The Filling Is The Best Part Of A Deviled Egg, So Turn It Into A Shareable Dip

While deviled eggs in all of their numerous variations are a perennially popular appetizer, they do have one flaw: If you prefer to nibble your egg rather than scarf it down in a bite or two, you're likely to get stuck with a mouthful of nothing but white at some point. This experience is analogous to that first taste of a Pop-Tart when it's all crust, no filling — but is there really nothing you can do to avoid the disappointment of an all-white bite? Well, yes, you can take the entire egg, filling and all, and mash it up. Voilà! You now have deviled egg dip.

Actually, there's no need to go to the trouble of assembling the deviled eggs and then deconstructing them in order to achieve dip. Instead, you take whatever ingredients you were going to use in your deviled egg filling: mayonnaise, mustard, cream cheese, bacon bits, minced onions, chives, hot sauce, or what have you, and stir them together with finely chopped hard-boiled eggs (it's a great way to use up those Easter leftovers). If you don't want to use a knife to slice and dice the eggs, you can use a box grater to reduce them to bits, while a food processor would also work if you want your dip super-smooth and dense rather than fluffy. As a final touch, garnish the dip with any extra mix-ins you have left or sprinkle it with paprika for that traditional deviled egg look.

Once you've made your deviled egg dip, don't let it sit around too long. While hard-boiled eggs can last up to a week in the fridge, this dip is best if eaten within a day or twoand may start to go off after four days. (You can always try freezing it, but the texture, once thawed, might not be the same.) As dippers, you can use potato chips, crackers, or pita triangles since the rich, creamy flavor of deviled eggs works well with anything salty or bready. You could also opt to go the low-carb route by serving the dip with crudites.

Even though you've already turned deviled eggs into a dip, you can keep the repurposing ball rolling by using this dip in other dishes. It's not much of a stretch to see it as a sandwich filling, since, after all, what is egg salad but boiled eggs + some sort of creamy component + flavorings? Egg dip, egg salad, potato, po-tah-to. And speaking of potatoes, you could boil some of these, then rough chop them and mix them into the dip to make deviled egg potato salad. If you're feeling elegant, you could even turn the egg dip into fancy canapés by scooping it into tart shells and topping it with smoked salmon or caviar.