Sweet Heat Southern Deviled Eggs

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This Southern Deviled Eggs recipe brings it! Loaded with sweetness from sweet pickle relish and just a tiny bit of heat from pickled jalapenos. Pipe the yolk mixture filling into the hard-boiled egg whites and watch these fly off the plate at Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas!

southern deviled eggs on plate with chives

SWEET HEAT.

That’s the only way I know how to describe this southern deviled eggs recipe.

We’re starting off the way you do for all of your deviled eggs – by boiling the eggs. Now if you have a fool-proof egg boiling and peeling method for your that you’ve perfected over the years, use it. Once the eggs are done, we’ll make a whipped yolk mixture with mayo, a couple of seasonings, mustard, and sweet relish. Load it all into a piping bag, then pipe it into the white halves. Garnish with a little bit of this and that, and you’re ready to serve.

What ultimately takes this recipe over the top to all the classic deviled eggs you’ve had in the past is the combination of sweet pickle relish and the pickled jalapenos. I use a yellow mustard that comes packed with bits of jalapenos. It’s my absolute favorite mustard to use, and I always stock up on it to make egg salad sandwiches or regular turkey sandwiches.

I like a little bit of heat with my food and this

Ingredients for southern deviled eggs:

The ingredient list isn’t all that big. But we make sure to pick and choose the ones that pack the most prominent flavor punch!

Eggs: You’ll need eggs for this, obviously. I like to use large-size eggs so the cooking times provided work best for large eggs. Medium eggs will take slightly less time to cook and extra large or jumbo eggs with undoubtedly take a couple of additional minutes. Many people like to make hard-boiled eggs for deviled eggs in the instant pot. If you’ve perfected your method for pressure cooker eggs, go for it!
Mayonnaise: A couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise is a classic in deviled egg recipes. Not reinventing the wheel with this one! I do suggest using good-quality mayonnaise for this recipe. Something you usually prefer on your sandwiches would make a good option.
Seasonings: You’ll need a dash of garlic powder, kosher salt, and some cayenne pepper or paprika to sprinkle as garnish.
Mustard: I love using a squirt of jalapeño mustard to kick the spice level up on a classic deviled eggs filling. If you don’t have jalapeno mustard, just use yellow or dijon mustard and add some minced-up pickled jalapenos to the mixture.
Sweet Pickle Relish: I like to use sweet pickle relish to give these deviled eggs a sweet heat flavor. You can also use dill pickle relish if you prefer to skip the hint of sweetness.

egg mixture with mashed yolks and prepared filling

Making Classic Southern Deviled Eggs

Start the prep work. Add the eggs to a medium saucepan and carefully add enough cold water to cover the eggs by an inch. Place the pot over the stove and cook on medium-high heat until boiling. Once the egg water is boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat, cover it with a lid, and let the eggs hang out for 12 minutes.
Toss them in an ice bath. Prepare the ice water bath when there are a couple of minutes remaining. I like to use more ice and less water. When the timer goes off, remove the eggs from the cold water with a slotted spoon and add them to the ice water bath. Let the eggs hang out for a few minutes before removing them. Peel the eggs under cold running water.
Scoop and make the filling. Halve the eggs lengthwise and scoop out the egg yolks. Add them to a bowl and mash them with a fork. Once mashed, add the mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, jalapeno mustard, and relish. Stir the ingredients together until you have a smooth egg filling. Taste and adjust with more salt or seasonings to your preference.
Load them up and serve ’em! Fill the egg yolk mixture into a piping bag or a freezer quart bag and snip off the top. Gently squeeze into the egg whites and dust with cayenne, fresh chives or parsley before serving. These little appetizers are going to disappear so fast!

Best Tips for Making Deviled Eggs

Use older eggs if possible!

You want the eggs that have been hanging around the refrigerator for at least a week. Those are much easier to peel than fresh eggs.

Play it safe; boil an extra egg or two!

Sometimes it’s challenging to get the shell off, and you end up taking a chunk out of the egg; I suggest boiling 1-2 additional eggs to play it safe.

No fuss peeling.

Whenever I make hard-boiled eggs, I opt to peel them under a steady stream of cold running water. This works incredibly well on those eggs that have a tricky membrane layer that sticks to the egg whites. The running water helps gently lift the membrane so you can get under it with your thumb, making it a breeze to peel!

You can easily double this recipe.

This makes six eggs, which is typically what you want for six servings. Need more? Double or triple the recipe as needed.

Storing deviled eggs.

Leftover deviled eggs can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container. Suggestions on how to use them up below!

Have leftover deviled eggs after a party?

Smash them up and load them between two slices of white sandwich bread with a little bit of extra mayo – this makes a killer egg salad sandwich! And throw some dill pickles on the side (or inside of the sandwich) while you’re at it!

If you like this recipe, you might also like these side dishes:

Yield: Serves 6