They're creamy, savory, and decorated to look like the most adorable little turkeys, Thanksgiving Deviled Eggs. These are such a fun and festive way to serve a classic dish, and they always make guests smile! Plus, they taste amazing-smooth and flavorful.
Why This Recipe is the Best
We've made a lot of deviled eggs over the years, but these decorative turkey deviled eggs might be our most creative take yet! They combine the best parts of the traditional recipe with a cute and easy design that's perfect for Thanksgiving. We love swapping some of the mayo for plain Greek yogurt to give them a little tang and extra protein, without compromising on the creamy texture. Plus, the turkey faces and feather details make these such a fun recipe to prep with kids.
Be sure to serve these with our Thanksgiving Punch. The combo really add a unique twist to a traditional meal.
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Key Ingredients
Here are a few things to keep in mind when gathering your ingredients.
- Bell Peppers- Just like most turkey-inspired crafts, it's fun to use different colors for the feathers. Try red, orange, and yellow bell peppers for a festive look.
- Carrot- Prep the carrot beaks beforehand to save on time. Make small triangles and place two triangular cut carrots below the eyes.
- Turkey Eyes- We played around a lot with the turkey eyes. We tried both candy eyes and olive piece eyes. While the candy eyes are cute, sometimes they can look a little crazy! It's up to you what look you want to go with. Your kids may love the candy eyes.
- Parsley- This isn't used in the recipe, but it's a great way to garnish the plate and help with simple presentation.
How to Make Thanksgiving Deviled Eggs
Use these step-by-step instructions as a guide to get the best results. You'll love how simple and fun these are to assemble.
- Add the cooled egg yolks to a food processor with the mayo, relish, and other spices. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Prep the vegetables by cutting thin slices of bell peppers, carrot triangles and small olive eyes.
- Pipe the creamy filling into the egg white halves. Assemble your turkey. Add to a plate of parsley for a cute presentation.
Helpful Hint: We found piping the egg yolk is the best way to get the filling in the egg whites. Otherwise, it looks messy. Use a frosting piper or a plastic bag with the corner removed.
Helpful Hints
If you're using mayonnaise and Greek yogurt, but don't skip the mayo completely or the texture will be off.
If your relish has large chunks, blend it for a few seconds so it doesn't clog your pastry bag.
We also found that once we added the feather decorations, we wanted the eggs to look fuller, so don't be afraid to pipe in a little extra filling. These are such a cute and easy recipe to prep ahead: simply prepare all the components and then assemble the turkey decorations just before serving to keep everything fresh.
Top Tip
When cutting your carrot and olive pieces, use a sharp paring knife to get nice, clean edges. And don't stress about making every turkey look perfect-the charm is in their quirky, festive personalities!
Recipe
Thanksgiving Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
- 14 eggs large
- ½ cup mayonnaise can use part Greek yogurt, see note 1
- 1 Tablespoons sweet relish see note 2
- 2 ½ teaspoons yellow mustard or brown
- salt and pepper to taste, I start with about ¼ teaspoon of each
- colored bell peppers for turkey feathers
- carrots for the beak
- candy eyeballs or olives for the eyes
Instructions
Boil the Eggs:
- Place all of the eggs in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a ½ teaspoon or so baking soda (this should help the eggs peel more easily) and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes. Immediately place eggs in a ice water for 10+ minutes. Peel and cut in half lengthwise.
Make the Filling:
- Place 2 whole eggs plus the remaining 12 yolks into the bowl of a food processor. Add the mayo, relish, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix on high until pretty smooth, scraping down the sides around 10 seconds into mixing. Scoop the filling into a piping bag with a star tip (or other of your choosing).
Make the Turkeys:
- Slice colored bell peppers thinly to form the feathers. Slice thin rounds of carrot, then cut those into 6ths, forming triangles. If using olives for eyes, use a straw and press into the olive to cut out circular eyes.
- Pipe filling generously into the yolk holes on the egg whites. Arrange the feathers (I thought it looked best having the feathers extend out over the long end of the egg) and add the eyes and beak. Arrange on a bed of parsley, if desired.
Notes
- We love substituting plain Greek yogurt for mayonnaise for a little bit of that tangy flavor and extra protein. Just make sure not to use all Greek yogurt or the texture is off. We recommend having about 30% or more be mayo.
- If your relish is has big chunks, we recommend running it through a blender real quick. I used relish with big chunks and it kept clogging my pastry bag.
- I found after adding my feathers that I wanted more filling on my deviled eggs, so I added a bit more and I really liked the way that looked more.
- Make ahead: Prep all ingredients, then assemble just before serving.
Nutrition
Storing Thanksgiving Deviled Eggs
These are best assembled on the day of serving, but you can prepare all the parts the day before. Store your filling and toppings in airtight containers in the fridge. Wait to pipe the filling and add decorations until just before serving so the peppers and olives stay crisp and fresh.
Substitutions and Variations
We're big believers in making things work with what you have. Here are a few swaps to try:
Spicy version - Add a dash of cayenne pepper or a squirt of sriracha to the filling for a kick.
Greek yogurt - Optional but adds extra protein. Just keep at least 30% mayo.
Relish - Sweet relish is great, but dill relish also works if you prefer a tangier flavor.
No olives? Use black sesame seeds or mini chocolate chips for the eyes.
Add bacon - Crumbled bacon on top adds delicious smoky flavor and looks cute, too!
Festive Deviled Eggs- We love a good deviled egg, especially when it comes to the holidays. Try our traditional Deviled egg recipe, Halloween Deviled Eggs, Christmas Deviled Eggs, Easter Deviled eggs, or 4th of July Deviled Eggs.
Andrea says
Love these Thanksgiving themed deviled eggs. My kids love making them with me.