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.
J
We recently figured out inadvertently that peeling the eggs while they are submerged in water makes it easy. Not sure if you’ve tried it. Good Luck!
Sugar Spun Run
Good tip, Jennifer! Thanks! 🙂
Robin
The first I learned to add butter to the egg yolks was in a Julia Child recipe. Wherever you got the idea, it’s a good one.
Jimmy Cooper
I love and have converted others to do the Alton Brown method of cooking the eggs. I add only about an inch of water to the pan and place a veggie steamer inside and the heat on high. Once I see steam I place 6 to 8 eggs in steamer basket, cover the pan and let the eggs steam for 12 to 13 minutes. I drain water from pan and immediately cover with ice. After 8 minutes I peel the eggs. It is extremely rare that the eggs don’t peel perfectly and the yolk is a soft yellow, never green. When making deviled eggs who wants dimpled whites? The whites from this method are perfect 99% of the time ( operator error not recipe).
Sugar Spun Run
That is a great tip, Jimmy! Thanks for sharing! I hope that you enjoy your devilled eggs. Thanks again! 🙂
David L Kast
For what it’s worth. There are a ton of tweaks to cooking eggs – seems every family has at least one! Both the pin prick and the vinegar seem too help, but not both at the same time.
Here’s what works best for me: I do NOT give my eggs an ice bath before peeling. With a sharp knife cut the eggs in half lengthwise as soon as they cool enough to handle – let rest a short time and using a spoon scoop out the egg from the larger end first. The warmer the eggs, the easier the job. AND, another huge plus is that it doesn’t allow for the development of the dreaded “Green Ring”!
Sugar Spun Run
That is a good tip, David. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Fran Kaupp
I steam my eggs. Place steamer basket in sauce pan with enough water to just reach the bottom of the steamer. Gently place eggs in the steamer basket and cover. I live in a city at an altitude of about 4500 feet, so I’ve found the best length of time for steaming 6-8 eggs is about 15 minutes. Immediately remove eggs and plunge into ice or ice water to stop cooking. I leave the eggs in the ice water and take them out one at a time to peel them. This is the best method I have found to cleanly remove the shell.
Sam
Thank you for the tips, Fran! I hope you love the deviled eggs!
Michael
Shells from fresh eggs, hard boiled can be removed easily using this technique: Bring water to a rolling boil in a steamer. Place eggs in the steamer basket, place basket in the steamer, put the lid on, and steam for 13 to 15 minutes. Lift the steamer basket out and place in the sink where you have already put in enough water and ice to cover the eggs. Leave them in for 20 minutes or so to completely chill. Now you can easily shell the eggs without white damage.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for the tip, Michael! 🙂
Eve
Delicious! Made them for a block party and they were a hit! I wanted to share with everyone that cooking eggs in a pressure cooker is seriously life changing if you like hard boiled eggs.. the shell will never sick to the egg..ever. try it! It will change your life.
Sugar Spun Run
Eve, I am so happy that the deviled eggs turned out so well. I am glad you found it easy and delicious! 🙂
Teresa
I’m interested in the butter but will pass on the sweet lol I like savory. I make several varieties of deviled eggs including jalepeno bacon cheddar. I have chickens therefore farm fresh eggs. The instant pot has never let me down. I put them in an ice bath immediately from instant pot the after a few minutes I crack them all and start peeling after that. I prefer my eggs to cook only 5 minutes then release steam. Good luck!
Joaniew1
The trick to easily peeling hard boiled eggs is to let the water come to a boil BEFORE adding your eggs! It really is as simple as that.
Per my mentor, Jacques Pepin, use a push pin to poke a hole in the wide end of the egg shell before dropping them gently with slotted spoon into the boiling water, turn heat to low, cover pot leaving the lid askew and cook gently 10 minutes.
Drain and shake eggs against side of pan to crack shells, and dump eggs into bowl of ice water. Allow to cool and peel.let eggs cool before removing from ice bath. (This gives eggs the chance to expel the gas that gives the hardened yolk a green rim).
This method is one that results in flawless and tender boiled eggs, resulting in a tinged yellows, and tender –not rubbery –whites. (Extract and mix yolks with your favorite ingredients; the info provided is strictly for technique purpose; the rest of the recipe is to to you!) The ‘devil’ truly is in the details…Enjoy!
Theresa Zucconi
Can you make the eggs without the pickle juice? We don’t like sweet pickles
Sam
Hi Theresa! You can leave it out, or you could substitute vinegar if you’d like. 🙂
Maryann
Loved this recipe for deviled eggs and have used it as my base recipe and customized to our liking. Use sweet & spicy pickle juice and banana pepper mustard (for the yellow mustard in the recipe). I used my hand-held mixer to blend – personal preference for really smooth filling. Thank you for helping me to finally find a deviled egg recipe that make my entire family happy! ALSO – I only hard boil eggs in my instant pot these days. Very reliable method for perfectly cooked eggs that consistently peel cleanly! Seems like a really silly use of the instant pot – but it really does work well!!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Maryann! I am so glad you enjoyed the deviled eggs so much. 🙂
Julie
This recipe is delicious! I recommend using an Instapot instead of boiling. Eggs peel like a dream and in seconds!
Sam
I’ve heard this about the Instantpot and now am going to have to get one just for the purpose of peeling eggs! Thanks Julie, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the deviled eggs! 🙂
Melissa
I have found that using vinegar in the boiling water makes the eggs easier to peel.
Caz
For easy peel eggs, its better to have OLD eggs, which goes against the grain when you have chooks, I know. Older than 10 days, and they peel better. Also, the breed of chook makes a difference, for example, smaller breeds make for easier-peel eggs. The bigger girls, and the ones who lay the bigger eggs, tend to make for extra white that catches when you peel. (I just put them aside for mashing into another recipe!)
Thanks for the recipe!
Sean
Can’t boil eggs to save my life. The best advice I’ve seen for peeling eggs came from my Cuisinart Egg Central. Piercing the top is the key I think. Eggs come out perfect and always easy to peel.
Marilyn Kanouse
The only way I boil eggs (and only once or twice have I seen a green “ring” around a yolk): put enough water in pan to cover eggs (but don’t add eggs yet). Bring to a boil, add eggs carefully, and cook for 13 minutes (can turn down heat to a soft boil). Drain water, rinse a few times with cold water, then cover eggs with cold water and add lots of ice. After 15 minutes, they are ready to shell and eat! I have given out this “recipe” quite a few times, and it always works. I never have a problem with peeling, so don’t know if my eggs are older, or whatever…
Kimberley A.
Going to try out your recipe for the family BBQ get together we are having in a couple weeks.
As for fresh eggs… I have found that not letting the ice bath be any longer than 10 min and cracking them a little halfway through the bath. Then to let them rest to room temperature before peeling works best for me.
Susan Lynn Charbonneau
I made these tonight-they were super delicious. I did have to sub for the sweet pickle juice because we were out. I used jarred jalapeno juice. I also added a few spoons of horseradish but followed the rest of the recipe. I didn’t really notice the butter taste but this recipe is a keeper. I pinned it to my board and will be using this recipe going forward.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the deviled eggs, Susan! Thank you for sharing your substitutions. 🙂
sharon
easiest to peel hard boiled eggs are made in the Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker). Any one of the recipes on the internet will work, but I use the Steam feature, 12 minutes, the quick release after a couple or so minutes. they peel like a dream. crack one side, then the other, then roll – that peel slips right off!
Sam
Thank you for the tip! I hope you love the deviled eggs, Sharon! 🙂