Is there anything more British than an egg mayonnaise sandwich?
Whether it's a posh afternoon tea, Sunday tea or work lunch, this combination of eggs and mayonnaise is timeless.
Simple and delicious, this egg mayo is also great spread on open sandwiches, piled onto crackers or just enjoyed as a salad.
For me it has to have plenty of pepper, fresh mustard cress and the crunch of radishes.
How do you eat your egg mayo sandwich?
Enjoy!
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Making an egg mayo sandwich is a simple affair, but there are a few tricks and tips to getting THE perfect sandwich, spread or egg salad.
I always keep eggs in the house, so when the fridge is bare before shopping, I always have a few left over for an emergency egg sandwich!
Egg mayonnaise and egg salad sandwiches have been popular in the UK for many years. In fact, in France, it is often served as a starter and not just spread on bread!
For ease, it's most convenient to make an egg mayonnaise sandwich with shop bought mayonnaise, but you can easily make it at home if you prefer.
I've added instructions to the post.
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Easy and quick
- No special skills
- Customisable recipe
- Use as a spread, salad, dip, or in wraps
🥘 Ingredients
- Eggs - large and free range, preferably the younger the better for boiled eggs.
- Mayonnaise - your own preference for shop bought, full fat or low fat plain mayonnaise. Make your own if you prefer.
- Mustard - Dijon mustard adds a mild kick to the mayonnaise without overpowering it. English mustard or yellow mustard is not the same.
- Salt - table salt or flaked sea salt if you have it.
- Pepper - freshly ground black pepper - white pepper if you prefer.
- Cress - most supermarkets sell small punnets of cress, which is normally a combination of salad rape and cress. It gives the sandwich a mild peppery tang and is traditionally served as an egg and cress sandwich.
- Radish - optional,a few slices of radish as a garnish for extra peppery crunch.
For homemade mayonnaise
- Eggs - large free range egg yolks.
- Salt - flaked sea salt.
- Oil - vegetable oil or other neutral oil.
- Lemon juice - fresh or from a bottle.
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.
🍽 Equipment
- medium saucepan
- balloon whisk - for homemade mayonnaise
- sharp knife
- chopping board
- kitchen paper - or a clean tea towel
- mixing bowl
🔪 Instructions
How to make homemade mayonnaise
First separate the yolks from the whites.
💭 Top Tip
- I normally store my eggs at room temperature, but if you put your eggs in the fridge for an hour or so before you are ready to bake, then they will be easier to separate.
- Separate each egg, putting the yolks and whites in separate bowls then add the yolks to your mixing bowl as you go. This makes it easier in case you come across a bad egg, without wasting the rest.
- Freeze egg whites in small bags, containers or ice cube trays and use within 12 months.
Put the eggs in a clean bowl and whisk with half of the lemon juice.
Add a few drops of oil, whisking continuously, until the mixture emulsifies.
When you are satisfied that the mixture is well combined, pour the oil in a very slow thin stream and continue whisking.
Stop pouring the oil if the mixture is not coming together into a thick sauce.
💭 Top Tip
- It's easier to pour in the oil if you leave it in a small jug to pour in.
Now add the remaining lemon juice and season to taste.
For more detailed instructions refer to the mayonnaise recipe.
⏲️ Cooking Time
How to make perfect hard boiled eggs
There are so many different instructions available for avoiding grey yolks, removing the shell easily and lots of other ideas.
Here are the instructions that I have always followed and never had a problem.
Put room temperature eggs in a large enough saucepan that they have space around them.
Cover with cold water and place the pan over a medium heat.
Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat so that the water is just simmering constantly.
Cook for 8 minutes then drain and fill the pan with cold water.
Drain and repeat.
Leave the eggs for a couple of minutes to cool then remove the shells. Roll them on a hard surface to loosen the shells and they should easily come away.
Slide the shelled eggs back into the water until they are completely cool.
That's it!
Drain the water and dry the eggs on paper towel.
Slice the eggs in half lengthways.
Scoop out the yolks with a mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
This really makes a difference to the flavour rather than just chopping the eggs.
Roughly chop the eggs whites to your preferred size. I like to leave them quite chunky for texture.
Put the egg whites into the bowl, along with the mayonnaise, mustard and seasoning.
Mix together well.
Spread 8 slices of bread with butter for a full sandwich or 4 for open egg mayonnaise sandwiches.
Pile on the egg mayo mix and top with cress and sliced radishes.
Dig in!
🥗 Serve with
Egg mayonnaise sandwiches are great for a picnic or Sunday tea time.
Make it a proper spread with some of these light bites and baking ideas.
- Cheese and Bacon Scones
- Prawn Canapés
- Cherry Madeira Cake
- Butterscotch Tart
- Smoked Salmon Canapés
- Jamaica Ginger Loaf
- Cream Tea Scones
- Fruit Loaf
- Afternoon Tea Sandwiches
- Chicken Liver Parfait
- Smoked Salmon Pâté
- Salmon Gravlax
- Coronation Chicken Sandwich
🥙 Substitutions
- Cress - add cucumber slices instead.
- Mayonnaise - use salad cream or Greek yogurt.
📖 Variations
- Flavoured - add curry powder to taste or add chopped dill or tarragon.
- Bacon - I often add dried bacon lardons to egg mayonnaise. Or, cook streaky bacon in the oven until crisp, leave to cool and crumble over the egg in the sandwich.
- Sausage - cooked and cooled sliced sausages turn this egg mayo sandwich into an all day breakfast, especially if you load it with bacon pieces and a few slices of tomato!
- Chorizo - chop some chorizo into samll cubes and fry in its own fat until crispy and scatter over the egg. It's best not to add any salt to the egg mixture as the chorizo is naturally salty.
- Vegetables - add one or more of chopped and deeseeded tomatoes, sliced spring onions, sliced gherkins or cornichons, drained capers or add a few slices of lettuce.
🍣 Storage
- Refrigerator - store the egg mix covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer - not suitable for freezing.
🍱 Prepare in Advance
- Make the egg mix in advance and leave covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
🤔 FAQs
Mayonnaise is one of the French 'Mother' sauces, or basic sauces, from where many of the sauces we still use today, come from.
Then, there are daughter sauces, which have a mayonnaise base which include; tartare, aïoli, Marie rose and Elizabeth.
This sauce is made by emulsifying egg yolks with oil. The egg yolks contain lecithin, which is a protein.
Normally, if you had a jug of oil and added water, the two ingredients would form different layers.
The lecithin is able to combine with water and oil and create a stable sauce. The water in the sauce being lemon juice or vinegar or both.
Other 'Mother ' sauces which are emulsified are Hollandaise and Beurre Blanc.
More savoury egg recipes
- Corned Beef Fritters
- Courgette and Sweetcorn Fritters
- Quiche Lorraine
- Salmon and Broccoli Quiche
- Quail Scotch Eggs
- Hollandaise Sauce
- Toad in the Hole
📋 Recipe
Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- balloon whisk - for homemade mayonnaise
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Kitchen paper
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 7 tablespoon low fat mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Garnish
- 4 tablespoon cress
- 4 radishes
- 8 slices brown bread
- 8 teaspoon butter
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a saucepan and pour over enough cold water to cover.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes.
- Drain and fill the pan with cold water. Drain and repeat.
- Shell the eggs as soon as possible and return to the cold water to cool completely.
- Dry the eggs on kitchen paper and halve them lengthways.
- Scoop out the yolks with a mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
- Roughly chop the eggs whites to your preferred size.
- Put the egg whites into the bowl, along with the mayonnaise, mustard and seasoning. Mix well.
- Spread 8 slices of bread with butter for a full sandwich or 4 for open sandwiches.
- Pile on the egg mayo mix and top with cress and sliced radishes.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article
More light bites to try
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using gas.
Do you have a question or did you make the recipe?
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Sandhya S
This is a very British Sandwich! We love it and make it often for tea parties.
Tayler Ross
I get bored of the typical lunch meat sandwich for lunch every day, so this is definitely going to be my new go to!
Janessa
So simple and delicious! We make this often for a quick lunch!
Ieva
True classics are the best! Such simple ingredients, but the result is just amazing! Next time I will try to make your mayo from scratch too! 🙂
Mirlene
The addition of the cress makes this egg sandwich so fancy! I'll definitely have this with my afternoon tea.
Cam
I have never had an egg mayo sandwich until now and it was so delicious! Really easy to make, I made it for lunch this week!
Lisa
This is an easy and very solid recipe for egg salad sandwich. We all enjoyed it! I topped it with radish for crunch like in your picture, it was delicious :).
Mahy
This is one amazing sandwich! Love how easy it is, yet how yummy everything looks!
Dannii
This is such a classic, and always a must when we go on a picnic.
Dionne
Great recipe and tips! Separating eggs is so important in this recipe and is really helpful!
Natalie
Made this for my family as a quick lunch while I was in a hurry. They loved it, thanks!
Michelle
Such a delicious childhood classic, elevated! The Dijon mustard really adds so much flavour!