Alright, here’s the deal: I spend too much money on Erewhon’s egg salad sandwiches. I love Erewhon’s pre-made food and hot bar, mostly because it's so fresh and organic, but I swear the egg salad sandwich costs a dollar more every time I buy it. But I love it so much, I can’t stop. My favorite is a solo lunch break at Erewhon. There’s just something about it. Peace, quiet, egg salad — this might be some people’s actual nightmare. 

I wouldn’t have ever thought I’d be passionate about egg salad. And, I never was before I met Erewhon’s. It tastes so fresh, it’s herby, the egg salad is cold, the butter lettuce is crisp, and the bread is perfect. It’s simply wonderful. So, I’ve decided I need to try to remake it for the sake of my wallet. 

I started this DIY journey by asking ChatGPT for help. Dear Chat, I’m broke from egg salad sandwiches. Rachel, you are so brave...

This was a strangely aspirational, somewhat helpful starting point, but Chat’s recipe needed significant modification when I compared my first attempt to what I know Erewhon’s tastes like.

A few things to note: Erewhon uses house-made avocado oil mayo. I do want to attempt this one day, but I figured it was too daunting to learn how to make the egg salad and the housemade mayo all in one go. Wow, a past me totally would have tried to do all of this, get so burnt out, and never make an egg salad again. The most similar to Erewhon’s housemade version seems to be Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Mayo. Other close runner-ups are Sir Kensington’s or Primal Kitchen’s Avocado Oil Mayo. 

The magic of Erewhon’s egg salad sandwich is that it’s not very saucy at all. It tastes much cleaner than if it were drenched in mayo and mustard. I lightened up the sauces significantly compared to what Chat sent me because it turned out much too saucy. Start with the amount provided in the ingredient list, and add more to taste. Also, change up the types of mustard or amounts to your liking. If you hate yellow mustard, scratch it! If you don’t have Dijon, totally fine. 

P.S. Dried dill weed works fine, too.

That’s all. Here’s to more solo, as they should be, egg salad sandwich lunches, but ... economical.

‍Instructions

1. Cook the eggs. Bring a pot of water to a boil and gently add the eggs. Boil 10 minutes, then transfer immediately to an ice bath for 10 minutes. Peel and fully cool.
2. Chop eggs by hand; do not mash. The whites should be cut into small, even pieces, and the yolks should be lightly broken, not whipped into paste. 
3. Prep the veggies. Celery and red onion should be minced very finely. The scallions should be thin and delicate. And the dill should be finely chopped with no stems. Erewhon’s egg salad is subtle; there are no big crunchy bites of these items.
4. Mix gently (the order matters). In a bowl, combine eggs, celery, red onion, scallion, dill, salt + pepper. Fold gently. Then add the mayo and mustard and fold again just until coated.
5. Taste and adjust only as needed: pinch of salt, extra mustard, tiny lemon squeeze.