Fold This Umami-Packed Breakfast Staple Into Egg Salad For A Bolder Bite

There are all kinds of ways to make egg salad, the lunchtime classic that primarily comes together with hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and salt. In addition to different mix-ins that Americans might add, there are several variations of the salad found around the globe. Many ingredients can be added to egg salad to lighten it, give it a tangy bite, or add some spice. But for a delicious, bold depth, fold in bacon bits.

Well-cooked, chopped up bacon adds salt, crunch, smokiness, and a good kick of umami to your egg salad mix. Even if you like your bacon on the chewier side, it adds a ton of flavor and a different texture to an otherwise very soft and creamy egg salad. For an even more luxurious bacon flavor, consider mixing in some bacon fat (otherwise known as liquid gold). Combine it in when the bacon fat has cooled down but before it solidifies. Because bacon has a good bit of seasoning, you may have to adjust the amount of salt you normally put in your egg salad. Don't add any until you've mixed the bacon bits in, then taste it and add salt accordingly.

Egg salad with bacon is delicious tucked into bread and enjoyed as a sandwich. When you add a slice of tomato and some lettuce, you'll get BLT vibes with the extra flavor of creamy eggs. But this upgraded egg salad can be enjoyed in many more ways. Try it on your avocado toast in the morning or for brunch. Pile it on toasted bagels, adding some smoked salmon and sliced red onion for depth and tang. Enjoy it between biscuit halves with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese for added heft and bite.

Of course, bread doesn't necessarily have to be a part of bacon and egg salad. You can enjoy it as a light lunch with crunchy vegetables or crackers, served inside tender leaves of butter lettuce, spread on a thin crêpe, or as a dip, scooping it up with potato chips. When you add it to your Cobb salad, you can replace the hard-boiled eggs and crumbled bacon that are typically part of the dish. For a different spin on deviled eggs, use egg salad with bacon as a substitution for the yolk-only mixture that you normally use. For colorful hors d'oeuvres, hollow out sweet cherry or cocktail tomatoes and fill with the bacon-flavored salad. With all the ingredients you can add to egg salad, you could have a different version every day of the week.