The Mayo Swap You Need For Creamy Deviled Eggs

Unless you're a certified hater — and they do exist, somehow — there's nothing about the classic deviled egg that needs fixing. If you're grazing the snack table at a party and light up at the sight of one of these old-school hors d'oeuvres, you pretty much know what you're going to get: a hollowed-out egg white stuffed with a creamy, slightly piquant filling of mashed yolks, mayonnaise, and mustard, maybe sprinkled with some minced chives and a dash of paprika. That's it, and by and large that is good enough.

And yet, society does not advance by resting on the laurels of "good enough." Even if nobody needs to completely revolutionize the deviled egg, there are tweaks available that can make it subtly, if undeniably, more appealing — and with so few ingredients, even a small adjustment can have a big impact. In that spirit, we've got a suggestion for making your deviled eggs even creamier and more flavorful: Swap sour cream for the mayo. All of it, or just some — that's up to you. But what this kitchen hack yields is a deviled egg that, while still super-creamy, has an extra kick of fresh flavor thanks to the inclusion of tangy sour cream. You'll want to keep this one in your repertoire.

You want to begin, first and foremost, with good eggs — check out the Takeout's guide to the best way to hard-boil and peel an egg. Those two skills will come in handy when it's deviling time since your eggs should be not just well-cooked but also neatly peeled. TLDR: Our eggs-perimenter found that the best way to prepare eggs was to steam them over boiling water, in a lidded pot, for 10 minutes, then shock them in ice water to stop the cooking. This also yielded eggs that were easiest to peel.

Halve your peeled eggs lengthwise, scoop out the yolks, and transfer them to a bowl to make the filling. Use whatever recipe you have: A fairly common proportion combines the yolks of six eggs with three or four tablespoons of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of mustard, a little salt and pepper, and a dash of paprika. The trick here is simply to swap in sour cream for all the mayo, or for any part of it — a half-and-half mixture, for instance, will combine the richness of mayonnaise with the refreshing acidity of sour cream. In any event, mash the filling with the egg yolks until creamy, adjusting the seasoning as you go. Then scoop dollops of it into the empty egg whites. If you're really fancy, use a piping bag with a star tip; if you're medium-fancy, there's no shame in using a plastic zipper bag with one corner snipped off.

Deviled eggs made with sour cream practically call out to be garnished with crumbled bacon and sliced scallions, but that's just one of an endless number of ways to modify your deviled eggs. For starters, if you don't have sour cream, swapping in creme fraiche or even Greek yogurt will achieve a similar effect. You could go the super-classy route with, for instance, Ina Garten's decadent smoked salmon deviled eggs, garnished with salmon roe. Or you could raid the pantry and refrigerator for Dorie Greenspan's deluxe devileds, with diced apple, Piment d'Espelette, and ... crabmeat.

But you also don't need to do all that. A dash of curry powder in the filling, for instance, is a classic modification that adds a little sweet, mildly spicy depth, perfect for garnishing with diced apple or a halved grape; a sprinkle of ranch seasoning takes things in a completely different direction (garnish this one with bacon and scallions too). Stir a bit of mashed avocado into your yolks and sour cream for a guacamole-esque vibe, then garnish with cilantro and/or pickled jalapeños. 

Garnishes themselves can be a simple yet effective upgrade for any deviled egg — something crunchy, especially, will provide a nice contrast with the creamy filling, whether that's chopped pickles or crushed potato chips. All of these ideas will work equally well whether your filling is made with mayo or sour cream; either one is a perfect platform for delicious experimentation.