Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs (With Pickle Relish)

Name: Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs (With Pickle Relish)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 8 Eggs (hard boiled); 1 teaspoon mustard; 1 Tablespoon sweet pickle relish; 1/3 cup mayonnaise; ½ teaspoon Salt (to taste); ½ teaspoon Black Pepper (to taste); 1 teaspoon paprika (for garnish)

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My Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs (With Pickle Relish) are the perfect side dish for your next barbecue or holiday dinner! Or just an everyday snack and treat as my husband says! These are my husband’s favorite treat and this is his favorite recipe for classic deviled eggs. No need to wait for a special occasion, let’s get cooking and whip up this deviled egg recipe!

Stuffed deviled egg from the side, sprinkled with paprika on top

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Deviled Eggs, or sometimes called Angel Eggs, are a classic Southern staple. Everyone’s family has a recipe. There’s heated debate on whether or not the egg filling should include pickle relish. (It absolutely should, by the way!). And this recipe is my family’s recipe. My husband says they are as good as his grandmother’s when he was growing up, and trust me, that’s HIGH praise. Deviled eggs that are as good as Mamaw’s eggs are really an accomplishment.

If you need some good ideas for what to make to put these perfect deviled eggs alongside, just try out our Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs or maybe our Chicken Salad Sandwiches! It’s perfect for family gatherings, perfect for a holiday meal, and perfect for a snack any day of the week. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion.

Tray of deviled eggs up close from the side

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Simple Ingredients – The ingredients for this recipe are as simple as they come! Chances are you have all of these on hand in the fridge and pantry already! And if not you can find these ingredients in any grocery store.
Classic Southern Recipe – This is a time tested, classic Southern recipe, handed down from generation to generation. It’s wonderful and tasty and perfect!
Variability – You can change up the recipe however you like! Want spicy mustard? Go for it! Don’t want pickle relish? Leave it out! It’s so easily customizable!

Ingredients

Eggs – I use large eggs or extra large eggs, whichever I have on hand.
Yellow Mustard – It doesn’t have to be yellow mustard. It can by spicy mustard or dijon mustard is completely fine too!
Sweet Pickle Relish – The sweet relish is a great balance to the tang of the mayonnaise and mustard.It just gives a hint of sweetness to the egg filling.
Mayonnaise – This makes the filling nice and creamy. If you aren’t a mayo fan, you could always use greek yogurt or sour cream!
Salt – I like coarse kosher salt, to taste.
Pepper – Freshly ground black pepper is a must to season your deviled egg filling.
Paprika – The paprika gives a touch of smoky flavor and give the eggs their signature pretty color sprinkle on top! Just a little sprinkle of paprika makes a difference in flavor and it makes them look so delicious, too!

Equipment

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Santoku Knife – You don’t have to go out and buy a nice knife. BUT, if you were in the market for a knife, this is the one I couldn’t do without, and the one I go for time and time again. It’s wonderfully and beautifully made. I’ve had this knife for over 10 years and it’s my favorite thing in my entire kitchen. You truly do get what you pay for in knives. These are made in Germany, but are widely sold in the United States now. You can go way higher in quality as well, this is just a starting point.
Cutting Board – I’ve had these for years and I love them. Mine are red! They are the perfect sizes, easy to store, and have a little groove around the edges to stop juices from flowing all over. This is the cutting board I go to time and time again when I’m cooking.
Mixing Bowls – These nesting mixing bowls are fabulous. They store easily and the lids come in so, so handy! I adore them and I love the colors!
Spatula Set – This is the greatest set ever. Not only does it have several handy spatulas, it has a few tiny ones too, to help you get every single scrape out of jars and containers!
Piping Bags – I love these bags for all kinds of things in the kitchen. My favorite use is to fill deviled eggs or stuffed shells!
Deviled Egg Holder Tray – This tray has the inserts to hold the eggs so that they can’t go wiggling all over the tray if you move them! I love it, plus it’s just so nice to look at too!

Deviled eggs on the cutting board being filled with filling

Substitutions, Modifications, and Additions

There are so many ways you can change these eggs and the flavor up in this recipe!

Substitutions

Mayonnaise – If mayonnaise isn’t your thing, feel free to substitute yogurt or sour cream (or both) in the same amount the recipe calls for in mayonnaise.
Pickles – Sweet pickle relish is what this recipe calls for, but you are welcome to chop up dill pickles to go in the egg filling. Dill pickles or dill pickle relish will not be as sweet as the relish, but they work beautifully, too!

Modifications

Gluten-Free – This recipe is gloriously gluten free as is. As always, double check your ingredients to confirm, but all these ingredients should be gluten free, and most certainly are available in a certified gluten free option.
Dairy-Free – If you are looking to make these eggs dairy-free, you can always use a dairy-free mayonnaise or yogurt and you’ll be good to go!

Additions

Spicy – Want a little spice? Feel free to add chopped up jalapenos to the mix or on top of the eggs. Also, you can add in some cayenne pepper to the egg filling mixture for a little kick! Some people like to drizzle hot sauce on top of their deviled eggs, too! Spicy seasonings can take your eggs to a whole new level!
Bacon – Add in some cooked, crumbled bacon as a topper to your eggs. It’s SO good.
Chives – Chives are a delicious addition to this recipe for a little bit of an onion flavor. Chop some fresh chives up and mix it into the egg filling, or sprinkle chives on top for garnish.

Step by Step Instructions

Let’s get to the steps to make our traditional deviled eggs!

Note: I always make 8 eggs to actually net 6 nicely peeled eggs, because I usually lose one or two in the cooking or peeling. I like to leave a margin! Plus, snacking.

Eggs in a pot getting ready to be put on to boil

Fill: I place eggs in the sauce pan and then add water to about an inch above the eggs.

Pot of eggs boiling for hard boiled eggs to make deviled eggs

Boil: Hard boil eggs for 10 minutes over medium-high heat in a large pot. A sauce pot works great for this.

Pot of eggs taken off heat and lid put on to finish cooking

Remove: Remove from heat and put the lid on the saucepan. Let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Pot of hard boiled eggs with ice on top of the eggs

Drain: Drain the water from the pot and replace it with cold water and ice to cover the eggs.

Sit: Let eggs sit for another 15 minutes in the ice water bath. The ice bath makes all the difference in peeling your eggs! When eggs are ice cold, I find they are much easier to peel.

A woman's hands peeling a hard boiled egg

Peel: Peel eggs.

Hard boiled egg whites cut in half with the yolks removed

Chop: Chop in half, putting the yolks in a separate bowl and put the halved egg whites on your serving tray.

Mash: Mash the egg yolks into a fine mixture. I use a fork to mash yolks.

Deviled egg filling mixture before it's mixed together, including crumbled yolks, sweet pickle relish, mustard and mayonnaise.

Add: Add in the mustard, pickle relish, mayonnaise, salt & pepper. Adjust the egg yolk mixture to your taste. You want it to be creamy filling.

Bag: Put the yolk mixure in a disposable sandwich bag or piping bag and snip off a corner with scissors.

Plate with boiled egg halves with the filling being piped in to the egg white halves

Pipe: Pipe the egg filling into the yolk cavity of egg halves (the egg whites). You can use a piping bag, a zip lock bag or a plastic bag.

Sprinkle: Sprinkle with paprika for garnish.

Refrigerate: Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Serve: Remove from refrigerator and serve immediately and enjoy!

Tips and Notes

Here are some great tips and tricks for making these Southern-style Deviled Eggs!

Old Eggs – Older eggs peel easier than fresh eggs. This is a perfect way to use up eggs that are almost out of date.
Cool Eggs – Cooled and iced eggs peel easier than warm eggs. The ice water helps cool the eggs and separate the peel from the egg.
Vinegar – Add a splash of white vinegar to the boiling water of the eggs, it helps peel the eggs easier as well! Apple cider vinegar is fine, too!
Let Sit – These eggs need to sit and set up for a bit, so it’s best to make them several hours before you want to serve them.
Serving Tray – I only move the eggs one time, they are a little slippery. So I make the eggs and put them on whatever serving platter they will be served on as I go.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Storage

Refrigerator – Store the eggs in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You want an air-tight container for sure, because any devilled egg recipe can be a little stinky in the fridge.
Freezer – I don’t recommend freezing deviled eggs. We never have any leftovers anyway, but if we do, they don’t get frozen. Make an egg salad or sandwiches instead to use up your leftover eggs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

I’m not a big fan of mayonnaise. Can I use something else?

For sure! I’m not a big mayonnaise fan either, but it definitely works in these eggs. But try greek yogurt. It has the same texture and changes the taste that you don’t like so much!

Do I have to use paprika?

You definitely don’t! Some people are very strongly opinionated that there should not be any paprika on the eggs. My family loves it, but you certainly can skip it!

Deviled eggs on a wooden cutting board from above, with chives sprinkled on top of them

Wrap-Up – Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs (With Pickle Relish)

I hope you enjoy these Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs (With Pickle Relish)! It’s a beloved family recipe and I hope your family loves it too! It’s a classic Southern deviled eggs recipe that you could get! These come out for almost every family gathering and we certainly think it’s the best deviled eggs recipe. It’s a perfect appetizer or side dish for any gathering, winter or summer, and every season in between. I can’t wait to hear what you think about this recipe! Let me know when you make it! Until then… Just Keep Shuflfing!

Printable Recipe Card: Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs (With Pickle Relish)