipe.
Alyssa
Only one minute?
Sam
Correct. You will need to follow the instructions as leaving it in the pot with the lid on will keep the heat in and continue cooking the eggs. 🙂
CB
This works beautifully, have cooked my eggs this way forever. No gray ring around the yolk and perfectly cooked for deviled eggs.
Rachel
The best deviled eggs I’ve made! I did add a little sweet relish for texture instead of the sweet pickle juice.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you enjoyed them, Rachel! Thanks for trying our recipe 🥰
Miranda
Most people overcook hard boiled eggs. it makes them harder to peel. I use farm eggs with baking soda. once the water starts to boil I cook them 7 to 8 minutes. If your eggs have even the slights green tint to them, they are overcooked. I remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and put them in cold water. After they cool a bit, I starr peeling. Works great for me!
Ann Wilkens
Do I melt the butter? I know it doesn’t say in the recipe to melt it.
Sam
No need to melt it, just have it softened so you can mix it in. 🙂
Stacy
I make my ‘hard boiled’ eggs by smoking them. I place them directly on the grate of my pellet smoker at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours then place them onto a plate to cool to room temperature. I sometimes peel them at that stage and sometimes peel them the next day after they’ve been refrigerated. They always peel easily either way. I know it’s got the same spending issue as having to buy a pressure cooker but having a smoker is useful for millions of other things and adds amazing flavor to your eggs. You can even bake bread and pie and whatever else you want to on your smoker. If you want to add smoke flavor to your baked goods bake them on a lower temp and if you don’t then higher temps are better. Either way is delicious! I have a pressure cooker but haven’t yet tried boiling eggs in it, it’s new and I’m still figuring it out.
Sam
I haven’t had a smoked hard boiled egg, but it sounds delicious! I will have to try it. 🙂
Mel Smith
I found that the best fool-proof method for boiled eggs is my Instant Pot pressure cooker. 5 minutes steam, 5 minutes release, and then ice bath. Peels perfectly every time.
Elaine Alspach
Delicious! I needed to make 2 dozen eggs for deviled eggs. When I do this I always make a couple of extra eggs in case one or two eggs fall apart in cooking, so I had about 25 or 26 eggs to process. I used the butter as recommended in this recipe, doubling everything. I needed to add a slight bit more mayo but everything turned out great. Probably the best batch of deviled eggs I have made in a long time. They were gone after the event today!
As an added note, I usually stuff about 12 or so halves with no pickle relish in the filling to suit some family members. Then I add the relish to the remaining filling and continue stuffing the rest of the eggs.
Phyllis Dansie
The Instant Pot is the perfect answer, every time. I’d buy one just for this even if it wasn’t great for other things.
Michelle Jimenez
I didn’t like this recipe very much. A little sour for me.
Sam
Hi Michelle! I wonder if one of your ingredients was bad. I’m not sure how these would be sour as they have sugar and sweet pickle juice in them. 🙁
Nan
My trick to peeling boiled eggs: put the boiled egg in a glass/jar with a little bit of water, cover the open jar with my hand and give it a good shake. The shell will crack and peel with ease.
ed trine
Interesting! I’ll have to give this a try.
Starr
Outstanding recipe very delicious. Enjoyed it very much.
Marni
Easy peel eggs- drop room temperature eggs gently into boiling water using silicone tongs. Boil 15 minutes. Remove with tongs and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Cool for 15 minutes. That’s it! They are still a little hot, but peel perfectly every time.
Daniel Cowan
What Marni said. Place eggs in boiling water, boil for 15 min, remove and place on paper plate with paper towel to absorb water, let coll for 15 min., peels like a champ. Never had an issue, and who wants to deal with all these other crazy ideas anyway. This is the BEST and SIMPLEST way. Period.
Amy in WV
I used 2 week old County eggs and still couldn’t get them to peel nicely so instead I turned this into egg salad, adding a little grated onion, A spoon full of sweet and dill pickle relish and it was delicious as an egg salad too!!!
Keitha P
My way to use fresh eggs is to start them in cold watering bring it up to boiling. then don’t forget the ice bath.
LJStarr
Fresh eggs will peel easily if you steam them 10-12 minutes depending on their size instead of boiling them. 😊
Kevin Petroff
This is a good recipe. Though I added more than a dash of Tabasco (a few dashes), a little bit more yellow mustard, and some Durkee’s sauce.