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Low carb foods: These egg salad lettuce wraps are delicious, and take minutes to make

low carb lettuce wraps

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Egg salad
Lindsay Parrill/The Manual

We’re still only a couple of weeks into the new year, which means that many people – set on keeping those resolutions – are on the hunt for healthy, low-carb foods that feel more exciting than bland chicken breasts or baked salmon filets. These are acceptable, healthy staples, to be sure, and excellent choices for those watching their carbs. But one of the advantages of a low-carb diet is that one can (usually) indulge in many deliciously fatty and highly caloric foods many diets frown upon. Ingredients like bacon, cheese, egg yolks, and mayonnaise are often encouraged on low-carb diets, which, if you ask us, makes this one of the less devastating of all the diets out there. One of our favorite, deliciously satisfying low-carb foods is egg salad. This comforting dish is protein-rich, satisfyingly creamy, and will keep you feeling full for hours.

While the traditional way to serve egg salad may be between two slices of bread, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying this delicious meal in a low-carb way. By spooning egg salad into lettuce cups instead, you can have a refreshingly light yet hearty meal that’s essentially carbohydrate-free. We love this alternative even if we aren’t watching our waistlines. The lettuce offers a bright, crisp freshness that makes this meal perfect for just about any time of day.

Egg salad
Lindsay Parrill/The Manual / The Manual

Egg salad lettuce wrap recipe

Many egg salad recipes call for pickles, but we love the substitution of green olives for that vinegar punch. Of course, feel free to use pickles instead.

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Ingredients

  • 6 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, chilled, and diced
  • 1/4 cup green olives with pimentos, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Everything Bagel seasoning (garnish)
  • 1 head butter or romaine lettuce

Method

  1. Place eggs and olives into a bowl, stirring to combine, and set aside.
  2. In another bowl, mix together mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
  3. Gently combine the diced eggs and olives with the mayonnaise mixture, folding with a spatula until evenly combined.
  4. Spoon egg mixture into lettuce leaves, and top with Everything Bagel seasoning.

Egg salad

Egg salad lettuce wraps tips and tricks

  • Adding a tablespoon of salt to the water before cooking the eggs will make them much easier to peel and the experience much less frustrating.
  • Everyone has a trick for perfect hard-boiled eggs. Our favorite method is as follows:
    • Place eggs in a large enough pot so that they aren’t overlapping and fill with just enough water to completely cover the eggs.
    • Once the water reaches a full boil, place a lid on the pot and remove it from the heat.
    • Let the covered eggs rest in the hot water for exactly 13 minutes.
    • Remove eggs from the water and refrigeratre to cool.
    • Peel and enjoy.
  • This is a particularly zippy recipe with the briny flavors of green olives and vinegar. Feel free to dial up the punch with additional vinegar-forward ingredients like capers or pickled onions. Alternatively, you can leave these out and substitute something milder with a crunch, such as celery, for a tamer but equally delicious flavor.
  • The addition of the Everything Bagel seasoning at the end takes this egg salad recipe from great to extraordinary. You really shouldn’t skip this step.

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Lindsay Parrill
Lindsay Parrill
Contributor
Lindsay is a graduate of California Culinary Academy, Le Cordon Bleu, San Francisco, from where she holds a degree in…
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