These southern deviled eggs are off-the-charts delicious. They’re just as yummy as my Grandma’s classic deviled eggs, but the flavor of the filling has been taken to new levels of deliciousness. Stuffed with cornichons, pimentos, 2 types of mustard, and fresh dill then seasoned with a bit of Cajun seasoning.
These are perfect for game day, Sunday supper, potlucks, and picnics. They’re also a great way to sneak in a little extra protein into your diet.
Try my unique deviled eggs with capers (these are more delicious than you can imagine!), and easy-peasy-delish ranch deviled eggs. Try my air fryer hard boiled eggs for your deviled eggs!
How To Hard Boil Eggs For Deviled Eggs On The Stove Top
- Place the eggs in a saucepan of cold water, covered by 1 inch of the water.
- Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
- When the water begins to boil, turn off the heat, and cover the pan with a tightly lid.
- Let the eggs sit in the hot water in the covered pan for 12 minutes.
- Drain the pan and place eggs in a generously iced cold water bath. Let them sit for 15 minutes then peel.
What’s The Best Way To Peel Hard Boiled Eggs?
Believe it or not, there are a lot of factors that affect how easily or, conversely, difficulty hard-boiled eggs peel. The size, the temperature they are when you put them into the water, the temperature when you peel them.
Fresh eggs are the most difficult to peel. It has to do with the acidity of the egg white. Try to buy your eggs at least a week or two before you plan to make deviled eggs. I generally shoot for two weeks.
What is the Best Mayonnaise to Use for Deviled Eggs?
Mayo preference is a big ding-dang deal!! People can get pretty fired-up over which brand has the best taste. Well, for Southern-style deviled eggs, it’s got to be Duke’s or Hellman’s (which is the same as Best Foods if you live on the west coast). I personally have a slight preference for Duke’s, when I can get my hands on it! I find it to be a bit creamier and I like that it doesn’t contain any sugar. Both brands make great deviled eggs!
What is the Best Way to Fill Deviled Eggs?
You can simply spoon the filling into the whites or pip it in for a more formal look. I generally use a disposable plastic, resealable bag (such as a Ziplock), rather than a pastry bag. To make your own first decide if you’re going to use a piping bag tip.
With A Tip:
- Snip a small corner off the bag. place the decorative tip, pointed side down through the whole in the bag.
- Fill the bag with yolk mixture.
- Pipe out into egg white halves.
Without A Tip:
- Fill the plastic bag with the yolk mixture.
- Pipe out into egg white halves.
Southern Deviled Eggs Recipe Ingredients
- Hard-Boiled Eggs – See not above. Don’t want to boil and peel eggs? Trader Joe’s, Costco, and other retailers sell prepackaged hardboiled eggs — fully peeled! Skip the mess and stress and go straight to the fun! Slice the eggs, stir up the egg salad filling, and fill ’em up!
- Mayonnaise – For my family, it’s Duke’s or Hellman’s. More above.
- Cornichons
- Mustards – Which mustard should you use? Why use only one we get a deeper flavor profile using yellow mustard and whole grain mustard.
- Pimentos – A Southern staple! Sweet and mild in flavor.
- Cajun Seasoning – Adds a mix of salt, different peppers, onion and garlic powder, and paprika all from one bottle.
- Fresh Dill – Used both in the filling and a sprinkle on top.
- Granulated Sugar – balances the vinegar in the mustards.
Tips
- Cooking: Place your eggs in a warm water bath for 5 minutes before boiling to gradually raise their temperature — this helps prevent the shells from cracking mid-boil. Learning how to make devil eggs that are pretty and palatable is easier when you understand the science behind the cooking. Here’s an article from the LA Times with more about the science. The other option is to place them in cold water on the stove.
- Peeling: Make your eggs easy to peel by adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your boiling water. It increases the alkalinity of the water, so your boiled eggs are easier to peel.
- Boiling Time: For perfectly boiled eggs with yellow yolks that aren’t outlined in green, it is best to base the cooking time on the size of the egg. The American Egg Board recommends cooking medium eggs for 9 minutes, large eggs for 12 minutes, and extra-large eggs for 15 minutes.
- Cutting: Dried eggs are easier to work with when you are trying to make beautiful classic eggs. Patting them dry with a paper towel after they have been peeled will help ensure more evenly cut halves.
Storing + Freezing Tips + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Once fully assembled, you can store your deviled eggs in the fridge for up to 5 days. This is one dish that loves chilly temps, so don’t let it sit out in the heat of a summer party for too long!
- Can You Freeze This? No. Deviled eggs do weird things in freezer temps.
- Make-Ahead Tips: My best time-saving hack: prepackaged hardboiled eggs! This is really the best thing you can do to speed up the cooking process.
- Preparing your deviled eggs ahead of time is a cinch. The key is really in the way you store them! You can make your deviled eggs up to two days in advance by refrigerating the egg white and the prepared yolks separately. Then just assemble right before serving! If you decide to put your dish together, then you should only make it a day in advance, and it should still be refrigerated in an air-tight container.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
How to Make The Best Southern Deviled Eggs Recipe
- Cut the eggs in half horizontally. Add yolks to a mixing bowl.
-
Add the rest of the filling ingredients to the mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- Gently spoon yolk mixture into 10 of the egg whites. Garnish with pimentos and dill as desired.
See the full instructions below.
More Spring Appetizer Recipes
- Pimento Cheese
- Shrimp Dip
- Million Dollar Dip
- Tiropita
- Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
- Knorr Dip
- Everything Pigs In A Blanket
Southern Deviled Eggs Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 large hard-boiled eggs
Filling:
- 2 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
- 2 cornichons, minced
- 2 teaspoons pimento, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar
Garnish:
- pimento
- dill
Instructions
- Cut the eggs in half horizontally. Add yolks to a mixing bowl.
- Add the rest of the filling ingredients to the mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- Gently spoon the yolk mixture into 12 of the egg whites.
- Garnish with pimentos and dill as desired.
Notes
- Cooking: Place your eggs in a warm water bath for 5 minutes before boiling to gradually raise their temperature — this helps prevent the shells from cracking mid-boil. Learning how to make devil eggs that are pretty and palatable is easier when you understand the science behind the cooking. Here's an article from the LA Times with more about the science. The other option is to place them in cold water on the stove.
- Peeling: Make your eggs easy to peel by adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your boiling water. It increases the alkalinity of the water, so your boiled eggs are easier to peel.
- Boiling Time: For perfectly boiled eggs with yellow yolks that aren’t outlined in green, it is best to base the cooking time on the size of the egg. The American Egg Board recommends cooking medium eggs for 9 minutes, large eggs for 12 minutes, and extra-large eggs for 15 minutes.
- Cutting: Dried eggs are easier to work with when you are trying to make beautiful classic eggs. Patting them dry with a paper towel after they have been peeled will help ensure more evenly cut halves.
Nutrition
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I just made your classic deviled eggs and this one! They loved it! Next time I’m gonna make a lot because my relatives devoured it!
That’s so awesome! I’m so happy it was a hit! Thank you for your positive feedback 🙂
Our family loves “Angel Eggs” so much … but I have personally changed the name of the recipe to “Angel Eggs” instead of the traditional name of Deviled Eggs. Think about it … devils are bad … angels are good … “Angel Eggs” are good … therefore, it makes sense to call them “Angel Eggs”.