At the heart of a great egg sandwich is a creamy egg filling and essential to this are soft boiled, not hard boiled eggs! The creamy yolks practically makes its own mayonnaise sauce and the soft-set egg whites almost melt in your mouth.
Egg sandwich thoughts
You wouldn’t think that someone would have so many opinions about a simple egg sandwich, but as I sat down to write this recipe, it turns out I do! Here’s my egg sandwich thought-dump, roughly in care-factor order:
No rubbery bits of whites – I don’t like little firm bits of egg whites in what should be a creamy egg filling. So I use soft boiled eggs with soft just-set egg whites, rather than hard boiled eggs which is more common in standard egg sandwiches.
Semi homemade mayo – Soft boiled eggs = creamy yolk = practically makes its own semi-homemade mayonnaise. It’s so good! Better flavour and more luxurious with less mayonnaise required.
No celery. I know that might be an unpopular opinion but crunchy bits in a creamy egg filling, no matter how small or finely sliced, just don’t appeal to me. Goes in the same bucket as #1.
Soft bread is best. Too much filling oozes out when you bite the sandwich if you use chewy, crusty artisan bread like sourdough.
So, if all that sounds good to you, then let me introduce to the egg sandwich of your dreams!
Creamy egg sandwich filling
Here’s an up-close-and-personal look at the filling. The left photo is just soft boiled eggs mashed up. You can see that it’s already pretty creamy, even before adding the mayonnaise! Then the photo on the right is the finished filling after adding the mayonnaise and mustard.
What you need for my egg sandwich
As already emphasised a number of times (reeks of passion, right??!), the key ingredient here is soft boiled rather than hard boiled eggs! With creamy yolks, you only need a mere dab of mayonnaise and smidge of mustard for a creamy, luxurious filling.
If you don’t have chives, substitute with finely minced green onion.
Soft boiled eggs – The creamy yolk gives you a head start on the creamy sauce so we only need 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise for 6 eggs (4 sandwiches). So we’re sort of making a semi-homemade mayonnaise here!
Mayonnaise – Whole egg mayo is creamier and less tangy than normal mayo. My favourite brand is S&W (Australia), followed by Hellman’s and Kewpie (equal second).
Dijon mustard – For flavour and a touch of tang.
Chives – For freshness and nice green bits in our filling.
Salt – Just 1/8 teaspoon! Trust me on this. Egg is weirdly salt adverse. The opposite of potatoes which can take loads of salt!
Best bread for egg sandwiches
As for the bread, you can really use anything you want though for traditional tea-type sandwiches (like pictured), soft white sandwich bread is the go. My only tip is to avoid crusty, chewy artisan bread (like sourdough). Filling ooze issues. Stick with soft bread!
How to make egg sandwiches
And the making part:
Cook soft boiled eggs and peel (8 minutes in boiling water). For full directions see my boiled eggs recipe, but I’ve included abbreviated directions in the recipe card below.
Mash the eggs using a fork to get it started, then a potato masher. The finer you mash, the creamier your filling! Once well mashed, you’ll see your filling is already semi-creamy.
Filling – Stir in the mayo, mustard, chives, salt and pepper.
Spread butter on the bread.
Spread filling on bread, from edge to edge!
Crusts – If you’re going for quaint English tea sandwiches, trim the crusts off then cut to your desired shape. The sandwiches pictured in post have been cut into 3 rectangles (4 sandwiches cut into a total of 12 finger sandwiches).
TIP: For extra neat edges, refrigerate the sandwiches for 1 hour before cutting. This will set the filling so you can cut more neatly. But be sure to serve at room temperature!
And there you have it! My egg sandwich. I know there are recipes out there with more bells and whistles, using fancier ingredients like creme fraiche, perhaps a smidge of curry powder, and other add-ins.
But to me, all that is unnecessary if you use soft boiled eggs. This is one of those recipes where the end result is so much more than the sum of its parts. I hope you give it a go! Let me know what you think if you do. And also, you know I always love hearing your thoughts on my thoughts on matters of food. Do you disagree with my position on soft boiled eggs? Do you think celery is mandatory? Fancier bread? Bring on the egg sandwich debate! 😂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Egg sandwich
Ingredients
Egg sandwich filling:
- 6 soft boiled eggs , at room temperature (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp whole egg mayonnaise (S&W brand best, Note 2)
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp finely chopped chives (sub green onion)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp cooking/kosher salt (yes really, that's all!)
Sandwich:
- 8 slices soft white sandwich bread (Note 3)
- Soft salted butter , for spreading on bread
Instructions
- Mash egg: Place the eggs in a bowl and crush with a fork. Once mostly broken up, use a potato masher to mash them up really well. Smaller egg white bits = creamier filling.
- Filling: Add remaining filling ingredients and gently stir to combine. Taste and add more salt if desired, but add with caution because it's bizarre how little salt eggs can take!
- Make sandwich: Butter the bread. Divide filling between 4 pieces of bread, spread evenly edge to edge. Trim crusts (optional), then cut as you wish. (Note 4 tips)
- Serve: Always serve at room temperature, for best flavour!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life’s too short for bland sandwiches!
Life of Dozer
No egg sandwiches for Dozer! 💨💨
Amanda Marie says
Your comment about “soldiers” makes me laugh. I live in the U.S. and when I mention dipping soldiers in an egg, I get funny looks. Absolutely loved your live, and just got the best news – your cookbook will be delivered tomorrow. Oh joy!
Stephen Draper says
Lovely recipe although I find 8 minutes for an egg is too long.
A great variation is to add some finely chopped shallots and some grated vintage cheddar cheese. You may need to add a little extra mayo. In our house we call this “the mixture”. You really need to try it.
Corinne Roden says
Lovely sandwich . Why can’t Dozer go in the pool? Mine loved it. xx0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Kate says
Omg…….my absolute favourite sandwich filling and I can not believe I have been doing it wrong forever….
Can’t wait to try this one Nagi as no doubt it will be a game changer!
Rakel says
Just realised that I´m a very simple boring person, because this post excited me and I was drooling over it, you are the best Nagi, don´t think I´ve tried celery with egg mayo but I will, I can eat it raw like some people eat chocolate bars, my partner said.. yuk celery, fancy biting into some water with hair in it (I don´t agree, well maybe a bit but I still like it) I actually laughed out loud at the picture of poor Dozer wanting to go in the pool. Have a good week, love from the boring egg/celery queen x
Jennifer says
Hi Nagi. Love your little masher…can you tell me where you purchased it please?
Linda says
I have one of these. Great masher. The masher is an Oxo
Good Grips
Smooth Potato Masher on sale @Myer.
tami says
hi. fyi… email link takes me to a different recipe.
Nagi says
Thanks Tami!! I know, I buggered up – oops! 🙂 N x
Lynn says
Love the soft boiled egg concept but for me it must always be Kewpie.
Nagi says
Proud of you Lynn. So proud. 🙂 N xx
Gill says
Hi Nagi, they look lush. I’m from England and have never heard of celery in an egg sandwich before, what part of the world does that? I don’t like anything green in mine, just pure soft creamy egg with a little mayo, salt and pepper.
Love your recipes, keep doing what you’re doing.
Stacey says
Would you use the same for a curried/devilled egg sanga? And just add a bit of Keens curry powder?
Tracy says
Yay! thanks for sharing your egg saga recipe, can’t wait to try it.
Heather says
These look delicious. Thank you. Will definitely try this Totally agree on the celery. I do sometimes like a little curry powder in my egg sandwiches.
Abi says
Eggs sandwiches are simple but delicious. In the UK, we might traditionally add some cress for colour and a peppery flavour.
Anon says
Or watercress if you go to M&S
Abi says
Oh yes. I live in France now and I have to grow my own cress if I want some!
Deb says
No no no! 🤢. Must be well cooked eggs for a sandwich. But then I like eggs any way at all except soft and runny.
Ps love the chicken sandwich recipe 😊
Kylie says
Yum – never thought to only soft boil the eggs. My 98yr uncle loves his egg sandwiches (curried) & I try to take him some for his lunch once a week – I think he’ll love these (thinks I don’t mash the egg fine enough)
Suz says
Now I want a recipe from you for shokupan to go with the egg filling!
Lorraine says
Yum. Love egg sandwiches, mum used to put curry in hers. I put mayo in mine never thought of putting Dijon into them. Can’t wait to try.
Pat Rolt says
I’m with you – I’m over the whole sour dough thing. When will cafes and restaurants stop serving them with eggs benedict? You need a jackhammer to get through the crust!
Nagi says
Flashbacks to last weekend when I was sawing through sourdough and it slid right off my plate!!!
Mel says
OMG you must be psychic as I was thinking of making egg Sanga’s for Good Friday lunch!
Can’t wait to try it as I think egg is my fave sandwich filling.
Judy says
I am a dedicated egg sandwich fan, but never have I eaten an egg sandwich with celery in it – is that a Japanese thing, a Sydney thing, a Northern Beaches thing, or just a local sandwich shop thing?
I am looking forward to trying this recipe, if I can peel the soft boiled eggs properly!
Nagi says
I think it’s an American thing! I’ve seen so many recipes with celery in it. I tried it – and it was fine but preferred without! N x
Sean says
Most egg sandwich filling in the US has chopped celery…