14 Ingredients That Will Make Your Deviled Eggs So Much Better

Deviled eggs are the perfect picnic food — easy to make, fun to eat, and they look great on display. A classic deviled egg recipe usually involves hard-boiling eggs, leaving them to cool, and then slicing them in half lengthways. Scoop out the yolks, mix them in a separate dish with a little mayonnaise, mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper, and then pipe them back into the hollowed-out whites using a pastry or freezer bag with a corner snipped off. Dust with some paprika to add color or scatter on some herbs, and you're ready to go.

If this sounds like a snooze-fest, there are a ton of creative ways to enhance deviled eggs. Deep-fried deviled eggs rejuvenate a staple side dish by giving them a crunchy breadcrumb outer layer, while loaded deviled eggs are simple to make and perfect to serve at BBQs or as a fancy appetizer. If you're looking for new deviled egg hacks, these 14 ingredients are some of the best ways to switch things up in the kitchen.

If you want to give your deviled egg recipe a lift, adding some acidic flavors is one of the best ways to do this. Lemon juice or vinegar are good choices as the acidity in these ingredients will bring a zesty brightness to your eggs and cut through the richness in the egg yolks and the mayo. You'll only need around a tablespoon of either, or add to taste while mixing. Pour the liquid into the egg yolks while stirring in the other ingredients and give it a quick pulse with the food processor or with a hand-blender for a super smooth consistency.

Depending on your preference, you can use plain white or red vinegar or a sweetish flavor, like apple cider vinegar. Don't worry — you've got plenty of time to decide. Hard-boiled eggs will last up to one week in the fridge, so you can prep a batch in advance and store them in an airtight container while you choose which recipe to make. 

For this deviled egg hack, you can mostly stick to the basics. The only significant change is that you use half the amount of mayo and, instead, make up the difference using sour cream. Adding some sour cream to your deviled egg yolks can bring a light, whippy quality to the recipe. The zingy flavor of the sour cream also helps to add some freshness to the dish.

Sour cream is also lower in calories compared with full-fat mayonnaise, which is made from a mixture of eggs and oil to give it a rich, binding consistency. Deviled eggs made with sour cream will hold together just as well as mayo-based ones, however, meaning you can still make a lovely, decorative yolk peak using your pastry bag. If you want to leave out the mayo completely, use some cream cheese to thicken sour cream for a stiffer texture.

Add some briny seafood flavor to your deviled eggs and serve them alongside a classic crab boil at a beach picnic. You can make loaded deviled eggs using a mixture of white and brown crab meat — if you're wondering about the different types of crab and how to eat them, precooked Dungeness or blue crab is ideal for this recipe — or with chopped shrimp or prawns. Make sure to properly chill your deviled eggs before preparing them, and keep them cool while on the table to ensure your cooked seafood is always at a safe temperature.

To make seafood deviled eggs, boil your eggs for 8-10 minutes to achieve a mostly solid yolk, then separate the yolks from the whites and chill the whites in the fridge. Mix your mayo, mustard, and seasonings into the egg yolks and blend thoroughly, then gently stir in your crab meat. If you're using shrimp, smoky flavors pair well, so consider topping your deviled eggs with cajun spices or smoked paprika. 

Salty, crispy, and delicious — stir some chopped bacon through your deviled egg mixture for an incredibly moreish snack. This salty, creamy side dish is bound to be an instant hit at a Superbowl party or a Thanksgiving feast. You'll need to cook your bacon separately while you boil the eggs, and then combine the chopped bacon and egg yolks before piping them into the whites. Alternatively, once you've assembled the deviled eggs, you can cut the crunchy bacon into long strips and use it as a garnish.

To make this dish as tasty as possible, you'll want your pork topping extra crisp, which means you should be cooking bacon in a cold pan to start with. Starting the bacon in a cold pan, rather than placing it straight onto a hot surface, helps the strips cook evenly and gives the fat plenty of time to render down without burning the meat. Rendered fat gives you that lovely, caramelized crunch on bacon strips and makes it perfect for adding texture to your deviled eggs.

Fresh dill is a classic flavor to pair with eggs. It's delicious when incorporated into an omelet, an egg scramble, or a tray of deviled eggs. However, if you like your eggs with slightly more tang, chopped dill pickles give you the best of both worlds, adding a bright, juicy sweetness from the pickles and a herby flavor from the dill. To make this recipe, you'll need to prepare your eggs as normal and finely chop the pickles so that they don't get stuck in the pastry bag nozzle as you pipe out the yolk mixture. You can add around a tablespoon of pickle juice to your mayo, mustard, and egg yolks to amp up the taste.

Stir or blend your chopped pickles through the yolks. Then, fill your egg whites. You can then use larger pickle slices or fresh dill sprigs as a garnish. Don't worry about the leftovers — if you're wondering how long a jar of pickles lasts in the fridge, they can stay perfectly good for up to three months.

Deviled eggs are meant to be a bit hot when you bite into them. The recipe already contains mustard, and the addition of other spices contributes to the dish's devilish title. If you love your snacks hot and spicy, a pop of sriracha will add a serious heat boost to this dish.

One of the best things about deviled eggs is that they are customizable, meaning you can go as hot or mild as you like. There's no set amount of sriracha you need to add, so taste as you go, starting with just a little and adding some more if the flavors still aren't punchy enough. You can even use a mix of regular mayo and sriracha mayo for a creamy, balanced kick. Remember that sriracha already contains vinegar, so you may not need to add more acidic flavors to your recipe.

Similar to Japanese wasabi, horseradish is one of those spices with a pronounced, eye-watering burn. Eat too much, and you'll feel it go straight for your nostrils, but add just the right amount, and you'll enjoy a pleasant, tingly heat that draws out the flavors around it. Usually combined with roast beef, horseradish goes well with rich, protein flavors, meaning it's a great ingredient for spicing up deviled eggs.

If you've never made it before and you're unsure how spicy to go, start by adding just a teaspoon of horseradish per 6 eggs and taste before adding any more. You can always up the ante if you feel the mix is too bland. You should also know the difference between horseradish sauce and horseradish cream. While horseradish sauce usually comes in a jar and is the spicier of the two, horseradish cream contains mayonnaise so has a milder flavor.

Deviled eggs with chopped chives have a fresh, summery feel that makes them perfect to serve outside at a potluck or a garden party. Fresh chives come into season in late spring and are good to eat throughout the summer. When finely chopped they have a grassy, slightly oniony flavor and a crunchy texture that adds an appetizing bite to your egg yolk blend. You can also find garlic chives that have — you guessed it — a potent garlicky taste that also works well with eggs.

The fresh, herby bite of chives complements strong, smoky flavors, so consider swapping out regular paprika for smoked paprika to create a classic, balanced combo. If you want to add a pretty garnish, you can crumble up the purple chive flowers and sprinkle them over your eggs. The petals have a light, oniony flavor that is milder than the herb.

Don't be afraid to get a bit cheesy when making deviled eggs. Anyone who's enjoyed cheese grated over scrambled eggs or tucked into a fluffy cheese omelet that melts in the middle will know that eggs and cheese are a luxurious combo. The cheese also adds an extra protein bump to the eggs, which are already dense in fat-soluble nutrients, proteins, and omega 3s.

If you want a silky and indulgent taste, go for a creamy, mild cheddar, or use a sharp, tangy cheddar for some extra bite. Deviled eggs also work surprisingly well with blue cheeses, like stilton or gorgonzola. If you want to bulk your deviled egg yolks out with a cheesy filling, you can make a batch of pimento pepper cheese for a creamy Southern-style feast. Spice-laden cheeses, like Pepper Jack or habanero cheese spread, are also great for spicy, deviled eggs.

Smoked salmon and eggs are the stuff of brunch dreams including eggs royale — a variation on the traditional eggs benedict. Take your deviled eggs to the next level by recreating this flavor profile and adding some shredded smoked salmon. If you're using cold smoked salmon, you can dice it very thin and stir it through your egg yolk mixture or coil the strips on top as a tasty garnish. Flaky hot smoked salmon also works well in this dish and can be crumbled through the egg yolks or placed on top.

Adding a squeeze of lemon to your eggs will cut through the richness, while capers make an excellent briny pairing for salmon. If you want to get really fancy, you can also put a teaspoon of salmon roe on top of each deviled egg with a few chive chutes for a clean, saline flavor.

Caramelized onions are the answer if you want to give your deviled eggs a sweet and smoky boost. You can blend cooked onions through the egg yolks using your food processor or scoop a nest of crispy onions onto each deviled egg to create a garnish.

However, adding caramelized onions to your deviled eggs requires some extra prep work. Start by finely chopping your onions into long, thin strips, then heat oil in a shallow pan. Canola oil or sunflower oil are excellent choices for frying onions as they have a high smoke point and are less likely to give the onions a burnt flavor. Add the onions to the pan with a sprinkle of salt and allow them to cook slowly, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

The key to better-caramelized onions is lots and lots of time – you can let them gently fry on a low heat for around 30 minutes — so you'll have plenty of time to hard-boil your eggs while your onions are on the stove. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn, and take them off the heat before you begin any time-intensive steps, like peeling the eggs. You should notice that the onions start to brown gradually — this browning gives them a sticky, sugary flavor. 

Extra creamy snacks like deviled eggs can benefit from a savory garnish. Olives are briny, moreish, and have a rich, chewy texture that can add a little bite to your deviled eggs. The easiest way to do this is to use jarred, pitted olives — green or black, depending on your preference — and chop them into small chunks to mix through the egg yolks. You can also add a splash of olive brine to the mixture — don't go overboard, as it can get too salty — to bring the flavors together.

Set some olives aside and slice them across the middle into small rings. This will give you a neat garnish to place on top of your deviled eggs. You could also use olives that are stuffed with sundried tomato or red pepper to give your deviled eggs some color. 

If you want a creamy mayo alternative that adds unique flavor to deviled eggs, try using an avocado to make guacamole eggs. Avocados are rich in fat and have a smooth, creamy texture that will help the egg yolks bind together, much like mayonnaise. Despite their fatty makeup, deviled eggs made with avocados instead of mayo taste a bit lighter and fresher and are a great way to sneak some fiber into a snackable spread.

You'll need around 2 ripe avocados for a batch of 6 large eggs, as the mixture will be split across 12 once the eggs are halved. If you want to make your eggs spicy or give them a Mexican twist, add some chopped jalapenos and a squeeze of lime and garnish with fresh cilantro. Once you try replacing mayo with avocado, you may be tempted to try this swap with other dishes. For example, avocado is the creamy mayo swap you should be using with tuna salad and can also be added to egg salad if you don't like mayonnaise or are avoiding refined oils.

Give your deviled eggs a Korean twist and make them with a kimchi garnish. Kimchi is made from fermented cabbage or pickled vegetables that are coated in chili paste, fermented shrimp, and other spices and left to age for two weeks or more. It's commonly eaten in Korean cuisine and can be made at home or purchased in jars from the grocery store. Kimchi deviled eggs are a must-try if you love experimenting with Korean ingredients and strong flavors.

While kimchi is usually eaten as a side dish with meals or stirred into Korean hot pots, you can also use fried kimchi as a topping on deviled eggs. To bring the flavors together, mix a little gochujang – a red chili, fermented rice, and soybean paste — into your egg yolk mix to incorporate your Korean theme throughout the whole dish. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over your finished eggs or cook your kimchi in sesame oil to infuse your deviled eggs with flavor.