15 Creative Ways To Eat Egg Salad Without Bread
Egg salad is a delicious and adaptable dish that can be customized with an array of different ingredients. Some people like a chunkier salad with large egg wedges, whereas others like a creamier, mashed salad. Whether you have run out of bread or want to expand your options with this dish, there are many creative ways to eat egg salad without bread.
These options are a welcome balance of bread-free alternatives that you'll be able to enjoy your egg salad on. If you have trouble choosing which to go for, you don't even have to stick to just one. You can make a snack platter of sorts with a few prospects to mix things up. In addition to these non-bread choices, you can mix up how you make the dish itself — like making egg salad without mayo, adding loads of fresh herbs, infusing it with creamy avocado, and tweaking the recipe to accommodate specific dietary needs. You'll find plenty of inspiration to make your meal delectable and compelling.
Read more: Hacks That Will Make Boiling Your Eggs So Much Easier
Use Hollowed Out Pickles Or Cucumbers As Your Base
If you already add pickles to your egg salad, you can always double the brine factor by using sliced pickles as the vehicle for your egg salad. Start by slicing the pickles or cucumbers lengthwise, so you have more surface area to work with, rather than trying to stuff small coin-sized pieces. You'll also want to use a thicker cut to ensure that it's not too floppy. Alternatively, you could also slice it in half lengthwise and hollow out the center so the egg salad remains contained inside. Not only is this a fun, fresh way to enjoy your egg salad, but it also offers a tasty contrast of soft egg salad and crunchy cucumber.
The hollowed-out option can hold a good amount of egg salad without falling apart. This makes it an excellent snack for a potluck or gathering since it's easy to hold. Thinly-sliced cukes might require two hands to ensure nothing falls off, but it is just as tasty. You can also go a step further and sprinkle fresh herbs on top of the vegetable for an aromatic and aesthetic touch.
Spread Egg Salad Onto Nori Sheets
This colorful, crunchy seaweed snack is fantastic hand-held way to enjoy your egg salad. You can approach it more like a taco since you can load the egg salad onto the salty sheet and gently fold it up to eat. The sheets are delicate, so keep them whole rather than ripping them into smaller pieces. Alternatively, you can give nori sheets a delicious crisp by toasting them.
To give your sheets an edge, lightly coat them in oil and hold them over an open flame (at a distance) so the sheet crisps up without catching on fire. You could also opt to heat them up using an oven or broiler, but they can easily burn if you turn away for too long. For variety, leave some sheets un-toasted so you can get a unique textural contrast. You can also use flavored nori, like spicy or teriyaki varieties, when you want an assortment of flavors for your "sandwich."
Try It In An Egg Crepe Or Wrap
Make egg crepes or purchase egg wraps from the store to stuff with your egg salad. This is an ideal choice when you want a protein-filled meal. Cook up a standard crepe recipe, or go full-on with an egg white crepe, instead. The choice boils down to how eggy you want the wrap to be. You could always add some herbs and spices to the egg salad to not only give it more flavor, but also distract from the overwhelming egginess present.
Mix chopped chives or dill into the crepe batter for a fragrant inclusion, then cook it according to the recipe instructions. As for spices, whip a medley of smoked paprika, garlic powder, and sumac for the eggs. Once you've loaded the egg salad into the wrap or the crepe, you can easily fold and eat it. This decision really boils down to whether you want to eat the wrap with your hands or go with a fork and knife scenario. Pair the dish with a side salad for a fresh, light, yet filling meal.
Eat Egg Salad On Sliced Or Scooped Out Tomato
Eggs and tomatoes are not strangers to each other. You'll find them in everything from colorful omelets to a Chinese tomato egg stir fry. For this egg salad sandwich hack, you'll need to grab a firm tomato — whether that's a heirloom or beefsteak — that can hold its shape. Small tomatoes such as cherry or grape tomatoes aren't substantial enough for this trick. Cut the fruits into large slices that you can put the egg salad on top of. The tomato egg salad sandwich is a refreshing combination that balances the creaminess of the salad.
You can also get a more tomato in each bite by slicing the fruit in half and hollowing out the inside to make room for your salad. This is a crisp, refreshing way to enjoy the salad. If you scoop some of the insides out, save the pulp to make tomato water for vinaigrettes or gazpacho.
Add It Onto Portobello Mushrooms
Portobellos are a large, chewy, almost meaty type of mushroom that's a superb option when you want a meat-free meal. Since you can stuff portobellos with any number of ingredients, why not egg salad? Whether you want raw or roasted portobello is up to you, but roasted or grilled has a more tender texture and lightly charred taste. If you want to roast them, let them cool completely before scooping on the egg salad. Cooked or uncooked, you'll want to prepare the mushrooms by wiping off any dirt with a damp towel, pulling out the stem, and scooping out the gills.
Coat them with olive oil and then bake for 10 minutes before adding your egg salad filling. Eat the earthy, umami egg salad portobellos like an open-faced sandwich, or cut them into quarters once prepared for easier-to-eat segments. These look cool on a plate and make an excellent appetizer for a bash.
Transform Egg Salad Into A Lettuce Wrap
Lettuce wraps are a popular way to make a sandwich without bread. While butter lettuce is a top option because it has a curved, cup-like shape, you can savor a light egg salad with your preferred type of lettuce. Iceberg lettuce is a familiar, approachable favorite, while romaine has an earthy, slightly sweet taste. Have fun with the nuanced taste as well as the overall shape of the leafy vegetable. Roll it up to serve as wraps, or leave them open for lettuce cups. The cups allow you to have a heftier amount of egg salad without it falling out, but neither impacts the taste.
Egg salad wraps are excellent for a warm day when you don't want something too heavy for lunch. Since the lettuce is mostly water, it feels crisp and refreshing. This is fantastic for a party since you can wash a couple of heads of lettuce to prepare a larger amount to serve to guests. But you could easily peel off a few leaves to eat for yourself. Garnish these gluten-free goodies with sliced radish and fresh dill for added color.
Upgrade Egg Salad With Rice Cakes
Rice cakes offer a crisp way to juxtapose your egg salad. It's considerably crunchier than toasted bread, which can be a welcome canvas for eating a soft dish. This savory base allows you to spread a generous amount of egg salad instead of smaller vehicles like a cracker. Just scoop your desired amount on the rice cake, spread it evenly, and dig in. Eating this open-faced is easier than sandwiching it with another rice cake simply because it can be very crumbly as you bite it.
This is a perfect time to think about your plating, whether you want to add chopped scallions or a dash of paprika. There are a variety of rice cake flavors, but you don't want anything too out-of-the-box or sweet. Savory flavors such as lightly salted or white cheddar are your best bet. There are also rice cake thins, which can also be a good option if you want a lower cake-to-egg salad ratio. This is a balanced dish of crunchy and smooth that's fantastic for a simple lunch since you don't have to prep the rice cake in any way.
Give It A Boost With Sliced Sweet Potato
Despite their name, sweet potatoes are incredible in savory dishes. Forget about bread and your sweet potato slices for a fresh take on a sandwich. For a more sandwich-like appearance, slice them lengthwise. But you could slice them into coins if you prefer the size. These require a bit of prep time since you'll have to cut them, brush them with oil, salt, and pepper, and then pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 F. This is where you can prepare your egg salad.
The sweet and earthy orange potatoes balance the creaminess of the egg salad for a captivating twist on a classic meal. This version is colorful and can be eaten open-faced or as a sandwich, depending on the size you seek. When you prefer it to look more like a sandwich, you can slice it horizontally into portions or slice it totally in half and then scoop out some of the insides. The sweet potatoes soften during the baking process to make this a melt-in-your-mouth way to have egg salad.
Slice Jicama For A Makeshift Tortilla
If you've never had jicama, it's a super crunchy vegetable dipper with a mild flavor that makes a remarkable, neutral base for egg salad. You can find the jicama wraps at the grocery store or Trader Joe's.It's just finely sliced pieces of the vegetable that are tortilla-shaped and sized. It has a crunchy snap to it, and the thin slice allows flexibility for a light wrap or egg salad taco of sorts. There is some malleability, but you don't want to twist or roll it much because it can snap pretty quickly.
If you can't locate jicama in the store, you could attempt to slice it yourself. But if this proves to be difficult, simply slice it into wedges or coin-shaped chunks to lay the egg salad onto thin round discs. It is an option with fiber, vitamin C, potassium, iron, folate, and other nutrients that can make it an enticing option when you want to eat something refreshing.
Top Savory Pancakes With Egg Salad
You might associate pancakes with a sweet dish that receives a hefty drizzle of maple syrup or whipped cream, but it's time to put a zesty spin on them. When you want something distinct for lunch or brunch, make savory chickpea pancakes with chickpea flour, salt, pepper, and a few other additions. You can swap the parsley with herbs or spices that you add to the egg salad, like dill, scallions, or paprika.
Or, try cheddar corneal pancakes for a different flavor profile with a cheesy interior. These pancake ingredients set them apart from most recipes to make a mouthwatering, non-sweet base that you can spoon egg salad onto. These hotcake options make a satisfying meal that feels unique and cosmopolitan, but it's not too hard to cook. Experiment with other flavors, such as scallion pancakes or vegetable-based fritters. For more snack-sized portions to serve at a get-together, make silver dollar pancakes (small pancakes) instead of the standard size, and then top them with egg salad.
Make Puff Pastry Cups To Put Egg Salad In
Preparing pastry puff cups makes an immaculate party dish in which you can put your egg salad. Gather your puff pastry, unfold it, and cut it into 2-inch squares. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray, then gently place the squares into the tin, pressing them down to form a cup-like shape. Place the tin in the oven until the pastry turns golden brown, which should be around 10 minutes, but keep monitoring them.
Once toasty, remove the puffs from the oven. Allow them to cool, and then pop them out of the muffin tin; now, you can scoop in your egg salad for a delicious bite-size appetizer that will impress. Serve the delicate, flaky puffs at a party alongside other bites like chopped fruit or a herby spring pea dip with chopped veggies. This is an elegant way to eat egg salad that doesn't take long to prepare and assemble but looks like something you'd see at a fancy catered afternoon tea.
Load It Up Onto Celery Sticks
Sure, you can eat celery by itself, but it's often paired with something like peanut butter or hummus. Following this train of thought, egg salad makes sense. Use the green vegetables as a makeshift spoon to dip into the egg salad or spread the yellowy delight onto the celery. For this crisp snack, wash, trim, and dry the celery so it's not too slick and the eggs fall off. Cut the stick in half or thirds, but don't want too miniature pieces of celery. You want to be able to easily hold them and put more egg salad into them.
The groove, while not too deep or wide, can hold a small but respectable amount of the eggy dish. Celery is mostly water, so it can be a cooling snack option. You can eat a bunch and know you're getting a serving or two of vegetables in while you're at it.
Serve It On Cauliflower Steaks
We love the versatility of cauliflower, as it can be used in anything from pizza crust to mashed cauliflower. In this instance, slice a head of cauliflower for roasted steaks that you can top with egg salad. Cauliflower absorbs flavor from the seasonings, which you can keep on the mild side with salt and pepper or combine with other herbs and spices in your egg salad, such as pepper, salt, Dijon mustard, and chives. This is so the flavors don't overpower each other.
The cauliflower steaks are perfectly roasted, tender, and straightforward to prepare. Make the egg salad while the veggies cook. Since these are cut into steaks, not florets, it's around the size of a piece of bread. Depending on the vegetable itself and how dense and firm it is, it might be easiest to eat this one with a fork and knife. This is a splendid option to load your egg salad and get some extra vegetables while at it.
Use Chips Or Crackers To Hold The Eggs
The flakiness of chips and crackers is ideal for dips. Egg salad can be a dip, especially if you make a creamy egg salad with smaller, more mashed pieces. There's a whole world of chips and crackers and flavors to use, too. While this is ultimately up to your individual flavor pairing choices, a basic salted or garlic herb crackers or chips is a fantastic starting point. Thicker chips like kettle chips or pita chips might be more durable than a thin-cut chip to hold under the pressure of the egg salad.
This is an entertaining way to serve the dish when you host people or watch a movie marathon so people can load it up to their desired amount. And a chip and cracker of options for a crunchy platter and a crowd-pleasing snack. Keep a spoon handy to scoop the egg out instead of dipping the cracker directly in your salad container. It's frustrating and messy to dig out broken chip pieces from a dip — we've all been there. Rather than strategically plating it to put out, let people access the food themselves so it doesn't get soggy.
Stuff Egg Salad Into A Bell Pepper
Stuffed baked peppers are such a great weeknight meal, but you can save even more time by eliminating the baking process altogether and just adding egg salad in them. Just rinse, cut the pepper in half, shake out the seeds, and place the salad inside. You can liberally position the creamy egg dish in the pepper since it has a lot of space. This is one of the more uncomplicated, delectable, and creative ways to eat egg salad without bread.
You may use any color that you have at home, but you could also consider the nuanced taste difference between red, yellow, and green bell peppers. Or, opt for the mini peppers for a more appetizer-sized option. The mini peppers would be wonderful to serve at a function where you need smaller morsels to give people and want more color added to the table. These are crisp and watery, but you could bake them independently if you want them to be more tender.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
