Creamy deviled eggs with a little tang from pickle juice and Dijon, a kick of heat from cayenne and hot sauce, and a touch of smoky paprika. Finished with more paprika and sliced green onion. A crowd-pleaser for cookouts and holidays.
SpicyGluten-FreeVegetarianMake-Ahead
Best for: cookouts, holidays, and potlucks. Makes 24 halves from a dozen eggs. Can be made several hours ahead and chilled until serving.
Spicy Pickle Deviled Eggs — Recipe
Prep
20 min
Cook
12 min
Total
~35 min
Makes
24 halves
Equipment
Saucepan
Bowl for an ice bath
Piping bag or spoon
Ingredients
Eggs & filling
12 large eggs
7 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3–4 tsp pickle juice
1–2 tsp finely minced dill pickles or dill relish
¼–½ tsp cayenne pepper (to your heat preference)
1–2 tsp hot sauce (your favorite)
¼ tsp smoked paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Garnish
Smoked paprika
Thinly sliced green onions
Instructions
Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about an inch. Bring to a boil, then cover, remove from the heat, and let sit 10–12 minutes. Transfer immediately to an ice bath until completely cooled.
Peel the eggs, slice in half lengthwise, and carefully remove the yolks. Arrange the whites on a serving platter.
In a medium bowl, mash the yolks smooth with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, Dijon, pickle juice, minced pickles, cayenne, hot sauce, and smoked paprika. Stir until smooth and creamy.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add a splash more pickle juice for tang, or more cayenne or hot sauce for heat.
Spoon or pipe the filling evenly into the egg white halves.
Dust lightly with smoked paprika and sprinkle with green onions. Serve chilled.
Notes from experience
The boil-then-steep method (off the heat, covered) gives tender whites and yolks that aren't chalky or gray-ringed. The ice bath does double duty — it stops the cooking and makes the eggs far easier to peel. Pipe rather than spoon the filling if you want them to look the part for a holiday table.
Make-ahead
Deviled eggs are a good make-ahead: prep up to a day before, but for the cleanest look keep the whites and filling separate and pipe just before serving. Filled, they hold a few hours chilled. Keep them cold — egg-and-mayo filling shouldn't sit out long at a cookout.
Dietary note
Vegetarian and naturally gluten-free — tagged conditional on GF only because hot sauce and Dijon can vary by brand; check the labels. Contains egg and dairy (mayo).
