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That "keeper recipe" for classic deviled eggs that's so good; they disappear fast!

Classic deviled eggs with all the familiar flavors of the creamy yolk filling, set in perfectly cooked egg whites that are too good to pass up.

Classic Deviled Egg Recipe

Do you scope out the tray of deviled eggs at every get-together? Then this recipe is for you. While I have many variations, such as deviled eggs with tuna and guacamole deviled eggs, the classic recipe is always a keeper.

Ingredients

The base of this recipe is hard-boiled eggs, and then, you’ll make the filling with yellow mustard, salt, pepper, Tabasco hot sauce (optional for some heat), fresh chives, mayonnaise (or try one of these 11 ways to make deviled eggs without mayo), and just a dash of paprika to top the eggs.

How to Make Classic Deviled Eggs

Follow the steps below, and you can bet your deviled eggs will look and taste top-notch!

Hard-boil the eggs
Boil the eggs on the stove or use my instant pot hard-boiled egg method. Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water and peel.
Make the filling
Slice the hard-boiled eggs in half, and transfer the yolks to a large bowl. Add the remaining filling ingredients and stir to combine.
Stuff and enjoy!
Fill each egg white half with the mixture and dust the tops with paprika. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Top left: hard boiled eggs sliced in half on a wooden surface with a hand removing the yolks. Top right: cooked egg yolks placed in a mixing bowl. Bottom left: egg yolks mixed into a creamy filling in a glass bowl. Bottom right: deviled egg filling being piped into egg white halves arranged on a blue plate.

Need to save time and make classic deviled eggs ahead of your party? Get all my tips for storing deviled eggs overnight here and learn how many deviled eggs to prep per person so you’re sure you make enough!

Make Hard-Boiled Eggs Easy to Peel

For easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs, use week-old eggs; the fresher the egg, the higher the chance the shell will stick to the egg white. Chilling the eggs in an ice bath also helps to separate the shell membrane from the egg white.

Grab more tips in my post on how to peel hard-boiled eggs, plus three methods to help those shells glide right off!

More Deviled Egg Variations

Deviled eggs are a favorite lunch and party appetizer around here, and I have several variations of the classic recipe for you to try, including a quick deviled egg salad for everyday meals! Other favorites are avocado deviled eggs, loaded deviled eggs, bacon deviled eggs, and Greek deviled eggs.

Classic Deviled Eggs

Servings: 12

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 13

Total Time: 23

That “keeper recipe” for classic deviled eggs that’s so good; they disappear fast!

5 from 38 votes

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Ingredients

12 large eggs
2 teaspoons mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
2 dashes Tabasco, optional
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives, optional
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
Paprika, for garnish

Instructions

Cook the eggs:

Place eggs in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water with 1-inch of water above the eggs. Bring water to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and let the eggs sit in the saucepan for 13 minutes. Drain, add some ice cubes to the eggs in the pan and fill them with cold water. Peel eggs one by one and refrigerate them to cool down.

Make the filling:

Once hard-boiled eggs have fully cooled, halve lengthwise and carefully scoop the egg yolks into a bowl.
With a fork, mash the egg yolks. Add mustard, tabasco (if using) salt, pepper, and chives, if using. Add the mayonnaise and stir to combine all ingredients with a fork.