Recipe Makeover: Egg Salad

Egg salad is a lunch-time favorite, a go-to because it's quick, easy to prepare, and rich in filling protein. It's a "salad" by name, yes, but a typical homemade version can load on more than 23g of fat and almost 900mg sodium—suddenly making your so-called light lunch feel anything but. We knew a rescue was in order.

Classic
377 calories per sandwich
23.4 grams total fat
894 mg sodium

Makeover
297 calories per sandwich
12.3 grams total fat
591 mg sodium

To start, we looked to one of our favorite ingredients to replace most of the mayo: avocado. When mashed to a smooth puree, it keeps our salad nice and creamy, with a fruity richness. But wait—avocado is high in fat, right? One tablespoon of the green stuff contains only 2g fat—much better than mayo's 11g fat. Crunchy quick-pickled celery stands in for pickle relish to save sodium. To reduce sat fat just a bit more, we hold out a couple of the egg yolks and drop white sandwich bread in favor of a whole-grain variety with crunchy sunflower seeds to boost fiber; a handful of the nutty nuggets go into the salad, too, for textural appeal. Our lightened sandwich is a whole-grain, feel-good handful you'll be happy to tote to work.

Tip: To prevent avocado from browning in leftover egg salad, place any remaining salad in a bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap. Then cover the entire bowl tightly with plastic wrap.

Mashed avocado replaces most of the mayonnaise, keeping the salad creamy and rich while lowering calories, fat, and sodium.

A speedy soak in vinegar, water, and sugar pickles celery, saving 230mg sodium per tablespoon over pickle relish.

We hold out two egg yolks to keep fat and calories in check. Use them chopped on salads, grated on steamed asparagus, or sliced on toast.