Easy dinner recipes: Egg salad, deviled eggs and more for Meatless Monday (2024)

Eggs for dinner? You bet! They’re not just for breakfast -- eggs cook quickly and can be prepared in so many tempting ways, including deviled eggs, egg salad and more. Check out these suggestions:

Egg salad: Eggs, celery and mayonnaise. Los Angeles’ landmark Canter’s Deli keeps it simple with its take on this classic for our latest Culinary SOS. And that’s just fine. Or feel free to doctor it up with whatever you prefer, whether capers, a touch of hot sauce or mustard. The options are almost endless. Best of all? The salad comes together in minutes.

Deviled eggs: This one’s a no-brainer when you’re looking for something simple, and you don’t even need a recipe. Halve some hard-boiled eggs and scoop out the yolks. Mash the yolks up, folding in a little sour cream or mayonnaise to lighten, a little mustard, some chopped herbs or seasoning, maybe a dash of Worcestershire. Dollop the filling back in the shell (or pipe it in if you’re feeling fancy) and you’ve got stuffed eggs. For sun-dried tomato-stuffed eggs, throw chopped shallot, sun-dried tomatoes and capers in the filling for added color and a bit of tang. A sprinkling of chopped basil over the finished eggs and you’re good to go.

RECIPES: 99 easy dinner ideas in about an hour or less

Scrambled eggs: Even scrambled eggs work well at dinnertime. Gently cook them to a soft scramble, sprinkle over some chopped fresh herbs, and serve alongside some toasted baguette slices. It makes for a perfectly light main course, as Food editor Russ Parsons found with this simple recipe.

You can find all of the recipes below.

And for more ideas, click through our easy dinner recipes gallery and check out our Dinner Tonight page, devoted to recipes that can be made in an hour or less. Looking for a particular type of recipe? Comment below or email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

MORE RECIPES: 99 ADDITIONAL easy dinner ideas in about an hour or less

CANTER’S EGG SALAD

15 minutes. Makes about 1 quart salad

1/3 cup mayonnaise, or as desired

1/3 cup diced celery

1 dozen hard-boiled eggs, peeled and diced

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, gently fold the mayonnaise and celery in with the eggs. Season with a generous one-half teaspoon salt and one-fourth teaspoon pepper, or to taste. Chill before serving.

EACH ½ CUP SERVING

Calories 182

Protein 10 grams

Carbohydrates 1 gram

Fiber 0

Fat 15 grams

Saturated fat 3 grams

Cholesterol 285 mg

Sugar 1 gram

Sodium 293 mg

NOTE: Adapted from Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO-STUFFED EGGS

Servings: 24 eggs

Active work time: 25 minutes

Total preparation time: 1 hour 15 minutes

12 eggs

8 sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)

2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped

1 large shallot, finely minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup mayonnaise

4 tablespoons thinly sliced basil, divided

1. Place the 12 eggs in a large saucepan. Fill with cool water. Bring the water to boil over medium heat. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat to simmer and cook the eggs 20 minutes. Fill a bowl with ice cubes and cold water and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, place the sun-dried tomatoes in a microwave-safe bowl and cover them with water. Microwave for 2 minutes, then let the tomatoes sit several minutes until they have softened. Drain on paper towels, then finely mince.

3. When the eggs are cooked, lift them from the pan using a slotted spoon and place them in the cold water. Chill completely, then peel and slice them in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks and push them through a potato ricer or a meshed strainer to break them up into small pieces. This will help make a smoother mixture.

4. Combine the yolks, tomatoes, capers, shallot, mustard, mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of basil in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

5. If the egg whites are inclined to roll around on a plate, cut a very thin slice off the bottom. Fill a pastry bag fitted with the star tip with the egg yolk mixture. Pipe the filling into the egg whites, then garnish the eggs with the remaining basil. If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can cut the tip off a resealable bag to pipe in the filling, or use a teaspoon. Cover the eggs with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Each egg: 61 calories; 137 mg sodium; 97 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.35 gram fiber.

CREAMY SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH FINES HERBES

Total time: 25 minutes

Servings: 2

4 eggs

3/4 teaspoon minced herbs, from a mixture of fresh tarragon, parsley, chives and chervil, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes, divided

4 slices hot toasted and buttered baguette

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat briskly with a fork to break them up and hom*ogenize them. There should be no trace of white remaining. Beat in half the fresh herb mixture and the salt and stir in about 1 tablespoon of the cubed butter.

2. Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. When it is warm, pour in the egg mixture and stir briskly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, scraping the bottom and sides to make sure the egg doesn’t set too quickly. If you feel the cooking is going too quickly, remove the pan from the heat for a moment or two, stirring constantly, then return it.

3. After a couple of minutes, the butter will be melted and the eggs will have begun to thicken into a creamy sauce. Add the remaining cold butter in 2 or 3 portions, continuing to stir briskly. When the eggs are thick but not yet set, arrange the hot toast on warm plates (and let your partner know dinner is seconds away).

4. The moment the eggs begin to set firmly (they will still be slightly creamy), spoon them over the toast, season with just a little black pepper and the remaining fresh herbs and serve immediately. These must be eaten hot to be appreciated fully.

Each serving: 412 calories; 16 grams protein; 17 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 31 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 428 mg cholesterol; 1 gram sugar; 581 mg sodium.

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