Can You Freeze Egg Salad?
Freezing egg salad might seem like a great idea to extend the shelf life of leftovers. But is it worth it?
Can you freeze egg salad? Egg salad can be frozen to preserve it, but it would greatly affect its overall flavor, consistency, and quality. Eggs don’t freeze particularly well and can become rough and rubbery. Mayonnaise, which is usually used a lot in egg salads, doesn’t freeze well either!
Read below to learn more about how to store egg salad, how to properly freeze it if you must do so, and some tips on extending the fridge shelf life of your egg salad!
Freezing Egg Salad
Egg salads are highly nutritious and tasty, but due to their heavy texture, you are likely to end up with leftovers!
This type of salad generally consists of a mixture of boiled and chopped eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, green onions, and some spices and flavorings.
It may sound simple, but egg salads are one of the most filling types of food in the world. The combo of mayo and eggs truly makes for a hearty meal that is best enjoyed in small portions.
This is also why you are more likely to end up with leftovers when you serve egg salad as a side or main dish!
How To Store Leftover Egg Salad
Common wisdom dictates that all leftovers should be kept in the fridge for short-term storage or in the freezer for long-term storage. In the case of egg salads, it is best to just go with the former!
The thing is, chopped eggs smothered with mayo don’t really freeze well – you can end up ruining the dish than preserving it.
This is why most people agree that it is just best to refrigerate the salad for up to 2-3 days at 40°F to get the most out of its quality.
If you are bummed about not being able to freeze egg salad, then there might be some hope — but it comes at a price of quality!
So, let’s take a look at how you can store egg salad in the freezer.
Storing Egg Salad In The Freezer
Egg salad can be a potentially dangerous dish because it includes mayo and eggs — two ingredients that can easily go bad in the right circumstances.
Most health agencies recommend that you store egg salad and other easily-compromised food in the fridge before the 2-hour mark.
It takes roughly 2-3 hours for food to go bad at room temperature because that is usually when the population of harmful bacteria starts to double.
A great serving tip for egg salad is to take out a serving portion in a bowl and keep the rest of it in the fridge.
This way, you can top up the bowl using the reserve in the fridge and keep your guests supplied throughout the party without worrying about bacteria taking over your carefully prepared egg salad!
Storing Egg Salad In The Fridge
Refrigeration is the best way to preserve the egg salad for up to 2-3 days. But please keep in mind that even when refrigerated, egg salad can become watery.
That’s right, egg salad isn’t “safe” in the fridge either. Unfortunately, this is just a basic law of physics that you can’t completely ignore.
The best way to get the most out of freshly stored egg salad is to store it in a clean airtight container. Keep the container at the back of the fridge at 40°F and consume the salad by the next day or within 12 hours for the best results.
You can also leave it in the fridge for about 3 days, but we suggest that you closely inspect the salad for signs of spoilage before consuming it.
Check out our storage tips below for more advice on how to prepare and safely store your egg salad!
Workarounds For Freezing And Storing Egg Salad
The trick to successfully freezing egg salad requires a few clever techniques.
Please note that even with all of these workarounds, you will still likely end up with an altered egg salad — but at least you can lessen its negative characteristics!
Always remember you can freeze egg salad by keeping it at the back of the freezer at 0°F for up to 2-3 weeks. Thaw the salad in the refrigerator overnight and consume it the next day without refreezing it.
Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of frozen egg salad.
Portion Size
This is probably the best way to preserve egg salad in the freezer. Instead of storing all of the leftover or fresh salad in the freezer, you can try to portion out the salad into different sizes.
For example, you can divide 1 cup of egg salad into 4 equal portions. We know, it seems like too much work but this is the best way to preserve it.
So, why focus on portions? The thing with mayo and eggs is that when they freeze, they might look fresh and may even seem completely okay — but as soon as you thaw them, you will be left with a watery mess.
The liquid comes from the mayo, which is essentially just an emulsified mix of eggs, oil, vinegar, and flavorings.
When the mayonnaise thaws, it breaks up the emulsified bond which leads to a mess — and in larger quantities, it can completely ruin the texture of the salad.
When you create smaller portions, you limit the amount of separation in the mayo. This way you end up with a manageable portion of egg salad that you can salvage by adding in fresh mayo or by simply mixing it up and eating it.
Crumb Method
This method is experimental, but it can come in handy when you want a workaround for freezing egg salad. We recommend using this method alongside the portion control tip above!
Fine bread crumbs are a good idea because they can help regain some texture and can also keep the mayo from separating too much.
To use this method, you will need to first mix the thawed egg salad until most of the liquid has been reabsorbed. Discard the rest of the liquid by slightly tilting the container and draining off the excess liquid.
Now sprinkle just a bit of fine bread crumbs over the egg salad and gently fold it in. Consume the salad within the hour to keep the bread crumbs from getting soggy!
Adding More Ingredients
A clever technique for revitalizing stored egg salad is to add fresh ingredients to add bulk and a fresh texture to the salad.
You can introduce more veggies or combine freshly chopped eggs to mask the texture and flavor of the stored eggs.
Add a dollop of fresh mayo to help reabsorb the excess moisture and freshen up the salad or toss in more green onions to improve the overall texture of the salad.
Add Sodium
Sodium can draw out moisture from food — when you add it to eggs and mayo, you might be able to make them less watery!
While you shouldn’t add more sodium than necessary, you could perhaps mask the extra sodium by introducing chopped onions or other flavorful ingredients that can balance out the extra salt in the salad.
This tip should be used with caution as too much salt can also cause negative health effects — people with blood pressure problems should avoid consuming more sodium than the advised amount.
Using Mayo Alternatives
Egg salad can also be made using mayo alternatives!
We recommend swapping mayo with ricotta cheese. This will not only greatly improve the nutritional profile of the salad, but it will also keep the egg salad from becoming watery as ricotta doesn’t separate when it is frozen and thawed.
You can even use yogurt or cottage cheese for the same effect! Yogurt works well as a mayo replacement because even if it separates, it can be mixed back to its original consistency very easily.
Don’t want to deal with watery egg salad at all? Then your best bet would be to ditch liquid-based ingredients and go for hummus or mashed avocado — both of which will add a great layer of flavor and lots of healthy nutrition too!
Related Questions
Salvaging eggs and mayo might not be ideal after freezing them, but luckily, there are a few tips and tricks that you can use to get the most out of it.
Now that you know how to store and freeze egg salad, here are some related questions.
Can you microwave frozen egg salad?
While you could use the thaw setting on the microwave to melt the egg salad, we wouldn’t recommend it because you might end up overcooking the eggs.
The default method for thawing egg salad should be to leave it in the fridge overnight.
In case of an emergency, you can microwave the egg salad using the lowest setting — do not let the microwave heat the salad for more than 1 minute at a time.
How do you know if egg salad has gone bad?
In the case of creamy egg salad, it is best that you not taste it because a spoiled egg salad may leave a bad lingering taste which may make you ill.
Inspect the egg salad visually and smell it for foul odors. If you detect slime, growths, or discoloration (with or without odor) then you’re better off discarding all of it.
