A classic summer salad goes Mexican-style for a lunch time fiesta. 
Summer vacation means sleeping in and hanging by the pool. It means a week of carefree schedules followed by a week of chaotic camp drop offs and picks ups. It means late dinners on the deck and staying up way past bedtimes.
It also means multiple grocery store trips all week long just to keep up with the hungry bellies of my kids.
My kiddies all buy school lunches, so I am not accustomed to keeping loads of lunch options in the refrigerator. In the summer though, the clock strikes 12 and suddenly my 3 young ones are “starving” with “nothing good to eat” in the house.
I feel like summer is the hungry season for my kids. Maybe it is the days spent swimming in the pool that makes them hungrier? Or the quiet days at home where hunger is triggered by some boredom? Either way, I can’t seem to keep my pantry and fridge stocked to their liking.
It’s possible that they actually grow a greater appreciation for the school lunch menu options over the summer. Cold cut and cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jellies, and leftovers get old pretty quickly.
So, this week I decided to whip up a batch of egg salad for a little lunch variety in the house.
I am a big fan of egg salad, especially in this season’s heat. And my girls would live on hard boiled eggs if I let them. Â It’s a convenient make-ahead and keep-in-the-fridge lunch option that is protein packed and full of flavor.
For a twist, I’m making this egg salad Mexican-style this time.
I’m adding some proven Mexican ingredients like lime, cilantro, green onions, avocado and jalapeño. These are some of my favorite additions to any recipe and, here, they are kicking up the egg salad and making this lunch anything but boring.
And instead of weighing this down with all mayo, I’m mashing up some avocado and lime and mixing that with just a hint of mayo. I still get my creaminess with a little less guilt. Not to mention, I’m sneaking in a healthy veggie that only one of my kids prefers.
Tossing in cumin and chili powder with the avocado-mayo mix gives my egg salad a kick. It’s an egg salad fiesta, of sorts. LOL.
Big colorful fresh chunks of ingredients is just how we like it, similar to my Chunky Guacamole. 
To serve, we spread this in a tortilla wrap or just grab some tortilla chips and get busy dipping and chowing down.
It’s a little summertime party in a bowl and it will keep lunchtime boredom to a minimum…at least for a day or two.
Do you have a twist on a traditional egg salad?
- 12 hard-boiled eggs peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 bunch scallions green only
- 1 red pepper diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 4-5 celery stalks diced
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers finely diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1 lime
- 1 avocado mashed
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- cayenne pepper optional
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Place first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Gently toss to combine.
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In a separate bowl, mash avocado until smooth and mix with the juice of one lime for flavor and to prevent browning.
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Add the mayonnaise and the spices to the avocado and stir to combine.
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Fold the avocado mayo mixture into the egg mixture with the salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
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Chill for 15 minutes.
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Garnish with cayenne pepper (optional) and serve with tortilla chips or spread on a tortilla wrap.
Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar, if desired.
Salad should stay in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This sounds delicious! My husband will love it.
Oooh! I love your take on this. Some of those bold, smoky flavors are perfect with Egg Salad!
I feel like I need to eat this right now!
Oh my gosh I can remember the days of whining to my mom that there was nothing good to eat in the house. I’m sure it’s coming to haunt me. I loooove egg salad so I’m gonna looooove this one!!!
Oh, yes…it all comes around full circle! lol. Hope you enjoy this little twist! I love to really spice it up with cayenne for myself.
This looks super tasty and would be a perfect lunch option wrapped in lettuce! Thanks for the new lunch idea!
Thanks! Love the idea of wrapping it in lettuce! Will be doing that today…
This sounds so delicious and refreshing as a cool summer meal. Yum!
Thanks, Jordan!
I like any kind of egg salad. We always have plenty of eggs with raising chickens. I will have to make up some of your egg salad and serve with chips which I think is perfect.
Lucky you to always have eggs on hand like that! I’m with you, egg salad anyway makes me happy.
This sounds like a great salad idea…may seriously think about making this upcoming weekend for a Mexican-themed pool party. What a timely share for me to see on Facebook!
Oh, how fun! Enjoy the pool party!
We eat a lot of egg salad in our house. I’m going to have to try this one. It sounds SO good!
Thanks, Heather! We love this little twist on a classic. Enjoy!
I love egg salad, and this is a great twist to an all time classic!
Thank you! So tasty with tortilla chips!
This looks yummy! I love egg salad. This looks so easy to make, can’t wait to try this recipe.
Super easy, just like summertime lunch calls for.
What a delicious looking variation of the standard salad! I really enjoy the spice, cumin, and so I look forward to trying this new dish! Thanks for inspiring!
Thank you, Anne! It is a fun twist!
What a clever update on a classic! Sounds perfect for summer too!
It was perfect for sitting on the deck and dipping some chips in!
This looks absolutely delicious! Such an awesome idea. I definitely will try this out!
So good to hear! I’ve been craving it since my family crushed the very last bite! lol
I am making this tomorrow. It looks delicious!!!
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!!
I will try ANY Mexican inspired dish! I love avocado in egg salad too.
Me too! I added a big dose of cayenne to this just to get my Mexican heat factor!
I’ve always been on the fence about egg salad because I feel like they can be a little mayo heavy – but I LOVE the sound of this one. I think I’ve found one I might actually enjoy!
So great to hear! I really liked the mashed avocado and lime as the “sauce.” It kept it very light!
Looks so flavorful and refreshing! Wanna try thin one for sure!
I hope you love it like we do!
Love egg salad! and anything in the Mexican food category!
Me too! This was a great combo!
I love egg salad and can’t wait to try this. Wouldn’t you know it; I’m out of eggs today. But I think I have everything else so that’s an easy fix. Nice pictures and directions too!
Oh, shoot! I know that feeling of missing that one ingredient! Hope you get to make this and hope you love it!
What a fun twist on a summer favorite! Looks delicious and I would love to try it.
I wouldn’t have thought to combine these flavors but they look delicious!!
Thanks! It is a tasty twist!
This is a genius idea! I have never tried a twist on egg salad before and can’t wait to do this. Yuuum.
Thanks! I am thinking of all the other things I can give a Mexcian-style twist to!