Easter Egg Salad

This Easter salad recipe is fun, colorful, and super festive. A bed of romaine is topped with fresh oranges, pickled pink hard-boiled eggs, crisp radishes, crunchy pistachios, sharp parmesan, and sweet strawberries and topped with a citrus vinaigrette.

Assembled to resemble an Easter egg, this Easter egg salad recipe would be a cute and fun addition to an Easter celebration. 

This is a great recipe to serve alongside other brunch dishes, particularly a spread of pastries, bagels, and casseroles. Serve this with a strawberry or grapefruit mimosa for some pink, fruity flavors. The best part is arranging this salad’s many colorful components to look like an Easter egg!

I prefer these eggs to be lightly pickled, so the brine I recommend here is not too strong. However, if you do not like pickled eggs, or don’t have time to make them, just use hard-boiled eggs instead. You’ll still have a beautiful and festive salad. Pickled eggs need to sit in the brine for at least several hours, but better for 2-3 days. 

What You Need To Make This Easter Egg Salad

The ingredients for this Easter salad are large eggs, apple cider vinegar, oranges, mustard, olive oil, strawberries, pistachios, shaved parmesan cheese, beets, romaine hearts, salt, and pepper.

If you want to replace the oranges in the salad with cara cara oranges, blood oranges, or grapefruit you can, just make sure you use orange juice in the brine and in the dressing for the right sweet flavors.

Ingredients: 

• Large eggs
• Apple cider vinegar
• Oranges
• Dijon mustard
• Olive oil
• Fresh strawberries
• Roasted pistachios
• Shaved parmesan cheese
• Radishes
• Beets
• Romaine hearts
• Salt
• Pepper

Equipment: 

To make this Easter salad, you need one large serving platter, preferably oval, one small mixing bowl, two saucepans, a whisk, a peeler, a knife, and a cutting board.

You will be working with beets, so I recommend using rubber gloves while you handle them to prevent staining. When you make the hard-boiled eggs, try to peel them while they are still warm so that the shells come off more easily.

How to Make Easter Egg Salad

Make the hard-boiled eggs: Place the eggs in cold water so that they are submerged with roughly 1 inch of water over top. Bring the water up to a boil. Once the water boils, turn off the heat and cover them for 13 minutes.

Strain the eggs from the heat and cool them in cold running water or an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once the eggs are cool enough to hold, peel the eggs and set them aside.

Make the brine: Peel 1 medium-sized beet and dice it. Place the beet in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Allow to boil for 10-15 minutes or until the beets are very soft and the water is dark magenta. Add fresh orange juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Allow it to cool. 

Make the pickled eggs: Submerge the eggs in the cooled brine and refrigerate for 2-3 days. Strain the eggs when you are ready to serve. 

Prepare the salad dressing: In a small bowl, place olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, and orange juice. Whisk it together until the dressing has fully emulsified. 

Prepare the salad toppings: Wash and dry the radishes. Cut into thin rounds. Wash and dry the strawberries, cut off the tops, and slice them in half. Cut off the peel of the orange and cut them into thin rounds.

Wash, dry, and chop the romaine hearts.

Cut the pickled eggs in half. If using a block of parmesan, use a peeler to create long strips of cheese.

Arrange the salad: Place the romaine on the bottom of a large oval platter. In horizontal stripes, place rows of radishes, fruits, eggs, and cheese, like stripes on an Easter egg. Scatter pistachios. Pour dressing on top of the salad. 

Serve: Enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

I want to add a little spice to my pickled eggs. What can I do?

Just like when you pickle vegetables, there are endless ways you can pickle eggs! For these eggs pickled in beet juice, you can add warm spices like cinnamon, cardamom, or allspice, and even add a few tablespoons of sugar. 

What other salad toppings can I add to this recipe?

I wanted bright, sweet, and crisp flavors that were pretty shades of orange, pink, and red. I would stick with making this more of a fruited salad, so would try things like sliced grapes, raspberries, sliced cherries, or sliced peaches. 

Here are a few other recipes you might enjoy!

• Easter Charcuterie Board
• Easter Brunch Potatoes
• Easter Mimosa
• Vegetarian Easter Brunch Casserole
• Easter Bunny Pancakes
• Julienne Salad
• Santa Fe Salad