Deviled eggs are a perennial party-time favorite, and this deviled egg pasta salad recipe translates those flavors perfectly into a side dish. What could be better for your summertime get-togethers?
The whole salad comes together in just minutes. It’s cost-effective too, with pasta and eggs as its main ingredients, and most of the other ingredients being pantry staples.
Ingredients for Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
- Macaroni: Elbow macaroni is always a good choice for pasta salads. Its small shape is bite-sized and fork-friendly, and because it’s hollow it holds on to the dressing.
- Hard-boiled eggs: It’s the hard-boiled eggs that give this salad its distinctive character.
- Mayonnaise: Mayo provides a rich, creamy base for the dressing. It helps moisten the salad and also supports the salad’s other flavors.
- Pickle relish: Relish is a common ingredient in deviled eggs. Including it here emphasizes the deviled egg theme, and it adds both flavor and color.
- Sugar and vinegar: Vinegar and sugar are partners in many pasta salad dressings. The vinegar adds an acidic tang to brighten the dressing, while sugar mellows the vinegar’s bite and helps balance the dressing’s flavors.
- Mustard: Mustard adds zip to the dressing with its tangy pungency, and its yellow hue emphasizes the yolk-yellow of the salad.
- Celery: Celery brings a fresh crunch and textural contrast to the salad, and helps the other ingredients taste better.
- Red onion: Red onion is milder than ordinary yellow onions, so it adds just enough savory flavor (and a bit of color) to the salad.
- Smoked paprika: A sprinkle of paprika is one of the standard garnishes for deviled eggs, so this plays to the recipe’s theme. Choosing smoked paprika adds a bit of extra flavor as well.
Directions
Step 1: Cook the pasta
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Once it reaches the al dente stage (tender but still a bit firm), drain it and rinse it thoroughly with cold water. Let the macaroni rest until it’s completely cooled.
Step 2: Assemble the salad
Separate the egg yolks from the whites, then chop the whites and set them aside. In a small mixing bowl, mash the egg yolks. Add the mayonnaise, relish, sugar, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, and stir until the mixture comes together. In a large serving bowl, combine the macaroni with the chopped egg whites, celery and onion. Add the dressing, and toss the salad until it’s evenly coated.
Step 3: Serve the salad
Refrigerate the salad until it’s time to serve. Sprinkle the top with paprika, and garnish with additional hard-boiled eggs if you wish.
Deviled Egg Pasta Salad Variations
- Spice it up: Deviled eggs are often a bit spicy; it’s the heat that makes them “diabolical.” If you like your deviled eggs this way, swap out the regular mustard for a strong mustard (hot English-style is a good option), add a splash of your favorite hot sauce or incorporate your favorite fresh, dried or canned hot pepper.
- Bring the umami with pungent add-ins: Deviled eggs, and by extension, this salad, can benefit from an infusion of savory umami notes. One of the best ways to get there is through anchovies (yes, anchovies!), even if you’re not fond of fish. A finely minced anchovy or a squeeze of anchovy paste won’t make your salad taste fishy, but it will make it savory. A few drops of Asian fish sauce will do the same. If that feels too risky for you, finely shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano can give your salad a similar boost.
- Load up that salad: Lots of things taste good with eggs and pasta, even if they don’t necessarily fit the deviled egg scenario. Bacon? Automatic with eggs. Cheese? A slam dunk. Pimientos, olives, chives, dill … they’re all excellent in a salad like this one. If you need more inspiration, check out some of our favorite deviled egg recipes for ideas.
- Switch up the pasta: Elbow macaroni is a universal go-to for pasta salads, but it’s not your only option. Spiral shapes like rotini and fusilli also work well, as do bowties, and hollow shapes like shells and orecchiette hold lots of dressing. For a visually bold, Instagram-ready variation, look for black squid-ink pasta (it makes a strong contrast with the chopped egg whites).
How to Store Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
After the meal you can cover the salad in its original serving bowl or a smaller bowl that will take up less space. Alternatively, transfer it to a food-safe storage container with a tight-fitting lid. As long as you’re keeping air from reaching the salad (parchment paper or a flexible food wrap pressed right to the surface works well), it’ll keep beautifully in the refrigerator.
Can I make deviled egg pasta salad ahead of time?
For a time-saving take on this deviled egg pasta salad recipe, your best bet is to prepare the pasta and boiled eggs ahead of time (boiled eggs will last up to a week in the fridge) and then assemble the salad early on the day you plan to serve it. Alternatively, you can make the salad a day ahead of time and keep it refrigerated until mealtime. Having it in the fridge overnight, instead of just until you’re ready to serve, gives the flavors more time to fully develop.
How long will deviled egg pasta salad last?
Like most leftovers, this salad will keep for three to five days in the fridge, assuming you refrigerate it immediately after the meal. If it sits out longer than two hours at room temperature, or just one hour at 90°F, food safety becomes an issue and the USDA recommends discarding the leftovers instead of keeping them. If you’ve loaded your salad with optional add-ins, some of those may be more perishable than the salad itself and may cut its useful life to a day or two. For guidance, you may want to consult our article on how long leftovers last.
Deviled Egg Pasta Salad Tips
Can I skip the cold-water rinse?
You can, but you shouldn’t. That cold-water rinse is the best way to cool the pasta quickly, which speeds your overall salad prep. More important, it stops the pasta from cooking any further once it’s drained. If you’ve taken care to stop cooking just when your pasta is al dente, why let it keep steaming in its own heat? The cold-water rinse means the macaroni (or alternative pasta) will hold its texture once the salad is assembled.
What’s the best way to hard-boil my eggs?
On the stovetop, your best bet is to bring them to a boil, then cover them, remove them from the heat, and set a timer for 12 to 15 minutes. That being said, whatever your favorite kitchen gadget—an Instant Pot, slow cooker, air fryer, you name it—there’s probably a method for hard-cooking your eggs in it. If getting this right is something you struggle with, we have a detailed guide to making perfect boiled eggs.
What’s the deal with paprika as a garnish? Can I use something else?
Paprika is one of the standard garnishes for deviled eggs, which is the main reason it’s in the recipe. Paprika’s popularity is easy to understand, it adds an attractive color contrast to the eggs (and this salad) and it takes almost no time or effort. If the paprika is fresh, it also brings a pleasant sweet-pepper flavor to your food (pro tip: dark, vivid red means fresh; rusty brown means old and tired). If you’re not a fan, substitute fresh dill, fennel fronds, chives or chopped parsley.
