These southern Paula Deen deviled eggs are creamy, delicious and made with pickle relish. It's a classic recipe with a lot of variation options (see below): cajun, curry, jalapeno, wasabi, no mayo and more!

We got this recipe from Paula Deen, queen of southern cooking. Her recipe is very traditional, which we love! We've expanded her instructions and added a lot of fun variations.
These are popular at holidays, especially Easter and Christmas. They are great year round and are great for picnics or get-togethers. Try our stuffed jalapeno poppers for another fun side.
Try our other Paula Deen recipes: green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin bars, and gumbo.
Ingredients
- boiled eggs, peeled
- relish, sweet or dill
- mustard, regular or brown
- salt, Himalayan pink or regular
- black pepper
- paprika
- chives
- sweet gherkin pickles (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
1. Place eggs in a pot of cold water. Bring water to a boil then turn off the heat. Cover with lid and let sit for 12 minutes.
2. Immediately drain hot water and fill with ice water. Let sit 15+ minutes in ice bath. Peel and halve the eggs.
3. Place one whole egg (this is Paula Deen's secret to always having plenty of filling) along with all the other egg yolks in a food processor. Blend until crumbly. Alternatively, use a fork and bowl.
4. Add mayonnaise, relish, salt and pepper to the food processor or bowl. Blend (or mash with the fork) until well combined.
5. Using a spoon, fill the egg whites with the filling.
6. Sprinkle paprika and chives on top for garnish.
Substitutions
- Relish - instead of sweet relish, feel free to use dill.
- No Mayo deviled eggs - use plain greek yogurt instead of mayo. It will change the texture slightly, but is still delicious.
- Mustard - This can be made with any mustard! Try brown or spicy brown for a fun kick.
- Miracle Whip- miracle whip can be used instead of mayo in this recipe.
- Gluten Free- make sure your mayo is gluten free! All other ingredients are always gluten free.
Variations
- Spicy - add ½ teaspoon chili pepper flakes to the filling mixture.
- Deluxe - add 1 Tablespoon minced fresh onion, ½ clove minced garlic, 1 teaspoon paprika to the original recipe for a big pop of flavor.
- Curry - skip the relish and mustard then add ½- 1 teaspoon curry powder.
- Avocado- skip the extra whole egg in the filling (step 3 above), and instead add ½ ripe avocado.
- Cajun- skip the relish and mustard, then add 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning for cajun style.
- Wasabi- yummmm wasabi deviled eggs! Skip the mustard and relish and add 2 ½ teaspoons wasabi paste and 2 teaspoons plain rice vinegar. Top with a slice of sushi ginger.
- Jalpeno- finely chop 1 whole jalapeno and add it to the filling. Add the seeds for extra spice.
- Dill- use dill relish instead of sweet, then add ½ teaspoon dill seasoning to the filling.
- Dyed or Colored- for dyed or colored deviled eggs for Easter, Christmas or another holiday: Place 4 drops of desired food coloring in 1 cup of water and place up to 8 egg whites halves inside. Let sit for 2 minutes. If a darker color is desired, add more food coloring to the water.
Equipment
- pot for boiling eggs
- food processor -OR-
- mixing bowl and fork
Storage
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
It is not recommended to freeze these.
Top tip
Don't be afraid to play around with the flavor. Paula Deen gives us such a great basic recipe and place to start. Let us know if you try something new and different!
Recipe
Paula Deen Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
- 7 boiled eggs peeled
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ teaspoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper or more to taste
- paprika for garnish
- chives for garnish
- sweet gherkins for garnish optional
Instructions
- Boil the eggs: Place eggs in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Cover. Let stand 12 minutes. Drain the water and fill pot with ice and water. Let stand 15+ minutes.
- Peel the eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Place all yolks plus one whole egg into a food processor mixing bowl with fork. Blend until crumbly or mash with a fork until crumbly. Add mayo, relish, mustard, salt and pepper and blend until smooth.
- Spoon the filling evenly into each egg white. Top with paprika and chives and sliced gherkins, if desired.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- It is not recommended to freeze these.
Nicole
Yum, such a great and delicious recipe, they are so creamy and yummy. We are fans of Paula Deen. She knows how to do things right. Can't wait for next time and trying some variations, I'm especially excited for wasabi and cajun deviled eggs.
Gwynn
You had me at pickle relish! Such a delicious addition to this creamy filling! We absolutely devoured these, they were so good. And I love all the delicious flavor variations and can't wait to try them too!
Andrea
Perfect deviled eggs the way they are meant to be made. I love to eat them for lunch.
Carrie Robinson
I love a good homemade deviled egg! Paula Deen knows her stuff, we loved these and even tried a few of them wasabi style as suggested in the variation- so good!
Anjali
This was one of the best deviled eggs recipes I've ever had! They were rich, creamy, and so delicious!
JC
We made these deviled eggs for Easter then again a few weeks later for a picnic, but tried the wasabi deviled eggs and yummm did we love them! Such a great recipe, Paula Deen is the best. next time we'll try the curry!
JH
This paul deen deviled egg recipe is such a classic and I'm loving the adaptions you have made. We made these for Easter and they looked adorable and everyone loved them.