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 mayo (55g)
- 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.
- 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.
- Spoon filling into each egg white. Sprinkle with paprika and bacon (if using) and serve.
- 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.
HouseDadTodd
I used dill pickle juice rather than sweet, sriracha rather than tabasco, added a little garlic to the vegan butter spread to make them dairy allergy friendly – they came out creamy and amazing. Thank you for your recipe!
Egg Note: I use an Instant Pot to boil my eggs, quick release as soon as they are done, pull them out with tongs and put them directly into an ice bath. I add 3 Tbs of salt to make the water colder which helps with shell separation.
Alyson
Try old bay on top 👌🏻 Can anyone tell what state I’m from ..? Lol
Mike
Did you know? Older eggs are easier to peel than fresh eggs. If you are planning to make hard boiled eggs for Easter and want to make sure that the eggs are easy to peel, buy your eggs at least a week ahead of time (two weeks even better, they’ll keep).
If you’ve boiled a batch of eggs that you are now finding difficult to peel, try cracking the shells all around without peeling them and soaking the eggs in water for a while. The water often seems to seep in enough under the shell to make the egg easier to peel.
Elizabeth
Terrific! I have a good go-to recipe for deviled eggs but sometimes you just want to try something different and since I was already experimenting with recipes from this site I decided to try this one and I’m glad I did. I didn’t have the mayo, dijon or gherkin juice on hand so I used miracle whip, sweet salad cube juice and omitted the dijon and the recipe still turned out good. These eggs were gone on the first round at dinner, lol! Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad they were a hit for you, Elizabeth! Enjoy 😊
Kathleen P
Very good deviled egg recipe! I follow a keto diet, so used a keto friendly sweetener (monkfruit/erythritol blend) instead of the sugar. They came out exactly the way a deviled egg should.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re glad the substitution worked out for you, Kathleen! Enjoy 😊
Betty Brown
I love love love my hot air fryer for cooking hard boiled eggs–temp 250 for 16 min
Run under cold water while you crack all around against the sink..shell almost comes off by itself! No more boiling water!! It doesn’t matter how many you do at a time–same time and temperature. If the eggs are exceptionally large I do add a minute
Kelly
I always had trouble peeling my eggs. Got an Instant Pot and it is a game changer. All my eggs come out great. 5 mins on manual, wait 5 mins and then release pressure and 5 mins in a ice bath. Perfect peel every time.
Wendy
I will never boil eggs another way!
Reg
That’s what I do too, THE BEST. Even brown eggs with heavy shells peel nicely.
This recipe is great, made these for a party and they went quickly!
Brendon
Crack your eggs BEFORE you add them to boiling water.
Yes, I’m serious. Former professional egg-boiler, here (I mean, it was one of my job duties), and I was boiling 3-5 dozen eggs at a time.
This was my process: To boiling water, add the eggs, boil for 1 minute, and then cover off heat for 10 minutes. Then replace the hot water in the pot with cold water until the eggs are chilled. The key though is to lightly tap the bottom of the egg on the side of the pot. It takes a light touch and a little practice, but always err on too light. You can crack an uncracked egg, but can’t UNcrack a cracked one.
What you’re trying to do is pop the air bubble in the egg and break the membrane, without any white leaking out. The smallest of cracks should be enough. This allows heat and water to separate the albumin from the shell while the membrane still sticks to it.
To peel, lightly crack the egg all around, or roll it, or shake it in a glass. Use a finger our thumb to swipe off the bottom part of the shell, then the rest should come of relatively easily. I even got to the point where I could swipe the bottom of and then pinch the top and squib the egg out of the rest of the shell
Is this 100% and foolproof? No. But when I had to do 60 eggs, sacrificing a few was ok. I would recommend that if you have a specific number to make, and they have to be perfect, like for deviled eggs, you do a few extra. Worst case scenario: egg salad with the imperfects. Obviously, if presentation isn’t important (egg salad, garnishing, personal hard-cooked to eat, etc.) then just go for it.
Thank you for coming to my TEGG Talk.
Chloe
Wow, thanks Brendon! I love insider pro tips. I’m going to try this next time. I saw your comment AFTER doing it as directed above (like plenty of similar recipes and tutorials). It was problematic as usual. Some peeled easily and some did not, with damage to those eggs from the shell sticking. Can’t wait to try your method. 🙂
Misty
I’m glad we gave these a try! The butter made these so smooth! I typically am more into salty eggs (I normally add olives 😐), so adding sugar was definitely foreign for me! These will definitely be made again!
Billy
Old eggs are the secret. One week good, two is better. Another secret if you are getting fresh eggs direct from the chicken. Don’t wash the eggs until use and don’t refrigerate them. Eggs fresh from the nest have a coating that keeps any bacteria out. Washing the egg removes said coating. Anyway, the butter is a nice touch. I highly recommend a little prepared horseradish. Yum.
Tim
The hard to peel egg problem for you, unfortunately, is a too fresh of an egg problem. As eggs get older the egg white shrinks and pulls away from the shell which makes them easier to peel.
Haley
I added just a bit more Mayo and sugar… now I’m in charge of making the deviled eggs every thanksgiving from here on out!
Mike
Love the butter hint; it does make a difference!
Hopefully my egg hint(s) will help,you in return…I use a sous video to cook my eggs at 194 degrees for 20 min. Heat it up first, then carefully lower your cold eggs into the bath. Once cooked, remove and shock in ice water for 45 seconds to stop the cooking immediately but egg is still warm inside. I agree with other commenter that peeling while as hot as you can take it and my additional hint is to crack the shell into very small pieces all the way around before peeling…there will be more air getting between shell and egg whites, so shell won’t have a suction against the whites and cause whites to tear. I hope that works for you!
Amy
The secret to boiling eggs that peel effortlessly……. A hot start (very hot— almost boiling).
Heat water to almost boiling. Then slowwwwwwly add eggs.
Even if you’re careful, occasionally an egg will crack when you put it in hot water. To minimize the chance of cracking, take the eggs out of fridge 30-45 min before boiling.
Your boiled eggs will peel EFFORTLESSLY if you use the hot start method. You’ll be astonished.
JB
These are always a huge hit! The only thing I do differently is I double the sugar and top each deviled egg with a sweet pickle slice 😋
Wylfenne
Place your boiled egg into a drinking glass, put your hand over the open end and shake that egg all around. Take egg out, peels so easy!
Melissa
I used to work at a restaurant that would put a little slice of pickled ginger as a garnish and it’s DEADLY!! NEVER going back!
Mandy
My dad taught me to smack the bottom of the egg on the counter and then roll it around to crack the rest of the shell. Smacking it on the counter forces the air bubble at the bottom up and through the membrane of the eggshell and makes it a lot easier to peel!