Deviled Eggs

Michael Eisenwasser

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Classic deviled eggs made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and a splash of vinegar. Chives and scallion greens give you that onion-like bite you usually get from raw onion.

Prep 15 min

Cook 15 min

Serves 6

Gluten-freeDairy-free

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (Hellmann's, Duke's, or any brand without garlic, onion, or high-fructose corn syrup)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (check the label — most plain Dijon is fine; skip any that list garlic or onion in the spices)
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives or scallion greens (green tops only), plus more to finish
• Smoked or sweet paprika, to finish

Instructions

Boil

1. Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about an inch. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then immediately cover, remove from the heat, and let sit for 11 minutes.
2. While the eggs cook, fill a medium bowl with ice and cold water.
3. Transfer the eggs to the ice bath with a slotted spoon and let cool for at least 10 minutes. A full chill stops carryover cooking and makes the shells peel more cleanly.

Peel and halve

1. Tap each egg gently on the counter to crack the shell all over, then peel under a thin stream of cold water. Starting at the wide end (where the air pocket sits) makes peeling easier.
2. Slice each egg in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Pop the yolks into a mixing bowl and set the whites on a serving plate, cut side up.

Make the filling

1. Mash the yolks with a fork until crumbly. Add the mayonnaise, Dijon, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust — a little more mustard, a pinch more salt, another drop of vinegar.
2. Stir in the chopped chives or scallion greens.

Fill

1. Spoon the yolk mixture back into the whites, about 1 heaping teaspoon per half. For a neater look, transfer the filling to a zip-top bag, snip off a corner, and pipe it in.
2. Dust the tops with paprika and scatter with a few more chopped chives.

Tips & Substitutions

• Use scallion greens for the onion flavor. Stick to the green tops (the low-FODMAP portion); the white bulbs are high-FODMAP. Slice thin and use them anywhere a recipe calls for raw onion. Fresh chives work the same way — both add a sharp, grassy bite without the fructan load.
• Check the mayo label. Most standard supermarket mayos (Hellmann's, Duke's, Kraft) are fine — oil, egg yolk, vinegar, lemon, salt. Avoid any mayo that lists garlic, onion, onion powder, or high-fructose corn syrup. Flavored mayos (chipotle, roasted garlic, aioli) are usually out.
• Skip jarred relish unless you read the label carefully. Most commercial pickle relishes contain onion or high-fructose corn syrup. If you want the tangy bite, stir in 1 teaspoon finely chopped dill pickles (check the label for onion and garlic) plus an extra splash of vinegar.
• Add capers for a briny version. A teaspoon of finely chopped capers stirred into the yolk mixture works well. Monash lists capers as low-FODMAP at small serves, which covers this amount across six eggs.
• Make them ahead. Boil, peel, and halve the eggs up to a day in advance; store the whites and yolks separately, covered, in the fridge. Mix the filling and pipe just before serving so the tops stay fresh and the whites don't weep.
• Easy peel trick. Eggs that are 7 to 10 days old peel much more cleanly than fresh ones. If you're buying eggs specifically for deviled eggs, grab them a week ahead.

Why This Works

Eggs are FODMAP-free. Monash lists eggs with no detectable FODMAPs, so they don't count against your daily load. Portion to appetite and personal tolerance — some people find that a lot of eggs at once sits heavy for non-FODMAP reasons (fat, protein), so 2 to 3 halves is a sensible starting portion if you're symptom-sensitive.

Mayonnaise is fine at standard amounts. Plain mayo made from oil, egg yolk, vinegar, and lemon has no FODMAP ingredients. The three tablespoons across six eggs works out to a scant 1/2 tablespoon per half — well within safe territory.

Plain mustard and vinegar are safe. Plain Dijon and yellow mustard, white wine vinegar, and apple cider vinegar all test low-FODMAP at the amounts used in seasoning. A few Dijon brands sneak garlic or onion into the spice blend, so glance at the label. Balsamic is a different story at larger serves, but a teaspoon of white wine vinegar is not.

Chives and scallion greens carry the onion flavor. Scallion green tops are the low-FODMAP portion of the plant; the white bulb is the high-FODMAP portion. Chives are in the same allium family and test low-FODMAP across normal serves. Both give you the aromatic punch the recipe needs without the fructan load.

What trips people up is the garnish. Store-bought deviled eggs and most restaurant versions add either raw minced onion, onion powder, sweet pickle relish with HFCS, or a garlic-forward mayo. Swapping in chives, plain mayo, and Dijon keeps the profile classic and the FODMAPs low.

Storage

Refrigerate in an airtight container, in a single layer, for up to 2 days at 40°F (4°C) or below. The whites dry out and the yolks can pick up fridge odors beyond that, so make only what you'll eat within two days. Deviled eggs don't freeze.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.